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Though U.S. veterans prevailed recently in a long fight for government recognition of burn pit exposure, there has been no American effort to assess the local impact, let alone treat or compensate Iraqis who breathed the same air. On a recent trip to the area, Washington Post reporters interviewed more than a dozen residents who said that they had developed cancer or respiratory problems while working on the Balad base or living nearby. Most said that they been young and fit when they fell ill, without family histories of similar ailments. Their accounts are corroborated by experts who have studied burn pit exposure and by local doctors, who observed an alarming rise in illnesses consistent with such exposure in the years after the invasion. (Loveluck and Salim, 3/18)

The latest “it” ingredient is sea moss—a type of red algae that has become a viral phenomenon. It is being endorsed by celebrities and online influencers who point to its supposed beauty and health benefits, and brands are rushing to introduce products such as skin-care products and nutritional supplements featuring the plant. ... But while sea moss does have nutritional benefits, some scientists say that there isn’t enough research to back up other claims about its usefulness. There isn’t sufficient scientific evidence showing that the ingredient affects your skin or hair, they say, nor that it significantly improves your health. (Raphael, 3/10)

In December 2021, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a rare warning: Mental health challenges were leading to “devastating effects” among young people. His statement came as the suicide rate for young Americans ages 10 to 19 jumped by 40 percent from 2001 to 2019, while emergency room visits for self-harm rose by 88 percent. Lately, Dr. Murthy has been using his position to highlight the issue, much as Dr. C. Everett Koop, who was surgeon general in the 1980s, famously addressed the dangers associated with smoking. Dr. Murthy has been on a listening tour of sorts, speaking with students, health care workers and community groups across the country. (Richtel, 3/21)

Beth Roper had already sold her husband Doug’s boat and his pickup truck. Her daughter sends $500 a month or more. But it was nowhere near enough to pay the $5,950-a-month bill at Doug’s assisted-living facility. So last year, Roper, 65, abandoned her own plans to retire. To the public school librarian from Poquoson, Va., it feels like a betrayal of a social contract. Doug Roper, a longtime high school history teacher and wrestling coach, has a pension and Social Security. The Ropers own a home; they have savings. Yet the expense of Doug’s residential Alzheimer’s care poses a grave threat to their middle-class nest egg. At nearly $72,000, a year in assisted living for Doug, 67, costs more than her $64,000 annual salary. (Rowland, 3/18)

In most people, speech and language live in the brain's left hemisphere. Mora Leeb is not most people. When she was 9 months old, surgeons removed the left side of her brain. Yet at 15, Mora plays soccer, tells jokes, gets her nails done, and, in many ways, lives the life of a typical teenager. "I can be described as a glass-half-full girl," she says, pronouncing each word carefully and without inflection. Her slow, cadence-free speech is one sign of a brain that has had to reorganize its language circuits. (Hamilton, 3/22)

Finishing a 100-mile race is remarkable at any age. But in the world of ultramarathons, it’s not uncommon to see runners competing in their 60s, 70s and 80s. (Soong, 3/20)