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YOUR WEEKLY CHECKUP

This week: Innovative new therapies are treating severe wounds; new insights on long COVID; how dirty air attacks your body; whether houseplants can really purify the air; how your genes affect your tolerance for caffeine.

PHOTOGRAPH BY GAETAN BALLY, KEYSTONE VIA REDUX

These pioneering therapies are treating hard-to-heal wounds as never before

Healing complex wounds is still a major challenge for medical professionals. But after decades of incremental gains, new technologies are helping to rebuild the skin of people with severe injuries like deep burns and diabetic ulcers.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

RELATED: The end of inflammation? New approach could treat dozens of diseases.
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PHOTOGRAPH BY MARCO CARMIGNAN

How long does COVID-19 linger in your body? New report offers clues.

A comprehensive study found that viral remnants can survive for months after infection in certain people, perhaps causing some symptoms of long COVID.

RISKS OF PROLONGED 'SHEDDING'

RELATED: As long COVID cases grow, clues emerge about who is most at risk
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PHOTOGRAPH BY MATTHIEU PALEY

‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ FROM THE ARCHIVES‌ ‌ ‌

Air pollution kills millions every year, like a 'pandemic in slow motion'

In the U.S. alone, more than 45 percent of Americans still breathe unhealthy air. Dirty air is a plague on human health, causing 7 million deaths and many more preventable illnesses worldwide each year. But the solutions are clear.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

IN THE NEWS: 1 in 6 killed by pollution worldwide, study finds (CNN) +

JASON TREAT AND KELSEY NOWAKOWSKI; ART BY MAGIC TORCH

See how polluted air attacks our bodies

Dirty air is a mix of gases and particles, some of which are so small they pass into the bloodstream, affecting everything from the brain to the reproductive system.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

REBECCA HALE AND MARK THIESSEN, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Which houseplants can you buy to purify the air? None of them.

Bringing plants indoors can provide a number of benefits, but cleaner air isn't one of them—at least not yet. Some researchers are working to build better houseplants.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK THIESSEN & REBECCA HALE, NGM STAFF

Do you love or loathe coffee? Your genes may be to blame.

Scientists are teasing out how jitters, sleeplessness, and even bitter taste are all influenced by tiny variations in your genetic code.

HOW DNA AFFECTS CAFFEINE TOLERANCE

RELATED: These unexpected cities have the best coffee in the U.S. +

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

NG STAFF

Boosters authorized for children ages 5-11

The U.S. recorded more than 112,000 new COVID-19 cases each day for the last seven days—a 27 percent increase from the previous week.

TRACK COVID IN THE U.S.

How COVID vaccines and boosters work: An FAQ for kids and parents

Two new Omicron variants are spreading. Will they drive a new U.S. surge?

Lost your smell to COVID-19? Here's how to retrain your brain. (subscriber exclusive)

How many of America's 1 million COVID deaths were preventable? (NPR)

MORE ON YOUR HEALTH

BETTMANN, GETTY IMAGES

How U.S. abortion laws went from nonexistent to acrimonious

Most scholars say that at the nation's founding ending a pregnancy wasn't illegal—or even controversial. Here's a look at the complex early history of abortion in the United States.

ABORTION IN EARLY AMERICA

What is monkeypox, the rare virus now confirmed in the U.S. and Europe? (Washington Post)

How the U.S. got into this baby formula mess (NPR)

New research offers clues as to why some babies die of SIDS (NYT)

3.4 million Americans could be diagnosed with skin cancer in 2022 (Washington Post)

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