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Rahima Banu had the last recorded case of naturally occurring variola major smallpox, a deadly strain of the virus, in 1975. At left: Banu in her mother's arms as a small child. At right: Banu today, close to 50 years old, lives in a small village in Bangladesh with her husband, Rafiqul Islam, and their children. Michael Schwartz/CDC, Céline Gounder/KFF Health News hide caption

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Michael Schwartz/CDC, Céline Gounder/KFF Health News

Workers at the U.S. Embassy in Havana leave the building in September 2017. New research out of the National Institutes of Health finds no unusual pattern of damage in the brains of Havana syndrome patients. Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images hide caption

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Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Ultra-processed foods contain substances you wouldn't find in your own kitchen, like high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavor and color enhancers, anti-caking agents and emulsifiers. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images hide caption

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Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

From anxiety to cancer, the evidence against ultra-processed food piles up

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(From left to right) Portrait of Nicole Brownstein, Bernie Wagenblast, and Patrick Buenaventura at Wagenblast's home in Cranford, NJ, on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024. Gabby Jones for NPR hide caption

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Gabby Jones for NPR

Transitioning later in life can feel isolating. One social group wants to change that

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This hospital in Port-au-Prince was damaged during an armed attack in November. With the current unrest in Haiti, health-care facilities are at even greater risk as are staff and patients. Richard Pierrin/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Richard Pierrin/AFP via Getty Images

Sandra Johnson was responding well to an injectable drug to treat her persistent asthma, but then her insurance company stopped allowing her to get it in a process called "prior authorization." Kimberly Paynter/WHYY hide caption

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Kimberly Paynter/WHYY

Her insurer stopped approving her medicine that worked. Will a new state law help?

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Christopher Smith for KFF Health News

They were injured at the Super Bowl parade. A month later, they feel forgotten

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People with symptoms of long Covid sit in the audience as they listen during a Senate Committee hearing on Long Covid earlier this year. Long Covid remains one of the most vexing legacies of the pandemic. Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption

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Drew Angerer/Getty Images

People who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid face maddening challenges accessing health care. The government spends $500 billion on this care, yet patients often can't get what they need. amtitus/Getty Images hide caption

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Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, the brand ambassador for the billion dollar company Patanjali Ayurved, addresses the media during a launch of "premium products" in New Delhi. Rahul Singh/ANI via Reuters Connect hide caption

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Rahul Singh/ANI via Reuters Connect

Isabela Oside, 45, washes hands of her daughter Faith, 3, who completed doses through the worlds first malaria vaccine. Malaria is one of the preventable diseases that contributes to worldwide child mortality. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images

Why a new report on child mortality is historic, encouraging — and grim

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Paul Alexander, who held a Guinness World Record for living the longest with the help of an iron lung, has died. Here, medical staff stand among iron lung machines in an emergency polio ward at Haynes Memorial Hospital in Boston, Mass., on Aug. 16, 1955, when the city's polio epidemic hit a high of 480 cases. AP hide caption

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AP