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PCR tests like this can tell if a virus is an enterovirus, but they can't ID the new virus that has caused a surge in serious respiratory infections.

PCR tests like this can tell if a virus is an enterovirus, but they can't ID the new virus that has caused a surge in serious respiratory infections. BSIP / Science Source hide caption

itoggle caption BSIP / Science Source

Shots - Health News

Rare Virus Has Sickened Hundreds More Children, Hospitals Say

The rare virus is spreading fast, and doctors don't have an instant test to find out who has it. So parents should be ready to seek help quickly if a child has a cold that's rapidly getting worse.

She's a mother talking to another mother — and both are HIV-positive. That's the mentoring role played by Phelokazi Tinzi, who works for mothers2mothers in South Africa.

She's a mother talking to another mother — and both are HIV-positive. That's the mentoring role played by Phelokazi Tinzi, who works for mothers2mothers in South Africa. Anders Kelto/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Anders Kelto/NPR

Goats and Soda

A Happy Marriage, A Terrible Secret, A Healthy Baby

They were married in South Africa. The next day, he told his bride he was HIV positive. Soon after, she tested positive. And she thought nothing in her life would ever go right.

Not every business has been hurt by the Ebola epidemic: Stephen Kollie says his newspaper stand is thriving because people are hungry for the latest Ebola information. But many of his usual expatriate customers have left the country, he says.

Not every business has been hurt by the Ebola epidemic: Stephen Kollie says his newspaper stand is thriving because people are hungry for the latest Ebola information. But many of his usual expatriate customers have left the country, he says. Tommy Trenchard for NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Tommy Trenchard for NPR

Goats and Soda

Fast-Moving Ebola Slows Down Liberia's Economy

Farmers are too frightened to tend their fields. Customers have stopped going to restaurants, bars and other shops. So now people in Liberia's "breadbasket" region are depending on food donations.

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Mountains of "little blue pills" and their chemical kin have transformed the way many people think about sex and aging.

Mountains of "little blue pills" and their chemical kin have transformed the way many people think about sex and aging. Raphael Gaillarde/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Raphael Gaillarde/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Love And Sex In The Time Of Viagra — 16 Years On

Longer lives means more decades of intimacy. Drugs that help male physiology match desire have affected more than just the body, men who take these pills say.

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Randen Patterson left a research career in physiology at U.C. Davis when funding got too tight. He now owns a grocery store in Guinda, Calif.

Randen Patterson left a research career in physiology at U.C. Davis when funding got too tight. He now owns a grocery store in Guinda, Calif. Max Whittaker/Prime for NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Max Whittaker/Prime for NPR

Shots - Health News

When Scientists Give Up

They were talented, idealistic risk-takers on the road to what they thought would be important medical discoveries. But when the funding for risk-takers dried up, these two academics called it quits.

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Alieu P. Manor, 18, survived Ebola. He gazes into the room of his cousin, Varlee Kanneh, who was not so lucky.

Alieu P. Manor, 18, survived Ebola. He gazes into the room of his cousin, Varlee Kanneh, who was not so lucky. Tommy Trenchard for NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Tommy Trenchard for NPR

Goats and Soda

In Liberia's Hard-Hit Lofa County, Ebola Continues To Take A Toll

The farming town of Barkedu accounts for a fifth of Liberia's Ebola deaths. Residents have revved up anti-Ebola efforts. But the virus has swept away entire families, and there's no end in sight.

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