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The relationship between despair and pain is multifaceted. As most people know from personal experience, physical pain increases psychological distress and anxiety. Several studies have found that people with severe pain—as opposed to those with low or moderate pain—are more likely to worry about their affliction and its possible consequences. (Lucia Macchia, 1/30)

The medics involved in the death of Tyre Nichols are culpable and need to be criminally charged. (Donell Harvin, 1/30)

We tend to believe body size is something we can fully control, that we’re skinny or fat because of deliberate choices we make. After talking to hundreds of patients with obesity over the years, and clinicians and researchers who study the disease, let me assure you: Reality looks a lot less like free will. (Julia Belluz, 1/31)

The Supreme Court’s decision overruling the constitutional right to abortion didn’t remove courts from deciding abortion cases. It merely changed the terms of the debate. Right now, nothing is more front and center than competing efforts to eliminate or expand access to abortion medications. (Ruth Marcus, 1/30)

Trans fat is a killer: Up to 500,000 people a year die worldwide from the consequences of eating it. Trans fat increases LDL (or “bad”) cholesterol, the compound that clogs arteries and causes heart attacks and deaths from heart disease. (Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, 1/31)

The White House’s Covid Winter Preparedness Plan is a missed opportunity to narrow the divide between Americans. The plan contains important elements to mitigate the anticipated seasonal surge of Covid-19. But it sidesteps the emerging evidence base and President Biden’s pledge to “follow the science.” (Steven Phillips, Robert C. Gallo and Christian Brechot, 1/31)

A National Library of Medicine literature review of 30 articles comparing quality versus length of life revealed 80% of cancer patients choose the quality of life over the length of life. (Yanira Cruz and Kim Callinan, 1/29)

Doom and gloom are never attractive topics to read about, particularly when dealing with healthcare. But have you wondered why it takes months to get a doctor’s appointment, or why you can’t get a hospital bed and need to sit in in an emergency department for hours or even days, even if there are open beds available. (Dr. Irving Kent Loh, 1/28)