Author: Fariba Akbari

At hospitals, at seminaries and on buses, the Taliban is stepping up enforcement of rules on women’s dress in the city of Herat.(Image credit: Wakil Kohsar/AFP)

Easier than a blood test, saliva tests have the potential to detect cavities, infections and even cancer. But a lack of insurance coverage and other obstacles stand in the way of wider use.(Image credit: dusanpetkovic)

Who says serious athletes are always serious? Akwasi Frimpong, who’s competed for Ghana, is a world-class wisecracker as he reflects on being a Black African athlete in the white world of winter sports.(Image credit: Kirill KudryavtsevAFP)

Researchers found a tiny bottle from ancient Rome that contained fecal residue and traces of aromatics, offering evidence that poop was used medicinally more than 2,000 years ago.(Image credit: Ilker Demirbolat (left); Cenker Atila (right))

The billionaire tech mogul’s testimony was part of a landmark social media addiction trial in Los Angeles. The jury’s verdict in the case could shape how some 1,600 other pending cases from families and school districts are resolved.(Image credit: Frederic J. Brown)

The Food and Drug Administration’s about-face comes a little more than a week after the agency refused to consider the company’s application to market the new kind of influenza vaccine.(Image credit: Bill Sikes)

A study finds that people who did one specific form of brain training in the 1990s were less likely to be diagnosed with dementia over the next 20 years.(Image credit: spawns)

NPR listeners share how they’ve made relationships with their neighbors and community. Many of them, through parties, potlucks and coffees, say they’ve made the first move.

Nevada recently became the third state to offer one of the plans on the ACA marketplaces. They’re intended to be a cheaper insurance option but so far they make only a marginal difference in price.(Image credit: RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP)

The Democratic Republic of Congo is seeing a significant increase in acts of sexual violence against girls and young women. A support center offers a sanctuary for treatment — and to be heard.