Dina Cheney

“I remember precisely where I was when I found out,” said Simon G. Talbot, MD, associate chief of plastic surgery at Mass General Brigham in Boston, of the first time he was named in a lawsuit. “I got home at night, and someone had managed to get inside my building and nailed the document to the door of my apartment,” recalled Talbot, who was a trainee at the time. “The process by which you find out about these things is horribly negative.” He was later dropped from the case. Still, he said, ...

Interior designers reveal how they use mathematics to bring harmony to a space.
Math might seem far removed from interior design, but geometry is often the secret behind homes that sing. Decorators rely on formulas for determining the right size coffee table to pair with a couch and how many inches above a mantel to hang a painting. But they also turn to forms and formulas to achieve that certain je-ne-sais-quoi — those intangible qualities that differentiate the so-so from the scintillating.

Top designers offer tips on bedding, furnishings and accents to help you upgrade your sleeping space.
The best-designed hotel rooms often come down to the details. Blackout shades, well-placed light switches and other thoughtful features can make all the difference. “If someone has anticipated these things, that’s the biggest gesture of hospitality you can offer,” said Jo Littlefair, who with her husband, Martin Goddard, runs Goddard Littlefair, a London- and Portugal-based interior design fi...

Creatine is on the rise—whether you’re a gym rat or not. Here’s what to know about using the popular supplement during pregnancy.
If creatine is a part of your regular routine, you’re not alone. It’s become more buzzy in recent years, in part thanks to wellness experts and influencers touting its muscle-building abilities and brain health benefits. But can you take creatine while pregnant?
Doctors err on the side of caution about creatine during pregnancy. “We don’t have enough data to recomm...

Find out why salmon is the “reel deal” when it comes to healthy eating during pregnancy—and how to prepare it safely.
There’s lots of anxiety over which foods to avoid during pregnancy. Rest assured that salmon isn’t on the list of fish to steer clear of—in fact, it’s recommended thanks to its omega-3 content and other benefits.
“Salmon is a low-mercury fish and rich in nutrients that support both maternal health and fetal development,” says Basma Faris, MD, an ob-gyn at Mount Sinai West in N...

Your home’s color scheme could come from a painting, a flower bed or even a shade of lipstick.
A San Francisco family hired Noz Nozawa to decorate their townhouse with the rainbow as inspiration. Brittany Ambridge
It’s easy for a home’s color scheme to come about haphazardly. It can, after all, be overwhelming to choose a color story or theme for every room of a house. But for an interior that feels more curated and cohesive, try selecting hues for the entire home inspired by a single item or...

Once living room eyesores, furniture designers have given the functional recliner a sleek makeover.

The Grady Notch recliner from the interiors brand Serena & Lily is designed to blend in with other furniture. Serena and Lily

When Janet Feldman set out in 2014 to find a recliner for her father, she was dispirited by the available offerings. “The chairs were horrifying,” Ms. Feldman said. “They were large and corduroy and plaid, with side pockets all the way down. They looked ridiculous.”

Ms. ...

Single-use disposable medical devices have rapidly taken over in the US healthcare industry, said Jodi Sherman, MD, associate professor of anesthesiology and epidemiology at Yale School of Medicine and founding director of the Yale Program on Healthcare Environmental Sustainability, New Haven, Connecticut.
A significant portion is made of plastic, which can harm humans and the environment. Production of plastics both uses fossil fuels and releases climate-warming emissions. Then, once they’re...

It’s a bit of a Wild West out there when it comes to in vitro fertilization (IVF) tests and treatments. Many new tests and procedures have emerged that sound groundbreaking — and some might hold promise. Accurately predicting whether an IVF cycle will result in a baby still remains beyond our grasp.
“There have been studies in reproductive medicine looking at new things, but unfortunately, they’re not…randomized controlled trials with enough people to prove certain tests or treatments will he...

Employing the technique known as “trompe-l’oeil,” designers have mimicked three-dimensional surfaces to elevate rooms.
Le Grand Tour wallpaper, from Schumacher with the designer Johnson Hartig, provides an instant gallery wall. Laura Resen
For dingy walls and rooms without a view, there’s a simple fix: wallpaper.
Homeowners have long faked assets like marble and elaborate millwork in a technique known as trompe-l’oeil (French for “deceive the eye”). The French artist Louis-Léopold Boilly coin...

You may have taken edibles to chill out before—but pregnancy is a different story. Here’s what experts have to say.
Maybe you took the occasional edible or THC gummy to relieve anxiety or help with sleep before pregnancy. But now that you’re expecting, you might be wondering: Can you take edibles while pregnant?
Edibles are seemingly everywhere. From gummies to baked goods to even seltzers in a variety of flavors and strengths, for many people they’ve become a popular alternative to alcohol a...

Ashwini C. Bapat, MD, a palliative care physician, and her husband, a psychiatrist, had always planned to move abroad. But their resolution was solidified during a vacation in Portugal with their then 2-year-old daughter. While exploring towns on foot, passersby would turn around, smile, and tell them how cute their daughter was, she said.
In Boston, where they lived at the time, their experiences were quite different. Walking with their daughter on a bike path each Saturday morning, “bikers ...

If a steaming English breakfast or Earl Grey is your morning (or afternoon) pick-me-up, you might be wondering if you need to put this ritual on hold while pregnant—it has caffeine, after all.
The good news? According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), it’s generally safe to have a maximum of 200 milligrams of caffeine a day during pregnancy. Since a cup of black tea has about 40 to 50 milligrams of caffeine—about half as much as a cup of coffee—you should be f...