Dina Cheney

Twenty-five years ago, Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD, a primary care internist at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, and a few of her fellow doctors there decided to start a health-focused creative writing journal, Bellevue Literary Review (BLR). Back then, “there was lots of writing about health but not a lot about vulnerability, about when the body mutinies on you,” recalled Ofri, also a clinical professor of medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City and BLR’s executive directo...

Approaches to menopausal hormone therapy (HT) have swung back and forth — in the late 1960s the book Feminine Forever touted HT as a fountain of youth, then the Women’s Health Initiative studies in the 1990s linked HT with increased risks for heart disease and breast cancer. After a black box warning was put into effect in 2003, HT use in postmenopausal women declined precipitously.
HT is on the upswing again now that the black box has been removed, but guidelines still recommend its use only...

Real estate professionals who work as independent contractors often face expensive health care choices, but brokers and associations are finding new ways to expand access and support agents’ financial well-being.
Health insurance “continues to be a conundrum for real estate agents,” says Andrew Bell, broker-owner, NextHome Endless Summer in Jacksonville, Fla. “It’s a problem in our profession that needs a solution and does not yet have one.”
Brokerages want to help but often aren’t sure where...

“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...