Stephanie Nolen

We Bought a 450-Pound Mystery Pallet Packed With Returned Goods From Amazon and Beyond. Here’s What We Found Inside. Pallets of overstock, returned, and undelivered-mail packages are an indicator of just how much stuff there is in the retail ecosystem.

Every wonder what happened to the leggings or candle or lemon squeezer you returned to Amazon or wherever? (You probably didn't wonder, actually). The good folks at Wirecutter did the deep dive on finding out www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/r...

Strain of bird flu virus never before reported in people is behind first human case in US in nine months | CNN A Washington resident has been hospitalized with bird flu, according to the Washington State Health Department, and they’re infected with a strain of the virus that hasn’t been seen in humans before.

www.cnn.com/2025/11/14/h...

Ethiopia confirms first Marburg outbreak as WHO lauds country's fast action Ethiopia has confirmed its first Marburg outbreak after nine cases were identified in the southern region of the country that borders South Sudan.

The suspected outbreak of a hemorrhagic vial illness in Ethiopia has now been confirmed to Marburg Virus Disease. So far 9 cases have been identified in a part of the country that shares a border with Sudan.
apnews.com/article/ethi...

Ethiopia reports suspected viral haemorrhagic fever outbreak Health authorities in Ethiopia are carrying out further investigations and ramping up response after suspected cases of viral haemorrhagic fever were reported in the country’s South Ethiopia Region.

"Ethiopia reports suspected viral haemorrhagic fever outbreak"
www.afro.who.int/news/ethiopi...

... got myself a measles booster recently because I'm often surrounded by babies with measles eg. on my recent reporting trip to Somalia. But apparently also need to be worried about storytime at my local library back home ...

Why Drugs Like Ozempic Can Make People Drink Less Alcohol A small study helps explain why some people taking Wegovy and similar weight-loss drugs cut back on alcohol, offering insight into potential new addiction therapies

A small study helps explain why some people taking Wegovy and similar weight-loss drugs cut back on alcohol, offering insight into potential new addiction therapies

Canada Is About to Lose Its Status as Having Eliminated Measles

This is both discouraging, and also should be a warning of how easily infectious disease can come roaring back – Canada has far less vax skepticism than its southern neighbour ... www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/w...

Safety and Immunogenicity of an rVSV Lassa Fever Vaccine Candidate | NEJM No vaccine is currently available for Lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic disease that is estimated to cause thousands of deaths each year in western Africa. A replication-competent recombinant vesicu...

A new NEJM study reports results from a phase 1 trial of a Lassa virus vaccine, a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vector engineered to express the Lassa glycoprotein (the same platform as the approved Ebola vaccine, ERVEBO). It was safe and immunogenic.
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Beware the financialization of the global health industry Beware of financialization when it is code for “money making money on health,” S.L. Erikson warns.

Interesting piece: "Beware the financialization of the global health industry - Complex banking instruments designed to generate money can’t make up for global health shortfalls"
www.statnews.com/2025/11/05/f...

A thing that struck me, when @carloschaccour.bsky.social first told me the story, was how lucky it was that it was his work – which is a rare approach in an understudied field, so the LLM coughed up a mangled version of his own research ... if it had been work on, say, statins, instead ...

They’re invading journals “like Omicron,” Dr. Chaccour said...

I'm branching out from my usual spot on the venn diagram of just, horrifying

The Editor Got a Letter From ‘Dr. B.S.’ So Did a Lot of Other Editors.

If you work with or rely on academic journals - don't miss this strange, funny, horrifying story about what happened when @carloschaccour.bsky.social published a paper on a malaria breakthrough in a prestigious journal – and AI came for the letters page. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/s...

A Somali Hospital Closed After U.S. Aid Cuts. Fired Employees Reopened It Without Pay.

A Somali Hospital Closed After U.S. Aid Cuts.

“After the Trump administration stopped funding a medical center for women and children, a determined group of health care workers refused to let it shutter.” @stephanienolen.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/h...

In Fight Against Malaria, an Unexpected — and Snuggly — Shield

Going to re-up this on the off chance that anyone besides me could use a tiny fragment of good news today. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/h...

"There are large diphtheria outbreaks now in Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Chad — countries with civil wars or large populations of refugees where vaccination coverage is low, surveillance is weak and frail health systems leave children undiagnosed or treated too late."

Diphtheria, a Once Vanquished Killer of Children, Is Resurgent

In Somalia a few weeks ago, I found myself in a hospital ward packed with children (and some adults) gasping for breath, infected with diphtheria. It was like time travel to the Victorian era.
But diphtheria is no longer a relic of your granny's stories – it's back.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/h...

Appreciated this ray of sunshine in these dark days.

Diphtheria, a Once Vanquished Killer of Children, Is Resurgent

Excellent reporting by @stephanienolen.bsky.social on the resurgence of #Diphteria in displaced populations, with a focus on #Somalia. The resurgence of this infectious disease is happening globally due to declining vaccination rates.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/h...

"Treating baby wraps with a mosquito repellent shows promising protection against a top killer of children."

Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.

Diphtheria, a Once Vanquished Killer of Children, Is Resurgent

Diphtheria, a Once Vanquished Killer of Children, Is Resurgent.
A Somali hospital ward packed with gasping children shows how war, climate and mistrust of vaccines is fueling the disease’s return, by @stephanienolen.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/h... via @nytimes.com #GlobalHealth

Diphtheria, a Once Vanquished Killer of Children, Is Resurgent

Measles is back

Whooping cough is back

Now, diphtheria is staging a return with large outbreaks now in Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Chad — countries with civil wars or large populations of refugees where vaccination coverage is low...

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/h... @stephanienolen.bsky.social

In Fight Against Malaria, an Unexpected — and Snuggly — Shield

And now for something totally unexpected: some good news!

Turns out you can make big, big strides in protecting kids from malaria using the lowest possible, cuddliest piece of technology. (open link) www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/h...

A Somali Hospital Closed After U.S. Aid Cuts. Fired Employees Reopened It Without Pay.

Yet another starting example highlighting that countries and communities continue to suffer as foreign aid depletes, first with US cuts and then by other developed countries. Thanks for your relentless reporting on this topic @stephanienolen.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/h...

A Somali Hospital Closed After U.S. Aid Cuts. Fired Employees Reopened It Without Pay.

When US aid ended earlier this year, a Somali maternity hospital had to fire staff + close. But not everyone got the news. When one woman arrived in late stage labor + gave birth outside the locked gate, the staff came back to work. They're still working for free. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/h...

“The World Food Programme said that starting next month, it would be forced to reduce the number of people who receive emergency food assistance in Somalia to just 350,000, down from 1.1 million in August — fewer than one in every 10 people who are in need of food aid for survival.”

America’s Retreat From Aid Is Devastating Somalia’s Health System

America’s Retreat From Aid Is Devastating Somalia’s Health System

Hunger and the diseases that stalk small children have surged in Somalia after the U.S. slashed its aid to the country. @stephanienolen.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/h...

‘You Could Treat a Child for a Few Dollars.’ Now Those Clinics Are Gone.

U.S. aid was about $500 million a year, over the past decade, for a country battling crippling drought and brutal insurgencies. So far the Trump administration has approved $15 million. I saw the impact, in the lives of the women I met, and their very sick children.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/h...

‘You Could Treat a Child for a Few Dollars.’ Now Those Clinics Are Gone.

I reported recently from Somalia, as part of our ongoing effort to document the effect of the major cuts to U.S. foreign assistance.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/h...