Every year since 2021, more than 100,000 people in the U.S. have died from a drug overdose, primarily involving opioids such as fentanyl. And fentanyl has increasingly been found in other drugs, including methamphetamine and cocaine, which has contributed to these overdose deaths.
Despite a recent decline in drug overdose deaths in the U.S., fatalities involving multiple substances—known as polysubstance overdoses—have been on the rise.
Yolanda Pierson’s son, Wayland Jr., was diagnosed with a rare eye disease at age five, and in 2017 she took him to a hospital specializing in eye care. Over three years and after eight surgeries and 21 office visits, the family amassed a significant amount of debt. Subsequent referrals of that debt to collections, lawsuits, and disruptions of care all led to Pierson advocating for families struggling with medical debt—and supporting passage of landmark legislation in Minnesota, with reforms that share the same overarching recommendations as those from The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Scientific innovation is fundamental to the health and well-being of communities across the globe. From developing novel strategies for treating cancer to exploring cutting-edge methods to prevent disease, biomedical researchers are laying the groundwork for lifesaving treatments and strategies for healthy living.
Each year, suicide and drug- and alcohol-related deaths account for more than 200,000 lives lost and hundreds of billions of dollars in medical, economic, and societal costs. Multiple studies show that, compared with the general population, people who use alcohol or drugs, or have substance use disorders (SUD), are at increased risk of dying by suicide.
In one of the world’s most urbanized coastal environments—the waters around Hong Kong—pressure from human activities is threatening the vulnerable Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, known locally as the Chinese white dolphin.
It’s not exactly news that Americans are mistrustful of their federal government. What you may have heard less about is that trust in some historically respected institutions has also taken a hit in the post-pandemic years.
A growing share of residents ages 65 and older are continuing to work beyond the traditional retirement age as the effects of poverty and limited income place a strain on older adults nationwide—and these issues are especially heightened in cities.
The nationwide housing shortage has driven rents up more in low-income neighborhoods than in the U.S. overall, but in areas that have recently added large amounts of housing, rents have fallen the most in lower-income neighborhoods with older buildings, according to an analysis of publicly available housing data.
In cities throughout the United States, residential rents and homelessness are soaring while downtown office space sits vacant, hinting of a solution that has mostly remained out of reach.
Fiscal stress in the U.S.’ largest cities is widespread. In a five-month span from December 2024 to April 2025, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington all experienced credit rating downgrades.
With disease screening and new drugs, Dr. Alexander Bick hopes to slow or even halt blood cancer progression. A decade ago, the 2022 Pew-Stewart Scholar for Cancer Research and a team of scientists discovered clonal hematopoiesis, a precancerous condition that forms due to age-related mutations in blood cells that can lead to blood cancer. This discovery is paving the way for researchers to detect blood cancer even before it develops.
