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During 32 years as a physician, Daniel Federman has used his stethoscope to listen to patients’ hearts and lungs. But a recent study at the West Haven, Conn., veterans’ hospital where Dr. Federman works left him aghast. After seeing an image of the bacteria accumulated on his stethoscope, he admits, “I was appalled… The basic fact is that I don’t recall cleaning my stethoscope”—ever. (Lagnado, 9/8)

Surgeons turned down Terra Goudge for the liver transplant that was her only shot at surviving a rare cancer. Her tumor was too advanced, they said — even though Goudge had a friend ready to donate, no matter those odds. "I have a living donor — I'm not taking away from anyone. I'm trying to save my own life," she pleaded. Finally, the Los Angeles woman found a hospital on the other side of the country that let the pair try. (Neergaard, 9/10)

A new, fast-acting flu drug showed strong potential but also some surprising and even concerning results in two newly published clinical trials. The drug, baloxavir marboxil, cut the time people were sick with flu symptoms by a little over a day. And it dramatically reduced the amount of viruses that people with infections had in their upper respiratory tracts, suggesting they might be less likely to infect others through coughs and sneezes. (Branswell, 9/10)

Dr. Leslie Norins is willing to hand over $1 million of his own money to anyone who can clarify something: Is Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia worldwide, caused by a germ? By "germ" he means microbes like bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. In other words, Norins, a physician turned publisher, wants to know if Alzheimer's is infectious. (Stetka, 9/9)

Infection can set off a chain reaction that quickly causes death. The human immune system is a wonder, an intricately constructed network of organs, cells and biological processes designed to ward off infection and disease. (Blakemore, 9/8)

As deals struck by health care behemoths go, this was one of the stranger ones. On one side, you had a medical device giant, with a phalanx of PR professionals carefully guarding the company’s image. On the other, you had a consultant who didn’t sound much like a consultant: “I am synthetic life form ‘Yoko K.,’ assembled in the US with components made in Japan,” one of her websites explained. “I am designed to assume the role of an ‘electronic musician.’ I am one of many secret agents sent to this time to plant magical thinking in people through the use of ‘pre-22nd century nostalgia Mars pop music.’” (Boodman, 9/10)

The U.S. is in the middle of a steep and sustained increase in sexually transmitted diseases. So how are public health officials responding? In northwest Oregon's Clackamas County, health officials have decided to ask anyone who comes in with an STD who their sexual partners are — and then track those partners down. (Foden-Vencil, 9/8)

Christina Fenn and her husband, Brian, have driven an hour and a half to this quaint coffee shop in Monroe, Conn. Fenn sips her morning latte, skittishly glancing out the window at the parking lot. “I’m nervous,” she says, grabbing her husband’s arm. “Nervous-excited, though.” He smiles back. She’s wearing green, her lucky color. Green shirt and green jacket, green bracelets, green socks. She feels as if she needs all the luck she can get today. (Page, 9/8)

Politics is polarizing enough, especially when it's easier than ever to find a group of like-minded friends online. The antidote, then, seems obvious: pop the bubble. Step outside the echo chamber. Reach out for other points of view. For example, to combat the rampant spread of hate speech, harassment and conspiracy theories, Twitter started "experimenting with features that would promote alternative viewpoints in Twitter’s timeline to address misinformation and reduce 'echo chambers,' " The Post recently reported. (Johnson, 9/7)

Yet another reason to stop smoking: It may reduce your risk for dementia. Korean researchers studied 46,140 men, 60 and older, following them for an average of eight years with periodic health examinations. Over the course of the study, 1,644 people were given a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. (Bakalar, 9/7)

On Jan. 2, 2016, Elena Pauly traveled to Cuba with her boyfriend, Dan, on their first vacation abroad after three years together. The day before they were set to return home, Dan, dove into the shallow end of the resort pool headfirst and was immediately paralyzed. When the couple returned to their home in Vancouver, B.C., Dan, a stonemason, confronted a new life. Pauly discovered a new normal. “I would cook for him, shower him, I would turn off the lights for him, then close the door and I would just sit in my car and cry,” Pauly, 31, told The Washington Post. “I felt so alone.” From that experience, came a new group called WAGS of SCI: Wives and girlfriends of spinal cord injury. (Ferguson, 9/10)

When a 53-year-old woman showed up at the hospital, a mass that first appeared in her uterus many years ago had grown to 61 pounds — roughly the weight of an average-size second grader. Singaporean doctors have successfully removed the abnormally large mass also known as a uterine fibroid or leiomyoma, a tumor that appears in the uterus during a woman's childbearing age and grows gradually over the years if left untreated. A uterine fibroid, a common pelvic tumor, is not cancerous, but it could be life-threatening if it grows exponentially and deforms surrounding organs, according to a report on the case recently published by the medical journal BMJ Case Reports. (Phillips, 9/8)

In convenience stores spawned by the wellness wave, kombucha slushies take the place of corn-syrupy treats infused with red dye, tortilla chips are made of cassava flour instead of corn and there are vegan ice cream bars and a dizzying selection of organic produce and craft beer on tap. Traditional corner markets have been notching up their healthier options in recent years, selling pre-made salads, nut milks and organic yogurts. (9/9)

While training for a half-marathon last fall, Janet Sherman, 57, started noticing pain in her right leg and left foot. A diagnosis of a quadriceps strain and plantar fasciitis led to shoe inserts and cross-training. Before long, the Wyoming-based teacher was “just good enough” to get back to training, and so she did, although she opted to drop down to a shorter 10K race distance. (Loudin, 9/9)