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With the undeniable march of climate change, the danger of catastrophic wildfires is increasing around the globe, with such fires occurring in Australia, Canada, Chile, Indonesia, Portugal, and Russia, as well as the United States, over the past decade. Large forest fires in the western United States have been nearly five times as frequent on an annual basis as they were 50 years ago. ...When catastrophic wildfires either come near or hit populated urban areas, as has recently occurred in both northern and southern California, large numbers of people are exposed to relatively high levels of smoke (see images). Wildfire smoke contains carbon dioxide, water vapor, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, complex hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, trace minerals, and several thousand other compounds. (John Balmes, 3/8)

Women’s progress in America has been inextricably tied to the availability of birth control. Landmark Supreme Court decisions in 1965 and 1972 recognizing a constitutional right to contraception made it more likely that women went to college, entered the work force and found economic stability. That’s all because they were better able to choose when, or whether, to have children. (3/8)

As opioid usage has worsened in the United States, more and more jurisdictions have acted to increase access to naloxone. Not only first responders but also friends, family and even librarians have started to administer it. These state laws were passed at different times, giving researchers Jennifer Doleac and Anita Mukherjee a sort of a natural experiment: They could look at what happened to overdoses in areas that liberalized naloxone access and compare the trends there to places that hadn’t changed their laws. Their results are grim, to say the least: “We find that broadening Naloxone access led to more opioid-related emergency room visits and more opioid-related theft, with no reduction in opioid-related mortality.” (Megan McArdle, 3/8)

After recent school shootings, especially the appalling attack at a Florida high school that killed and injured so many students and staff, it's only natural and right for local authorities throughout the nation to consider how they might best protect the children and teenagers in their charge. ...Do these terrifying events call for metal detectors at the entrances to every school, or for all campuses to be securely fenced so that only students and teachers can enter? Fortunately, Los Angeles city and educational leaders aren't jumping up to demand immediate, draconian measures, though they're also wisely acknowledging that new safety protocols may be needed. No one can pretend any longer that such tragedies only happen somewhere else. (3/8)

Federal restrictions on research are a major reason for the weak base of scientific evidence to support claims about gun policy. A recent study by David Stark and Nigam Shah in the Journal of the American Medical Association compiled the 30 leading causes of death in the U.S. and compared them on the basis of how much federal research funding each receives. Gun violence received far less funding than nearly all other causes of death. Gun violence research received only 1.6% of the funding received by studies on other causes of death with similar mortality rates. (Andrew Morral, 3/8)

In exceptional cases, suicide might be considered a rational choice of a competent person, even in the presence of psychiatric illness. But unless a truly rigorous prospective review system is in place for such cases, countries should not legalize the practice. (Joris Vandenberghe, 3/8)

Physicians in the Netherlands and Belgium have helped a small but growing number of patients with mental illness but no terminal condition to end their lives. In some U.S. states, attempts to extend physician-assisted death to psychiatric patients appear inevitable. (Franklin G. Miller and Paul S. Appelbaum, 3/5)

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. The HPV vaccine, when administered to boys and girls, can prevent transmission of the virus and reduce the risk of related cancers. (Emily Zentner, 3/8)

President Trump insists that there’s a firm link between video game violence and recent school shootings. But over 45 years after Pong first popularized interactive entertainment, this theory has yet to be definitively proven. Moreover, with entire generations of healthy, well-adjusted kids having grown up alongside interactive entertainment, one must also wonder. Why are we still asking if video games are safe for children — and why must we continually revisit the debate? (Scott Steinberg, 3/8)

These are desperate times for the nation’s rural hospitals, squeezed by rising costs, a shortage of doctors and a limited patient population made up of people who often are older, sicker, poorer and less likely to be insured than those in urban areas. Rural hospitals are having trouble keeping their doors open. Some 1,825 of the nation’s 4,840 community hospitals are in rural areas. Since 2010, 82 of them have closed, three of them in Missouri. The National Rural Health Association says 700 more could close within the next 10 years. A handful of rural hospitals have sought bankruptcy protection. It’s even tougher in states like Missouri that opted not to expand their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act. (3/8)

The new law would outlaw marriage for anyone 16 or younger and allow 17-year-olds to marry with approval of parents and a district judge who would consider any history of violence, crime or sexual offenses and also the minor’s maturity and self-sufficiency. Such reviews should ensure that no one is coerced into a marriage, by parents or prospective spouse. (3/8)

Last week saw an announcement that a proposed merger between UNC Healthcare System and Carolinas Healthcare System (now Atrium) seems unlikely to proceed. So while we should take some comfort that we did not experience even further consolidation of the health care market in the state, we need to learn from this experience. (Kevin A. Schulman, 3/8)