Breast cancer survival rates higher in Medicaid expansion states, study finds
By:Nada Hassanein Women with breast cancer living in states that expanded Medicaid eligibility were less likely to die from the disease — but not everyone benefited equally, according to a recent study published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open. Researchers from Howard University, the University of Alabama, Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan, and others looked at
Financing biodiversity: Lisa Miller on investing in nature
Lisa Miller’s path into biodiversity finance grew out of an early fascination with animals, later shaped by training in zoology, museum science, and science communication in Australia.
After nearly two decades working in technology, she began asking how capital, business models, and execution could be redirected toward slowing and reversing biodiversity loss.
That question led to the creation of the Wedgetail Foundation, which blends philanthropy, investment, and direct land stewardship to support conservation and restoration in practice.
In January 2026, Lisa Miller spoke with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler about her journey, her approach to investing in nature, and what it takes to make biodiversity work endure.
Obesity: The chronic disease that isn’t treated like one
A study about weight-loss medications that was published in the British Medical Journal found that less than two years after stopping medications like Ozempic, the weight came back. All health benefits the drugs provide — lower blood pressure, improved cholesterol levels, reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease — disappeared even faster, returning to pre-treatment levels in just 1.4 years.
While the researchers were surprised how quickly the weight returned, some experts say the drugs are acting just as they would expect — a chronic disease needs chronic treatment.
Even though one in three adult South Africans live with obesity, which is associated with dozens of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease and some types of cancer, it’s still not classified as one in South Africa.
For Bhekisisa’s TV show, Health Beat, we talked to Nomathemba Chandiwana, chief scientific officer of the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation, on why we should.
