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Shanta Bai is a "debt bondage" worker in the sugarcane fields of India — accepting payment in advance for a certain number of days. Record heat has made it more difficult to put in hours, and drought has hampered the harvest. Earlier this year, she was held captive in a chicken coop with her husband and several others who were told they had not put in enough time to repay their debts. Ruchi Kumar for NPR hide caption

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Ruchi Kumar for NPR

Zone G in a quarantine center turned housing units. The complex is divided into nine zones, named after letters from A to L, a design that was meant to make quarantine management convenient. Inside each window of the building is a 190-square-foot studio, equipped with a bed, a sofa and a bathroom. Aowen Cao/NPR hide caption

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Aowen Cao/NPR

A year after lifting COVID rules, China is turning quarantine centers into apartments

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A young bison calf with its herd at Bull Hollow, Okla., on Sept. 27, 2022. American bison, or buffalo, have bounced back from their near extinction due to commercial hunting in the 1800s. Many tribes are participating in their restoration. Audrey Jackson/AP hide caption

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Audrey Jackson/AP

Why do doctors still use pagers?

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"I'm ecstatic. It's a blessing that they approved this therapy," said Victoria Gray, the first person in the U.S. to undergo CRISPR gene-editing for sickle cell, of the Food and Drug Administration's decision. Orlando Gili hide caption

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Orlando Gili

FDA approves first gene-editing treatment for human illness

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This is the vaginal ring that releases the antiretroviral drug dapivirine to ward off HIV infection. The ring is now going into wider distribution in sub-Saharan Africa, where girls and young women age 15 to 24 accounted for more than 77% of new HIV infections in 2022, according to UNAIDS. AFP/Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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AFP/Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images

Esther Lau testifies on June 20 before the California Senate Judiciary Committee in support of Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo's bill allowing teens with Medi-Cal coverage to seek therapy without parental approval. Senate of the State of California hide caption

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Senate of the State of California

California expands insurance access for teens seeking therapy on their own

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A male Greater Honeyguide in Mozambique's Niassa Special Reserve. Claire Spottiswoode hide caption

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Claire Spottiswoode

Looking for honey? This African bird will heed your call and take you there

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Activists protest the prices of prescription drug outside the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., in October 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption

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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

A counselor, right, navigates a client through the Medicare signup process at the Aging and Disability Resource Center of Broward County in Sunrise, Florida. Medicare open enrollment season ends Dec. 7. Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/TNS via Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/TNS via Getty Images

A 2017 meeting of a rotating savings club formed in a village near Lake Victoria soon after every adult there was chosen to receive a monthly through GiveDirectly's experiment. The clubs have enabled recipients to convert their grants into lump sum payments: Each month the members put $10 into the communual pot — for a total of $100 — and a different person takes it home. Nichole Sobecki for NPR hide caption

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Nichole Sobecki for NPR

It's one of the biggest experiments in fighting global poverty. Now the results are in

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Stage actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) reclines in a scene from an unnamed theater production. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Hulton Archive/Getty Images

A fibrous path 'twixt heart and brain may make you swoon

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Kate Cox and her husband were expecting their third child when they got a devastating fetal diagnosis last week. She is also having problems threatening her own health. A judge said Thursday she has permission to end her pregnancy. Cox family hide caption

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Cox family

Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi speaks to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon during the State Opening of Parliament on December 6 in Wellington, New Zealand. Luxon has called for the abolishment of tough anti-smoking measures — and the Māori Health Authority. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images hide caption

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Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

Lina Lyte Plioplyte is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker. Carrie Lynn Schreck/MSNBC Films hide caption

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Carrie Lynn Schreck/MSNBC Films

'Periodical' filmmaker wants to talk about PMS, menopause and the tampon tax

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An artistic rendering of deep brain stimulation. Scientists are studying this approach to see if it can treat cognitive impairment that can arise after a traumatic brain injury and other conditions. Andrew Janson / Butson Lab, University of Utah / NIH Image Gallery hide caption

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Andrew Janson / Butson Lab, University of Utah / NIH Image Gallery

A little electric stimulation in just the right spot may bolster a damaged brain

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