Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed

AP: The Vietnam War Ended 50 Years Ago, But The Battle With Agent Orange Continues 
The Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975, when the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to Communist forces. But millions of people still face daily battles with its chemical legacy. Nguyen Thanh Hai, 34, is one of millions with disabilities linked to Agent Orange. Born with severe developmental challenges, it’s a struggle for him to complete tasks others take for granted: buttoning the blue shirt he wears to a special school in Da Nang, practicing the alphabet, drawing shapes or forming simple sentences. (Ghosal and Dinh, 4/28)

The Washington Post: The Children Of ‘Operation Babylift,’ Now 50, Reckon With Their Past 
They are turning 50 now, the babies laid out on airplane seats, six to a row, held and fed by strangers who took turns caring for them as they took artillery fire and fled the bombs and booms of Saigon. They were part of Operation Babylift, an effort led by the American military to rescue babies from Vietnamese orphanages ahead of the fall of Saigon 50 years ago this month. “This is the least we can do, and we will do much, much more,” President Gerald Ford said on April 3, 1975. (Dvorak, 4/27)

The New York Times: Can Metformin Actually Slow the Aging Process?
The research on metformin and human longevity is scant, but that hasn’t stopped some people from experimenting with it. (Ravindranath, 5/1)

Politico: AI And ‘Super Agers’
Imagine if your doctor could use artificial intelligence to assess your health and predict your risk of disease. It could mean the ability, potentially, to change the future if lifestyle changes or drugs could stave it off. It’s coming, cardiologist and scientist Eric Topol argues in his forthcoming book “Super Agers.” Topol, who leads the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California, lays out what he calls an evidence-based approach to living healthier for longer. (Paun, 4/29)

Newsweek: How Weight Loss Drugs Like Ozempic And Mounjaro Are Eating Away At Body Positivity
Samhita Mukhopadhyay wasn't expecting shame to come from a photo. The longtime feminist writer and former Teen Vogue editor had just moderated a panel at a media conference. She was dressed in a skirt and printed top she felt good in—until she saw a candid image someone had posted online. "It was devastating," she told Newsweek. Mukhopadhyay took Mounjaro, an antidiabetic medication also used for weight loss, and saw dramatic results—losing 15 percent of her body weight over 18 months. She was feeling physically better, sleeping more soundly and even considering a wardrobe overhaul. But the cost of the drug forced her to stop. (Mesa, 4/30)

The New York Times: How Nearly A Century Of Happiness Research Led To One Big Finding
Decades of wellness studies have identified a formula for happiness, but you won’t figure it out alone. (Dominus, 5/1)

The New York Times: Humans’ Wounds Heal Much More Slowly Than Other Mammals’ 
A study published on Wednesday in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, scientists compared the healing rates of humans, chimpanzees, monkeys and mice. They found that human wounds took more than twice as long to heal as wounds of any of the other mammals. Our slow healing may be a result of an evolutionary trade-off we made long ago, when we shed fur in favor of naked, sweaty skin that keeps us cool. (Preston, 4/29)