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A moped injury left Ed Levien vulnerable and grateful to strangers for their help. That led him to his second, and most meaningful, act — as an EMT. (Melnick, 8/1)

Chris Kolstad had enough of people grabbing leftovers from the dumpster behind his pizza shop and eating them. He posted on Facebook telling them to stop. Just ask for a pizza, he said. No one should be eating from the garbage. “Leave me a note,” Kolstad wrote on Facebook, “and we will find a way to leave any extras or mistakes out back so you have something to eat without going through the trash.” Kolstad’s act of kindness went viral, and comments from customers and strangers poured in offering to help. So in addition to giving away dozens of pizzas, he began raising money — more than $3,000 so far — for Minnesota food banks, pantries and shelters. Minnesota news channel WCCO first reported the story. (Melnick, 8/7)

IIn a one-room studio tucked down an alley in Burbank, four dancers spin in unison around an orange-walled room. Two on foot and two in wheelchairs. It’s late and it’s hot — the AC is busted. But their unrelenting positivity and persistence are in full force as they prepare for a music video shoot. They’re members of Infinite Flow Dance, which employs disabled and non-disabled dancers of diverse identities. The company also represents an array of non-apparent disabilities including chronic illness, deafness, blindness and neurodivergence. (Burtner, 8/6)

A patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has become the first person in the world to control an iPad entirely by thought, according to neurotech company Synchron. This means Mark Jackson, 65, from western Pennsylvania, can control the product without using his hands or voice commands. Instead, an implantable brain-computer interface (BCI) translates his thoughts into actions. (Kekatos, 8/8)

A drug used for asthma, Zileuton, has been found to treat food allergies "shockingly well", in a breakthrough that could offer new protection for millions affected. This is the discovery of Northwestern Medicine scientists, who have revealed the already FDA-approved drug nearly eliminated life-threatening allergic reactions to food allergens in mice. (Millington, 8/7)

Innovative diagnostic tests — some newly developed, others currently in the works — are using menstrual blood to look for biomarkers of endometriosis, as well as other reproductive conditions like uterine fibroids. These tests are as simple as inserting a tampon or putting a smart pad in underwear, allowing women to get answers quickly and painlessly. Qvin’s Q-Pad, which is FDA-cleared and has been dubbed “a pad with a purpose,” features an embedded and removable strip to collect and analyze period blood. And the NextGen Jane Smart Tampon, which is not yet cleared by the FDA, is a diagnostic tampon that collects menstrual blood to look for biomarkers of reproductive health conditions. (Miller, 8/4)