The Pulse – February 14, 2014

The workplace wellness movement promises benefits to both employees and employers by encouraging and rewarding healthy lifestyle choices. But critics, and some new data, question the effectiveness of these programs. We look at the practical application of workplace wellness, the ethics of tying our health to our paychecks, and how healthy behaviors can go viral in the office.

Undocumented immigrants living in the United States face numerous challenges in their daily lives, from finding and keeping jobs to the constant stress that a misstep could send them back to the home they left. In the first installment of a two-part series, we look at a group that’s trying to understand and effectively treat the mental health of those living in the shadows of the American dream.

With Valentine’s Day upon us, we discuss the challenges of creating and maintaining a healthy sex life with Philadelphia-based clinical sexologist Susana Mayer.

Scientists at Penn State have created tiny engines, called “nanomotors,” small enough to fit inside a human cell. The breakthrough is considered an important early step towards the goal of developing microscopic robots that couple be released into the body to hunt down and treat illness.

In this week’s Patient Files, in which listeners tell us their stories of illness, recovery, and healing, choreographer Brian Sanders describes the hip replacement surgery that reaffirmed his choice of a life and career based in movement.

For those stories and more, click on the audio icon above.