Michael D. Shaw is a biochemist and freelance writer. A graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, and a protégé of the late Willard Libby, winner of the 1960 Nobel Prize in chemistry, Shaw also did postgraduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Based in Virginia, he covers technology, health care and entrepreneurship, among other topics.

Astronauts sometimes face the gravest threats after they return to Earth. Facing depression, alcoholism ...

• The opioid epidemic has become a worldwide crisis, with more than 130 people dying every day from an overdose in the U.S. alone

• It’s not just the addict who’s affected. It’s their family and friends as well – and communities

• Universal Ibogaine Inc. has a plan to curb the number of opioid-related deaths through its plant-based treatment approach

North America has been ravaged by the opioid crisis ...