Health & Medicine
Through the study and use of genetics, we can identify measures that could lead to the improvement of human health and wellness. These methods and procedures aim to prevent years of chronic disease and thousands of dollars in health care costs, and provide families and communities with knowledge of how to live healthier.
Below is the complete archive of related articles sorted by date.
Podcast: Bad science in the headlines—Epidemiologist Geoffrey Kabat explains how to spot flawed research on Google News
A just-published study found that consuming two or more sugar-sweetened beverages in a day is linked to a doubling of ...
Viewpoint: Do people gain weight because of genes or personal choices? Here’s why the answer is so complex
More than 40 percent of adults in the United States qualify as obese, and an elevated body mass index has ...
Video: Dogs are being trained to sniff out COVID-19 at large public events
University of Pennsylvania researchers are training dogs to sniff out coronavirus, a skill that could be useful in controlling spread ...
Ancient poop could save lives: ‘Exquisitely preserved’ lost microbes discovered in 2,000-year old feces could help battle chronic illnesses
Previous research has made a connection between preindustrial diets, greater diversity in the gut microbiome and lower rates of chronic ...
Can you stall Alzheimer’s and memory loss? Nutrient-dense Mediterranean diet could help, mounting evidence suggests
Meals inspired by traditional foods from the sunny Mediterranean, a new study found, may lower your risk for dementia by ...
Assisant Health Secretary Rachel Levine sets trail-blazing path: How the highest-ranking openly transgender person to serve in the federal government has navigated her first months in office
Dr. [Rachel] Levine, a former Pennsylvania health secretary, is now President Biden’s assistant secretary for health, the first openly transgender ...
What might happen if viruses jump from pet dogs to humans? That worrisome future is already here
[S]cientists are reporting that they have discovered what may be the latest coronavirus to jump from animals into people. And ...
Rapidly-spreading COVID-19 variant currently ravaging India makes first appearance in the US — in children with no recent travel history
Scientists [at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found] two cases of the variant first detected in India using ...
Reach for ice cream when you’re feeling down? Sugar-laden, high-fat foods are comforting, but least likely to benefit mental health
[O]ver the years, a growing body of research has provided intriguing hints about the ways in which foods may affect ...
200,000-women study concludes that ovarian cancer screening with ultrasounds or blood tests does not reduce early deaths
In the UK, 4,000 women die from ovarian cancer each year. It is not usually diagnosed until it is at ...
Science Facts and Fallacies Podcast: Is coffee healthy or not? Public health officials encourage vaccine skepticism? Why childbirth is so hard
Coffee is nutritious, according to the latest study. Also, coffee is linked to cancer, new research finds. How do we ...
Vaccine conspiracy theories hold wide sway in government-skeptical Latino community
Since the pandemic began, Latinos like my dad, a Mexican immigrant, have been hit with a torrent of false claims ...
What’s the likelihood of getting reinfected by COVID-19? Who’s most vulnerable?
Coronavirus reinfections are relatively rare, but it's more common for people 65 and older to get infected more than once, ...
‘A woman’s blood could signal that birth is approaching’: Test in development uses biomarkers to predict delivery date
At the moment, women are given a due date that is 40 weeks from the first day of their last ...
How prevalent are microplastics in our environment? How harmful are they?
From limited surveys of microplastics in the air, water, salt and seafood, children and adults might ingest anywhere from dozens ...
‘The most terrifying thing’: For an unlucky few, even mild COVID can lead to psychosis. We still don’t know why
[I]n mid-December, after a mild case of Covid-19, [49-year-old former marine Ivan Agerton] was seized by a kind of psychosis ...
Infographic: Trending green and going great — Every state in the US seeing decreased cases of COVID
The U.S. averaged fewer than 40,000 new cases per day over the past week. That’s a 21% improvement over the ...
Genetically modified mosquitoes are now hatching in the Florida Keys. Scientists and residents concerned about Zika and other viral diseases couldn’t be more pleased. Here’s why
[M]osquito eggs placed in the Florida Keys are expected to hatch tens of thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes, a result ...
Impact of false negative COVID tests: Some patients have Long Covid symptoms but have been denied medical coverage
Kristin Novotny once led an active life, with regular CrossFit workouts and football in the front yard with her children ...
Impact of the pandemic: US birth rate falls to lowest level in almost 50 years
New provisional data released [May 5] by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the birthrate in 2020 dropped ...
Why do some people cheat? The science of infidelity
There are many reasons why people cheat, and the patterns are more complex than common stereotypes suggest. A fascinating new ...
People with compromised immune systems are likeliest evolutionary source of rogue COVID variants
A coronavirus typically gains mutations on a slow-but-steady pace of about two per month. But this variant, called B.1.1.7, had ...
Sleepy during the day? Struggle with sleep apnea? Both are genetically linked to telomeres, parts of your chromosomes that reflect biological age
A predilection for afternoon naps does not necessarily mean you need to worry about your own mortality, but the scientific ...
COVID-19 variants pose new threats but our antibodies are evolving to fight them
The emergence of “variants of concern” has raised questions about our long-term immunity to the coronavirus. Will the antibodies we make ...
5 reasons why we might never reach COVID herd immunity
Long-term prospects for the pandemic probably include COVID-19 becoming an endemic disease, much like influenza. But in the near term, ...
Photographs: As COVID crisis surges in India, tragedy spreads
[India now] accounts for almost half of new [COVID] cases worldwide. Experts say a combination of factors gave rise to ...
‘Super smellers’: 4 ways some people are hard-wired to sniff out even the subtlest aromas
Do certain smells make you feel uncomfortable, even nauseous? Or is your nose so good that you can detect even ...
