COVID-19, flu and RSV shots − an epidemiologist explains why all three matter this fall

The Food and Drug Administration approved and granted emergency use authorization on Aug. 22, 2024, for the newest, updated version of the COVID-19 vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and…

The Nuremberg Code isn’t just for prosecuting Nazis − its principles have shaped medical ethics to this day

After World War II, Nuremberg, Germany, was the site of trials of Nazi officials charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Nuremberg trials were landmarks in the development…

Mitochondria keep your brain cells alive − helping them run smoothly may protect against Parkinson’s disease

In 1817, a British physician named James Parkinson published An Essay on the Shaking Palsy, describing for the first time cases of a neurodegenerative disorder now known as Parkinson’s disease.…

Avian flu has infected dairy cows in more than a dozen states – a microbiologist explains how the virus is spreading

The current strain of avian flu, H5N1, is responsible for the culling of millions of domestic birds and has sickened more than a dozen farmworkers in 2024, most recently in…

Creative arts therapy programs can help health care workers dance, write and draw their way through burnout and on-the-job stress

Doctors and nurses seldom learn in school how to tell a family that their loved one is not going to survive. Yet health care professionals face the immense burden of…

Drinking alcohol before conceiving a child could accelerate their aging – new research in mice

The conditions within a person’s home, family and community affect their ability to stay healthy. Scientists studying these social determinants of health are trying to understand whether nature or nurture…

People with physical and mobility disabilities need to work out, but there are a lot of obstacles in their way

Although wheelchair users, visually impaired people and others with mobility and physical disabilities need consistent exercise, it’s often hard for them to work out. In many cases, they can’t get…

What links aging and disease? A growing body of research says it’s a faulty metabolism

Aging is a biological process that no one can avoid. Ideally, growing old should be a time to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Aging also has a…

Blood sugar fluctuations after eating play an important role in anxiety and depression

The proverbial “sugar high” that follows the ingestion of a sweet treat is a familiar example of the potentially positive effects of food on mood. On the flip side, feeling…

Why don’t more politicians retire? A medical anthropologist explains how the US could benefit from a mandatory retirement age

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are hardly the only examples of politicians who work well into their golden years. Members of the baby-boom generation – Americans born…