The people's voice of reason

Health


Sorted by date  Results 26 - 34 of 34

Page Up

  • Summer's arrival underscores the importance of skin protection

    Stacker, Raman Madan for Northwell Health|May 21, 2025

    Summer's arrival underscores the importance of skin protection With the rise in temperatures and UV index as we approach summer’s arrival, protecting our skin from the sun's harmful rays becomes paramount. A staggering 90% of nonmelanoma skin cancers are linked to ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure, a risk amplified during the sunny spring and summer months when we spend more time outdoors. Beyond the critical concern of skin cancer and potential eye damage, sun protection also safeguards a...

  • Extreme heat can age you as fast as a smoking habit

    Stacker, Zoya Teirstein for Grist|Apr 1, 2025

    Two white men in their 60s live hundreds of miles away from each other, one in Arizona and the other in Washington state. They are the same age and have identical socioeconomic backgrounds. They also have similar habits and are in roughly the same physical shape. But the man in Arizona is aging more quickly than the man in Washington — 14 months faster, to be exact. Neither man smokes or drinks. Both exercise regularly. So why is the subject living in the desert Southwest more than a year o...

  • For families with sick kids, the rise of vaccine hesitancy could be life-threatening

    Stacker, Barbara Rodriguez for The 19th|Apr 1, 2025

    Colleen Thomas' son was born missing a part of his immune system. The Indiana mother didn't know that immediately, but there were signs. The little boy was always sick—constant congestion and respiratory infections. Thomas had to hold a breathing mask over her son's face as he slept and wheezed. "That was just for a cold," Thomas recalled. "It was horrible." Thomas' son was 3 when he was diagnosed with an immunodeficiency that made him susceptible to severe illness if he was exposed to r...

  • Everything you need to know about bird flu

    Stacker, Amber Dance for Knowable Magazine|Apr 1, 2025

    In early 2024, the bird influenza that had been spreading across the globe for nearly three decades did something wholly unexpected: It showed up in dairy cows in the Texas Panhandle. A dangerous bird flu, in other words, was suddenly circulating in mammals—mammals with which people have ongoing, extensive contact. "Holy cow," says Thomas Friedrich, a virologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. "This is how pandemics start." This bird flu, which scientists call highly pathogenic avi...

  • In an age of social isolation, here's the surprising way education shapes friendships

    Stacker, Kayla Zhu|Apr 1, 2025

    Romantic love may come and go, but finding the Thelma to your Louise is forever. Friends—besties, squads, workplace buddies, college roommates—play a unique role in our lives. They're companions and confidants; they share our stories and know us better than we know ourselves. Whether they show up in real life or drop the perfect response in the group chat, having a friend who just gets it is priceless. Still, in a nation grappling with social isolation and a loneliness public health crisis, a t...

  • How prevalent is the use of IVF, and what does the future of access to it look like?

    Stacker, Ali Hickerson, Data Work By Elena Cox|Apr 1, 2025

    At 34, Natalie, a doctor from Oregon, was struggling to build the family she longed for. At times, her sense of helplessness was overwhelming. "All my friends had kids; they were all having their baby showers and their first birthdays. And you know, that stereotype about babies is everywhere. You couldn't get away from it," she told Stacker. After trying to conceive for a year, Natalie turned to in vitro fertilization. However, her choices were limited since her insurance covered just three...

  • Women report more hair loss than men at every age-is stress at play?

    Stacker, Melissa Lavigne-Delville for Hers|Mar 21, 2025

    Four generations of women—Gen Zs, Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers—all report more hair thinning and hair loss than their male counterparts, according to a 2025 Hers study. This finding not only contradicts the common perception that men experience hair loss more than women, but it also runs counter to how much the hair loss industry is investing in the market by gender. The male segment is estimated to have a dominant share (61.1%) of the multibillion dollar global hair growth sup...

  • Does alcohol shorten-or lengthen-your life? Longevity experts weigh in

    Stacker, Sydney Bueckert|Dec 1, 2024

    Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, Ph.D.'s "What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain, and Health" episode on his podcast Huberman Lab has garnered over 4 million views. For good reason: Everyone is looking for validation that their post-work Friday cocktail (and, let's be honest, nightly glass or two of wine) habit is justified. Or at least not terrible for them. A 2023 study offers one more scientific reason to take the edge off. Researchers found that light to moderate consumption of alcohol (one...

  • The far-reaching consequences of loneliness in America

    Stacker, Eliza Siegel|Dec 1, 2024

    "It's hard to put a price tag, if you will, on the amount of human suffering that people are experiencing right now," Dr. Vivek Murthy, U.S. surgeon general, told All Things Considered in 2022, shortly after issuing an advisory that sounded the alarm on the epidemic of loneliness in the U.S. Human connection keeps us healthy, but many Americans report feeling lonely and isolated. According to an October 2023 Pew Research poll, 8% of Americans have no close friends. As political divisions...