Health

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday authorized the first menthol-flavored electronic cigarettes for adult smokers, the government’s strongest indication yet that vaping flavors can reduce the harms of traditional tobacco smoking.The FDA said it authorized four menthol e-cigarettes from NJOY, the vaping brand recently acquired by tobacco giant Altria, which also makes Marlboro cigarettes.The decision lends new credibility to vaping companies’ longstanding argument that their products can help blunt the toll of smoking, which is blamed for 480,000 U.S. deaths annually due to cancer, lung disease and heart disease.But parent groups and anti-tobacco advocates are certain to be disappointed by the decision after years of pushing against the availability of flavors like menthol, whi...

A few years ago, personal trainer Anna Maltby cut back on exercise as she juggled work with being a new mother. Like some of her clients, she suddenly lacked the time and energy to work out the way she used to. She could manage no more than several 15-minute workouts per week, “but I actually felt like I got my minimum effective dose for that stage of my life,” she says. Many of us feel like we’re too busy for exercise. Others actively avoid it. But research shows that doing at least some exercise is important for longer, healthier lives without dementia, heart disease, diabetes, or cancer. Other advantages are reaped right away: we’re happier and more energetic on a daily basis.  So, just how little exercise can you get away with, while still getting these benefits? Here’s how low you ca...

June 20, 2024 8:36 PM EDTNew York — Some 580,000 glass coffee mugs are being recalled across the U.S. after dozens of burn and laceration injuries were reported by consumers.According to a Thursday notice from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the now-recalled JoyJolt-branded “Declan Single Wall Glass Coffee Mugs” can crack or break when filled with hot liquids.To date, the CPSC added, there have been 103 incidents of these glasses breaking at the base — resulting in 56 injuries. That includes 35 reports of burns across the body from spilled hot liquids and 21 cuts, with seven requiring medical attention like surgery and stitches.The 16-ounce coffee mugs, distributed by New York-based MM Products Inc., were sold online at the company's JoyJolt website as well as Amazon.com from ...

A small new trial published in the journal Nature Medicine describes what would be two firsts for Parkinson's disease, if they pan out: a diagnostic test and a potential immune-based treatment that works similarly to a vaccine. The research is still early, but researchers are excited by the prospect of advances for a disease that lacks good diagnostics and treatments.The target of both innovations is alpha synuclein, a protein that takes an abnormal form in Parkinson's patients—aggregating in their brains and destroying nerve cells involved in motor and some cognitive functions. While researchers have long known that these proteins are involved in the disease, finding ways to measure and target them has not been easy. The (potential) Parkinson's vaccineThe Florida-based biotech company Vax...

The Midwest and East Coast are in the middle of a heat dome, with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees. Heat waves are getting hotter as global warming leads to more extreme weather, and 2023 was the hottest year on record. Some scientists say 2024 is poised to be even hotter overall.As temperatures rise, so do concerns about heat-related illnesses. According to the National Weather Service, heat kills more people in the U.S. than hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes combined. Doctors are also still learning about how poor sleep quality on hot days can increase symptoms of anxiety and depression.Here's a brief guide to preventing heat exhaustion and heat stroke— and what cities around the U.S. are doing to help residents stay safe.Why is heat so dangerous?It's easy to see the sun's effects on t...

As much as people enjoy the warm summer months, high temperatures can be hard on the human body. “As mammals, we live close to the thermal edge of life and death,” says Craig Heller, a physiologist and biology professor at Stanford University. “We run at 37°C [98.6°F], and only a couple of degrees above that puts us into heat illness and heat stroke.”Not every part of the body is the same temperature, however, “and blood flow determines where the heat is distributed,” Heller says.What part of the body cools down the fastest? And can we use that knowledge to cool down more quickly when it’s hot outside?Focus on your coreIn order to prevent the negative health effects of high temperatures, scientists say the most important goal is to reduce your core temperature. The most effective way to do...

As the weather starts heating up this week, you may be tempted to go outside—but with the outdoors comes the possibility of getting bitten by mosquitoes. And if you find yourself getting a lot of mosquito bites, it could be because of the way you smell or the colors of the clothes you are wearing, recent research has found.“If you think you are a mosquito magnet, it’s probably the case,” Jeffrey Riffell, a biology professor at the University of Washington who studies mosquito sensory systems, said in a video on the university’s website released earlier this month. “Some individuals are bitten way more than others.”Riffell has been working with a team of researchers to try to better understand how mosquitoes find food—male mosquitoes drink nectar from flowers to get sugar, while females dri...

Shilletha Curtis has logged thousands of miles hiking the world’s most challenging trails—and turning into a sweaty, sticky mess along the way. The dry heat of the Continental Divide Trail, which stretches from Mexico to Canada, is vivid in her memory. But the absolute most scorching? That would be the Appalachian Trail, a nearly 2,200-mile trek from Georgia to Maine. When she spent eight months hiking it a few years ago, “It was so hot,” she remembers. “You’re knee-deep in mud, there’s black flies biting you, and you’re just sweating.”And sweating, and sweating. The sweat dripped; it beaded. It pooled in her shoes and saturated her clothes. It exuded from every part of her body. Yet it didn’t phase her. Instead, Curtis, who’s the author of the new book Pack Light: A Journey To Find Myself...

Medical bills may soon be banned from credit reports under a new rule proposed Tuesday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). While lenders have been restricted from obtaining or using medical information in their credit decisions under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, exceptions in federal legislation allowed lenders to continue doing so. The proposed change would effectively close that loophole by barring credit reporting companies from disclosing medical debts to lenders, and prevent lenders from using that debt to make lending decisions. "The CFPB is seeking to end the senseless practice of weaponizing the credit reporting system to coerce patients into paying medical bills that they do not owe,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in a Tuesday press release. "Me...

Danish officials have issued a recall on three types of spicy instant noodle products from a popular South Korean brand—claiming that the amount of peppery flavor is too intense and even poses a risk of “acute poisoning.”The three instant ramen flavors are made by the company Samyang Foods: Hot Chicken Stew, Buldak 3x Spicy & Hot Chicken, and 2x Spicy & Hot Chicken, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration said in a post on its website Tuesday. Denmark’s food and safety agency encouraged the public to return those flavors to the store or throw them away.The agency said it was recalling the noodles because children and young people have been daring each other on social media platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram, to eat spicy noodles.“The challenge consists in tolerating the ...