Health

Just this month, two young, high-profile public figures announced that they have cancer. First, Olivia Munn, 43, disclosed that she was treated for breast cancer after catching it early. Days later, Kate Middleton, 42, announced she has been receiving treatment for an unspecified form of cancer. Their diagnoses spotlight a troubling trend: both in the U.S. and around the world, cancer diagnoses are growing more common among adults younger than 50. By 2030, one recent study estimated, the number of these early-onset cancer diagnoses could increase by roughly 30% worldwide—and the number of people who die from their conditions could rise by about 20%.“The most striking finding in the last decade has been this rise in incidence rates among young adults,” says Ahmedin Jemal, senior vice presid...

March 25, 2024 9:45 PM EDTPuerto Rico declared a public health emergency over dengue, a mosquito-borne illness that has surged throughout the Americas this year.Read More: Dengue Fever Is Soaring Worldwide. Here’s What to Know—and How to Stay ProtectedHealth officials in Puerto Rico have identified 549 cases of dengue across the U.S. territory of 3.2 million people, with almost half the cases concentrated in the capital of San Juan. Also known as “breakbone fever,” dengue can cause headaches, soreness, fever and rashes—and, in extreme cases, death. “This year, cases of dengue have surpassed historical records,” Health Secretary Carlos Mellado said in a statement. The emergency declaration has no immediate impact on travel to or from Puerto Rico, a popular holiday destination, but it will m...

In the 1800s, a French Canadian named Alexis St. Martin was shot in the stomach while at a fur trading post, when someone’s musket accidentally fired at close range. He survived, but his injuries resulted in a hole in his stomach wall. This provided an early window—literally—into how our emotions and mental health affect the gut. Through careful experiments, the surgeon William Beaumont discovered that St. Martin’s mental state had direct physiological consequences on his stomach’s activity: when he felt irritable, for example, his digestion slowed. Somehow, his emotional states were manifest in the specific, local biology of his gut.Most people have experienced the gut consequences of their emotional feelings. Nerves before an exam might lead you to feel nauseous or even vomit. Profound s...

Maybe you heard somewhere that pickles are a "superfood," and dutifully added them to your shopping list. Unfortunately, you may reach for the wrong jar, because many pickles at supermarkets aren’t especially good for you.Scientists have made progress in separating fact from fiction when it comes to health claims about pickles: both the cucumber kind, and other types of pickled vegetables. We asked experts how to find the healthiest kinds of pickles, which benefits are backed by research, and the right amount to eat every day.Pick the best pickleMost of what you find at the grocery store—in both the refrigerated and room-temperature sections—are “quick pickles,” meaning the cucumbers (or other pickled vegetables) are acidified in a vinegar-based broth for no more than a few days. Some of t...

The first reported person in the world has received a genetically modified pig kidney. A transplant surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital successfully performed the groundbreaking, four-hour procedure on Richard Slayman, a 62-year-old manager at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, on March 16. His doctors report he is doing well and expect him to leave the hospital soon.The surgery was the culmination of years of work transplanting kidneys from a specially bred group of pigs—which had been genetically modified to more closely resemble those of humans—into primates. Encouraged by those results, the team at Mass General Brigham—the health system to which the hospital belongs—was confident it was time to test the pig organs in the first patient.Slayman had received a human kid...

There are more than 400,000 species of plants on Earth and at least half are suitable for human consumption—yet you’ll only find a small portion at the grocery store. That’s part of the reason why Sam Thayer loves foraging. He started collecting wild food from the woods when he was a kid, and he still has cravings for delicacies he can’t buy. “Last year I gathered about 30 gallons of serviceberries”—blueberry-like fruits that grow on trees and shrubs—“and I make fruit leather and eat it as a snack year-round,” says Thayer, a naturalist who lives in Northwest Wisconsin and has authored an array of field guides. “I have about 8 pounds of Wapato, which is a tuber, in my pantry, and I grind it up into hot cereal for breakfast. I love it, and you can’t buy it.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true...

Nothing kills the vibe on a first (or third) date like discovering that the person across from you—who had seemed so full of potential—chews with his mouth open or wears sunglasses indoors or has his ex’s initials tattooed on his bicep.Cue instant repulsion, or what’s called “the ick.” The term, which is used liberally on social-media platforms like TikTok and among reality TV contestants, describes an abrupt feeling of disgust about someone you were previously attracted to, usually during the early stages of dating. “It feels like there’s this random, very sudden turn-off,” says Naomi Bernstein, a clinical psychologist in Dallas who co-hosts the Oversharing podcast. “It’s visceral and automatic, more a reaction in the body than a rational thought.” The entire person—usually a man—becomes ...

In a video released by Kensington Palace, Kate Middleton revealed why she has been out of the public eye for months: she was diagnosed with cancer and has been receiving preventative chemotherapy. She did not say what type of cancer she has or the stage of her disease, but she began receiving preventative chemotherapy in late February, according to a statement from Kensington Palace.“In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous,” the Princess of Wales said in the video. “The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present.”“My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment.”Wh...

When Katie Coleman was diagnosed at age 29 with a softball-sized tumor on her right kidney and a host of smaller growths in her liver, she was stunned. That astonishment quickly gave way to feelings of hopelessness. “I felt like my entire world was being pulled out from under me,” Coleman, now 32, says. “I went into a very dark spiral.”Though her surgeon removed all the tumors, it wasn’t clear what her long- or even short- term prognosis was. What she found on the internet just freaked her out more. “One night I spiraled so deep I didn’t know whether life was worth living anymore.”Coleman knew she needed help dealing with her depression and anxiety, but she didn’t form a strong connection with any of the therapists she met with. “I never found one who really understood what it was like to ...

The firing of Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter and close friend after allegations of illegal gambling and theft from the Japanese baseball player is shining renewed attention on compulsive gambling.The team fired interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, who has been Ohtani’s constant companion since the star came to the U.S in 2017, on Wednesday after reports about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well over $1 million.The law firm representing Ohtani said in a statement that he had been the victim of “massive theft.”Mizuhara told ESPN this week that Ohtani knew nothing of his illegal wagers on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football. Mizuhara said Ohtani was an innocent victim of his friend’s gambling addiction.What is problem gambling?The Natio...