Experts Warn of Growing Risks as Bird Flu Cases Rise

A Canadian teen's severe bird flu infection has highlighted growing concerns about the H5N1 virus, commonly known as bird flu, which has seen a steady rise in human cases across the U.S.

According to a news release, the 13-year-old, who was hospitalized in November, had asthma and obesity but was otherwise in good health before catching H5...

Fast, Easy Nasal Swab Helps Diagnose Asthma Type in Kids

Not sure what’s causing your child’s asthma?

A new quick-and-easy nasal swab test for kids can diagnose the specific immune system drivers behind their asthma, potentially opening the door to better treatments, researchers say.

The test diagnoses a child’s asthma subtype, also called an endotype.

“Becaus...

Every Cigarette Smoked Could Cost You 22 Minutes of Life, Research Says

Considering a New Year’s resolution to quit smoking? New research might provide all the motivation you need: Each cigarette could shorten your life by up to 22 minutes, researchers say.

The findings, published Dec. 29, 2024, in the journal Addiction, were based on mortality data from British smokers and suggest that smoking ...

Trees and Student Test Scores: What's the Link?

Tree-lined streets and lush public parks appear to provide city schoolkids a brain boost.

Chicago students’ test scores suffered when an invasive insect wiped out half the city’s ash trees, researchers reported in the journal Global Environmental Change.

“We found that test scores in areas with ash borer in...

Phone App May Help Treat Opioid Use Disorder, Data Suggests

A smartphone app appears to help people battle opioid use disorder (OUD).

People with OUD had 35% fewer days of opioid use when they were handed the app alongside medications for opioid use disorder like methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone, researchers note in a new study published recently in JAMA Network Open.

App user...

How do GLP-1s Boost Weight Loss, Heart Health?

Weight loss tops many folks’ list of New Years resolutions, and lots of people are turning to cutting-edge weight-loss drugs like Ozempic to help them drop excess pounds.

These drugs, called glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), work in several different ways to help people lose weight, gain control over their blood ...