Research
Adult acne is real, but there are ways to treat it. Here’s what to know
NEW YORK | As a teenager, Gillian Maegan Montalbo’s pimples weren’t too bad — just a few bumps on her forehead and nose. But as an adult in the workforce, the breakouts returned and intensified. The acne on her cheeks and chin made her hesitant to look her bosses in the eye. “It really took […]
Here’s why experts say now is an ideal time to protect yourself from flu
It’s October and time for flu shots. Medical experts urge getting a flu vaccination soon, before influenza starts spreading widely — and to get up to date on protection against other fall respiratory viruses, too. Updated COVID-19 shots are available now, plus shots for people especially vulnerable to another winter risk called RSV. While these […]
Telehealth companies keep exposing their customers’ medical data. What should they do?
WASHINGTON | The appeal of telehealth is easy to explain: Instead of calling a doctor, booking an appointment and hoping to eventually get a prescription, you can log onto an app or website and get approved for a new medication within minutes. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, scores of online health services have launched with the […]
Prenatal appointments and no place to pump: Navigating pregnancy and postpartum needs at work
NEW YORK | The ambulance dispatch station where Heydi Fernandez waited for calls as an emergency medical technician didn’t have a private place to pump breast milk when she returned to work three months after giving birth to her son. So she expressed her milk sitting at a dining table when none of her colleagues […]
Want to lower your risk of dementia? It doesn’t involve a blood test
WASHINGTON | New blood tests that might predict Alzheimer’s years before symptoms begin may sound tantalizing for people who worry about later-in-life dementia. But doctors say they aren’t quite ready yet — and besides, you don’t need a test before trying to lower your risk. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared four blood […]
Endometriosis can elude diagnosis for years. What to know about the disease and new ways to find it
When Zoë Armstrong got an ultrasound report showing signs of endometriosis, she called her mom and cried. After years of suffering and seeking help from doctors, she finally had an answer. “To see it on paper, I was like, ‘I’m not crazy,’” the 31-year-old recalled. “I very much knew what I was feeling in my […]
Scientists investigate if a herpes virus is behind the mass deaths of sardines off South Africa
JOHANNESBURG | Scientists in South Africa are investigating why masses of sardines have washed up dead or dying along parts of the country’s west and south coast — and if a herpes virus detected in the fish is responsible. The mass mortality of sardines this month has so far stumped the country’s Department of Forestry, […]
Have trouble sleeping in a new place? Most do because of the first-night effect
The first night in a new place is always the same for Robinson Leoni: He takes longer to fall asleep, wakes up more often during the night and gets less sleep overall. At home he averages seven hours. The first night away — with or without earplugs and regardless of the bed’s quality — his […]
Ancient mummy DNA provides scientific evidence that colonization brought smallpox to the Americas
NEW YORK | Ancient mummy DNA recovered in Chile has yielded the firmest evidence yet that European colonization brought smallpox to the Americas. Smallpox was one of the deadliest diseases in human history before it was eradicated in 1980, largely thanks to vaccination. For centuries, the virus had killed about one-third of the people it […]
Study suggests the threat of mold-associated illnesses may be underappreciated
NEW YORK | A first-of-its-kind U.S. study suggests invasive mold infections may be an underappreciated — and potentially deadly — threat. The researchers detected about 450 cases in Atlanta-area hospitals over five years. About a third of the patients died in the hospital. The findings, published this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control […]