Health + Medicine – The Conversation

How food assistance programs can feed families and nourish their dignity

Joslyn Brenton, Ithaca College; Alyssa Tindall, Ursinus College, and Senbagam Virudachalam, University of Pennsylvania

People sitting on large concrete steps in an urban setting

We created health guidelines for fighting loneliness - here’s what we recommend

Daniel P. Aldrich, Northeastern University and Kiffer George Card, Simon Fraser University

Off-label use of COVID-19 vaccines was once discouraged but has become common amid new guidelines

Shannon Fyfe, Washington and Lee University and Elizabeth Lanphier, University of Cincinnati

Close-up of someone getting a shot in their arm.

Making GLP-1 weight loss drugs cheaper isn’t enough to address America’s obesity problem – here’s why

David B. Sarwer, Temple University

GLP-1 text spelled out in clouds in a blue sky

Vice President Dick Cheney’s life followed the arc of the biggest breakthroughs in cardiovascular medicine

William Cornwell, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Three-dimensional concept of a human heart on an electrocardiogram background.

Florida residents’ anxiety is linked to social media use and varies with age, new study shows

Stephen Neely, University of South Florida and Kaila Witkowski, Florida Atlantic University

woman looking at her phone with a furrowed brow

News in context

SNAP benefits have been cut and disrupted – causing more kids to go without enough healthy food and harming child development

Jenalee Doom, University of Denver

What’s a ‘black box’ warning? A pharmacologist explains how these labels protect patients

C. Michael White, University of Connecticut

A pharmacist speaks with an older customer about her prescription.

National 211 hotline calls for food assistance quadrupled in a matter of days, a magnitude typically seen during disasters

Matthew W. Kreuter, Washington University in St. Louis and Rachel Garg, Washington University in St. Louis

Adult volunteers load potatoes into bags at a food distribution center.

HIV knows no borders, and the Trump administration’s new strategy leave Americans vulnerable – an HIV-prevention expert explains

Robin Lin Miller, Michigan State University

Health Policy

A man walking on a sidewalk wipes his forehead on a hot day.

Want to make America healthy again? Stop fueling climate change

Jonathan Levy, Boston University; Howard Frumkin, University of Washington; Jonathan Patz, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Vijay Limaye, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Community health centers provide care for 1 in 10 Americans, but funding cuts threaten their survival

Jennifer Spinghart, University of South Carolina

Health care practitioner conducting a checkup on a baby being held by the parents.

Canada loses its official ‘measles-free’ status – and the US will follow soon, as vaccination rates fall

Kathryn H. Jacobsen, University of Richmond

Young child with measles rash on their face

Zombies, jiangshi, draugrs, revenants − monster lore is filled with metaphors for public health

Tom Duszynski, Indiana University

How the government shutdown is hitting the health care system – and what the battle over ACA subsidies means

Simon F. Haeder, The Ohio State University

House Democrats walk down the steps of the U.S. Capitol Building

Healthy lifestyles

Don’t stress out about overeating during the holidays – a dietitian explains how a day of indulgence won’t harm your overall health

Bryn Beeder, Miami University

Overhead shot of people eating at a table laden with food, including a turkey and a pie

Why your late teens and early 20s are crucial times for lifelong heart health

Jewel Scott, University of South Carolina

Woman taking her blood pressure while on a video call with doctor

Antioxidants help stave off a host of health problems – but figuring out how much you’re getting can be tricky

Nathaniel Johnson, University of North Dakota

A wide variety of fruits and vegetables on a table, including watermelons, plums and tomatoes.

Don’t let food poisoning crash your Thanksgiving dinner

Lisa Cuchara, Quinnipiac University

A Thanksgiving feast, including a roast turkey with stuffing, pies and roasted vegetables.

Reproductive health

I treat menopause and its symptoms, and hormone replacement therapy can help – here’s the science behind the FDA’s decision to remove warnings

Genevieve Hofmann, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Back pain during pregnancy is often dismissed as a passing discomfort − a nurse explains why it should be taken seriously and treated

Julie Vignato, University of Iowa

Pregnant African American woman sitting on the end of a bed, holding her back as if in pain.

Fetal autopsies could help prevent stillbirths, but too often they are used to blame mothers for pregnancy loss

Jill Lens, University of Iowa

A naked newborn baby sleeping on its side on a soft off-white blanket

3 years after abortion rights were overturned, contraception access is at risk

Cynthia H. Chuang, Penn State and Carol S. Weisman, Penn State

Rear view of a woman taking a pregnancy test at home

How abortion laws focusing on fetal viability miss the mark on women’s experiences

Katrina Kimport, University of California, San Francisco and Tracy A. Weitz, American University

A couple looks anxiously at an ultrasound screen.

COVID-19

Scanning electron micrograph image of immune cells attached to cancer cells, against a purple background.

COVID-19 mRNA vaccines could unlock the next revolution in cancer treatment – new research

Adam Grippin, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Christiano Marconi, University of Florida

COVID-19 vaccines for kids are mired in uncertainty amid conflicting federal guidance

David Higgins, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Children stick their heads out of a stopped yellow school bus and waving.

5 years on, true counts of COVID-19 deaths remain elusive − and research is hobbled by lack of data

Dylan Thomas Doyle, University of Colorado Boulder

A wall painted with hearts of varying sizes, with a person leaning against it, looking forlorn.

5 years of COVID-19 underscore value of coordinated efforts to manage disease – while CDC, NIH and WHO face threats to their ability to respond to a crisis

Katherine A. Foss, Middle Tennessee State University

Inside a white tent, doctors wearing masks test a patient for COVID-19.

5 ways schools have shifted in 5 years since COVID-19

Rachel Besharat Mann, Wesleyan University and Gravity Goldberg, Wesleyan University

Four green pop up tents are arranged in a classroom with students seated inside them.

Caregiving

Americans are unprepared for the expensive and complex process of aging – a geriatrician explains how they can start planning

Kahli Zietlow, University of Michigan

A man touches foreheads with his elderly relative

Why does your doctor seem so rushed and dismissive? That bedside manner may be the result of the health care system

Marisha Burden, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Busy-looking doctors huddling around the administrative desk.

Doctors are joining unions in a bid to improve working conditions and raise wages in a stressful health care system

Patrick Aguilar, Washington University in St. Louis

A female doctor waves a megaphone aloft while standing among a group of doctors outside a hospital.

Colorado has one of the nation’s highest suicide rates − an ER doctor explains how to bring it down

Emmy Betz, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

A man's hand is on the back on another man in a yellow sweatshirt.

Mental health

A senior woman patient smiles and holds her hand across her chest as a nurse places her hand on the woman's shoulder.

How to keep dementia from robbing your loved ones of their sense of personhood – tips for caregivers

R. Amanda Cooper, University of Connecticut

Why you can salvage moldy cheese but never spoiled meat − a toxicologist advises on what to watch out for

Brad Reisfeld, Colorado State University

Woman smelling strawberries from a very crowded fridge.

People abused by intimate partners have worse asthma – but researchers are still untangling the reasons behind this surprising link

Anne P. DePrince, University of Denver and Eileen Wang, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Young woman holding her hands to her chest and stomach as if in pain.

Yes, ADHD diagnoses are rising, but that doesn’t mean it’s overdiagnosed

Carol Mathews, University of Florida and Stephen V. Faraone, SUNY Upstate Medical University

Young child sitting at a table and looking up toward the sky as if daydreaming.

Navigating mental illness in the workplace can be tricky, but employees are entitled to accommodations

Julie Wolfe, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

woman's reflection in laptop shows her closing her eyes and massaging her temples

Mind and body

woman resting under a blanket surrounded by tissues, medication and a hot drink

Recent studies prove the ancient practice of nasal irrigation is effective at fighting the common cold

Mary J. Scourboutakos, Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University

FDA recall of blood pressure pills due to cancer-causing contaminant may point to higher safety risks in older generic drugs

C. Michael White, University of Connecticut

Atorvastatin recall may affect hundreds of thousands of patients – and reflects FDA’s troubles inspecting medicines manufactured overseas

C. Michael White, University of Connecticut

An orange pill bottle with a label that says atorvastatin next to a small metal tray containing pills.

Flu season has arrived – and so have updated flu vaccines

Libby Richards, Purdue University

A sign advertising flu shots on the counter of a pharmacy

How pollution and the microbiome interact with Tregs, the immune system regulators whose discovery was honored with the Nobel Prize

Prakash Nagarkatti, University of South Carolina and Mitzi Nagarkatti, University of South Carolina

A blue-gloved hand holding a test vial of blood with a sticker that reads 'Regulatory T cell'

Technology in health care

Focused sound energy holds promise for treating cancer, Alzheimer’s and other diseases

Richard J. Price, University of Virginia

Illustration of glowing circles entering a tunnel of concentric circles

How 3D printing is personalizing health care

Anne Schmitz, University of Wisconsin-Stout and Daniel Freedman, University of Wisconsin-Stout

a girl with brightly colored prosthetic hands walks beside a woman pushing a baby in a stroller

Are you one of the millions about to have cataract surgery? Here’s what ophthalmologists say you need to know

Allan Steigleman, University of Florida and Elizabeth M. Hofmeister, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Several companies are testing brain implants – why is there so much attention swirling around Neuralink? Two professors unpack the ethical issues

Nancy S. Jecker, University of Washington and Andrew Ko, University of Washington

Brightly colored threads in the outline of a brain shape float against a dark background with constellation-like patterns.

Research insights

Strict school vaccine mandates work, and parents don’t game the system − new research

Y. Tony Yang, George Washington University; Anthony Bald, California State University, Fullerton , and Samantha Gold, Cornell University

A group of kindergarten children sit on a rug while their teacher reads to them

Protein powders and shakes contain high amounts of lead, new report says – a pharmacologist explains the data

C. Michael White, University of Connecticut

Businesswoman preparing a protein shake in her kitchen before heading to work

Seasonal allergies may increase suicide risk – new research

Shooshan Danagoulian, Wayne State University

Person sitting at a table with a tissue box, with tissues covering their face.

Why chromium is considered an essential nutrient, despite having no proven health benefits

Neil Marsh, University of Michigan

Illustration of fork with the tip of its tines melting against a pink background