TimeMagazine A year into an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), researchers have halted an experimental drug trial there because early results appear so promising. The drugs will be made available to more patients in the DRC, hopefully saving lives as the current outbreak continues. But the decision to end the trial … Read more
The public and experts alike have blamed social media for a long list of mental health issues, including rising rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal behavior among America’s youth. But research on the subject is conflicting. One study published this spring, for example, found that social media use likely doesn’t have a terribly large impact … Read more
(KINSHASA, Congo) — Doctors in Congo say that two Ebola patients who were treated with new anti-Ebola drugs in Goma in eastern Congo have been declared “cured.” Doctors fighting Ebola quickly used the case on Tuesday to press the message that people with Ebola can recover if they seek proper care. Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director … Read more
The first-ever human trial of a genital-chlamydia vaccine suggests that it is safe and effective, according to a new study published in the Lancet. U.S. sexually transmitted illness diagnoses have reached new highs for the past four years in a row, and chlamydia is responsible for the bulk of those infections: 1.7 million cases were … Read more
Last February, Weight Watchers set off a firestorm when it announced it would offer its weight-loss program, for free, to teens ages 13 to 17. It angered many parents, as well as eating-disorders experts who felt it could give rise to obsessive and unhealthy behaviors in adolescents. WW—as the company rebranded itself last September—refused to … Read more
Here’s why it’s best to remove false teeth before surgery: You just might swallow them. A medical journal is reporting the case of a 72-year-old British man whose partial dentures apparently got stuck in his throat during surgery and weren’t discovered for eight days. The man went to the emergency room because he was having … Read more
Severe cases of West Nile virus were 25% more common than usual in 2018, and transmission patterns appeared to shift to new regions, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). West Nile is a mosquito-borne virus that is usually asymptomatic, but causes side effects including fever, body aches, … Read more
More and more studies are showing how regular exercise benefits the brain, and in particular, the aging brain. What’s less clear is how exactly exercise counters the cognitive decline that comes with aging and diseases like Alzheimer’s. To find out, for nearly a decade, Ozioma Okonkwo, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin … Read more
Dehydration is a drag on human performance. It can cause fatigue and sap endurance among athletes, according to a 2018 study in the journal Frontiers in Physiology. Even mild dehydration can interfere with a person’s mood or ability to concentrate. Water is cheap and healthy. And drinking H2O is an effective way for most people … Read more
Doctors have gotten much better at detecting and treating breast cancer early. Drug and chemotherapy regimens to control tumors have gotten so effective, in fact, that in some cases, surgery is no longer necessary. In up to 30% of cases of early-stage breast cancer treated before surgery, doctors can’t find evidence of cancer cells in … Read more