Health in a Heartbeat

If you want to predict how many birthday candles you’ll be blowing out, consult the body’s crystal ball: the thymus. This long-overlooked part of the immune system was thought to...

A meat-curing agent sold in a highly potent form online is connected to a rising number of suicides around the world. In a new study from the United Kingdom, postmortem...

Some moisturizers purport to address wrinkles and brighten. Others go to war with dryness, promising dewy skin without a single visible pore. But soon there might be a new contender...

Put down the crossword puzzle and pick up the nasal spray. While those of us interested in preserving our rapier wits and steel-trap memories have doubtlessly dabbled in puzzles, conversation...

Drinking before driving is not recommended. Neither is using cannabis. Now, to the surprise of hopefully very few, research confirms what we already suspected: For drivers, using both is worse...

The brain does many things. It is the most complex machine known to us. Its billions of cells are the control center for thought, memory and body movement. It helps...

Most of us who reach adulthood would not mind shaving a few years from how our bodies feel. What if it were as easy as changing your diet for a...

It’s a standard response to injury. Twist an ankle? Break out an ice pack, or for that matter, any frozen bag of vegetables from the fridge. Even the Greek physician...

Step aside, cows. There’s a new hooved hero in town. New research published in Food Science and Nutrition points to the surprising benefits of camel’s milk in remedying a variety...

As long as smoothies have existed — roughly 45 years — people have put bananas in them. The “potato of fruits” is a relied-upon source of sweetness and starch, pairing...

Perhaps you’ve tried getting more sleep or less screentime. Maybe you’re making a concerted effort to cut down on sugar, salt and other pleasant pantry amenities. If you’re feeling exhausted...

If you believe the myth, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León discovered Florida in 1513 during a failed search for the Fountain of Youth. Scientists, however, might finally have found...

Voting makes for a healthy democracy. It also might lead to a longer life. A recent study published in the Journals of Gerontology: Series B followed about 7,700 people who...

Five, six, seven, eight. A new type of Parkinson’s treatment is making strides in Argentina: the tango. Each week, one hospital in Buenos Aires welcomes 100-plus people to participate in...

Health scientists have understood the role T cells play in the body for more than 60 years. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes [Sigh-toe-toxic T lymph-oh-sites] are part of the immune system. You...

Picture a woman in her 80s. She tells you a story about the time her family adopted a dog from the local animal shelter. It was an unseasonably cold day;...

For those of us with high cholesterol, there are two options: changing your diet, or opting for a statin. Some of us might need to do both. Though medications have...

Some days, you wake up on the right side of the bed. A new study from researchers in Canada indicates that simply feeling sharp can snowball into a day of...

For farmers, gardeners and agricultural enterprises, pesticides present a solution to the problem of a centuries-old conflict between insects and crops. World populations continue to grow, and the climate in...

While we won’t trot out the tired adage detailing how women are from Venus and men are from Mars, there is no denying differences between the two sexes. And, beyond...

Getting regular, quality sleep can be a challenge. For better or worse, there’s a thriving market of supplements to help. One of the most popular sleep supplements is magnesium, an...

Eating your fruits and vegetables is one of the easiest ways to care for your health. But new research suggests we might need to pay a little more attention to...

Despite being touted as a surefire means of adding to one’s risk of dementia, loneliness might not actually be the driver of cognitive decline we believe it to be. A...

The odds of surviving cardiac arrest drop like the setting sun as day turns to night. Cardiac arrest is always a medical emergency, regardless of the time of day. Mere...

A class of weight-loss medications known as GLP-1s has revolutionized the ongoing battle against the waistline. GLP-1s are drugs that mimic a natural gut hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1, which your...

For those who live near highways and are nearing the big 4-0, listen up. A new study from the University of Connecticut and Tufts University has found that adults over...

Chronic pain is a costly condition in the United States. Affecting one in four adults, its annual tab is estimated to be more than $722 billon paid in a combination...

A chatbot a day keeps the doctor away — or so it seems for millions of Americans, according to a new survey from the West Health-Gallup Center. The survey polled...

Look what the cat dragged in. It isn’t pretty. Our beloved pet felines, when allowed to wander outdoors, can bring home parasites and pathogens aplenty. Some of those can cause...

As kids, we all remember the phrase “eat your veggies.” Now, new research from Sweden suggests there might be a little wiggle room. The study, published in JAMA Network Open,...

A cure for neurodegenerative diseases might be frolicking through the mountains. New research from Shanghai Jiao Tong [Jyeow-tong] University identified a genetic mutation in yaks, the long-haired domesticated relatives of...

We are in the midst of a weight-loss revolution. Drugs with the active ingredients semaglutide or tirzepatide have allowed millions of people to lose significant amounts of weight. These drugs...

There are pushups, pirouettes and pumping iron. Calisthenics, curls and CrossFit. Whatever your preferred form of exercise or work-out style, there’s bound to be something that strikes your fancy. And...

Since its FDA approval in December 2017, Ozempic, an injectable semaglutide originally intended for use by those with diabetes, has taken the world of weight loss by storm. Now, as...

Of the human body’s many organs, the liver is arguably one of the hardest workers. This 3-pound whirlwind in the upper right abdomen handles 500 jobs, including filtering more than...

Kimchi, a Korean dish made of fermented vegetables like cabbage, is known for packing a welcome probiotic punch to the gut. Now, a new study published in Bioresource Technology suggests...

Throughout our lives, we encounter health information from less-than-official sources. Maybe a grandparent, or a chatty classmate. Regardless of the spokesperson, we carry these tidbits with us, ranging from partially...

Remember those “butterflies” you felt in your stomach before giving a big presentation? Or how you might trust your gut when making a decision? Increasingly, science says your brain and...

Feeling unwell? Your doctor might recommend a “green prescription.” New research from the Chinese Academy of Sciences is exploring the idea of prescribing time in botanical gardens as a source...

The first time you’re gazing at something and notice a speck that shouldn’t be there, it can be extremely disorienting. Weird, even. They are called “floaters.” Tiny dots or squiggles...

This eye medication is alive. Anyone with a corneal injury or chronic ocular surface disease knows how annoying medicated eye drops can be. It’s easy to forget that it’s time...

An American presidential campaign of the 1990s proclaimed, “It’s the economy, stupid” as its guiding slogan. It was a constant reminder that for many voters, the health of their bank...

Every time a heat wave is on the way, alerts go out, warning that high temperatures can overtax our hearts. But a new study shows that cold weather hurts our...

The human body has been fine-tuned over millions of years of evolution. Like all living things, our species adapted to the environment. Those changes to human physiology usually occurred over...

The biggest threat to your heart is invisible. Cholesterol, a term that doesn’t mean anything to you until it does, has no true visual or physical indicators. You can look...

Those of us with four-legged roommates might be sharing more than a couch with them. A new study from researchers in England mapped feline cancer genetics and found that key...

That friend of yours who starts her day with a challenging crossword puzzle might be onto something. In the late 1990s, nearly 3,000 older adults received brain training as part...

We all know that older adults face an increased risk of osteoporosis, a disease characterized by weak, brittle bones. A new study by American and Chinese researchers, however, has found...

Your understanding of aging might start with an absolute: Over the years, as our bodies and brains undergo wear and tear, we experience a gradual physical and cognitive decline. But...

Turning to chatbots for emotional support is becoming more commonplace. But new research suggests that artificial intelligence “counselors” could provide more emotional distress than clarity, all while violating the ethical...