New Study Finds No Brain Injuries Among ‘ Havana Syndrome ’ Patients
WASHINGTON — An array of advanced tests found no brain injuries or degeneration among U.S. diplomats and other government employees who suffer mysterious health problems once dubbed “Havana syndrome, ” researchers reported Monday. The National Institutes of Health’s nearly five-year study offers no explanation for symptoms including headaches, balance problems and difficulties with thinking and sleep that were first reported in Cuba in 2016 and later by hundreds of American personnel in multiple countries. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] But it did contradict some earlier finding...
Source: TIME: Health - March 18, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Lauran Neergaard/AP Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate wire Source Type: news

EPA Bans Asbestos, a Deadly Carcinogen Still in Use Decades After a Partial Ban Was Enacted
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced a comprehensive ban on asbestos, a carcinogen that is still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads and other products and that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year. The final rule marks a major expansion of EPA regulation under a landmark 2016 law that overhauled regulations governing tens of thousands of toxic chemicals in everyday products, from household cleaners to clothing and furniture. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The new rule would ban chrysotile asbestos, the only ongoing use of asbestos in the United Sta...
Source: TIME: Health - March 18, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Matthew Daly/AP Tags: Uncategorized wire Source Type: news

The Most Exciting New Advances in Managing COPD
The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease, or GOLD, is the world’s preeminent COPD research and advocacy organization. Founded in 1997 in collaboration with the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization, one of GOLD’s stated aims is to “improve prevention and treatment of this lung disease.” In its 2023 global strategy report, GOLD changed its definition of COPD—which many in the profession viewed as overdue. Specifically, the new definition emphasized the heterogeneity of COPD in terms of its underlying drivers and long-term disease course. [ti...
Source: TIME: Health - March 18, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Markham Heid Tags: Uncategorized freelance Source Type: news

How to Stop Procrastinating at Bedtime and Actually Go to Sleep
Once I finally tuck my kids into bed, clean the kitchen, and shoot off my last work email of the night, it’s “me” time. It’s also, cruelly, bedtime. I know I should sleep, but instead I stay up way too late binge-watching Love Is Blind or mindlessly scrolling on Reddit. I need rest, but I push it off. This is my only uninterrupted time, and I want to maximize it. This phenomenon is so universal that there’s a scientific name for it: “bedtime procrastination.” According to the researchers who coined it in a 2014 study, bedtime procrastination is “failing to go to bed at th...
Source: TIME: Health - March 18, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jamie Friedlander Serrano Tags: Uncategorized Evergreen freelance healthscienceclimate Source Type: news

Why Massive Numbers of Farmed Salmon Are Dying
The popularity of farmed Atlantic salmon on dinner tables worldwide has been a disaster for the king of fish. A new study determined that 865 million farmed salmon have died in mass die-offs in the last decade. The scientists blame the deaths on several factors, from ocean warming caused by climate change to the aquaculture industry’s overuse of antibiotics and pesticides and its aggressive attempts to increase production. Beyond the staggering number of dead fish, the findings raise questions about the future of growing salmon in cages on the ocean—and aquaculture in general. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”tr...
Source: TIME: Health - March 16, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins Tags: Uncategorized freelance Sustainability Source Type: news

EPA Tightens Limits on a Cancer-Causing Chemical Used to Sterilize Medical Equipment
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency is imposing stricter limits on a chemical used to sterilize medical equipment after finding a higher-than-expected cancer risk at facilities that use ethylene oxide to clean billions of devices including catheters and syringes. A rule finalized Thursday will reduce ethylene oxide emissions by about 90% by targeting nearly 90 commercial sterilization facilities across the country, the EPA said. The companies will also have to test for the antimicrobial chemical in the air and make sure their pollution controls are working properly. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”tru...
Source: TIME: Health - March 15, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Matthew Daly/AP Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate wire Source Type: news

Marriage Rates Are Heating Up Again Post-Pandemic
NEW YORK — U.S. marriages have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels with nearly 2.1 million in 2022. That’s a 4% increase from the year before. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the data Friday, but has not released marriage data for last year. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] In 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 1.7 million U.S. weddings—the lowest number recorded since 1963. The pandemic threw many marriage plans into disarray, with communities ordering people to stay at home and banning large gatherings to limit the spread of COVID-19. Rea...
Source: TIME: Health - March 15, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Mike Stobbe/AP Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate wire Source Type: news

Why Conspiracies Theories —From Kate Middleton to the Moon Landings—Are So Seductive
If you’re like millions of people worldwide, Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, is very much on your mind this week. That’s because of a royal kerfuffle that erupted recently, when Middleton—who had not been seen in public since January when she underwent abdominal surgery—released a cheery Mother’s Day photo of herself and her children. The next day, the Associated Press pulled down the photo because it turned out to have been digitally altered. Other news agencies followed suit, and Kensington Palace issued an apology signed by Kate. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Predi...
Source: TIME: Health - March 15, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jeffrey Kluger Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate Source Type: news

A 5-Minute Quiz Revealed Olivia Munn ’ s Breast Cancer Risk. You Can Take It Too
Olivia Munn recently revealed in an Instagram post that a free, easy tool saved her life. Her ob-gyn used a questionnaire designed to calculate a person’s risk of breast cancer, which revealed Munn had an increased chance of developing the disease. That led to further tests and an early diagnosis of Luminal B cancer in both breasts and quick treatment. The Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool, which her doctor used, isn’t new. It doesn’t involve any high-tech gadgets, doesn’t require a doctor, and doesn’t even cost anything. Experts say more women should know about it and complete it after th...
Source: TIME: Health - March 14, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Time Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate Source Type: news

Why Zero Stress Shouldn ’t Be Your Goal
How many times have you heard that squashing stress is crucial for good health? Stress has become such a wellness buzzword that the quest to get rid of it can feel, well, stressful. But stress isn’t always the enemy. In fact, research suggests some is actually good for you, with potential benefits ranging from enhanced brain function to healthier aging. In recent decades, some people have grown overly fearful of stress, concluding that it’s “the most horrible thing that can happen to you,” says Daniela Kaufer, a professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley. But &ldqu...
Source: TIME: Health - March 14, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jamie Ducharme Tags: Uncategorized Evergreen healthscienceclimate Source Type: news

A Blood Test for Colon Cancer Shows Promise
A blood test for colon cancer performed well in a study published Wednesday, offering a new kind of screening for a leading cause of cancer deaths. The test looks for DNA fragments shed by tumor cells and precancerous growths. It’s already for sale in the U.S. for $895, but has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and most insurers do not cover it. The maker of the test, Guardant Health, anticipates an FDA decision this year. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] In the study, the test caught 83% of the cancers but very few of the precancerous growths found by colonoscopy, the gold stan...
Source: TIME: Health - March 14, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Carla K. Johnson/AP Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate wire Source Type: news

Paul Alexander, Polio Patient With Iron Lung and Positive Outlook, Dies at 78
DALLAS — Confined to an iron lung after contracting polio as a child, Paul Alexander managed to train himself to breathe on his own for part of the day, earned a law degree, wrote a book about his life, built a big following on social media and inspired people around the globe with his positive outlook. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Alexander died Monday at the age of 78 at a Dallas hospital, said Daniel Spinks, a longtime friend. He said Alexander had recently been hospitalized after being diagnosed with COVID-19 but he did not know the cause of death. Read More: To Fight COVID-19, Ford Is Plan...
Source: TIME: Health - March 14, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jamie Stengle / AP Tags: Uncategorized News Desk overnight wire Source Type: news

A Deadly Amoeba Is Linked to Neti Pots. Here ’ s What to Know
NEW YORK — For years, scientists have known people who use neti pots can become infected with a brain-eating amoeba if they use the wrong kind of water. On Wednesday, researchers linked a second kind of deadly amoeba to nasal rinsing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report that for the first time connects Acanthamoeba infections to neti pots and other nasal rinsing devices. Officials also renewed their warning that extremely rare, but potentially deadly, consequences can come from flushing nasal passages with common tap water. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “We...
Source: TIME: Health - March 13, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Mike Stobbe/AP Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate wire Source Type: news

Olivia Munn Shares Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Reveals She Had a Double Mastectomy
Olivia Munn has revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023 and had a double mastectomy. Munn shared the health update in an Instagram post that included a statement about receiving the diagnosis and photos from her treatment in the last year. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “In the past ten months, I have had four surgeries, so many days spent in bed I can’t even count and have learned more about cancer, cancer treatment and hormones than I ever could have imagined,” she wrote. “Surprisingly, I’ve only cried twice. I guess I haven’t felt like there was ti...
Source: TIME: Health - March 13, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Moises Mendez II Tags: Uncategorized culturepod Source Type: news

Why Online Shopping Is Tanking Your Mental Health
Recently, I wanted a new pair of leather sandals. I narrowed my search down to a few favorite pairs, then compared prices before scouring the reviews. An hour later, I was still pondering which pair was the cutest, how much money I should spend, and whether the company’s return policy was good enough, should I change my mind. My brain was reeling. What used to be a pleasant experience at a physical store—shoe-buying—was now majorly stressing me out, alone in front of my screen. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Going shopping used to be known as “retail therapy.” Indeed, researc...
Source: TIME: Health - March 13, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jamie Friedlander Serrano Tags: Uncategorized Evergreen freelance healthscienceclimate Source Type: news