The benefits of physical fitness for kids spill over into their mental health, new research shows. Getting plenty of exercise may guard against depressive symptoms, anxiety and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a new study published April 29 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics found. And the more exercise, the better: Higher performance in cardiovascular activities, strength and…  read on >  read on >

As bird flu continues to spread among dairy cows, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday it is now testing ground beef for any presence of the virus. The agency said it is sampling ground beef bought in grocery stores in states where dairy cattle have tested positive for the virus, also known as H5N1,…  read on >  read on >

A middle-aged Seattle man collapsed in his Portland, Ore.-area hotel room, where he was staying during a business trip. He’d just tried fentanyl for the first time, and it very nearly killed him by literally destroying his brain. Inhaling fentanyl caused terrible inflammation throughout large sections of white matter in the patient’s brain, his doctors…  read on >  read on >

As the battle over abortion continues to rage in the courts and American politics, a new report estimates that one in every four U.S. women will undergo the procedure during their lifetime. The study was issued by the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization focused on sexual and reproductive health that supports access to abortion. …  read on >  read on >

H5N1 avian “bird” flu is making headlines this week, with new reports finding inactive virus detected in 1 in 5 U.S. milk samples. That means the virus is infecting mammals such as dairy cows, and now researchers report it’s turned up in a bottlenose dolphin in Florida. “We still don’t know where the dolphin got…  read on >  read on >

At major medical centers across the southeast, 1 in every 20 visits to emergency departments involve people who are homeless or face “housing insecurity,” a new U.S. study finds. Concerns of suicide was the leading medical reason bringing these types of patients to the ER and many were uninsured, said a team reporting recently in…  read on >  read on >

A long-awaited ban on menthol cigarettes has been delayed indefinitely, the Biden administration said Friday. “This rule has garnered historic attention, and the public comment period has yielded an immense amount of feedback, including from various elements of the civil rights and criminal justice movement,” U.S. Health and Human Service Secretary Xavier Becerra said in…  read on >  read on >

A blood test could help doctors spot the signs of knee osteoarthritis at least eight years before it shows up on X-rays, a new study claims. After analyzing the blood of 200 white British women, half diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis and half without, researchers discovered a small number of biomarkers distinguished the women with osteoarthritis…  read on >  read on >