In yet another sign that bird flu is spreading widely among mammals, a new report finds more than half of cats at the first Texas dairy farm to have cows test positive for bird flu this spring died after drinking raw milk. Published Tuesday in the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal, the report details the early…  read on >  read on >

Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander people have cancer death rates that are two to three times higher than they are in whites, new data shows. The first-of-its-kind report, issued by the American Cancer Society (ACS) on May 1, focuses solely on the cancer risk of Americans who’ve descended from regions along the Pacific Rim,…  read on >  read on >

A toxin found in paint strippers that’s responsible for 85 U.S. deaths over the past five decades will be phased out for many uses, under an Environmental Protection Agency rule finalized Tuesday. The cancer-causing solvent methylene chloride will still have some allowed uses, but with strict guidelines aimed at keeping workers safe. “Exposure to methylene…  read on >  read on >

Popular teens pay a price for being so well-liked by their peers, a new study shows. The popular crowd are less likely to get the 8 to 10 hours of sleep recommended for teenagers each night, researchers found. In fact, the more popular a teen is, the less time they spend snoozing, results show. The…  read on >  read on >

Women approaching menopause appear to be at higher risk of depression, a new review indicates. Women in the transition period prior to menopause are 40% more likely to experience depression than premenopausal women, according to pooled data from seven studies involving more than 9,100 women around the world. The results show that women heading into…  read on >  read on >

Getting the HPV shot in adolescence can spare kids a lifetime of risk for cervical and other cancers related to the virus, but only half of American kids are up-to-date on these shots. Now, a new review suggests that if schools mandate HPV shots as an entry requirement for students, immunization rates rise. “A majority…  read on >  read on >

Having a child with food allergies isn’t easy to manage, and now new research shows that most of these parents turn to social media for medical advice. When they do, some of the advice is good and some is not, researchers report.  In the study, published recently in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology,…  read on >  read on >

All women should start getting mammograms every other year beginning at age 40, the nation’s top panel of preventive health experts announced Tuesday. About 20% more lives can be saved from breast cancer by moving the regular screening age up to age 40, rather than starting at age 50, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force…  read on >  read on >

At what age does loneliness strike adults the hardest? A new review maps it out, finding that people are more lonely as young adults, grow less lonely as they approach middle age, and then fall back into loneliness in old age, researchers reported April 30 in the journal Psychological Science. “What was striking was how…  read on >  read on >

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 >

Doctors argue that genetics aren’t destiny when it comes to a person’s health, and a study appears to support that notion. A healthy lifestyle can offset the effects of life-shortening genes by more than 60%, researchers found. People at high genetic risk of a curtailed lifespan could extend their life expectancy by nearly 5.5 years…  read on >  read on >