Far fewer kids might develop asthma if there were less traffic pollution, suggests a new study that researched the issue worldwide. “Our study found that nitrogen dioxide puts children at risk of developing asthma and the problem is especially acute in urban areas,” said study author Susan Anenberg, a professor of environmental and occupational health…  read on >  read on >

COVID-19 infection isn’t a game, and you shouldn’t try to get it on purpose — not even the supposedly “mild” Omicron variant of the virus. It’s a high-risk strategy for yourself, for public health and the economy, medical experts agreed. “You’d be crazy to try to get infected with this,” said Dr. Robert Murphy, executive…  read on >  read on >

For smokers, new research suggests it really is never too late to quit. The study found that folks who kick their habit after a lung cancer diagnosis will likely live longer than those who continue lighting up. Investigators from Italy concluded that lung cancer patients who stop smoking at or around the time of their…  read on >  read on >

Scientists have known for 100 years that insulin is the body’s main mechanism for controlling blood sugar levels, but researchers have now discovered a second hormone does the same job a bit differently — and they say it could be a new target for treating diabetes. The hormone, called FGF1, is produced in the body’s…  read on >  read on >