You’re watching the Omicron variant race around the world and think it might be time to upgrade your mask to a gold-standard N95 or K-N95 model. A quick search on Google should find you one, right? Not so fast, experts say. According to Anne Miller, executive director of the nonprofit group Project N95, the masks…  read on >  read on >

Economic status appears linked to increased risk of being born with a cleft palate or lip, new research suggests, building on past evidence that it can also result in delayed care and poorer outcomes. Cleft palate and cleft lip are the terms that describe openings or splits in the roof of the mouth and lip,…  read on >  read on >

THURSDAY, Dec. 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) – A leading medical group has updated a guideline for treating pain and numbness caused by diabetes. The problems, which affect the hands and feet, are the result of nerve damage, also known as diabetic neuropathy. The new guideline from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) aims to help…  read on >  read on >

Researchers have confirmed that some white-tailed deer in Texas have COVID-19. The scientific community has been alarmed by the prospect of deer becoming new hosts for COVID since July, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture found antibodies in white-tailed deer in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania. The new study suggests that deer should not…  read on >  read on >

Researchers are still trying to figure out what will happen with both the Delta and Omicron variants of COVID-19 spreading simultaneously. Now new lab-based data is suggesting that the newer variant, Omicron, might bring one silver lining: It could help folks who contract it defend against the prior variant, Delta. Scientists in South Africa found…  read on >  read on >

Red-meat lovers may raise their risk of heart disease through a chain of events that plays out in the gut, a new study suggests. Many studies over the years have tied diets heavy in red and processed meats to a heightened risk of heart disease and stroke. That type of evidence does not, however, prove…  read on >  read on >

COVID-19 patients are at risk for serious long-term kidney damage, according to the results of a new investigation. The damage appears to come from the virus’ ability to directly infect the kidneys. And in some cases, the scarring and damage may last well beyond the COVID infection itself, German, Dutch and American researchers said. The…  read on >  read on >

New antiviral pills for COVID-19 recently authorized for emergency use in high-risk people by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should give doctors an easier means of keeping people out of the hospital. But the initial hype is giving way to reality, as doctors and public health officials grapple with the challenges of getting the…  read on >  read on >

Hearing loss can happen with advancing age, but fewer American women appear to be affected now than in the past. Researchers who studied hearing loss between 2008 and 2017 found in the earliest of those years, 16.3% of older U.S. adults reported serious hearing loss. But by 2017 that had dropped to 14.8%, or 739,000…  read on >  read on >