You’ve gotten vaccinated. You’ve gotten boosted. You wear your mask, maintain social distancing, wash your hands — you do everything you’ve been asked to do to protect yourself and others. And you are completely fed up. If that description sounds like you, you might be part of a contingent of people who consider themselves “vaxxed…  read on >  read on >

MONDAY, Jan. 17, 2022 (American Heart Association News) — Surgeons recently transplanted a genetically modified pig’s heart into a man with life-threatening heart failure. The successful surgery became a medical first that is raising hopes of a new, viable alternative for people at risk of dying before limited human cadaver hearts become available and for…  read on >  read on >

Power outages are becoming more frequent in the United States, and a new study highlights one consequence of prolonged blackouts: carbon monoxide poisonings. Looking at major U.S. power outages between 2007 and 2018, researchers found that carbon monoxide poisonings spiked during those disruptions, versus the days immediately before. The pattern is not surprising, said lead…  read on >  read on >

Residents of nursing homes have been a particularly at-risk group throughout the pandemic, and the advent of the fast-spreading Omicron variant has them facing another wave of infections and deaths, new data shows. During the week ending Jan. 9, U.S. nursing homes reported more than 32,000 COVID-19 cases and 645 deaths among its residents, according…  read on >  read on >

Astronauts can develop a condition called space anemia because their bodies destroy more red blood cells than normal when in space, a groundbreaking study shows. Assessments of 14 astronauts over six months between space missions found that 54% more blood cells were destroyed while they were in space than when they were on Earth, according…  read on >  read on >

Flu vaccines protect children against serious illness, even when the vaccine doesn’t match the circulating flu virus, according to a new study that reinforces the importance of flu shots. Flu viruses are constantly changing, and the effectiveness of flu vaccines can be influenced by the similarity between the viruses used in vaccine production and the…  read on >  read on >

Quitting smoking is a daunting challenge for anyone, but a new international study suggests that women may struggle more than men to kick the habit. Women were less likely than men to be successful on their first day of trying to quit, a critical predictor of long-term success, researchers found, although the team also discovered…  read on >  read on >

Shoveling snow may trigger a heart attack if you’re not careful, especially if you already have risk factors, an expert warns. The combination of shoveling and cold weather can cause your arteries to spasm and constrict, explained Dr. Sam Kazziha, chief of cardiovascular services at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in Detroit. “During the snow season…  read on >  read on >