The updated bivalent COVID-19 boosters are now approved for use in children as young as 6 months of age, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today. Children can receive either a Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent booster shot, although the rules differ depending on their age and what type of vaccine they got as their… read on > read on >
A proposed U.S. federal ban on menthol cigarettes doesn’t go far enough and needs to include other menthol products, from pipe tobacco to cigarette tubes, researchers say. New evidence shows both the appeal and the addiction potential of these substitutes in adults who smoke menthol cigarettes, said scientists from Rutgers University Center for Tobacco Studies… read on > read on >
That special link you may have with a purring, four-legged friend has been going on between the species for millennia, new research shows. The human-cat relationship was probably forged over a shared interest in rats more than 10,000 years ago, investigators say. As farming became a way of life, cats served as ancient pest control,… read on > read on >
Some Americans appear to be moving from areas with frequent hurricanes and heat waves to places threatened by wildfire and rising heat. They’re trading in the risk of one set of natural disasters for another because the wildfires are only beginning to become a national issue, according to researchers. “These findings are concerning, because people… read on > read on >
The antiviral Paxlovid has kept people from getting really sick and dying from COVID-19 since it became available — at no cost to them. But by the middle of next year, the U.S. government will stop subsidizing the medication. Instead, it will be billed for like many other medications. While the Biden administration has paid… read on > read on >
A high number of preteens and teens in the United States have viewed pornography and many have also sent or received nude or seminude photos — sexting — over their smartphones, a new study reveals. “The prevalence rates we found in this study suggest that school counselors must be prepared to talk about sexting and… read on > read on >
Researchers have discovered a link between access to welfare payments and foster care. As many as 29,000 fewer children may have entered the foster care system during the 12-year study if U.S. states had made it easier for poor families to receive cash through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. “The relatively… read on > read on >
A facial scar may make a person self-conscious, but it doesn’t change another person’s first impressions of their attractiveness or confidence, a new survey shows. The results found that a single, well-healed facial scar may even increase perceived friendliness, according to the researchers, who had predicted different results and said the findings might be “surprising… read on > read on >
Shehzin Tietjen was 27 years old when she felt a lump in one of her breasts while in the shower. That discovery led to a confirmation of breast cancer, an unexpected jolt at her age. “I was really shocked,” said Tietjen, who lives in Atlanta. Though breast cancer is more common in postmenopausal women, about… read on > read on >
Experts are asking seniors to get their flu shots ASAP as an exceptionally nasty flu season unfolds across the United States. Already, 8.7 million flu cases have been reported, with 78,000 hospitalizations and 4,500 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the last week alone, the number of flu hospitalizations… read on > read on >
