Vaccine protection against mpox fades quickly in the human immune system, even in people who’ve received the full two-dose regimen, a new real-world study shows. Antibody levels fell to low or near zero within the first few months of getting the vaccine, unless the person had previously received a smallpox vaccine, scientists reported Saturday at…  read on >  read on >

Some pain-relieving skin products contain potentially harmful doses of the numbing agent lidocaine and should be avoided, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns. These creams, gels, sprays and soaps are marketed for topical use to relieve the pain of cosmetic procedures like microdermabrasion, laser hair removal, tattooing and piercing, the FDA said. The agency…  read on >  read on >

Ever immersed yourself in a book and lost all sense of the time and place you’re currently in? That’s how reading can meld with mindfulness, one neuropsychologist explains. The experience can bring real mental health benefits, said Dr. Samantha Henry, an assistant professor of neurology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “Reading is a…  read on >  read on >

A strain of highly antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea first emerged in China in 2016, and cases of this tough-to-treat infection have tripled there in just five years, Chinese researchers report. It’s a warning to the rest of the world, they said. Strains resistant to the first-line treatment ceftriaxone (and many other antibiotics) “have spread internationally and collaborative…  read on >  read on >

Mpox cases are climbing again in the United States, with the number of reported infections now twice as high as they were at this time last year, new government data shows. In response, public health experts have raised alarms about the increase and stressed that vaccination rates against the disease need to improve. “This has…  read on >  read on >

Folks with genetically-driven stress are more likely to suffer heart attacks after nerve-wracking events or times of unrest, a new study shows. People with above-average genetic scores linked to neuroticism and stress were 34% more likely to experience a heart attack following stressful periods, researchers found. Further, these jittery individuals were more than three times…  read on >  read on >