Even when women do their best to have a safe pregnancy, chemicals commonly found in the home could still raise their risk for premature delivery, a new study shows. The chemicals — called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) — are used as flame retardants in items like furniture and carpets. For the study, researchers analyzed blood… read on > read on >
If your teenagers have been struggling to cope during the coronavirus pandemic, a new survey suggests they are far from alone. Researchers found that 46% of 977 parents of teens said their child has shown signs of a new or worsening mental health condition since the start of the pandemic. More parents of teen girls… read on > read on >
When you turn your clocks forward to Daylight Saving Time this weekend, take a few minutes to make your home safer. Change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) suggests. Unless these devices have sealed 10-year batteries, they require fresh batteries every year. It’s also… read on > read on >
Raising chickens in your backyard — a popular trend during the COVID-19 pandemic — holds risks that can come home to roost in an unwelcome way. It’s already well known that poultry can spread the salmonella bacteria to human handlers. But chickens cooped up in backyards could also be breeding grounds for viruses that pose… read on > read on >
During a speech reassuring Americans that the pandemic could be nearing its end in this country, President Joe Biden on Thursday promised that all U.S. adults will be eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by May 1. His remarks came on the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 to be a pandemic. Biden… read on > read on >
A single measles outbreak cost one U.S. county $3.4 million, a new government study estimates, underscoring the societal burden of inadequate vaccination rates. The outbreak occurred in Clark County, Wash., in early 2019, and ultimately infected 71 people — mostly children younger than 10 who hadn’t received the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. The county’s low MMR… read on > read on >
One in four U.S. households use smart speakers to check the weather, play music and query search engines. But a new technology may soon have folks asking, “Hey Google, how’s my heart?” Researchers from the University of Washington, Seattle, have developed a skill for Amazon Alexa and Google Home that allows the devices to check… read on > read on >
Does COVID-19 help create heart problems, or are people with preexisting heart issues simply more prone to getting the illness? The issue remains unclear, with a new British study finding that people with heart problems appear to have an increased risk of contracting COVID-19. “In this research, we’ve discovered that poorer heart structure and function… read on > read on >
Could whether your governor is a Democrat or a Republican have influenced how many coronavirus cases and deaths your state has seen during the pandemic? Yes, claim researchers who discovered a strong link between the two — by late last summer, the odds of dying from COVID-19 was nearly twice as high in states whose… read on > read on >
In medieval Europe, when childbirth was highly perilous for both mother and child, women and those caring for them used various talismans to try to influence a safe delivery. Not many of those relics have survived, but scientists have been studying one – a parchment “birthing girdle” – using non-invasive sampling and protein analysis. “Although… read on > read on >
