Environmental contaminants may be driving higher rates of breast cancer in urban areas compared to rural locales, a new North Carolina study finds. “Our analyses indicate significant associations between environmental quality and breast cancer incidence,” said lead author Larisa Gearhart-Serna, who led the research as a Ph.D. candidate at the Duke Cancer Institute in Durham, N.C. …  read on >  read on >

Nearly half of Americans have never heard of health-threatening PFAS “forever chemicals,” a new survey has found. PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a category of thousands of manufactured chemicals that have become an emerging concern to environmental and human health, researchers from Texas A&M University said. Nonetheless, 45% of survey participants had never heard…  read on >  read on >

The song says ‘tis the season to be jolly, but many Americans find it to be more the season of stress and worry, a new survey reports. The strain of inflation and world affairs this year are adding to the other holiday-time stressors to create a toxic mental health cocktail, according to findings from Ohio…  read on >  read on >

A new ‘technopill’ can safely monitor a person’s vital signs from inside their bodies, researchers report. The vitals-monitoring (VM) Pill works by tracking the small vibrations in the body associated with lungs breathing and the heart beating. It can detect if a person stops breathing, which gives it the potential to provide real-time information about…  read on >  read on >

SATURDAY, Nov.18Data showing that the antibiotic doxycycline might prevent a sexually transmitted infection (STI) if taken soon after sex made headlines earlier this year. As surging numbers of cases of syphilis and gonorrhea affect more Americans, here’s what you need to know about using the drug. “If you’re actively having sex and not using condoms…  read on >  read on >

Have a hard time looking others in the eye? You aren’t alone, Canadian researchers report. Eye-to-eye contact rarely occurs when two people are talking, they found. “We discovered that participants spent only about 12% of conversation time in interactive looking, meaning that they gazed at each other’s faces simultaneously for just 12% of the interaction…  read on >  read on >

THURSDAY, Nov. 16, 2023 — To address a continuing nationwide shortage, more than 77,000 doses of RSV shots for infants were released Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The additional doses are of Beyfortus, a long-acting monoclonal antibody designed to protect infants too young…  read on >  read on >