People who daily breathe in air pollution, particularly from wildfires or agricultural sources, might need to add a heightened risk of dementia to their list of health concerns. New research looked at the potential effects of particle pollution on dementia, finding an association even when pollution levels did not exceed national ambient air quality standards.…  read on >  read on >

While vast quantities of peels from the aloe vera plant are thrown out every year as agricultural waste, this natural ingredient has potential to be a powerful insecticide, new research suggests. “It’s likely that millions of tons of aloe peels are disposed of globally every year,” said principal investigator Debasish Bandyopadhyay, from the University of…  read on >  read on >

Mosquitoes can be a big pest, leaving behind itchy bumps on skin and potentially spreading serious diseases, such as West Nile virus. Sam Telford III is a professor of infectious disease and global health at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and a commissioner for the Central Massachusetts Mosquito Control Project. Some counties…  read on >  read on >

The federal government recently stopped pandemic-related emergency food aid, leaving perhaps 2 million more Americans without enough to eat. Emergency allotments in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, ended in March in all states that hadn’t already cut them. After this temporary increase in SNAP benefits ended, recipients experienced a…  read on >  read on >

Some menstrual products — pads, tampons, cups and underwear — contain harmful “forever chemicals,” according to new research into the contents of these essential items. Researchers analyzed more than 100 period products looking for fluorinated compounds, an indicator of potentially harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The products typically don’t list ingredients on their…  read on >  read on >