Pregnancy can be a big motivator for women to stop smoking. Now a new study suggests that at least some pregnant smokers start cutting back even before they know they’ve conceived. The findings, researchers say, suggest there may be biological mechanisms during pregnancy that can blunt the desire for nicotine. If true, understanding those processes…  read on >  read on >

The ability of TPOXX to treat people infected with monkeypox is being directly tested in a new clinical trial in central Africa, U.S. health officials have announced. TPOXX — the antiviral drug tecovirimat — is only approved to treat smallpox, but doctors have been using it to treat infections during the global monkeypox outbreak. The…  read on >  read on >

MONDAY, Oct. 17, 2022 (HealthDay News) – New, more contagious Omicron variants are starting to spread across the United States, new government data show. Luckily, they’re related to the Omicron variant BA.5, so recently updated booster shots should provide some protection against the new variants, known as BQ.1. and a descendant called BQ.1.1. Together, they…  read on >  read on >

Aggressive measures are needed in the world’s tropical regions to prevent the inevitable next global pandemic, an international coalition of researchers has concluded. Epidemics around the world have largely been driven by viruses that spill over from wild animals into humans, mainly in tropical hot spots where a diverse number of animals come into frequent…  read on >  read on >

It’s not anyone’s idea of a fun choice, but researchers recently asked 200 women which part of menopause is worse for them – hot flashes or night sweats? Both can significantly affect a woman’s quality of life, but night sweats may be the most stressful, their study found. “We know that sleep disturbances are one…  read on >  read on >

Tackling drills are typically a staple of high school football practices, but new research suggests dropping them from training might cut the risk of head hits. Using mouth guards with sensors that recorded every head hit, researchers found players who spent 5,144 minutes in non-contact practice had just 310 head hits, while those who had…  read on >  read on >