A new theory about the start of the COVID-19 virus points to illegally traded raccoon dogs at a market in Wuhan, China. Genetic data from swabs connected to these fox-like animals with a raccoon face offers tangible evidence of the virus’ possible origin, according to an international team of virus experts. These animals are known…  read on >  read on >

Cases of a parasitic disease spread by ticks have been on the rise, particularly in states in the Northeast that had previously seen few cases, U.S. health officials reported Friday. Between 2011 and 2019, more than 16,000 cases of babesiosis were reported in the United States, with the lion’s share of those cases reported in…  read on >  read on >

Just like adults, young children with type 1 diabetes may get the blood sugar control they need using an “artificial pancreas,” new research shows. The Control-IQ artificial pancreas system was tested in a clinical trial in children aged 2 to 6. Using the technology developed at the University of Virginia (UVA), these children spent approximately…  read on >  read on >

Women with multiple sclerosis who want to undergo fertility treatment can do so without worry, according to a new study. Participants who had MS were no more likely to have a flare-up of the disease after receiving fertility treatments than they were before their treatments, researchers found. The study also found a link between MS…  read on >  read on >

Even modest weight gain above the average puts kids at risk for high blood pressure, new research shows. “Hypertension during youth tracks into adulthood and is associated with cardiac and vascular organ damage,” said lead study author Corinna Koebnick of Kaiser Permanente Southern California. “Since the organ damage can be irreversible, preventing hypertension in our…  read on >  read on >