Premenopausal women who have surgery to remove the ovaries (oophorectomy) and fallopian tubes may face chronic medical conditions and a decline in physical functioning, new research warns. “The study is important because it emphasizes information that we already know, and that is that …premenopausal bilateral oophorectomy [PBO] is not good for women’s health, and it’s…  read on >  read on >

Breast milk supplies many benefits for babies and their moms, and a new study highlights another one: Mother’s milk provides proteins that are important for a newborn’s gut health. “Here we show that the concentration of certain proteins in human breast milk predicts the abundance of specific gut microorganisms in infants, which are known to…  read on >  read on >

When some U.S. states made abortion illegal after the Supreme Court overturned the longstanding Roe v Wade in June 2022, women in those areas increased their searches for self-managed abortions. To come to that conclusion, researchers from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) analyzed Google search results regarding self-abortion. “We found an increased number of…  read on >  read on >

COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are gradually increasing in the United States, as two new variants gain a foothold in the nation. And with that rise, more people are looking for COVID test kits. Hospitalizations rose by nearly 9% and deaths by nearly 11% in late August/early September, according to the latest tracking data from the…  read on >  read on >

Certain combinations of bacteria found in dust in children’s day care settings may have an impact on their young lungs. Researchers are trying to understand whether attending day care can affect children’s lung health. Their aim is to lower the risk of asthma. “We find mixtures of different bacteria and other microbes living everywhere —…  read on >  read on >

When you have COVID-19, when are you most infectious? Researchers are getting closer to an answer, with a new study finding that folks exhale the highest amounts of virus during the first eight days of their illness. Scientists found that patients exhale quite a bit of virus during the first several days — as many…  read on >  read on >

You’ve probably heard of West Nile virus, but mosquitoes spread various other illnesses, too, including the little-known Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV), which is garnering attention across the United States. For example, health officials in Connecticut have so far identified mosquitoes carrying JCV in 12 towns across the state. Although no confirmed human cases of the…  read on >  read on >

Two new studies looked to explain an increased risk of respiratory infections like coughs and colds in babies and young children, finding city living to be among the culprits. Young children who grow up in towns and cities instead of the countryside suffer more respiratory infections, according to research presented Monday at a meeting of…  read on >  read on >