How did you sleep last night? If you’re over 65, I hope it was better than many others your age. In a study by the National Institute on Aging of over 9,000 Americans aged 65 and older, more than half said they had difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Many others who believe they spend…
Image Kim Chambers, a champion open-water swimmer, covered with lanolin and zinc in 2016.CreditJason Henry for The New York Times Skin cancer is the most common malignancy in the United States, affecting more than three million people each year. Using sunscreen is one mainstay of prevention. But the recent news that sunscreen ingredients can soak…
A decade ago, spurred by the success of the Human Genome Project and the affordability of genetic sequencing, scientists began to explore the promise of “nutrigenomics.” Could personalized nutrition, informed by knowledge of an individual’s DNA, help prevent and even treat diet-related diseases? The results of early studies from Harvard, Stanford and elsewhere were compelling:…
The website of the city of Venice provides high water advisories to help people avoid flooded areas. Now it also forecasts another kind of flood: tourist inundations. It uses a scale of 1 to 20 stick figures, the kind found on the doors of men’s bathrooms. A recent April day could have been worse: 15…
A 13-year-old patient recently talked to me about the amount of time he spends playing video games (plenty) and about his weight (heavier than he wants, and on the rise). I asked about exercise, and he told me proudly that he rides his bike a lot, now that the weather is good. And then, of…
Dietary supplements for weight loss, energy, sexual function or muscle building are popular among young people. But they led to 1,392 adverse event reports in people under 25 from 2004 to 2015, with more than 40 percent of them severe or even fatal. A 1994 law prohibits the Food and Drug Administration from screening supplements…
Mild traumatic brain injuries can result in long-term cognitive issues. According to research in mice, a new, low-intensity form of magnetic stimulation could be the first effective treatment for these injuries. Current research points to a possible new therapy for brain injury. A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be mild or severe, but each case…
Billy Porter has been shutting down red carpets all year, cutting through seas of traditional gowns and tuxes in gender-bending, head-turning garments. In January, he owned the Oscars’ red carpet in an enormous, perfectly tailored tuxedo gown. In May, at the Met Gala, he wore a bodysuit dripping in gold with massive golden wings, and…
MONTREAL — It’s a ritual broadcast widely every year during the N.H.L. playoffs: powerful hockey players in their power suits entering the arena. And for decades, one bantam-sized tailor has outfitted more than his share of hulking hockey stars. Giovanni Vacca, 86, stands about 5-foot-5 and sports a black suit, V-neck sweater and dress shirt.…
The chickenpox vaccine not only protects against chickenpox: A new study has found it also lowers the risk for shingles. Shingles, sometimes called herpes zoster, is a painful nerve infection and rash that can occur after recovery from a case of chickenpox or after immunization with the vaccine. It is more common in older people…