It goes without saying that cigarettes and surgery are not a winning combination. Scores of studies have shown that patients who use tobacco have poorer post-surgical outcomes. But many doctors give smokers conflicting advice on the ideal length of time they should go cold turkey before their operations. A new report released this week by…
BEIJING — The Lunar New Year holiday in China is the world’s largest annual migration of people, with hundreds of millions of travelers fanning out across the country and the world, and hundreds of billions of dollars spent on hotels, restaurants and shopping. Now, with a mysterious new pneumonia-like coronavirus that has killed at least…
Pregnancy and breastfeeding are associated with a reduced risk for early menopause, new research suggests. Menopause before age 45 has been linked to osteoporosis, depression, dementia, cardiovascular disease and premature death. It affects about 10 percent of women in the United States. The new study, published in JAMA Network Open, used data on 108,887 women,…
The internet is rife with funny cat videos showing their reactions to a plant commonly known as “catnip.” What is catnip, does it affect all felines, is it safe for cats, and should humans use it? This Special Feature investigates these questions and more. Share on PinterestDoes your feline friend go crazy for catnip? In…
Less than a month after the first few cases of a new respiratory illness were reported in Wuhan, China, travelers have carried the virus to at least four other countries, including the United States. More than 400 people have been infected, at least 17 have died — and the world is bracing itself for what…
In a world that encourages inactivity, even our babies may be moving too little, according to an innovative new study of physical activity patterns during a child’s first year of life. The study, which used tiny activity trackers to monitor babies’ movements, found associations between infants’ squirming, kicking, crawling or stillness and the levels of…
They say time is brain: Every minute you’re not treated for a stroke you lose two million brain cells. It’s a piece of medical trivia which, remarkable as it is, hardly captures the devastation that can be wrought on a body that suffers a stroke. My patient — a jogger, a gardener, a grandfather with…
A shortage of nurses elevated the misery of a woman in my support group during a recent health crisis, she informed us. Because I participate in a clinical trial, in which I am vigilantly monitored in both Bloomington and Indianapolis hospitals, I was surprised. But I quickly began to realize that her ordeal could not…
An outbreak of a new coronavirus in China has killed nine people and sickened more than 400, and has spread to several other countries. The first case outside of Asia was announced on Tuesday, as federal health officials confirmed that a Washington State man who had recently traveled to China had been hospitalized. Here’s a…
A group of University of Chicago scientists has uncovered a previously unknown way that our genes are made into reality. Rather than directions going one-way from DNA to RNA to proteins, the latest study shows that RNA itself modulates how DNA is transcribed–using a chemical process that is increasingly apparent to be vital to biology.…