Health & Fitness

The brain-hijacking parasite Toxoplasma gondii seems to be almost everywhere. The microscopic invader is thought to infect up to 50 percent of people, and a range of studies suggests it may alter human behavior, in addition to that of many other animals.   The parasite has been linked with a large range of neurological disorders, including schizophrenia and psychotic episodes, and scientists keep uncovering more mysterious effects that may result from infection. In one such new study, researchers found that men and women infected by the parasite ended up being rated as more attractive and healthier-looking than non-infected individuals. On the face of it, that might sound strange and unlikely. But hypothetically speaking, the phenomenon could make sense from an evolutionary biology s...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expressed concern Tuesday about an unusual outbreak of monkeypox in the United Kingdom, suggesting there appears to be at least some undetected transmission of the virus there and warning of the possibility that the outbreak could spread beyond U.K. borders. “We do have a level of concern that this is very different than what we typically think of from monkeypox. And I think we have some concern that there could be spread outside the U.K associated with this,” Jennifer McQuiston, a senior CDC official, told STAT in an interview. Seven confirmed and one probable case of monkeypox have been discovered in the U.K. since early May — an unusually large number given that human monkeypox cases are uncommon, and are especially rare outside West and C...

Photo: Andrew Wong (Getty Images) Last week, numerous headlines and social media posts declared that scientists had finally found the “cause” of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Unfortunately, the reality is a bit more complicated. While the research could one day lead to important discoveries in predicting or treating this devastating syndrome, the findings aren’t as game-changing as they were originally portrayed—at least not yet. The study was published earlier this month in the journal eBioMedicine. Researchers in Australia compared infants believed to have died of SIDS to control groups of living infants and infants who died of other causes, using blood samples taken from newborns as part of a screening program. SIDS is characterized by the unexplained death of a child youn...

Mississippi is the fattest state in America, with two in five adults obese or morbidly obese, a report revealed Tuesday amid mounting warnings over the country's health. Telephone surveys of more than 400,000 people nationwide showed the Magnolia state had the highest rates of obesity followed by West Virginia and neighboring Alabama. At the other end of the scale people in Colorado, Massachusetts and Hawaii were least likely to be obese — with less than a quarter of adults falling into the category.  Experts blamed poor diets, less access to public spaces for exercise and little health insurance coverage in some areas for the obesity crisis — particularly in Mississippi. The figures are from a report by NiceRx — an online pharmacy — and are based on figures collected by the Centers for ...

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! New research from the American Heart Association (AHA) has found a potential link between prediabetes and heart attacks. The cardiovascular health nonprofit published a news release about its "preliminary" findings on Monday, May 16, and noted that a full paper will be published in a peer-reviewed journal in the near future. "Prediabetes, if left untreated, can significantly impact health and can progress to Type 2 diabetes, which is known to increase a person's risk for cardiovascular disease," said Dr. Akhil Jain, an AHA researcher and resident physician at Mercy Catholic Medical Center in Darby, Pennsylvania. AMERICANS ARE EATING LOTS OF UNHEALTHY FOOD – EXCEPT AT SCHOOL, STUDY FINDS  Jain said in the news release that the AHA "focuse...

Placeholder while article actions load As if parents don’t have enough to worry about — a global pandemic, a baby formula shortage — there is a new mysterious ailment afflicting young children in the form of severe hepatitis. Here’s the bottom line: This is not reason for panic, but it does deserve vigilance. Parents should also be wary of speculation about the illness. There is still much we don’t know. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating at least 109 cases of the condition in the United States. Similar illnesses have been reported in at least two dozen countries, from Argentina to Denmark to Indonesia. Worldwide, there are approximately 450 reports, with the highest numbers in Britain and the United States. Many cases are severe. Among afflicted America...

I've been following the Mediterranean diet for years, and I've learned a lot of simple recipes.  Lamb souvlaki, baked salmon, and creamy chicken pasta are all in my dinner rotation.  For breakfast, I love shakshuka, and orange, avocado, and shrimp salad is a great lighter meal. Loading Something is loading. I learned to cook for the Mediterranean diet at university a few years ago. Since then, I've tried various recipes and even developed some of my own. I take a...

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The tide of coronavirus infections rising over California, and the Bay Area in particular, in recent weeks offers a glimpse of what “living with COVID” may mean for a few years yet, health experts say, as the virus continues to evolve at breakneck speed. This springtime swell, coming so close on the heels of the winter omicron surge, underscores the challenges still facing the state and nation against a virus that is proving infuriatingly adept at causing widespread transmission, even in populations with high rates of community immunity due to previous infection and vaccination. “I never thought here, this far along, we’d have a tough road ahead still. But unfortunately we do, and we have to face it,” said Dr. Eric Topol, executive vice president of Scripps Research in La Jo...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The products target people who think they have electromagnetic hypersensitivity If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. CreditIllustration by Alex Castro / The Verge'); The pager-sized stainless steel Springlife polarizer looks like not much more than a small metal box. The “sound healing energy” website that sells it claims that it’s made up of “special minerals and Earth substances” that attract and soak up “specific wavelengths of cosmic radiation...