Washington’s Department of Agriculture failed to complete hundreds of required inspections of egg production and packing facilities in recent years, raising food safety concerns, according to a new state audit.
The Fuzzy Science on Whether Fido Is Actually Good for You
Plenty of people believe there’s something salubrious about caring for a pet, similar to eating veggies or exercising regularly. But, psychologist Hal Herzog argues, the scientific evidence that pets can consistently make people healthier is, at best, inconclusive — and, at worst, has been used to mislead the American public.
Looking for Long Covid: A Clash of Definition and Study Design
Few experts dispute that long Covid can be debilitating, or that it warrants careful study. But in interviews with Undark, a number of experts said that it is misleading to frame long Covid as an increasing threat. The best data, they say, suggest that most people recover from the disorder and that long Covid rates will decline as people develop immunity.
Why Millions Are Trying FDA-Authorized Alternatives to Big Pharma’s Weight Loss Drugs
Dry industry officials estimate that several large compounding pharmacies are provisioning up to 2 million American patients with regular doses of semaglutide, the scientific name for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus formulations, or tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Mounjaro.
Conservatives push to declare fetuses as people, with far-reaching consequences
Fetal personhood, a longtime cornerstone of the anti-abortion movement, is the idea that a fetus, embryo or fertilized egg has the same legal rights as a person who has been born. If the law considers fetuses to be people, the thinking goes, then abortion would legally be considered murder.
Today’s Health News Headlines
Chatbots Crushed Medical Licensing Exam – More US Women Have Tried To Induce Their Own Abortion Since Fall Of Roe – Suicide rates in children have continued to climb
Why Many Nonprofit (Wink, Wink) Hospitals Are Rolling in Money
“Hospitals are some of the biggest businesses in the U.S. — nonprofit in name only,” said Martin Gaynor, an economics and public policy professor at Carnegie Mellon University. “They realized they could own for-profit businesses and keep their not-for-profit status. So the parking lot is for-profit; the laundry service is for-profit; they open up for-profit entities in other countries that are expressly for making money. Great work if you can get it.”
Confusion, clinic closures may have caused big declines in contraception use, study shows
Among the 12 states with the most restrictive bans, the combined decline of emergency contraceptive prescriptions was 60%, and the decline for oral contraceptives was 24%.
Data privacy after Dobbs: Is period tracking safe?
Information logged into these apps, or tracked via wearable devices like a Fitbit or an Oura Ring, have the potential to be used in prosecuting those who seek abortions in states which criminalize it.
Health News Headlines
Fewer than half of US adults under 50 can readily afford or access healthcare – Misdiagnosis Is A Big Problem For Older Adults – Drugs Used For Weight Loss Help People Stop Smoking – Most Antibiotic Prescriptions For Kids’ Ear Infections Are Too Long – Blood tests for Alzheimer’s diagnosis were 91% accurate in new study
For healthy adults, taking multivitamins daily is not associated with a lower risk of death
The analysis showed that people who took daily multivitamins did not have a lower risk of death from any cause than people who took no multivitamins. There were also no differences in mortality from cancer, heart disease, or cerebrovascular diseases.
Walking can prevent low back pain, a new study shows
Walking not only prevents recurrence of low back pain, it also delivers many other health benefits, including better heart health, improved mood and sleep quality, and reduced risk of several chronic diseases.
Four steps to stay safe from wildfire smoke this summer
Breathing wildfire smoke can harm everyone’s lungs, heart, and overall health. And this year we’re expecting hotter weather and less rain—meaning more smoky days.
Your favorite drink can cause breast cancer
But most women in the US aren’t aware of alcohol’s health risks
How the Paris Olympics could become a super-spreader event for dengue
Visitors from more than 200 countries are expected in France for the Olympics. Many of those countries are already experiencing dengue this year.