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WHO honors tobacco control champions across the Americas

Researchers, activists, civil society organizations, and journalism organizations from Canada, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, the United States, and Uruguay, as well as government agencies from Brazil, have been recognized with World Health Organization (WHO) World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) 2025 Awards at the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland today.

19 May 2025

Controlling key health risk factors can eliminate early death risk from high blood pressure

A new study led by researchers at Tulane University suggests that people with high blood pressure can significantly reduce - and possibly eliminate - their increased risk of premature death by controlling several key health risk factors at once.

19 May 2025

Inhaled microplastics suppress pulmonary macrophages critical to the immune system

Microplastics are ubiquitous in the environment, and we all routinely inhale these tiny pollutants. Now new research published at the ATS 2025 International Conference has found that inhaled microplastics suppress pulmonary macrophages, a type of white blood cell found in the lungs that are critical to the immune system.

19 May 2025

MPXV virus lingers on hospital surfaces after patient stays

Researchers in the UK found that patients with clade Ib mpox can contaminate their hospital environments with monkeypox virus, including infectious particles. However, the risk of environmental transmission remains unclear and depends on cleaning practices and disease severity.

19 May 2025

Study reveals high rates of cannabis use disorder in older US veterans

A large national study of U.S. veterans aged 65–84 found that 10.3% reported cannabis use in the past 30 days, with over one-third of these meeting criteria for cannabis use disorder. Frequent use and inhaled forms of cannabis sharply increased the risk.

19 May 2025

Zebrafish study reveals hidden dangers of environmental toxins from tires

Emerging contaminants from rubber tires N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD) and its oxidation product 6PPD-quinone (6PPDQ)-are raising new red flags for aquatic ecosystems.

19 May 2025

Sedentary behavior increases risk of death or cardiac events post-heart attack

People who sit or remain sedentary for more than 14 hours a day, on average, may have a higher risk of a cardiovascular event or death in the year after treatment at a hospital for symptoms of a heart attack such as chest pain, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association's peer-reviewed scientific journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

19 May 2025

Limited self sufficiency threatens global access to healthy and sustainable diets

Growing emphasis on self-reliance and trade barriers could impair the ability of people to consume healthy and sustainable diets around the world.

18 May 2025

High cost of immunotherapy linked to financial hardship among cancer survivors

A study published today in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship found that cancer survivors receiving high-cost immunotherapy treatments were more likely to face financial hardship, leading to increased instances of being unable to afford care and taking fewer medications due to cost.

18 May 2025

Measles cases surge in the United States amid falling vaccination rates

The United States is in the midst of the second-highest year of measles cases since 2000, when the disease was declared eliminated in this country, meaning that cases within the United States originated outside the country.

16 May 2025

Midlife carbohydrate quality linked to healthier aging in women

Intakes of dietary fiber, high-quality and total carbohydrates in midlife were favorably linked to healthy aging and other positive health outcomes in older women, according to a new study by researchers from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

16 May 2025

Research identifies seven genes that drive hematopoietic stem cell fate

Stem cells can produce any other cell type, it is just a matter of telling them in the right way. From a biological perspective, this means activating the proper genetic programme by pressing the right keys, this is, the right genes, at the right moment.

16 May 2025

Public health impact of synthetic chemicals in food is underestimated

Scientists highlight the evidence of increasing public health impacts from exposure to synthetic chemicals in food.

16 May 2025

Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly set to begin in May 2025

The Seventy-eighth session of the World Health Assembly (WHA78) will convene from 19 to 27 May 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland, under the theme "One World for Health".

16 May 2025

Socioeconomic gaps persist in COVID-19 vaccination among older Swedes

The spring COVID-19 vaccination program in Sweden is in its final stages in several parts of the country. The program has encompassed free booster doses for those at increased risk of serious illness, including the very oldest members of society.

16 May 2025

Study shows how lung capacity evolves from childhood to old age

A study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by "la Caixa" Foundation, in collaboration with the Clínic-IDIBAPS, has shown for the first time, how lung capacity evolves from childhood to old age.

15 May 2025

HIV vaccine study marks breakthrough in targeting broad immune responses

A decades-long scientific challenge in HIV vaccine development has been finding a way to train the immune system to produce antibodies that can target many variants of the virus.

15 May 2025

New genetic database sheds light on Brazil’s ancestry and disease risks

Since the human genome was first sequenced in 2003, the world's scientific community has been racing to decipher this "book" written in an alphabet of four letters.

15 May 2025

Study: The link between physical fitness and reduced risk of mortality may be misleading

That fit people have a reduced risk of premature death from various diseases is a recurring result in many studies.

15 May 2025

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': GOP poised to cut billions in health benefits

After all-night markups, two key House committees approved GOP budget legislation that would cut hundreds of billions of dollars from federal health programs over the next decade, mostly from the Medicaid program for people with low incomes or disabilities.

15 May 2025