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Does taxing sugary drinks lead to health benefits?

Researchers identify a significant association between sugar-sweetened beverage tax and BMI changes among adults living in Berkeley, California.

30 Jan 2025

Study explores long-term effects of Japan's COVID-19 health advisories

In contrast to the lockdowns imposed in many countries around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Japanese authorities issued health advisories and counted on citizens to follow them voluntarily.

29 Jan 2025

New tool detects highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants early

Researchers have developed a powerful tool that can detect variants of SARS-CoV-2 with high transmission potential before they become widespread.

29 Jan 2025

Breakthrough study highlights role of prenatal supplements in preventing infant mortality

Dongqing Wang, an assistant professor of Global and Community Health at George Mason's College of Public Health, is pioneering research in prenatal nutritional interventions.

29 Jan 2025

Self-guided family-based treatment effective for childhood obesity

Family-based behavioral treatment (FBT) is a clinically-proven approach to treating children with obesity in which a health care professional works with the family to help children lose weight by promoting physical activity, encouraging healthy eating habits, and teaching age-appropriate behavioral skills.

29 Jan 2025

New tool launched to track infectious disease spread through wastewater

The European Commission has just launched a new tool that supports the tracking of the spread of infectious diseases by analyzing wastewater: the European Wastewater Surveillance Dashboard. It displays data from across the EU by bringing together existing national and research-based dashboards.

29 Jan 2025

Genetic fingerprint could help predict antibiotic resistance in bacteria

Antibiotic resistance is a global public health crisis responsible for more than a million deaths annually. By 2050, the World Health Organization estimates it could surpass cancer and heart disease as the leading cause of death as more bacteria develop defenses to the drugs designed to combat them.

29 Jan 2025

Study aims to explore structural alterations in the brains of people with bipolar disorder

A new study, led by USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI), will explore structural alterations in the brains of people with bipolar disorder (BD), a chronic mental illness with one of the highest rates of attempted suicide - and for which no biological tools currently exist to guide diagnosis or treatment.

29 Jan 2025

WHO voices concern over HIV program funding pause

The World Health Organization (WHO) expresses deep concern on the implications of the immediate funding pause for HIV programmes in low- and middle-income countries.

29 Jan 2025

Sports betting is coming to Missouri. A fund to help prevent problem gambling will follow.

Listen as senior producer Zach Dyer reports on the public health concerns over online sports betting and a fund in Missouri that might help with addiction treatment and prevention.

29 Jan 2025

Led by RFK Jr., conservatives embrace raw milk. Regulators say it's dangerous.

In summertime, cows wait under a canopy to be milked at Mark McAfee's farm in Fresno, California. From his Cessna 210 Centurion propeller plane, the 63-year-old can view grazing lands of the dairy company he runs that produces products such as unpasteurized milk and cheese for almost 2,000 stores.

29 Jan 2025

Calorie labels on menus harm people with eating disorders

Calorie labels on restaurant menus are negatively impacting people with eating disorders, according to a new study published today in the BMJ Public Health.

29 Jan 2025

Survey reveals shift in U.S. views on childhood vaccine requirements

With President Donald Trump having threatened school vaccine mandates for children during his campaign, a new survey finds that nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults support requiring that children be vaccinated against preventable diseases such as measles, mumps, and rubella.

29 Jan 2025

Study reveals rising affiliation of primary care providers with hospitals and private equity

A study by researchers at the Brown University School of Public Health shows that nearly half of all primary care providers (PCPs) in the United States are affiliated with hospitals, while the number of PCPs affiliated with private equity firms is growing and concentrated in certain regional markets.

28 Jan 2025

Study shows long-term cannabis use disrupts critical brain processes

Heavy lifetime cannabis use is associated with reduced brain activation in key cognitive regions, particularly during working memory tasks, while recent use may cause temporary cognitive impairments.

28 Jan 2025

Trump’s funding ‘pause’ throws states, health industry into chaos

States and the nation's health industry were thrown into disarray after the Trump administration ordered Monday that the government freeze nearly all federal grants at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday, a sweeping directive that at least initially appeared to include funding for Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program that covers more than 70 million Americans.

28 Jan 2025