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Medical AI detects deadly pancreatic cancers up to 3 years sooner

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

A new artificial intelligence model developed by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, can help specialists detect pancreatic cancer up to three years before most clinical diagnoses, allowing curative treatment.

The AI identifies subtle signs of disease before tumors are visible on routine abdominal CT scans, Mayo reports.

“The greatest ...Read more

Ongoing stress can send the nervous system into a state of heightened sensitivity. Sean Gladwell/Moment via Getty Images

How workplace stress hijacks the nervous system to cause headaches − and a neurologist’s guide to managing them

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Many people finish the workday not just tired but wired. Their mind keeps racing, their body feels tense, and even in moments that should be restful they feel a lingering sense of urgency. Conversations replay in their mind, unfinished tasks resurface, and their nervous system seems unwilling to power down.

You may recognize this ...Read more

Multiple factors during an outbreak interact to raise the risk of exploitation and violence.   Clovera/iStock via Getty Images

Financial strain, lockdowns and fear of infection during disease outbreaks magnify violence against women and girls − new research

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When the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, another crisis quietly grew behind closed doors. Reports from around the globe suggested that violence against women and girls was increasing. Governments, nongovernmental organizations and advocates began referring to the phenomenon as a “shadow pandemic.”

To ...Read more

Mifepristone use is FDA-approved through 10 weeks’ gestation.
              Carl Lokko/iStock via Getty Images

In rural Appalachia, abortion pill offers reproductive choice and privacy − but police may see a crime

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

A 35-year-old Kentucky woman was arrested in late 2025, accused of taking abortion pills that she ordered online.

The gestational age and status of the pregnancy is unknown. But Kentucky, like the majority of Southern states that contain Appalachian counties, has a complete abortion ban.

Mifepristone is a medication approved ...Read more

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The help that many older Americans need most

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

On a recent Monday, Sandy Guzman, a community health worker in rural Oregon, drove to visit a patient in her 60s in a small city called The Dalles.

The patient lived alone, and “really struggles with social isolation,” Guzman said. After a serious fall and subsequent surgery, the woman was using a wheelchair. She confided that she would ...Read more

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Big companies position themselves for payday from $50B federal rural health fund

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Tory Starr is worried about the people who get medical care at Open Door Community Health Centers along California's North Coast.

"They're the folks that work at restaurants. They're the teacher's aides," said Starr, a registered nurse who became Open Door's chief executive more than six years ago. Those patients, he said, are "really the heart...Read more

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Dolly Parton says her immune and digestive systems 'got all out of whack,' creating health concerns

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LOS ANGELES — Dolly Parton has been receiving treatment for unspecified health issues concerning her immune and digestive systems, she announced Monday, saying at the same time that her postponed Las Vegas residency has been canceled.

The legendary singer and beloved pop culture icon spoke candidly about her health in an Instagram video ...Read more

Epigenetic aging clocks are best used to study populations, not individual people.
              Jakub Zerdzicki/iStock via Getty Images

Biological age tests reveal what slows or hastens aging – but they’re useful only for researchers, not consumers

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Imagine receiving a test result that tells you your body is biologically five years older than your chronological age. You exercise regularly, get good sleep, eat healthy meals and have a happy personal life. What have you been doing wrong? Can this test be trusted?

Dozens of companies are marketing products that promise to reveal a ...Read more

Helmets are essential gear when skateboarding. Daniel Milchev/The Image Bank via Getty Images

Why do you have to wear a helmet when you’re skateboarding?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

Why do you have to wear a helmet when you’re skateboarding? – Artie, age 13, Queens, New York

Back when I was 13, I was an avid skateboarder – the kickflip was my go-to...Read more

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New data show Illinois childhood vaccination rates remain high, despite national controversy

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CHICAGO — Illinois parents are continuing to get their kids vaccinated at high rates despite ongoing controversy nationally about vaccines, according to data released by the state health department Monday.

More than 95% of children statewide had received 10 school-required vaccines as of October, including those against chickenpox, whooping ...Read more

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A 'barbaric' problem in American hospitals is only getting bigger

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In the last months, weeks, and days of his life, “I will not go to the emergency room” became my husband’s mantra. Andrej had esophageal cancer that had spread throughout his body (but not to his ever-willful brain), and, having trained as a doctor, I had jury-rigged a hospital at home, aided by specialists who got me pills to boost blood ...Read more

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Ask the Pediatrician: Understanding growth charts and percentiles

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When you go to the pediatrician for a well-child check, you'll always review your baby's or child's growth together. One of the most important parts of a well-child checkup is the review of a child's growth. Growth can be a reflection of a child's overall health and nutrition. It can also help identify underlying medical conditions. So, it's ...Read more

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Medigap premiums leap, and consumers have few alternatives

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After decades of selling insurance, Illinois-based broker John Jaggi had never seen anything like it.

More than 80 of his customers who were enrolled in the same Medicare supplemental plan from the insurer Chubb got hit last August with a 45% increase.

“In my 49 years of doing biz as a broker, I’ve never seen a premium increase be ...Read more

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Why stomach pain, 'scromiting,' and compulsive hot showering are sending cannabis users to the ER

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

PHILADELPHIA — The morning after Christmas, 37-year-old Taylor Armendariz awoke in her South Jersey apartment with stomach pain and nausea like nothing she had ever experienced.

A self-described “avid” cannabis user, she had smoked before her holiday meal of beef Wellington, mashed potatoes, and ice cream-topped apple pie. “In the ...Read more

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Maryland shopping center exposed to measles last week, officials say

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BALTIMORE — Shoppers and employees at a Hyattsville shopping center were potentially exposed to measles on April 24, health officials say, when a Washington resident confirmed to have measles visited.

In addition to several locations in the nation’s capital, including parts of Dulles International Airport and several buses, the measles ...Read more

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Study reveals potential link between 'forever chemicals' and childhood leukemia

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Prenatal exposure to PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” is linked to acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer, in a new study led by the University of California, Irvine.

“Forever chemicals” is a catch-all term for a group of about 14,000 man-made compounds linked to cancers and fertility issues, so named because they ...Read more

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Three new measles cases reported in South Florida; state still ranks fourth in US

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Three additional measles cases were reported in South Florida in April as the state, for two consecutive months, ranks fourth in the U.S. for the highest number of cases this year.

As of April 25, the latest data available, there have been a total of 149 measles cases in the state since Jan. 1, Florida Department of ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Q&A: What does a VO2 max have to do with overall fitness?

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DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I like to challenge myself physically, whether it's working out, cycling or cross-country skiing. I've heard about VO2 max testing. What could I gain from it?

ANSWER: A VO2 max test measures the amount of oxygen you breathe in and use at peak levels of exercise intensity, and it assesses how well your heart, lungs and muscles ...Read more

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'I intend to stay on it forever.' Along with rapid weight loss, patients see other benefits and risks of GLP-1 drugs

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Two years ago, Jennifer Kirtley looked down at the scale and saw 328 pounds. Today, she’s looking in the mirror at a size 6.

After a transformative 180-pound weight loss from weekly Wegovy shots, Kirtley says she is happy with her overall weight and health.

“My blood pressure is down. My A1C is down. I have no ...Read more

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Novo obesity shot Wegovy helped alcoholics drink less in study

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Novo Nordisk A/S’s obesity shot Wegovy helped people with alcoholism reduce their drinking, in the first controlled study of patients who sought help with their addiction.

Volunteers on Wegovy reported drinking heavily for five days in a 30-day period after six months of treatment, 12 fewer days than before they started. The improvement ...Read more