Health care in 2025 was consumed by chaos, conflict and relentless drama. Yet despite unprecedented political turmoil, cultural division and major technological breakthroughs, there was little meaningful improvement in how care is paid for or delivered.

That outcome was not surprising. American medicine is extraordinarily resistant to change. ...Read more

Adding robots to therapy can help autistic children develop foundational social skills like taking turns, making eye contact, and paying attention.

Researchers in Europe added a learning robot to one-on-one therapy sessions and to simpler setups, such as school or home settings. While treating autism spectrum disorders with robot-assisted ...Read more

For decades, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spoke with a single voice when advising the nation's families on when to vaccinate their children.

Since 1995, the two organizations have worked together to publish a single vaccine schedule for parents and healthcare providers that clearly ...Read more

Three new cases of measles have been confirmed in Florida, including one each in Hillsborough and Manatee counties, state data shows.

The Hillsborough case was in a person aged between 20 and 24 who was infected by the highly contagious disease in Florida this month, a Florida Department of Health database for infectious and reportable diseases...Read more

TALLAHASSEE — Florida may keep some required vaccine mandates after all.

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo made national news in September when he announced a plan to remove all vaccine mandates from state law.

But so far, no lawmaker has any bill that would do away with the mandated vaccines, which include required shots for polio, ...Read more

As an alternative to new federal vaccine recommendations, the American Academy of Pediatrics released its own childhood vaccine schedule Monday with the backing of a dozen of the nation’s most prominent medical groups and associations.

The American Academy of Pediatrics’ vaccine schedule differs from the new federal one in a number of ways,...Read more

PONTIAC, Mich. — The presence of Legionella at the Oakland County courthouse is shrinking, according to county officials.

The county on Monday reported one positive water sample at the courthouse's Circuit Court Tower on Telegraph Road collected Jan. 13-14. This is down from three found during the previous round of testing, according to a ...Read more

Every year, malaria kills more than 600,000 people worldwide. Most of them are children under 5 in sub-Saharan Africa. But the disease isn’t confined to poor, rural areas – it’s a global threat that travels with people across borders.

For decades, the fight against malaria has felt like running in place. Bed nets and drugs save ...Read more

Last year was a tough one for farmers. Amid falling prices for commodity crops such as corn and soybeans, rising input costs for supplies like fertilizer and seeds, as well as the Trump tariffs and the dismantling of USAID, many farms weren’t profitable last year.

And now, the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that many Americans, ...Read more

You may have seen Kratom products at gas stations, vape shops or online. Marketed as "natural" and often sold in forms such as powders, capsules and gummies, kratom is gaining popularity in the U.S. among teens. But while it comes from a plant, that doesn't make it safe.

Kratom comes from the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree, native to ...Read more

More than 18 million people worldwide suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, including nearly 1.5 million Americans.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune, inflammatory form of arthritis, meaning a person’s immune system attacks their joints, causing substantial inflammation. This inflammation can cause pain, stiffness and swelling in ...Read more

Serenity Cole enjoyed Christmas last month relaxing with her family near her St. Louis home, making crafts and visiting friends.

It was a contrast to how Cole, 18, spent part of the 2024 holiday season. She was in the hospital — a frequent occurrence with sickle cell disease, a genetic condition that damages oxygen-carrying red blood cells ...Read more

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notified states on Saturday that it would pause public health grants worth about $5 billion, then hours later said it would lift the halt.

The grants were suspended to evaluate whether activities were in “alignment with administration and agency priorities,” according to an email viewed by ...Read more

If you have ever lifted a weight, you know the routine: challenge the muscle, give it rest, feed it and repeat. Over time, it grows stronger.

Of course, muscles only grow when the challenge increases over time. Continually lifting the same weight the same way stops working.

It might come as a surprise to learn that the brain ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Department of Justice has agreed to stop demanding medical records that identify young patients who received gender-affirming care from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, ending a legal standoff with families who sued to block a subpoena that some feared would be used to criminally prosecute the parents of transgender ...Read more

The largest pediatric health care system in California will stop providing gender-affirming medical care to transgender youth next month amid increasing pressure from the federal government.

Rady Children's Health, encompasses Children's Hospital of Orange County, Rady Children's Hospital San Diego and Rady Children's in Riverside County, said ...Read more

Ambrose Bittner, 63, didn’t want to go uninsured. But the self-employed travel planner has been without health coverage since the beginning of the year.

Bittner, who lives in Issaquah, is one of thousands of Washington state residents who decided to disenroll from health insurance, following the expiration of subsidies that helped millions of...Read more

A winter storm is not the only thing to worry about in South Carolina.

While flu cases have decreased since the first week of 2026, the state is still on alert for widespread flu activity.

Latest data from the South Carolina Department of Public Health shows that the influenza-like illness activity level is high and 6.4% of patient visits to ...Read more

There may still be life in the old dog. So says Phil Collins, after discussing some of the health challenges he has faced and taking a stroll down memory lane through his years with Genesis and as a solo performer.

Yes, he has a 24-hour live-in nurse, he says in a new interview, to make sure he takes his medicines on time. But he also has some ...Read more