U.S. commuters take approximately 10 billion trips on public transit every year. SciLine asked Kari Watkins, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Davis, what cities can do to increase public transportation ridership and how people can make better use of this environmentally friendly ...Read more

Silvia Garcia’s 14-year-old son was left permanently disabled and in a wheelchair after a community health center doctor in New Mexico failed to diagnose his appendicitis despite his complaint of severe stomach pain. The teenager’s appendix ruptured before he could get to a hospital, and complications led to septic shock.

Akimbee Burns had ...Read more

COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a leading cause of disability and death in the U.S., according to the American Lung Association. More than 12.5 million people have been diagnosed with COPD, but millions more may have the disease without knowing it.

COPD is a chronic inflammatory lung disease caused by long-term exposure to ...Read more

Heart disease remains a leading cause of death around the world. And diabetes is one of the risk factors for heart disease. Diabetes is a growing global health concern, with more than 422 million people living with this metabolic disorder — the majority of those with Type 2 diabetes.

Dr. Gosia Wamil, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic Healthcare ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I am in my early 50s and enjoy an active lifestyle. I recently heard reports of an increase in ankle sprains and broken ankles particularly in an older population, due in part to both activity and aging. How can I avoid these injuries in the first place?

ANSWER: The ankle joint is composed of the ends of the tibia and fibula ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My husband has had terrible neck pain for a few years. It has gotten to the point where he cannot turn his head to either side enough to drive safely. We heard that replacing a disk in his neck might be the best option. Are there other things we should try first? And is this type of surgery safe?

ANSWER: Neck pain is a common ...Read more

More than 37 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, and more than 96 million adults in the U.S. — over one-third — have prediabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Diabetes mellitus refers to a group of diseases that affect how your body uses blood sugar. The underlying cause of diabetes varies by type. But ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: A friend recently went through a bout of shingles. I really don't know much about this condition, but I know it was painful. How do you get it? Is there a treatment or vaccine for it?

ANSWER: Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a common condition caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which also causes chickenpox. Not ...Read more

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States, regardless of race or ethnicity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Although you can’t avoid risk factors such as family history, you can adopt a healthier lifestyle to improve your heart health.

Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a Mayo Clinic ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA —The way the blood spurted from the bullet wound, Lt. Robert Friel knew he didn't have long.

He crumpled to the floor of the CVS on South 10th Street, unable to move his leg. Friel had never been shot before, but after 28 years with the Philadelphia police, he knew enough to realize the bullet had struck a major artery.

The ...Read more

Patients who ask for their doctors’ help through online portals might soon notice something new: fees for their physicians’ online advice.

A growing number of health systems across the country are now charging for some types of messages sent through online patient portals, such as MyChart, with fees often around $35 or less. It’s a trend ...Read more

Q: My daughter is on a gymnastics team. How do I talk to her about the risks of sexual abuse in sports?

A: Getting involved in sports, clubs and other organized activities is good for kids. Children in activities get more exercise and have more self-esteem, research shows, and are better able to manage their time and build relationships.

But ...Read more

BURLINGTON, Wash. — Fire draws people together.

Throughout history, people have cooked food, found warmth and gathered with others around kindling — a sign that it's safe enough to rest.

The flames burning in a wood-fired oven on an October Thursday served as that gathering place — a spot to cultivate community at a program for farmers ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — It doesn't take a health professional to save the life of someone bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound or other traumatic injury. Any bystander can undertake a series of crucial first steps until an expert reaches the scene.

These can include using a low-tech tool that's been around since the early days of medicine: a ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — On a rainy afternoon in Aspinwall, Pennsylvania, a group of amateur musicians gathered to lay down a few tracks.

This wasn't the first time the band had performed together, but it was their first time in a recording studio.

"Lots of people lock up the first time they're put in headphones," said Jim Barr, the recording engineer ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Jess Jones, a licensed clinical social worker, treats a number of patients with ketamine-assisted therapy — where clients take ketamine, prescribed by a psychiatrist, in a series of sessions to treat severe depression or other serious mental health issues.

Interest in psychedelic-assisted therapies such as these is growing in...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Could Paxlovid solve one of the pandemic’s biggest puzzles? A new study at Stanford University aims to find out.

In the nation’s first medical trial of an antiviral strategy to treat long COVID, scientists are testing the drug to see if it helps ease the misery of fatigue, brain fog, shortness of breath, body aches, ...Read more

For several months during the summer of 2022, my dog Scout vomited at 3 a.m. nearly every day. If you have a dog, you know the sound. And each time, she gobbled up her mess before I could get to it, making diagnosis of the cause difficult.

The vet and I eventually settled on my hydrangeas as the source of the problem – but keeping ...Read more

Among the more remarkable legacies of the COVID-19 pandemic is how quickly federal regulators, the health care industry and consumers moved to make at-home testing a reliable tool for managing a public health crisis.

But that fast-track focus is missing from another, less publicized epidemic: an explosion in sexually transmitted diseases that ...Read more

What we eat as well as how much we eat are determined by a multitude of factors that go well beyond physical sustenance, such as culture, religion, income level, family, cooking skills and accessibility, to name a few. Social forces also play a significant role, especially when it comes to making healthier food choices.

Studies show that our co...Read more