PHILADELPHIA — Nicola Habash's mother held out the short white coat for him.

"Here you go, young man. This is it," she said as he slipped his arms through the sleeves.

With that, Habash was among 280 Thomas Jefferson University students who began their medical school journey Friday during a two-hour ceremony at the Crystal Tea Room of The ...Read more

Many people are familiar with the term “probiotics” but may not actually know what they are. Probiotics are live microorganisms that exert health benefits on the host (the human) when they are ingested. These compounds are consumed regularly, since probiotics exist naturally in a wide range of foods, including yogurt, buttermilk, certain ...Read more

Snacking before bed can be a tricky business. Eat too much, and get ready for a night of tossing and turning. Eat too little, and you might find yourself devouring your entire kitchen at 3 in the morning. It’s no secret that steering clear of refined carbs and junky foods before bed is one of the best ways to avoid a sleepless night. But even ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: A few neighbors formed a running group to train for a marathon in 2021. I’m thinking about joining them as I know that running can be good exercise, but I’ve never run before. Is running a marathon actually good for my health? Should I do certain things to avoid injuries?

ANSWER: Being active and engaging in regular ...Read more

BERKELEY, Mo. — Charlotta Brooks had gone to four funerals in the past three weeks for loved ones who died from COVID-19. She lost her 81-year-old grandma as well as two cousins and her son's godmother, all in their 40s.

"Right around my age," said Brooks, 43.

Last Wednesday, Brooks walked four blocks from her home in Berkeley to the walk-in...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Diane Powell understands what it’s like to watch a friend slip away.

Tina, a close friend whose last name she did not reveal, died from Alzheimer’s disease in her early 70s, just two years after its onset. Powell says her decline was rapid, radical and disturbing. By the time the progressive brain disease fully took hold, a ...Read more

Muscle flexibility is important for your body. But according to sports medicine experts at Mayo Clinic, the old way of stretching before you exercise isn't the right approach.

"Having flexible muscles and mobile joints can help reduce your overall injury risk. But it can also help improve your performance," says Dr. Chad Asplund, a Mayo Clinic ...Read more

Viruses constantly change through mutation, and new variants of viruses are expected to occur. Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been documented, including a highly transmittable form of COVID-19 known as the delta variant.

The delta variant, which was first seen in December 2020 in India, is spreading globally. It's more...Read more

ATLANTA — When Atlanta metro area school districts reopen in early August, most students will not be required to wear masks to combat the spread of COVID-19. And that has pediatricians worried.

In a letter last Tuesday to school superintendents, the Georgia chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, representing more than 1,800 Georgia ...Read more

President Joe Biden has not yet delivered on his campaign promise to create a national public health insurance option, but three states have moved forward with plans of their own.

Colorado and Nevada this year passed public option plans — government-run health insurance plans — that are set to launch in 2023 and 2026, respectively. They ...Read more

When Erin Babnik awoke on the morning of Nov. 8, 2018, in Paradise, California, she thought the reddish glow outside was a hazy sunrise.

But the faint light soon gave way to darkness as smoke from the burgeoning Camp fire rolled in.

"The whole sky turned completely black, and there were embers flying around," Babnik recalled. "I remember it ...Read more

In the 1930s, a Sunday drive in the country was the hallmark of a white middle-class lifestyle. When school was out for the summer, parents would pile their children into the car for a visit with relatives further afield. Or to lie on a beach in a resort town.

African Americans also felt the pull of the open road. But for them, a cloud hung ...Read more

Q: How high should the SPF be in the sunscreen I use on my children, and how much do they need when we’re at the pool for a few hours?

A: Warm, sunny days are wonderful. Children and adults benefit from spending time playing and exercising outdoors, but it's important to do so safely.

Help your family have fun in the sun while avoiding harm ...Read more

Some people may be hesitant to be vaccinated for COVID-19 because they think COVID-19 vaccines were developed too quickly. But today's successes are the result of many years of coronavirus research.

"To say that these messenger RNA vaccines were only developed in the past year would be erroneous," says Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As Missouri continues to slog through the COVID-19 pandemic, health advocates hope Gov. Mike Parson’s appointment of an Illinois official to lead the Department of Health and Senior Services could be a new era for the state’s embattled public health system.

“I think you’ll see that whole department, that whole ...Read more

Do you sometimes lose your train of thought or feel a bit more anxious than is typical for you?

Those are two of the six questions in a quiz on a website co-sponsored by the makers of Aduhelm, a controversial new Alzheimer’s drug. But even when all responses to the frequency of those experiences are “never,” the quiz issues a “talk to ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Wildfire season is already off to a record-breaking start, and experts are warning that smoke from the state's biggest blazes may be as dangerous as the flames themselves.

In 2020, smoke from California's wildfires blanketed the state in ash, soot and thick, hazy skies for weeks, with some plumes from the fires reaching as far ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Not long after Rickie Samuel learned that she had ALS, a heartbreakingly disabling and fatal neurological disease, she and several members of her family met with her treatment team to hear more horrible news.

Two years ago at Temple University Hospital, Terry Heiman-Patterson told them that Samuel’s illness was caused by an ...Read more

A new laboratory study suggests recipients of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine may need a second dose. Experts say: We’re not sure yet.

The study, which was posted by bioRxiv on Tuesday, found J&J’s vaccine to be less effective against the delta and lambda variants compared with the original virus. It suggests that a second dose, ...Read more

Biogen Inc. fought back against criticism of the unusual circumstances that led to the U.S. approval of its Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm, saying in an open letter it has been the subject of “extensive misinformation and misunderstanding.”

Aduhelm, approved in June, is controversial because it hasn’t been shown to slow cognitive decline. Two...Read more