ArcaMax

You can be the safest driver on the road, but chances are you're not alone on the road, thus the reason to always drive defensively. But other factors also play into driving risk, such as weather, road conditions and even day and time.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducts ongoing analyses of the most dangerous days and ...Read more

A small study found that the Oura Ring, which contains sensors to monitor body temperature, appears to do a pretty good job of detecting pregnancies. Researchers found that nightly temperatures measured by the ring were higher two to nine days after sex that led to conception.

"If women know that they're pregnant sooner, they can make choices...Read more

Remember the Flavr Savr tomato in the 1980s, the first commercially grown, genetically engineered food to improve shelf life and fungal resistance? Researchers recently reported using gene-editing CRISPR tools to build a tomato richer in vitamin D, which could help people who do not get enough of the vitamin from other enriched foods or ...Read more

We wax poetic for pre-pandemic times. Then, numbers are tabulated.

In 2019, approximately 67,000 people died of violence-related injuries in the U.S. Two-thirds of these deaths were by suicide; one-quarter were homicides; just under 9% were of unknown origin; 1.4% involved law enforcement; and less than 1% were unintentional gun deaths.

The ...Read more

High blood pressure is a well-known risk factor for developing Type 2 diabetes, an affliction that affects 1 in 10 Americans and is increasing in prevalence. New research, however, suggests there may be a better warning signal: arterial stiffness.

A study of 11,000 people in China showed that stiffer arteries (which should be flexible and ...Read more

Researchers tracked more than 2 million Canadians over a period of 20 years to determine how proximity to wildfires, which tend to recur in the same locations, might affect cancer risk.

They found that people living within 30 miles of wildfires over the past 10 years had a 10% higher incidence of brain tumors and a 4.9% higher incidence of ...Read more

Body of Knowledge

The Guinness World Record for most toilet seats broken by someone's head in one minute is 46, set in 2007 by Kevin Shelley of Germany. Shelley did it as a TV stunt. Do not try this at home. It's bad for the head -- yours and the one at home.

Get Me That, Stat!

The World Health Organization estimates the global death toll ...Read more

Many adults take a low-dose aspirin daily, believing that it can help prevent a heart attack or stroke. But a new study finds that for people who do not have cardiovascular disease, the practice provides little to no benefit and may increase the risk of dangerous bleeding.

For adults ages 60 and up with no cardiovascular disease or high risk ...Read more

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, during pregnancy is a growing problem, one that affects twice as many Black as white patients. Results from a new clinical trial of more than 2,400 women (almost half of them Black) found that patients who received medication for "mild" hypertension (above 140/90) experienced fewer pregnancy problems. They...Read more

Historically, motor vehicle accidents have been the leading cause of death and injury among children and adolescents. That changed in 2017, when gun-related deaths took the top spot.

Better motor vehicle manufacturing and traffic safety laws are responsible for that decline; lax gun safety laws (or no laws at all) are attributed to the rise ...Read more

Too much salt intake is bad for the heart, resulting in enlargement and thickening of the organ and a higher risk of failure. Researchers looked at the balance of salt and water in blood and found that people who stayed well-hydrated had lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

What does it mean to be "well-hydrated"? Researchers translated that...Read more

The so-called French paradox suggests that light consumption of alcohol (typically in the form of wine) may actually promote cardiovascular health -- or at least reduce the risk of heart disease.

But a new study posits that genetic predisposition may be more strongly associated: People inclined to drink more are also more likely to develop ...Read more

Overall tobacco use among U.S. adults is in decline, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though almost 1 in 5 people still use cigarettes, cigars, pipes or smokeless tobacco, that's a far cry from 1965, when the rate of use was 42%.

Electronic cigarette use, however, is rising, especially among youth. In 2018, more than 3....Read more