ArcaMax

There is growing awareness -- and alarm -- at news that human brains (and the rest of our bodies) contain microplastic particles that may be causing harm, such as increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke.

Now comes news that location is a risk factor.

New data suggests that people who live near the ocean have...Read more

Thirdhand smoke occurs when chemical residues from smoking linger in carpets, furniture and walls long after the cigarette has been extinguished.

Researchers have found that children who inhale these particles by disturbing fabric fibers while playing or ingest them by touching contaminated surfaces and then putting their hands in their ...Read more

A new study of 64,000 adults across Europe, North America and the Middle East reaffirmed that loneliness generally increases with age, but unlike in other parts of the world, middle-aged people in the U.S. and the Netherlands felt lonelier than older generations.

"Advocacy and interventions to address the loneliness epidemic have historically...Read more

The American Psychological Association says more than three-quarters of U.S. adults report stress-related symptoms, including depression and fatigue. Topsure, a luxury product website, ranked all 50 states based on work, finances, family, health and safety and work-life balance to see where most of these stressed-out folks lived.

The 10 most ...Read more

For folks who believe vaccines work, here's a shot in the arm:

Three recent studies looked at the effectiveness of specific vaccines, two estimating the difference in outcomes between vaccinated and unvaccinated populations.

According to STAT:

-- An early estimate of the effectiveness of this year's COVID-19 shot showed its effectiveness in...Read more

Fueled by social media, more boys and men are turning to supplements like amino acids, creatine monohydrate, pre-workout drinks or powders, protein bars and whey protein product in an effort to bulk up and look like their favorite superhero.

But that increase in muscle is associated with another kind of boost: body dysmorphia, a mental health...Read more

New findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine report that Americans live shorter lives than Europeans, regardless of their wealth.

To be sure, people with more wealth tend to live longer than those with less wealth, especially in the U.S., but when comparing all demographics, the wealthiest Americans have shorter lifespans on ...Read more

Numerous studies have shown that education offers protective effects against late-life cognitive impairment. College-educated people are at lower risk.

But the quality of one's high school experience seems to play a role too.

"When we talk about education, the quality of your high school experience, not just whether you received a diploma or...Read more

Airplane air quality is generally regarded as good, comparable to or better than other indoor environments thanks to high air exchange rates and the use of high-efficiency particulate air filters. But any air traveler will tell you that flying seems to provoke a particular kind of air turbulence. Namely, increased flatulence.

It's a matter of...Read more

People who get a common surgery on a Friday have a significantly higher risk of complications, readmission to the hospital and death as compared to people who got the same types of operation on a Monday, say researchers in a new study.

It's colloquially known as the "weekend effect," alluding to everybody's -- even surgeons' -- distraction ...Read more

By the year 2050, it's projected one in six young people will be obese. That works out to 360 million children and adolescents with a body mass index of 30 or higher.

The added girth and weight won't be spread evenly. Half of the world's young people with obesity will live in two regions: North Africa and the Middle East, and Latin America ...Read more

Ten out of 11 kids who received gene therapy for a rare variant of congenital deafness enjoyed significant improvements when tested one year after the surgery, according to doctors involved in the study.

The therapy addresses mutations in the OTOF gene that cause hearing loss by delivering a new working copy of the gene. The hope is that by ...Read more