Dietary supplements are a big business. The industry made almost US$39 billion in revenue in 2022, and with very little regulation and oversight, it stands to keep growing. The marketing of dietary supplements has been quite effective, with 77% of Americans reporting feeling that the supplement industry is trustworthy. The idea of taking your health...
Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) who were infected with COVID-19 experienced greater negative aftereffects in health and work loss than did similarly infected white participants, new research finds. Despite similar symptom prevalence, BIPOC and Hispanic patients experienced greater negative impacts on their health status, activity levels, and ability to work compared with non-Hispanic...
According to Greek mythology, Zeus punished Prometheus for giving fire to humans. He chained Prometheus and set an eagle to feast on his liver. Each night the liver grew again, and each day the eagle returned to its feast. In reality, can a liver really grow back? The liver is the largest internal organ in...
Rarely is there such precise historical information about the origin of an infectious disease as in the case of syphilis : in 1493, during the siege of the city of Naples by French troops. From there, it spread rapidly throughout Europe and Asia, causing one of the most devastating epidemics for humanity for several centuries, which ended when,...
“Medical illustrators draw what can’t be seen, watch what’s never been done, and tell thousands about it without saying a word.” For decades, this slogan appeared on the website and printed materials of the Association of Medical Illustrators. Although the association no longer uses this tag line, it’s still an accurate description of the profession....
More than 25% of the young adults surveyed in a recent study mistakenly believed that sexual activity increases older adults’ risk of heart attack and that disinterest in sex is a normal and inevitable part of aging. While most of those in the study had permissive views about sexual activity in later life, the findings...
Among the many emerging trends on social media, one recent concerning fad is a casual and often inaccurate portrayal of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD – along with an array of questionable interventions suggested for its cure. But what really is PTSD, who suffers from it, and what are the available treatments? As...
Many people are wired to seek and respond to rewards. Your brain interprets food as rewarding when you are hungry and water as rewarding when you are thirsty. But addictive substances like alcohol and drugs of abuse can overwhelm the natural reward pathways in your brain, resulting in intolerable cravings and reduced impulse control. A...
The rising cost of health insurance is an ongoing concern in the United States. New research shows that increasing health insurance costs are eating up a growing proportion of worker’s compensation, and have been a major factor in both flattening wages and increasing income inequality over the past 30 years. In a study from the...
It’s winter, that cozy season that brings crackling fireplaces, indoor gatherings — and a wave of respiratory illness. Nearly four years since the pandemic emerged, people are growing weary of dealing with it, but the virus is not done with us. Nationally, a sharp uptick in emergency room visits and hospitalizations for covid-19, influenza, and...
