Measles outbreak ends in Kansas: Why are health officials still on alert?

Maybe you shouldn't always listen to your gut.

People often bond with strangers over the books they read or the movies they watch and build friendships that last. Scientists may now have some insight into why this happens. A study published in Nature Human Behaviour found that participants who responded similarly to the same movie clips even before meeting were more likely to become friends later.

In recent years, binge drinking and alcohol use disorder (AUD) rates during pregnancy have increased significantly in the United States, eclipsing even opioids. Evidence-based treatments for AUD include medications and counseling. Still, these are underused, including during pregnancy when both the health of the parent and the development of the fetus are at risk from alcohol consumption. This reflects, in part, the absence of clinical treatment guidelines, insufficient data on the safety of AUD medicines for the fetus, and stigma around substance use during pregnancy.

Changes in unhealthy alcohol use over time can be measured by a simple questionnaire at annual primary care visits. A study published in Alcohol, Clinical and Experimental Research found that in a primary care population that is regularly screened for alcohol use, decreased alcohol use scores are associated with reduced utilization of urgent care, emergency department, or inpatient treatments for mental health concerns. The findings may encourage clinicians to advise patients of the benefits of reducing their drinking and incentivize health care systems to invest in treatments for unhealthy alcohol use.

Abortion rights groups are backing California Democrats in the escalating battle to redraw congressional maps, warning that Republicans are rigging seats on the heels of deeply unpopular cuts to safety net health programs and restrictions on reproductive care.

Researchers at the University of Chicago have developed a "universal" chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) platform that offers enhanced safety, adaptability, and the potential to overcome long-standing barriers in cancer immunotherapy. Promising initial testing results, published in Science Advances, suggest that this new form of CAR-T cell therapy could dramatically change the treatment landscape for certain cancers.

For most broken bones, bone cells regrow on their own while patients wear a cast or brace to keep the injury steady. But for complex or severe fractures, surgeons may intervene by placing grafts or scaffolds made of biocompatible materials, or by using metal fixation devices to ensure proper bone healing and alignment.

The Maryland Department of Health confirmed the state's first human case of West Nile virus this year in an adult living in the central part of the state.

The plague—aka the Black Death, aka the Great Pestilence—is rarely contracted today, yet it recently infected a South Lake Tahoe resident. But before you put on your 17th century "air-purifying" beaked mask, let's find out from the experts why this disease is still around and how dangerous it is now.

On July 17, the option went dead for LGBTQ+ youth to access specialized mental health support from the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

At age 82, Roberta Rabinovitz realized she had no place to go. A widow, she had lost both her daughters to cancer, after living with one and then the other, nursing them until their deaths. Then she moved in with her brother in Florida, until he also died.

Government representatives call for standardized public health procedures at the close of a 3-day simulation exercise. 25 August 2025, Cairo, Egypt – Government representatives from Egypt, Libya, Sudan and Tunisia — major countries on migratory routes in North Africa — convened in Cairo from 18–20 August for a 3-day table-top simulation exercise (SimEx) organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The 4 countries share porous borders. Displaced people often face overcrowding, inadequate shelter, poor sanitation and limited access to timely, quality health care services. These conditions create public health risks for migrants, refugees and host communities. When health care services are not accessible to all, it fuels inequity and undermines health security. The SimEx brought together delegates from Ministries of Health, Interior and Transport to test preparedness for cross-border population movements in line with the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005). Focused on ensuring access to health services for refugees, migrants and other people on the move while reinforcing national health security, it involved interactive and practical exercises on stakeholder coordination for public health event prevention, detection and response, aiming to improve compliance with IHR 2005, enhance communication between sectors and identify gaps to strengthen cross-border public health management, including access to health care services. At the conclusion of the exercise, the multisectoral government representatives recommended standardizing public health procedures across borders to Read more...

While the process via which different types of neurons are produced, also known as neurogenesis, has been the focus of numerous neuroscience studies, its genetic and biological underpinnings in humans have not yet been fully elucidated. This is also true for immature neurons arising from adult hippocampal neurogenesis, known as immature dentate granule cells (imGCs), which support the brain's adaptation in response to experiences throughout adulthood.

With a longtime vaccine critic leading the nation's health departments, you might be wondering whether there's a new flu shot this fall.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the Signos Glucose Monitoring System, an over-the-counter glucose monitoring system for weight management.

Pediatricians should screen children annually for mental or developmental issues, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends in a new clinical report.

A new study led by investigators from Mass General Brigham, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard suggests that a Mediterranean-style diet may help reduce dementia risk. The study, published in Nature Medicine, found that people at the highest genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease benefited more from following a Mediterranean-style diet, showing a greater reduction in dementia risk compared to those at lower genetic risk.

A research team at Kyoto University has discovered STAG3-cohesin, a new mitotic cohesin complex that helps establish the unique DNA architecture of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs), the stem cells that give rise to sperm. This "DNA organizer" is crucial for sperm production in mice: without STAG3, SSCs cannot differentiate properly, leading to a fertility problem.