Author: healthadmin

Born and raised in Colorado, Cory Kreft started working on honey farms at the age of 15. He returned to beekeeping after college and eventually bought the business from his former boss. But in 2021, his bees suddenly started dying. He lost 85 percent of his hives. The deficit continued the following year and the following year. After extensive testing, he determined that the culprit was a relatively new class of pesticides called neonicotinoids. It was often shortened to neonicotinoid. These chemicals are commonly used to coat crop seeds before planting, ostensibly to protect plants from pests and insects during…

A minor injury, severe infection, or even the flu can send your body in a completely different direction. Some people recover quickly, but others become seriously ill or die. Scientists call this pathway the disease pathway, and it is shaped by many factors, including age, gender, medical history, and biology. Dr. Janelle Ayers of the Salk Institute has been studying why people react so differently to illness and injury. Her work focuses on how the body can be guided away from disease and death and towards recovery and survival. Inflammation and disease survival Inflammation is often a major factor in…

NASA’s silent supersonic research vehicle, the X-59, is nearing one of its most important stages of development. The experimental X-plane is scheduled to begin a new series of test flights, including the first flight above the speed of sound, along with several other key objectives for the mission. “What’s going to happen next is this unique aircraft will fly at supersonic speeds for the first time,” said Kathy Baum, project manager for NASA’s low-boom flight demonstrator. “We are starting toward a test point for the mission conditions for which the X-59 was designed.” After months of flight testing, the X-59…

Children who grow up in disadvantaged areas show faster declines in key indicators of brain development during adolescence compared to children in areas with more opportunities, a new study published in the journal cerebral cortex. The brain undergoes dramatic changes during adolescence. Two of the most carefully studied metrics are cortical thickness (the thickness of the outer layer of the brain) and cortical surface area (the total surface area covered by the outer layer). Both typically decrease during the teenage years as the brain refines itself and becomes more efficient. Scientists know that children from different socio-economic backgrounds show differences…

Circle of Blue by Keith Schneider June 1, 2026 Expect the unexpected. That’s the only certainty about planting timing across the Corn Belt. heat. frost. insect. It rains too much or it doesn’t rain at all. Add to this the pain of the “market collapse” that the Trump administration has cursed farmers with. Tariff. Rising fuel costs. But this spring’s surprise has never been so unexpected as to seriously consider the harms caused by industrial crops and livestock production. Tomorrow’s primary election in Iowa will focus on the massive water pollution caused by agriculture and its impact on public health.…

Two years ago, the Food and Drug Administration set itself a deadline. The agency will ultimately decide whether to ban electroshock devices, which have been used for decades to manage self-harm in people with intellectual disabilities and autism. The deadline set for the end of May has now passed without a verdict, and disability rights activists and those who have experienced such shocks fear there will be more to come. The practice, called a form of “torture” by U.N. officials and “punishment” by the American Academy of Pediatrics, has fallen largely out of favor in the United States in recent…

People at high risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may be able to postpone the disease for years if treated early, according to new research from King’s College London. The study found that one-year administration of the biologic drug abatacept significantly delayed the onset of rheumatoid arthritis, with effects lasting long after treatment ended. Published in lancet rheumatologythis study expands on earlier clinical trial results reported by Dr. King researchers in 2024. The first study followed 213 participants from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands for two years. The latest analysis followed participants for four to eight years, making it…

After failures in demonstrating the potential of the protease inhibitor ensitrevir as a treatment for COVID-19 in U.S. patients, Shionogi & Co. has received FDA approval for the drug in the preventive category. Shionogi’s oral drug, sold under the name Xocova and available in Japan starting in 2022, is approved for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) against COVID-19 in adults and adolescents 12 years and older in the United States who have been in contact with someone infected with COVID-19. Shionogi & Co. said in a June 1 press release that the FDA’s approval earns Xocova the distinction of being the first…

Weight loss company Noom is offering at-home biomarker testing kits to its U.S. members and expanding its platform into diagnostics and metabolic health monitoring. This marks an expansion of the company’s proactive health program, rolled out in December, which combines microdosed GLP-1 medicines with at-home biomarker testing and insights. The company says its at-home blood collection and laboratory testing services allow members to establish baseline labs and track improvements in markers such as HbA1C, ApoB, triglycerides and hs-CRP over time. This test provides users with insight into biological outcomes such as blood sugar regulation, lipid profiles, and inflammatory markers. Executives…

For decades, giant mitochondria (known as megamitochondria) have been observed in liver biopsies of patients with alcohol-related liver disease (ALD). However, whether these enlarged organelles represent cellular damage or a protective adaptation remains unclear. The New Perspective paper by Niu et al. provides an updated mechanistic framework to explain how macromitochondria initially protect liver cells but later contribute to inflammation, fibrosis, and liver cancer progression. This paper integrates several recent original studies from the Ding lab, including mechanistic studies in alcohol-fed mouse models and genetically engineered mice targeting mitochondrial dynamics proteins. Together, these studies will significantly advance the field of…