A 24-year-old woman has died after contracting Ebola in the South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the World Health Organization. Her 7-month-old son, who is also confirmed to be infected with the Ebola virus, is receiving treatment, WHO said on Twitter on Friday. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the patients…… MORE
Going back to school can be scary for kids. There’s peer pressure, homework and tests. But 15 million children living in extreme poverty in the US face far more basic fears — not having the supplies to learn or not knowing where they’ll get their next meal, especially on weekends. Here’s what’s being done and…… MORE
The US Food and Drug Administration approved a new treatment for highly drug-resistant tuberculosis, offering new hope in the fight against the world’s most deadly infectious disease. TB most affects the lungs and can be particularly difficult to treat. Drug-resistant strains are on the increase due to incomplete and challenging courses of treatment that last…… MORE
Warning labels on cigarette packages could soon be more graphic, warning that “Smoking reduces blood flow to the limbs, which can require amputation,” and “Smoking causes bladder cancer, which can lead to bloody urine.” The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued a proposed rule that requires tobacco companies to place new graphic health…… MORE
People should stop using the “Miracle” or “Master” mineral solution products sold online as cures for autism, cancer, HIV, hepatitis, flu, acne and a host of other illnesses and diseases, the US Food and Drug Administration warned Monday. The products — known by various names, including Miracle or Master Mineral Solution, Miracle Mineral Supplement, MMS,…… MORE
More than a third of American young people who don’t smoke have been exposed to secondhand smoke, according to a new study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers looked at nonsmoking youth from 2013 to 2016 and found that 35.4% of those ages 3 to 17 had been exposed to…… MORE
It’s raining plastic — that’s what a survey of rainfall in Denver and Boulder, Colorado, concluded recently. The rainfall survey, titled “It is raining plastic,” was put together by scientists at the US Department of the Interior and US Geological Survey. They couldn’t see the plastic with their naked eyes, but found it using a…… MORE
Long-term exposure to air pollution, especially ground-level ozone, is like smoking about a pack of cigarettes a day for many years, a new study says, and like smoking, it can can lead to emphysema. The study, published Tuesday in the medical journal JAMA, is the largest of its kind. It looked at exposure to air…… MORE
When humans are habitually exposed to cold water and air, “surfer’s ear” can be one of the consequences — and apparently, the same was true of Neanderthals. But it’s less likely that they experienced bony growths in their ear canals due to surfing. The dense growths are known as external auditory exostoses. They occur more…… MORE
Minnesota health officials have identified four cases of severe lung injury that could be connected to vaping, similar to what could be dozens more cases in nearby Wisconsin and Illinois. The Minnesota Department of Health said it’s unclear whether these cases are somehow connected. While officials said they don’t yet know the exact products used,…… MORE
