Health News

What Childhood Vaccine Rates Can Teach Us About COVID Vaccines

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Polls show Americans are increasingly interested in getting vaccinated against COVID-19, but such surveys are largely national, leaving a big question: When the vaccines become available to the general public, will enough people get it in your county, city or neighborhood […]

Health News

Climate Change Is Exacerbating North American Pollen Seasons

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Over the past three decades, anthropogenic climate change has contributed to making pollen seasons in North America both longer and more severe, researchers in the U.S. report. Across the continent, pollen seasons advanced by 20 days and lengthened by eight days on average, and pollen concentrations rose by 21%, the […]

Health News

After Uproar, Ousted Residency Director Offered Job Back

The Tulane University School of Medicine, in New Orleans, Louisiana, has extended an offer to reinstate Princess Dennar, MD, the first and only Black woman to lead any of the school’s residency programs, after removing her from that position in mid-February. Her ousting had prompted a wave of outrage from current students and residents, alumni, […]

Health News

Kids with autism in UK detained in

A British Parliamentary committee says many people with autism or learning disabilities are being detained in “horrific” conditions and is calling for an overhaul of the system intended to evaluate their treatment. The Joint Committee on Human Rights said in a report issued Friday that it heard “grim” evidence about how young people with disabilities […]

Health News

Are the late Stephen Hawking’s religious beliefs typical of U.K. scientists? United Kingdom scientists far less religious than general population, study shows

The late Stephen Hawking famously didn’t believe in God. Neither does the renowned Richard Dawkins. But is that typical for U.K. scientists? In a new study, researchers from Rice University, Baruch College and West Virginia University find that scientists are indeed significantly less religious than the general population there. In addition, U.K. scientists at elite […]

Health News

Can social interactions affect spread of disease? Mathematical modeling explains the connection

Most real-world systems, such as biological, social, and economic schemes evolve constantly. The dynamics of such systems are characterized by significantly enhanced activity levels over short periods of time (or “bursts”) followed by long periods of inactivity. This is true of social communities, in which the pattern of connections between individuals progresses over time, and […]

Health News

Brexit will affect the UK’s ability to tackle illicit drugs trade, warn experts: Exclusion from key EU agency ‘presents substantial risks to public health and safety’

Exclusion from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) because of Brexit will have serious consequences for public health in the UK, warn experts in a letter to The BMJ this week. The EMCDDA is responsible for conducting surveillance, establishing best practice, facilitating data exchange, providing leadership on new psychoactive substances, and […]