public health

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Mathematician: Numbers Back This Mosquito-Killing Idea

Binod Pant crunched the numbers

(Newser) - Binod Pant didn't come up with the idea of releasing fungus-infected male mosquitoes into the wild as a way to decimate populations of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. But the Northeastern University mathematician did figure out just how effective the tactic could be. Pant met the entomologist behind the fungus idea—Met-Hybrid...

The Cost of Our Car Batteries: Lead-Poisoned Workers

US carmakers increasingly source toxic metal from loosely regulated Nigerian factories for batteries

(Newser) - A new investigation finds the US auto industry's reliance on cheap recycled lead from Nigeria is poisoning entire communities. With environmental regulations tightening in the US and elsewhere over the last 30 years, the auto industry has turned to recycled lead from countries with looser enforcement, including Nigeria, per...

Chronic Kidney Disease Joins Ranks of World's Top Killers

It's now No. 9, with roughly 14% of adults living with the condition worldwide

(Newser) - A new global study warns that chronic kidney disease is quietly becoming a major public health crisis, with cases worldwide more than doubling in the past three decades.
  • The number of cases rose from 378 million in 1990 to 788 million in 2023, placing CKD among the top 10 causes
...

45- to 49-Year-Olds Aren't Racing to Get Colonoscopies

Study finds that less than a quarter followed new cancer recommendations

(Newser) - If you're in the second-half of your 40s, you should have "colon cancer screening" crossed off your to-do list. But if you haven't, you're unfortunately in good company. A new study out of UCLA has found that fewer than one in four adults ages 45 to...

Humans Aren't Adapted to Eat Ultraprocessed Foods
Ultraprocessed Foods
Are the New Tobacco
NEW STUDY
Nov 19, 2025 7:59 AM CST

Ultraprocessed Foods Are the New Tobacco

Lancet series calls out food industry for promoting unhealthy food to maximize profits

(Newser) - A comprehensive review suggests humans are not biologically adapted to consume ultraprocessed foods, which are linked to harm in every major human organ system. The review published in the Lancet , which draws on 104 long-term studies, found that 92 of them linked diets high in ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) to increased...

In Texas, Whooping Cough Cases Have Quadrupled

Health officials link outbreak to declining vaccination rates

(Newser) - Whooping cough cases in Texas have soared to more than four times last year's count, according to a new alert from the state's health department. So far in 2024, Texas has reported more than 3,500 cases of the highly contagious respiratory sickness, marking the second consecutive year...

Nation Bans Tobacco Sales for Anyone Born 2007 or Later

Ban covers citizens and tourists alike in the Maldives

(Newser) - The Maldives has become the first country in the world to officially ban smoking for everyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2007. The nation's Health Ministry says the generational ban, which took effect on Saturday, is an effort to "protect public health and promote a tobacco-free generation,...

Surgeon General Nominee Goes Into Labor Just Before Hearing

Casey Means will still face tough questions, but at a later date

(Newser) - A Senate committee has postponed the confirmation hearing for Dr. Casey Means, President Trump's nominee for surgeon general , after she went into labor. Means, expecting her first child, was set to appear virtually before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Thursday morning, two days after her...

German Rats Are Busted Attacking Bats Midair
Bats in Germany Had Better
Watch Out for the Rats
NEW STUDY
Oct 29, 2025 10:30 AM CDT

Bats in Germany Had Better Watch Out for the Rats

Urban rodents are recorded hunting bats that are flying by or on the ground

(Newser) - Rats are now on record as bat hunters. Infrared and thermal cameras set up at hibernation sites in two northern German towns captured brown rats in the act, with footage showing the rodents standing upright to snatch bats out of midair or ambushing them on the ground. This marks the...

New Vaccine Fight Is Over Aluminum
New Vaccine Fight
Is About Aluminum
Oct 16, 2025 7:34 AM CDT

New Vaccine Fight Is About Aluminum

FDA review could put many childhood vaccinations at risk

(Newser) - A new fight over childhood vaccines is brewing, this time over aluminum. Specifically, FDA officials are considering the removal of aluminum salts from shots, a move that could put about half of childhood vaccinations at risk, reports the New York Times . President Trump signaled the fight during his July news...

WHO Issues a New Warning on Superbugs

They are defying antibiotics at a growing rate

(Newser) - The World Health Organization issued a stark warning on Monday about the rising threat of drug-resistant bacterial infections around the globe. The health agency said one in six bacterial infections confirmed by laboratories in 2023 no longer responded to standard antibiotic treatments, raising alarms about the future effectiveness of...

California: No More Ultraprocessed Foods 'of Concern' at Schools

New law gives schools until 2035 to comply fully

(Newser) - California has become the first state to ban "ultraprocessed foods of concern" from public school meals, setting a 10-year timeline to erase these items from breakfast and lunch menus, NBC News reports. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the measure into law on Wednesday, calling the effort a unifying issue...

Subscription Meal Kits May Come With a Side of Listeria

USDA warns people not to eat certain HelloFresh dishes that contain spinach

(Newser) - Federal health officials on Monday warned people not to eat certain HelloFresh subscription meal kits containing spinach that may be contaminated with listeria. The US Agriculture Department issued a public health alert for the meals, which were produced by FreshRealm, the San Clemente, California-based company linked to an expanding listeria...

RFK Jr. Fires Scientist Who Filed Whistleblower Complaint

Jeanne Marrazzo was sidelined as NIAID director in April

(Newser) - A top scientist at the National Institutes of Health has been fired just weeks after filing a whistleblower complaint against the Trump administration. Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, received her termination letter from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., her...

Wildfire Smoke Poised to Be Top Climate Health Threat

Study notes tens of thousands of annual deaths from smoke exposure, with more harm expected

(Newser) - A new study forecasts that wildfire smoke will become the leading climate-related health hazard in the United States, eclipsing risks like extreme heat by midcentury. The analysis estimates that smoke is already responsible for upward of 41,000 excess deaths annually—a figure more than double previous estimates. Researchers...

CDC Committee Is Set for a Big Vote on Hepatitis B Vaccines

Panel is expected to limit shots to babies of infected moms, or delay timing until age 4

(Newser) - A federal panel is preparing to reconsider the long-standing recommendation that all US newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine, a move likely to spark fresh debate over childhood immunization policy. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is expected to discuss later this week whether to restrict...

JFK's Grandson Eyes Nadler's Congressional Seat

Schlossberg forms exploratory committee as Nadler exits House race

(Newser) - John F. Kennedy's grandson , Jack Schlossberg— a frequent critic of the Trump administration, including his own cousin , Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—is eyeing a congressional run in Manhattan, USA Today reports. Schlossberg announced Sunday that he has officially set up an exploratory committee to consider a run...

1K HHS Staffers Sign Letter Urging RFK Jr. to Go

The American people have been 'put at risk,' per the letter

(Newser) - Over 1,000 current and former Health and Human Services staffers have signed their names to a letter released Wednesday that calls for HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to go, claiming his leadership endangers public health. In a letter sent to Kennedy and members of Congress, the Hill...

Rare Plague Case Confirmed in California

Officials say infection likely came from flea bite during camping trip

(Newser) - Health officials in California have confirmed a rare case of bubonic plague in a resident of South Lake Tahoe, marking the first human infection in the area since 2020. According to El Dorado County authorities, the patient—whose identity and current condition remain undisclosed—is recuperating at home after...

Americans Drinking at Record Low Rates

Gallup poll finds that 54% of people say they drink

(Newser) - Fewer Americans are reaching for a drink than ever before, a new survey from Gallup suggests. The percentage of Americans who say they drink has fallen to 54%, a record low since Gallup started tracking the statistic nearly 90 years ago, reports the Guardian . That's down from 58%...

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