Category: 4. Health

Mississippi declared a public health emergency for the first time in recent history, sounding the alarm on the highest infant mortality rates the state has seen in more than a decade. Mississippi ranks last in the nation in infant mortality, with 9.7 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024 compared to the national rate of 5.5 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to American…

The Trump administration is considering massive “Section 232” tariffs on imported medicines from key U.S. allies, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan, and South Korea. While tariffs on some countries, such as EU member states, could be capped at 15%, other tariffs could reportedly be set as high as 250%. Either…

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

How does your body make poop? Owen, 4, Wakefield, Massachusetts

Much of the food you eat is absorbed by your digestive system, which includes your stomach and your intestines.

But some of what you eat makes it all the way through those twists and…

August 31^st is International Overdose Awareness Day, a moment to commemorate those we’ve lost and to take action to prevent further overdoses, fatal and non-fatal. Some might wonder if this is still really a major public health issue when the CDC reported a 25% decline in overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending in March…

The Donald Trump White House’s…

Toxic pollutants from a Southern California river are infiltrating the air.

Polluted water surging along a turbulent section of the Tijuana River in San Diego can release toxic gases, including hydrogen sulfide, into the air, researchers report in the Aug. 28 Science. In a nearby neighborhood, hydrogen sulfide — produced from sewage breakdown and known for its rotten egg smell — peaked at levels thousands of times the typical urban amounts.

“As far as we can tell, this…

Mpox (formally Monkeypox) is a viral disease caused by the Monkeypox virus and can infect both humans and animals. Interestingly, this is part of the viral family linked to smallpox. Patients that contract mpox experience rashes, fever, headache, chills, fatigue, nasal congestion, nausea, and vomiting. As the disease progresses symptoms become severe and potentially fatal. Unfortunately, there is no cure for mpox and treatment usually involves symptom…

In the last two decades, scientists have been working to understand if and how sex is correlated to immune response. Previous reports have shown that women have stronger innate and adaptive immunity. While differences in immunity can be contributed to various factors, scientists have attributed this to spikes in specific hormones and explains this advantage from an evolutionary perspective. As a result, women are reported to generate better immune…

When it comes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the time of Trump and RFK Jr., like so many things—it’s complicated.

SNAP is one of our nation’s most effective tools against hunger, helping more than 40 million Americans put food on the…

Life-sciences digital engagement platform Ostro is launching an AI powered tool for healthcare providers to directly interact with pharmaceutical companies. The tool, named Airmark, will allow clinicians to respond directly to pharmaceutical emails and threads to engage in deeper conversations about products and medications.

Currently, the workflow as it exists today is much more cumbersome;…