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Alcohol use increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. A new study shows that it’s still high
A surge of stress-related drinking and alcohol-related deaths brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic in the US has not tapered off the way Dr. Brian Lee, a transplant hepatologist at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, had hoped. “I was hopeful that we would see declines in …
They’re up to 70% of the American diet. But the US has no policy on ultraprocessed foods
Twenty-year-old Sam Srisatta is giving a month of his life to science — research that could help shape the future of US nutritional and regulatory guidance about the ultraprocessed foods that make up nearly 70% of the nation’s food supply. By 7 a.m. each day in his hospital room, nurses …
Bird flu virus isolated from hospitalized Canadian teen shows signs of human adaptation
The avian flu virus isolated from a hospitalized teenager in Vancouver has mutations in key areas that could help the virus spread more easily in humans, scientists say. There is no indication that the mutated virus has traveled beyond this patient. After monitoring of dozens of potential contacts among the …
Solving a 40-year mystery, scientists ID chemical found in millions of Americans’ tap water
For more than four decades, scientists have noticed a mysterious chemical in the treated drinking water of millions of people in the United States, but no one’s been able to pinpoint exactly what it is – until now. The authors of a study published Thursday in the journal Science believe …
Less-potent fentanyl pills may be playing a role in decrease of US overdose deaths, DEA says
The US Drug Enforcement Administration says that less fentanyl is present in the nation’s illicit pill supply and that is helping drive down overdose deaths in the United States. But experts say that there are limitations to this claim and that many other factors are probably playing a role. About …
Survivor of suicide attempt receives innovative face transplant: ‘It was just a miracle’
Editor’s note: This story contains a discussion of suicide. Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters. In the US: Call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Derek Pfaff remembers being under a lot of stress throughout college. …