Diseases(Page 7)

Groundbreaking research on COVID-19, cancer, diabetes, and other health concerns.

Latest in Diseases

Two decades-long studies link ultra-processed foods to cancer and premature death

Two decades-long studies link ultra-processed foods to cancer and premature death

By Laura Baisas

A child wears a mask and sanitizes hands to avoid getting sick.

The back-to-school guide for fighting common viruses

By Jeanette Beebe

A gloved hand drawing a vaccine.

FDA green lights Omicron-targeting mRNA vaccine boosters

By Laura Baisas

A crowd in front of a bar covered in colorful flags.

Monkeypox safety measures will be put to the test at New Orleans’ Labor Day festival

By Philip Kiefer

expiration date on covid test

How to check if your at-home COVID test has expired

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

This week is the last chance to order free at-home COVID tests

This week is the last chance to order free at-home COVID tests

By Laura Baisas

Long COVID could be keeping as many as 4 million Americans out of work

Long COVID could be keeping as many as 4 million Americans out of work

By Laura Baisas

What to know about polio boosters, oral vaccines, and your medical history records

What to know about polio boosters, oral vaccines, and your medical history records

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Mother in yellow shirt and blue head wrap with child strapped to back at a COVID vaccine clinic in South Africa

As COVID vaccines reach kids worldwide, a gap in Africa leaves everyone exposed

By Abdullahi Tsanni

Doctor drawing up Covid-19 vaccine from glass phial bottle and filling syringe injection for vaccination.

Omicron-specific COVID vaccine approved in the UK

By Laura Baisas

KN95 mask on dark background.

With COVID-19 ‘here to stay,’ CDC loosens most guidelines

By Laura Baisas

Shrew on the forest floor.

Newly discovered Langya virus may have jumped from shrews to humans

By Laura Baisas

a person wearing a surgical face mask rests their head in their hand looking tired

Long COVID recovery is finally getting the attention it deserves in the US

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Vials of vaccine with needle

The monkeypox vaccine can now be injected in a more effective way

By Laura Baisas

The PACT Act will take the burden of proof off US veterans exposed to burn pits

The PACT Act will take the burden of proof off US veterans exposed to burn pits

By Isobel Whitcomb

A surfer with black skin and long brown dreads and a surfer with white skin and long brown hair both in red rash guard UPF shirts high fiving in the waves

Everything you need to know about UPF sun protection

By Julia Craven

A 66-year-old patient is likely the fifth person virtually cured of HIV.

Rare transplant cells have cured another HIV patient

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

A child wearing a mask receives a squirt of a nasal vaccine.

The White House (sort of) has a plan to create more resilient COVID vaccines

By Philip Kiefer

A pig's heart in a medical container held by a medical worker in blue protective clothing

How organ-transplant teams hunt for hidden animal-to-human viruses

By Philip Kiefer

Poliovirus particles in blue and green in a digital rendering

What to know about the new rare polio case in New York

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

A microscope image of monkeypox virus particles, which are oval with a fringed outer ring.

Monkeypox isn’t an STI. So why are health officials focused on sex?

By Philip Kiefer

Arteries with red blood cells flowing through and a yellowish cholesterol clog in a medical illustration

A super-sharp gene editing tool could tackle high cholesterol and other common ailments

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Pad with red sequins next to two tampons, yellow hormone pills, and an alarm clock to represent irregular periods

How do vaccines affect periods? A big COVID survey lays out some clues.

By Kate Baggaley

The FDA has just given emergency use authorization to the Novavax vaccine.

FDA just greenlit a different type of COVID vaccine

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Black person with short gray hair in a red collared shirt wearing a COVID mask looking directly into the camera

Machine learning is finally helping us track COVID deaths faster and more accurately

By Kate Baggaley

A man on a bicycle wearing a face mask as he passes flowering bushes.

Omicron variants keep getting better at dodging our immune systems

By Philip Kiefer

New mother nursing newborn baby while wearing a COVID mask

COVID deaths in pregnant people in the US are flying under the radar

By Maria Parazo Rose

Sleep is closely tied to important health factors like our weight, blood pressure, and glucose metabolism.

Take heart: A good night’s sleep can boost cardiac health

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Person with blond hair and white nail polish scratching mosquito bites that could carry viruses

These mosquito-borne viruses have a bizarre way of making you smell sweeter to their minions

By Kate Baggaley

Clinical sample of the monkeypox virus.

More than a million monkeypox vaccines are on their way in the US

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Juul e-cigarette vaping pen next to box and a gavel to symbolize FDA ban decision

Why Juul vaping products might start disappearing from US stores

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

gloves, pills, thermometers, masks

This outbreak simulator predicted the strange twists in our pandemic behavior

By Charlotte Hu

Three kids in COVID masks with bookbags right before summer vacation and COVID vaccines are available for their age group

COVID vaccines for children under 5 are near. Here’s how to prepare.

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Person with black hair with a bald spot on their temple due to alopecia hair loss

Alopecia patients finally have an FDA-approved hair-loss treatment

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

A small child is having a bandage put on his arm after receiving a shot. A caregiver stands behind him.

Young kids will likely have COVID vaccine access in the next few weeks

By Philip Kiefer

DNA from plague victims’ teeth may unravel the origin of Black Death

DNA from plague victims’ teeth may unravel the origin of Black Death

By Kate Baggaley

bowls containing wheat flour, eggs, shellfish, peanuts, soybeans, and other common allergens

It’s harder for kids with food allergies to catch COVID

By Philip Kiefer

A blonde person wearing a medical face mask and standing in a mostly empty airport while holding onto a white rolling suitcase.

Your up-to-date guide on international travel during COVID-19

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Plane traveler wearing a COVID mask with an orange neck pillow looking out window after CDC lifted COVID testing policy for international flights

Flying to the US? You no longer need a negative COVID test.

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Vaccination is one of the best ways to protect against COVID.

Moderna is testing an Omicron-specific COVID vaccine. Here’s how it’s faring.

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

For patients with rectal cancer who received an experimental new treatment.

A new rectal cancer treatment eliminated all tumors in a small group of patients

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Person with short brown hair in a white t-shirt and a COVID surgical mask checking their temperature on a thermometer for COVID rebound infection

What we know about COVID rebound so far

By Philip Kiefer

An older adult at the doctor's office

What older adults need to know about long COVID

By Judith Graham / KFF Health News

A microscope image of several SARS-CoV-2 virus particles.

An estimate of how many Americans have died from each COVID variant

By Philip Kiefer

White cat on a red leash outdoors on a lawn full of pink lilac flowers

Outdoor cats are deadly—and not just for birds and squirrels

By Kristine Liao

A line of people queue up in front of a blue tent.

What’s next for China’s zero COVID policy

By Philip Kiefer

a healthcare worker giving a vaccine to a patient

A massive new study confirms vaccinated people are still at risk of long COVID

Images from the September 1923 issue of Popular Science Monthly.

From the archives: How a medical ‘outsider’ discovered insulin

By Bill Gourgey

A blue and pink microscope slide showing several ovals in animal flesh.

Here’s what we know about monkeypox transmission so far

By Philip Kiefer

US Army service members in surgical masks saluting the coffin of a veteran who died of COVID-19

What 1 million COVID deaths looks like from the frontlines

By Philip Kiefer

Marie Maynard Daly

Biochemist Marie Maynard Daly uncovered what makes us tick

By Yasmin Tayag

A photo of an open window, skylight.

How better ventilation can fight the spread of COVID in your home

By Liz Szabo / KHN

A girl getting vaccinated.

Children 5 to 11 can now get COVID boosters

National Mall in Washington, D.C. covered in thousands of white flags to represent each US COVID death

We’ve lost more than 1 million Americans to COVID

By Purbita Saha

The 1918 flu outbreak, in which patients were kept in quarantine wards like this, was one of the world's deadliest pandemics.

A viral descendent of the deadly 1918 flu is probably still going around

A child playing with a bear.

We still don’t know what’s behind the global hepatitis outbreak in kids

People standing on a bridge at sunset while bats fly over.

Climate change could introduce humans to thousands of new viruses

By Philip Kiefer

A pill bottle on a blue background spilling aspirin tabs.

Millions of Americans take aspirin to prevent heart disease—but should they?

By Philip Kiefer

a person sneezing

CDC estimates 58 percent of Americans have been infected with COVID so far

The CDC needs the public’s help to reverse the upward trend in STIs

The CDC needs the public’s help to reverse the upward trend in STIs

By Kate Baggaley

Person in a pink hijab talking to an oncologist in a pony tail and white coat about cancer treatments

Why doctors almost never say cancer is ‘cured’

By Jeanette Beebe

N95 Masks laid out on a blue background

Masks can work—even if you’re the only one wearing them

By Philip Kiefer

A judge threw out the US travel mask mandate. What’s next?

A judge threw out the US travel mask mandate. What’s next?

Three children in dresses playing in a sandbox during an acute hepatitis outbreak in the US and Europe

A mysterious liver disease is sickening kids in the US and Europe

By Purbita Saha