Deadly high blood pressure during pregnancy is on the rise
Sara McGinnis was nine months pregnant with her second child and something felt off. Her body was swollen. She was tired and dizzy. Her husband, Bradley McGinnis, said she had told her doctor and nurses about her symptoms and even went to the emergency room when they worsened. But, Bradley said, what his wife was…
A massive baby penguin named Pesto is inhaling fish and winning fans
Pesto the baby penguin is huge — both online and literally speaking. The nine-month-old king penguin, who lives at the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium in Australia, weighs about 46 pounds. That’s enormous, even by seabird standards. King penguins, the second-largest species of penguin, typically weigh 20 to 30 pounds when they’re fully grown. “He’s officially…
Hazardous chemicals in food packaging can also be found in people
Thousands of chemicals used in food packaging and food production are leaching into food itself. “It’s [from] your soda can, your plastic cooking utensils, your nonstick frying pan, the cardboard box that your fries come in,” says Jane Muncke, a toxicologist based in Zurich. “It’s retail food packaging, but also the processing equipment, and your…
Whooping cough cases spike in the U.S., after people missed vaccinations during pandemic
The number of whooping cough cases have more than quadrupled in the U.S. since last year, according to data reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday. Infectious diseases experts attribute the surge in cases of whooping cough — also known as pertussis — to a dip in vaccination rates that began…
The human cost of ghost networks
For people with the most severe forms of mental illness, the problem of not being able to find treatment can be deadly. Ravi Coutinho tried very hard to find treatment for his depression, anxiety and alcohol use disorder. He met frustration at every turn as he tried to find mental health care providers who took…
Third-party voters face a tough choice in a tight election
Voters considering a third-party candidate face the same dilemma every presidential election cycle: should they vote their values and get behind a candidate who likely won’t win, or settle and support a Democrat or Republican nominee they see as flawed. This year, Pope Francis weighed in. “One must choose the lesser of two evils,” he…
Fragile X held him back. An experimental drug is helping him break free
For 22 years, Jason Mazzola’s life was defined by Fragile X, a genetic condition that often causes autism and intellectual disability. Jason, who is 24 now, needed constant supervision. He had disabling anxiety, and struggled to answer even simple questions. All that began to change when he started taking an experimental drug called zatolmilast in…
The ‘alpaca’ haircut teenage boys and young men are obsessed with — explained
Teenage boys have a new hair style obsession. You’ve probably seen a variation of the “alpaca” cut, as some are calling it, on the likes of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, internet personality Jake Paul and pop megastar Bad Bunny. The look can vary, of course, but it has three signature traits: a close…