Most Americans are now breathing cleaner air, however, some are still living in cities that are more polluted than they were a decade ago, a new report reveals. The finding came from the American Lung Association's annual report "State of Air" that examines air quality across the U.S by measuring levels of ozone and small particles in the air in over 1,000 cities from the years 2009 to 2011...

American health care spending has significantly slowed down over the past few years, with some of the lowest rates of growth in over 50 years, according to a recent report by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Altarum Institute. Between 2001 and 2003, health care spending in the U.S. was increasing at an annual rate of 8.8%...

Researchers have found that pregnant women who take the drug valproate (for epilepsy) could be at an increased risk of giving birth to a child with autism, according to a new study published in the journal JAMA...

Misdiagnosing patients or making diagnostic errors is one of the most costly and dangerous mistakes made by doctors in the U.S., resulting in up to 160,000 deaths per year. Johns Hopkins researchers have reviewed over 350,000 malpractice claim payouts in the U.S over the past 25 years...

New research from the US finds that otherwise healthy young adult college students who regularly binge drink, that is consume a lot of alcoholic drinks in a short space of time, show damage to blood vessels similar to that caused by high blood pressure and cholesterol, both factors known to increase risk for heart disease later in life. Senior author Shane A...

Cracking of joints, also referred to as "popping", is a form of joint manipulation that produces a popping or cracking sound, as may occur during knuckle-cracking, a deliberate action. People can crack several joints in their bodies, including the hips, wrists, elbows, back and neck vertebrae, toes, shoulders, feet, jaws, ankles and Achilles tendon...

There is not enough evidence to support suicide screening for all teens and adults, according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). The Task Force posted a final evidence report and draft recommendation statement after analyzing existing research and discovering that there is insufficient data to recommend screening to everyone...

As United States hospitals deal with the constant need to cut expensive costs of care, some are choosing "unlawful" deportations of illegal patients in order to save money, according to a new report by the Center for Social Justice at Seton Hall University School of Law and New York Lawyers for the Public Interest...

The popular video game Tetris has been found to be effective at treating adult amblyopia, also known as 'lazy eye', according to new research conducted by scientists at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC). As one of the most common causes of visual impairment, amblyopia affects nearly 3 percent of the population...

Sofosbuvir, a new drug, is offering impressive cure rates for Hepatitis C patients with two subtypes of the disease - genotypes 2 and 3, according to researchers led by Weill Cornell Medical College. Approximately 1 in every 4 hepatitis C patients in the USA has one of these two subtypes...

Pioneering biophotonics technology developed in the US can detect nanoscale changes in cells from the cervix and uterus that may indicate early stage ovarian cancer, according to a study published this month in the International Journal of Cancer...

New light has been shed on how neuronal metabolism relates to the development of Alzheimer's disease in a recent study. The research was conducted by scientists from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)...

People living in urban areas tend to report greater wellbeing if they have parks and gardens nearby, says a new study from the UK that suggests green spaces have a positive impact on mental health in cities...

A pill form of marijuana provides greater pain relief than when a person smokes it, according to a new study. The study was conducted by researchers at Columbia University in New York and was published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology...

Forty percent of parents are still giving children under the age of 4 cough medications they should not receive, according to a University of Michigan poll. Despite doctors' advice, many parents still turn to OTC (over-the-counter) cough medicines for their very young kids...

Teenagers are more likely to try out illegal substances than adults or children, they are also more likely to drive recklessly and have unprotected sex. Put simply - teenagers, compared to other age groups are greater risk takers. However, research has demonstrated that teenagers have the ability and the knowledge to make competent judgments regarding risks, just like adults...

Natural components in grapes, called polyphenols, have been found to have properties that can help protect organ damage caused by metabolic syndrome. The research, presented at the Experimental Biology conference in Boston, reveals even more health benefits of consuming grapes. Metabolic syndrome is a major public health concern in the U.S...

Researchers have found that most children become infected with warts through direct contact with family members or classmates, contrary to the popular belief that they are more likely to get them from public places. Warts have a rough texture and are caused by viruses, particularly one of several kinds of HPV (human papillomavirus)...

Research done in test tubes and in mice presented at a conference in Boston in the US at the weekend suggests taking low doses of aspirin on a regular basis may stop breast cancer from growing and spreading. However, cancer campaigners urge caution as the results are very early stage and have yet to be shown in patients...

The "Cinnamon Challenge", which involves trying to swallow a teaspoon of cinnamon without water within sixty seconds, has led to many calls to poison centers, emergency departments visits and hospitalizations of teenagers who require ventilator support for collapsed lungs. Swallowing a teaspoon of Cinnamon within sixty seconds is a nearly impossible challenge...