Disease

Groundhog Day, the greatest American tradition, happens every year on February 2nd, when several overly dressed gents pull a rodent out of a tree to predict the weather for the next six weeks. They've done this for 132 years.

Breastfeeding is recommended for an infant's first 12 months of life because of its correlation with improved health.

In spite of having a face (and body) that only a mother could love, the naked mole rat, Heterocephalus glaber, (NMR) may provide valuable insights into the processes involved in both aging and cancer since they seem to have a lo

It is the 100th anniversary of the 1918 Spanish flu (1,2) pandemic, and the date is not the only similarity between the two.

Fractures in the elderly result in significant dysfunction, with many not recovering their full function, with up to 25% requiring permanent institutional care and an eightfold increase in mortality within three months of a hip fracture.

Humans and other animals possess two copies of most genes. This stems from the fact that animals contain pairs of chromosomes, one from the mother and one from the father.

Severe obesity (BMI = or > 40, or 35 if there are coincident health conditions) carries with it a variety of increased health risks, such as for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart problems.

Rotavirus infection is a very contagious, resulting in gastroenteritis, fever, vomiting, and diarrhea — sometimes severe enough to cause life-threatening dehydration.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common irregular heartbeat, affecting 2.7 million Americans. Up to 15% of patients with atrial fibrillation can experience a debilitating stroke, so prevention is important.

The flu reminds us that humans, as social creatures, are more susceptible to contagious disease than more solitary species. But do other social species treat contagion differently and could there be evolutionary insights to discover?