An increasing number of people are dying of colorectal cancer at a young age, including those as young as 20. Actor James Van Der Beek, who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2023, died at age 48 on Feb. 11, 2026, bringing the disease back into the limelight.

The Conversation U.S. asked gastrointestinal oncologist Christopher ...Read more

The stability of the U.S. vaccine market rests on an obscure $4 billion fund known as the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., long a critic of the fund, now appears intent on dismantling it.

Vaccine production can be a fickle business. Unlike other pharmaceutical products, ...Read more

Heart disease affects women differently than men, and understanding those differences can be lifesaving. Dr. Sharonne N. Hayes, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist and leading expert in the field of women’s heart health, says progress in research, treatment and prevention has accelerated but women still need better information.

Here are four things ...Read more

Junk food like sodas, potato chips, packaged snacks and processed meats has long been linked to higher risks of diabetes and hypertension.

Now, an increasing body of research is also tying ultra-processed foods to cardiovascular disease.

The latest is a study by researchers at Florida Atlantic University, which found those who consumed more ...Read more

A federal judge on Thursday blocked a Trump administration order slashing $600 million in federal grant funding for HIV programs in California and three other states, finding merit in the states’ argument that the move was politically motivated by disagreements over unrelated state sanctuary policies.

U.S. District Judge Manish Shah, an Obama...Read more

After more than 11 years of injuries and a death, the manufacturer of blood glucose monitors has issued a correction to the instructions directing actions when the glucose might be dangerously high.

These True Metrix monitors are sold under the store brands of the nation’s largest pharmacies and grocers, including Walmart, Kroger, CVS, ...Read more

The Food and Drug Administration has refused to review an application from the biotech company Moderna to approve its mRNA-based flu vaccine.

The agency’s decision, which Moderna announced in a press release on Feb. 10, 2026, is the latest step in efforts by federal health officials under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F...Read more

Addiction is one of the most common and consequential chronic medical conditions in the United States. Nationwide, more than 46 million people met the criteria for a substance abuse disorder as of 2021, the most recent data available.

Decades of evidence show that addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease of the brain. Nonetheless, ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- Marketed as a ticket to deeper sleep, the soft hum of pink noise has become part of millions’ nightly routines.

However, its use may come at the cost of sleep quality, a University of Pennsylvania study suggests.

Published last week in the medical journal Sleep, the study found that the presence of pink noise at night reduced...Read more

Rebekah Stewart, a nurse at the U.S. Public Health Service, got a call last April that brought her to tears. She had been selected for deployment to the Trump administration’s new immigration detention operation at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

This posting combined Donald Trump’s longtime passion to use the offshore base to move “some bad dudes...Read more

SEATTLE — As artificial intelligence chatbots become better at mimicking human conversations, the potential for damage has grown, particularly for people who turn to them for mental health advice and to discuss plans to harm themselves.

State lawmakers and Gov. Bob Ferguson are seeking to add mental health safeguards to AI chatbots through ...Read more

More Americans than expected enrolled in Affordable Care Act health insurance plans for this year, after premium subsidies were dramatically cut — but it remains to be seen whether they’ll keep the coverage as their costs mount.

It’s all part of a drama that roiled the ACA’s 2026 open enrollment period. Congressional debate over whether...Read more

DENVER — Colorado filed a lawsuit Wednesday to prevent the Trump administration from canceling more than $25 million in grants for public health.

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notified Congress it wouldn’t pay $600 million worth of grants already awarded in Colorado, California, Illinois and Minnesota — all ...Read more

President Donald Trump’s administration is moving to cut more than $100 million in federal health care grants for Illinois, a step that was quickly met with a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Kwame Raoul and his peers in three other states.

Illinois, California, Colorado and Minnesota sued the Trump administration Wednesday over the Office ...Read more

Eight measles cases in Northern California have been classified as an outbreak of the highly contagious disease, state health officials said.

The outbreak is part of a national surge in measles cases that has the California Department of Public Health “strongly urging” Californians to be sure their measles vaccinations are up to date, the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge this week ordered ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to provide "constitutionally adequate health care" to people detained in California's newest and largest immigration detention center.

In her Tuesday ruling, U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney also required an external monitor be appointed to ensure...Read more

BOSTON — Glioblastoma patients, long shut out from immunotherapies that have transformed patient care in other cancers, could finally benefit from a new treatment option.

Boston cancer researchers have found that a virus-based therapy improves survival in patients with glioblastoma.

A team led by investigators at Mass General Brigham and ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A “superbug” fungus is spreading in health care facilities across the country, and according to researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, represents a multi-drug resistant threat that requires early detection and response.

Candida auris, or C. auris, spreads easily in health care settings and ...Read more