Health

Joan H. Marks, who was a pioneer in genetic counseling, the practice of helping patients understand their risk of an inherited medical condition, and who developed it into a full-blown profession, died on Sept. 14 at her home in Manhattan. She was 91. Her son Dr. Andrew Marks said the …

Research of the Week Statins result in a “surprisingly small average gain in overall survival” and may not be worth it for people who experience side effects. What attracts readers to an article’s title. Stretching your hamstrings before squatting increases biceps femoris thickness without impairing performance. Why young people are …

We’re lucky over here at Mark’s Daily Apple. We’ve got a solid group of individuals committed to improving their health by educating themselves on the oh-so-harmful effects of the Standard American Diet. But if you step outside this tiny corner of the Internet, there’s a whole world out there singing …

Facing enormous financial strain because of the shutdown of the theater industry, the health insurance fund that covers thousands of stage actors is making it more difficult for them to qualify for coverage. Currently, professional actors and stage managers have to work 11 weeks to qualify for six months of …

Along the Great Wall, extra security guards have been deployed to deter rowdy tourists. Hotel bookings in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, have risen 600 percent from the same period last year. In Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak began late last year, visitor demand for the city’s Yellow Crane Tower …

“You should take probiotics.” “I heard probiotics are good for you.” “Oh, probiotics are so, so important.” Yes, yes. These are all true statements. But they are broad. Which probiotics? Which strains for what purpose? Simply saying “probiotics” tells us very little about what we’re supposed to be taking. It’s …

People whose mothers had diabetes before or during pregnancy have an increased risk for heart disease as young adults, new research suggests. The risk was apparent both for children of mothers with pre-existing Type 2 diabetes and for children whose mothers developed gestational diabetes during pregnancy. The study, in the …

A new scientific report confirms that cats and dogs can be infected by the novel coronavirus, and that neither animal is likely to get sick. Cats, however, do develop a strong, protective immune response, which may make them worth studying when it comes to human vaccines. There is still no …

The waiter had barely put the plate in front of her when the 46-year-old woman felt the color drain from her face. She was in Fresno, Calif., on a work trip and had come to a restaurant to meet an old friend for dinner. But all of a sudden her …