OAKLAND, Calif. — Rosa María Carranza leaned forward to hold a 3-year-old’s back as the girl climbed a rock in the forested hills of northeast Oakland.

Dressed in hiking gear and beaded necklaces, Carranza, 67, maneuvered between trees and children on a sunny morning in December. “Hold on to that branch,” she said in Spanish. “You ...Read more

The first time the placebo effect really got under my skin was when I read that roughly one-third of people with irritable bowel syndrome improve on placebo treatments alone. Usually this statistic is presented as a fascinating quirk of medicine. My reaction was anger.

Humanity possesses an extremely effective treatment, with ...Read more

HAY SPRINGS, Neb.— The sun was just warming the horizon as Mark Pieper left his house near his cattle ranch on a crisp February morning.

It’s not unusual for the rancher to wake up early to tend to livestock, but at 5:45 a.m. this day his cattle wouldn’t come first. For the past 3½ years, three days a week, Pieper has made an early ...Read more

Fewer young Minnesotans reported using cannabis in the years since the state legalized recreational marijuana for adults 21 or older in 2023, according to data released by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).

The 2025 Minnesota Student Survey, which is conducted every three years and most recently released on April 20, found that the ...Read more

A potentially more dangerous strain of the mpox virus has been confirmed in Northern California, prompting officials to urge vaccinations to residents of the Golden State.

The disease was formerly known as monkeypox, but the World Health Organization phased out that name in 2022 in favor of mpox because of “racist and stigmatizing language”...Read more

BALTIMORE — A new case of measles reported in Maryland last week could become an outbreak if gone unnoticed in under-vaccinated, susceptible areas, doctors told The Baltimore Sun. As a highly contagious disease starting with less dramatic symptoms, measles can fly under the radar, complicating efforts to track its spread.

Unlike many airborne...Read more

SAN DIEGO — A new UC San Diego study strengthens the growing body of evidence that marijuana use impacts adolescent brain development.

Researchers observed slower gains in cognitive tests that measured memory, focus and thinking speed among middle and high school-age kids who used cannabis when compared to those who abstained.

Scheduled for ...Read more

Dr. Cerina Wanzer Fairfax was an accomplished dentist and a loving mom to two teenage children. On April 16, 2026, she was killed by her estranged husband, former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who then killed himself, according to news reports. This apparent intimate partner murder-suicide has garnered widespread media attention because ...Read more

When 25-year-old Alex LaMorie called Howard County Police for help during a mental health crisis, his family expected officers trained to de-escalate the encounter. Instead, police fatally shot the Columbia man, who had autism.

Advocates say LaMorie’s March 1 death reflects a broader problem across Maryland and nationwide: Police are often ...Read more

An elementary school teacher chose a low-price health insurance plan but soon realized she wasn’t clear about what it would mean for her family’s finances.

When enhanced federal subsidies expired at the end of 2025, a lot of people buying their own health insurance on the state and federal exchanges saw their expected monthly rates jump. To...Read more

For years, Nino Orsini Jr. thought his restless nights were normal.

“I would go to bed at a decent hour. I would log six to eight hours of sleep where I was unconscious, but I wasn't getting what is ‘actual’ sleep,” said Orsini, 48, of Seven Fields, Pennsylvania.

Like an estimated 30 million Americans, Orsini was living with ...Read more

Some severe headaches aren't migraines. They may be caused by a nerve being pinched. When other treatments don't work, surgery may offer relief. Learn more from Dr. Antonio Forte, a Mayo Clinic microvascular plastic and reconstructive surgeon with deep experience in migraine surgery.

Often called trigger site-induced headaches, pain from ...Read more

Many parents wonder when their child is ready to walk or bike to school. Children usually aren't ready to start walking to school without an adult until about fifth grade, or around age 10. Younger children are more impulsive and less cautious around traffic, and they often don't fully understand other potential dangers they could come across.

...Read more

DENVER — People treating mental health problems at Children’s Hospital Colorado don’t have to look at the calendar or the weather to know that April has arrived.

Kids and teens who previously felt fine are seeking outpatient help, existing outpatients need more support and the number of young people showing up in mental health crisis is ...Read more

Millions of people who apply for Medicaid in the coming years will have to prove they’ve been working, going to school, or volunteering for at least a month before they can gain or retain health insurance through the government program.

But Republican lawmakers in some states think the new rules — part of the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill ...Read more

Over the last decade, poison control centers around the country have received tens of thousands of calls from consumers of kratom products reporting adverse and life-threatening health effects, with researchers saying reports in 2025 reached a new level.

Last month, researchers analyzed information from the National Poison Data System and found...Read more

The Trump administration is taking aim at what it calls rampant fraud in state Medicaid programs. But by focusing almost exclusively on Democratic-led states, it has handed ammunition to critics who say it mainly wants to embarrass its political enemies, not save taxpayer dollars.

In announcing earlier this month that Vice President JD Vance ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I'd like to become a living kidney donor. What's involved and how do I prepare if I'd like to donate a kidney?

ANSWER: You've made a generous and meaningful decision to become a living kidney donor. More than 90,000 people in the U.S. are on a waiting list for a kidney transplant.

Your donation offers life-changing benefits ...Read more