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Today β€” 7 November 2026Main stream

The UV-tracking Gem made me rethink how sunlight affects my health, not just my appearance

7 November 2026 at 17:00
A close-up of the 90 Gem UV-tracking pendant around someone's neck.

With temperatures rising to the 90s in Los Angeles, avoiding the heat wasn't exactly an option while I was at a relative's outdoor party in August. So I sat beneath a patio umbrella with a powerful fan nearby, figuring I was protected from the sun and heat. Half an hour later, I felt exhausted, dizzy, nauseous, and generally unwell, symptoms consistent with heat exhaustion.

Around the same time, I received a notification from an app used by the $249 ($149 at the time of publication) UV-tracking necklace I'd been wearing, called Gem, from a company called The90. It warned that my UV exposure had climbed considerably. It turns out UV radiatio …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Doctors pull knife from man's eye that went through his brainβ€”and he's fine now

By: Beth Mole
6 November 2026 at 23:09

A man in his 20s showed up to a UK hospital with the hilt of a knife sticking out of his face. The 15 mm-wide blade hidden within went completely through his right eye and through his brain, with the tip of the blade hitting the top of his skull.

Despite the ghastly injury, the man was alive and conscious when he arrived. He could still talk and move all four limbs. His doctors described him as being in a state of agitation. On the Glasgow Coma Scale, he scored a 12 (E3 V4 M5), indicating a "moderate" brain injury, just one point above "mild." He could open his left eye when told, but otherwise kept it closed (E3 score); he could talk and answer questions, but was confused (V4); and he intentionally moved away when pressure was applied to his body (M5).

In a report published Friday in BMJ Case Report, his doctors said they were concerned that in his confused, agitated state he may try to pull the knife out on his own. So, they swiftly sedated and intubated him. They put him on prophylactic treatments for bacterial infections, including tetanus. Then they used images to see what was going on in his head.

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Β© BMJ Case Reports, 2026

Yesterday β€” 6 November 2026Main stream

Wisconsin reports measles death of a baby, first death in over 35 years

By: Beth Mole
6 November 2026 at 17:06

An infant in Wisconsin has died of measles, the first measles death in the state since 1990, officials reported Thursday. The death comes amid an outbreak in the Badger State that has stricken over 430 people across 13 counties this year.

"Any death of a child is a tragedy, and even more so when it is related to a vaccine-preventable disease," Wisconsin Health Secretary Kirsten Johnson said in a statement. "Measles can cause serious illness and death, and it is important for all Wisconsinites to evaluate their risk and take steps to protect themselves and their family."

The baby's death is the third measles fatality nationally just this week, following the death of a New York child reported on Monday and another death in Pennsylvania reported on Wednesday. The Pennsylvania death was of an unvaccinated person in Jefferson County; the state health department did not provide additional details, such as the age of the person. The state's explosive, ongoing measles outbreak has led to 1,467 cases so far this year.

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Β© Getty | Jan Sonnenmair

Before yesterdayMain stream

MAHA lost bigly in the midtermsβ€”is it at death's door?

By: Beth Mole
5 November 2026 at 18:49

As Democrats blew away their Republican rivals in an unprecedented midterm sweep Tuesday, the Make America Health Again movement also got bowled over, raising questions about the fate of the motley movement.

MAHAβ€”which has centered around anti-vaccine activist and current Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.β€”saw many of its favored candidates and allies lose, while vocal adversaries of Kennedy won. And the coalition was splintering under stress even before the voting started; in recent months, supporters have accused Kennedy and the Trump administration of inaction and betrayals in their two years in power.

Now hobbled in Washington, shedding supporters, and showing little to no influence in voting booths, is MAHA on its deathbed? Or will it be rebornβ€”possibly into a new group? Could it be assimilated into a blue platformβ€”after sloughing off the more repulsive, conspiratorial aspects of Kennedy's ideology? These are the questions circling in the aftermath of Tuesday's bloodbath.

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Β© Getty | Alex Wong

British Doctor Infected With Ebola While Working on Outbreak Evacuated to U.K.

5 November 2026 at 21:18
The government said the risk to the British public from the disease was low. The current outbreak in Africa has spread widely across the continent, killing more than 5,000 people.

Β© Toby Shepheard/Reuters

The Royal Free Hospital in London, which one medical expert noted had a specialist isolation unit to deal with Ebola cases.

The DEA banned a drug some opioid users called a miracle

4 November 2026 at 15:08

In 2012, as the driver of deaths in the opioid crisis began moving from prescription pills to heroin, Laura Bohn was tasked with finding safer drugs to manage pain.

Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in 2017 she and other scientists revealed in the science journal Cell that several compoundsβ€”including a particularly promising one called SR-17018β€”could relieve pain in mice without causing respiratory depression. That’s a big deal, because respiratory depression is typically what causes people using opioids to stop breathing and die.

Bohn, senior associate vice president of research at University of South Florida Health, says her team filed a patent on SR-17018. They went on to discover that mice using the chemical did not develop a high tolerance for it and that mice already dependent on morphineβ€”a powerful opioidβ€”could consume SR-17018 to reset their tolerance without suffering from painful withdrawal symptoms.

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Β© Tom Kelley/Getty Images

An 80-Cent Plastic Pouch Is Saving Thousands of Women From Dying in Childbirth

3 November 2026 at 20:57
The maternal drape, as it is called, is helping to solve one of the world’s most intractable health problems.

Β© Taiwo Aina for The New York Times

Husaina Balarabe with her newborn, Aabid, in the maternity ward at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital in Kano, Nigeria, in September.

Another child dies of measles as CDC reportedly holds up health alert

By: Beth Mole
3 November 2026 at 17:21

A child in New York has died of measles, health officials in the state announced late Monday. It marks the first reported measles-associated death in New York in more than 30 years. It is the seventh measles-linked death reported in the US this year; all six of the other deaths were reported in Pennsylvania, which is experiencing a dramatic measles outbreak that has stricken over 1,430 people this year. Prior to the deaths, Pennsylvania hadn't seen a measles-related death in 35 years.

The boom in vaccine-preventable outbreaks, cases,Β  and tragic deaths is being fueled by slipping vaccination rates nationwide as health misinformation and anti-vaccine sentiments have taken hold. One of the most prominent anti-vaccine activists in the US currently serves as the US health secretary; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent decades prior to taking office attacking vaccines and spreading misinformation. He and his anti-vaccine organization, Children's Health Defense, have been one of the most prolific sources of anti-vaccine content.

Since taking office, Kennedy has waged a multi-front war on vaccines that has included dismantling and obstructing federal vaccine recommendations; launching dubious studies to look for alleged, unspecified harms of vaccines; promoting alleged vaccine injuries; and continuing to spread misinformation about vaccines and vaccine-preventable illnesses.

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Β© Getty | Povorozniuk Liudmyla

An 80-Cent Plastic Pouch Is Saving Thousands of Women From Dying in Childbirth

3 November 2026 at 16:35
The maternal drape, as it is called, is helping to solve one of the world’s most intractable health problems.

Β© Taiwo Aina for The New York Times

Husaina Balarabe with her newborn, Aabid, in the maternity ward at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital in Kano, Nigeria, in September.

Child Dies From Measles in New York State’s First Fatal Case in 30 Years

3 November 2026 at 03:58
Gov. Kathy Hochul said that the death in Lewis County reflected eroding vaccination levels. The state is experiencing a significant outbreak of the viral illness.

Β© Hilary Swift for The New York Times

Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was β€œheartbroken” by the death of a child in New York’s North Country from measles.

Third person dies of bird flu since virus started jumping to livestock

By: Beth Mole
2 November 2026 at 21:21

A person in Washington state has died from bird flu after exposure at an infected dairy farm, state health officials reported Sunday. It marks the third human bird flu death in the US since a strain of highly pathogenic (H5) avian influenza (HPAI) made the unprecedented jump from wild, migratory birds to dairy cows, which was first reported in the US in March 2024.

The person who died was a Yakima County resident and was said to have had underlying health conditions, which could have made the person more vulnerable to the infection. On Friday, county officials reported that the person was severely ill and hospitalized. In the subsequent announcement of the person's death, officials said they would not be releasing further information about the person, including their name, gender, or age, out of respect for the family's privacy.

"Our hearts go out to the individual's family and loved ones during this difficult time," Dave Atteberry, health officer for the Yakima Health District, said in a statement. "Avian influenza can cause severe illness, particularly among people who have underlying health conditions. While this is a serious and heartbreaking outcome, the risk to the general public remains low."

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Β© Getty | Justin Sullivan

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