It’s never easy for parents to talk to their teens about having sex. Many parents feel that talking about it is the same as condoning it, so they are hesitant to do so. But according to the most recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a national survey of high school…

You’ve probably heard the news: Cicadas are coming. Or — wait — they’re already here. And are they ever! Due to an unusual overlap of the lifecycles of two types (or broods) of cicadas, trillions of cicadas are expected to emerge in the US by the end of June, especially…

Here’s a new fact about spring, summer, fall, and sometimes even winter: now that climate change has blurred seasonal boundaries, sizzling heat may be on the way, or currently blanketing your community. High temperatures stress the body, leading to thousands of heat-related illnesses and deaths every year in the US….

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) teaches people to challenge negative thought patterns and turn less often to unhelpful behaviors. These strategies can improve your mood and the way you respond to challenging situations: a flat tire, looming deadlines, family life ups and downs. Yet there’s much more depth and nuance to…

As wildfires become more frequent due to climate change and drier conditions, more of us and more of our communities are at risk for harm. Here is information to help you prepare and protect yourself and your family. How does wildfire smoke affect air quality? Wildfire smoke contributes greatly to…

When cancer patients are treated with radiation, it’s possible that the therapy itself may cause new tumors to form in the body later. Radiation kills cancer cells by damaging their DNA, but if the treatments cause genetic damage to normal cells near the radiation target, there’s a small risk that…

When a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test produces an abnormal result, the next step is usually a prostate biopsy. A biopsy can confirm or rule out a cancer diagnosis, but it also has certain drawbacks. Prostate biopsies are invasive procedures with potential side effects, and they often detect low-grade, slow-growing…

If you are trying to cut back on added sugar — and you should, because excess sugar increases risks for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease — you might be tempted by products advertised as low sugar, no sugar, or sugar-free. Many contain familiar low-calorie sugar substitutes like aspartame or sucralose…