Suicide Deaths Fell Slightly in 2024, CDC Reports

The U.S. suicide rate dipped slightly in 2024, offering a small but hopeful improvement after years of increases, according to new provisional data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A little over 48,800 people died by suicide last year, about 500 fewer than in 2023. 

That translates to a national ra...

FDA Reviewing RSV Drugs for Infants, Though No Safety Issues Found

Federal regulators have begun a safety review of two RSV medicines used to protect infants, even though no safety problems have been reported.

The review covers Beyfortus (from Sanofi and AstraZeneca) and Enflonsia (from Merck), both monoclonal antibodies that help shield babies from respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. 

The mov...

Research Shows Imagining Positive Encounters Shapes Real-Life Feelings

Thinking about a positive moment with someone, even if it never happened, may actually make you like them more, new research shows.

A study published Dec. 10 in Nature Communications found that simply imagining a good interaction with a person can change your feelings toward them as well as how your brain stores informati...

FDA Looks Into Reports of Deaths After COVID Vaccination

Federal officials say the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing reports of possible deaths in adults and children following COVID-19 vaccination.

“FDA is doing a thorough investigation, across multiple age groups, of deaths potentially related to coronavirus vaccines,” said Andrew Nixon, spokesperson for the U.S....

Medical Imaging Contributing To Water Pollution, Experts Say

Contrast chemicals injected into people for medical imaging scans are likely contributing to water pollution, a new study says.

Medicare patients alone received 13.5 billion milliliters of contrast media between 2011 and 2024, and those chemicals wound up in waterways after people excreted them, researchers recently reported in JAMA Ne...