March 3, 2025
Let’s not call it cancer

Roughly one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives, but these cancers usually aren’t life-threatening. Most newly diagnosed men have Grade Group 1 (GG1) prostate cancer, which can linger for years without causing significant harms. Prostate cancer is categorized according to how far it has spread and […]

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February 4, 2025
Life can be challenging: Build your own resilience plan

Nantucket, a beautiful, 14-mile-long island off the coast of Massachusetts, has a 40-point resiliency plan to help withstand the buffeting seas surrounding it as climate change takes a toll. Perhaps we can all benefit from creating individual resilience plans to help handle the big and small issues that erode our sense of well-being. But what […]

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January 5, 2025
A liquid biopsy for metastatic prostate cancer

Metastatic prostate cancer can progress in different ways. In some men the disease advances rapidly, while other men have slower-growing cancer and a better prognosis. Researchers are developing various tools for predicting how fast prostate cancer might progress. Among the most promising are assays that count circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in blood samples. Prostate cancer […]

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December 1, 2024
Gratitude enhances health, brings happiness — and may even lengthen lives

Several evenings a week, as Tyler VanderWeele gathers around the dinner table with his wife and two young kids, the family deliberately pauses during the meal to do something simple but profound. Each member shares several things for which they’re grateful — an act that VanderWeele, co-director of the Initiative on Health, Spirituality, and Religion […]

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October 9, 2024
Alcohol and your health: Risks, benefits, and controversies

Cheers! Salud! Prost! Drinking to one’s health is a common tradition. But it may also be self-defeating: the alcohol that’s part of many toasts can actually harm your health. Of course, alcohol consumption extends well past toasts. For millions of people, it’s a regular part of the dining experience, social and sports events, celebrations, and […]

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September 25, 2024
An action plan to fight unhealthy inflammation

Although inflammation serves a vital role in the body’s defense and repair systems, chronic inflammation can cause more harm than good. And that may make you wonder: what can I do about it? In fact, there’s a lot you can do. And you may already be doing it. That’s because some of the most important […]

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September 10, 2024
Should you be tested for inflammation?

Let’s face it: inflammation has a bad reputation. Much of it is well-deserved. After all, long-term inflammation contributes to chronic illnesses and deaths. If you just relied on headlines for health information, you might think that stamping out inflammation would eliminate cardiovascular disease, cancer, dementia, and perhaps aging itself. Unfortunately, that’s not true. Still, our […]

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August 30, 2024
New surgery for benign prostate hyperplasia provides long-lasting benefits

Most men over 50 will develop an enlarged prostate. Also called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), this bothersome condition makes it hard to urinate and can eventually lead to other problems, such as infections, kidney stones, and bladder damage, if left untreated. Many different BPH therapies are available, including medications and various types of surgery. One […]

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August 15, 2024
Shining light on night blindness

Animals renowned for their outstanding night vision include owls, cats, tarsiers (a tiny primate in Southeast Asia) — and even the dung beetle. But humans? Not so much. Over time, many people suffer from night blindness, also known as nyctalopia. This condition makes seeing in dim or dark settings difficult because your eyes cannot adjust […]

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August 7, 2024
No-cost, low-cost, and bigger splurges for climate-conscious gifts

Looking for gifts to give or donate this year? Climate-conscious gifts come in many guises. They may directly support our environment, for example, or aim to reduce fossil fuel use and electronic, textile, and food waste. Or they might offer enjoyable, creative ways to connect, reuse, and recycle — and possibly even regift. “Our purchases […]

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