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From your 30s to well into your 60s, a new study proposes working a mentally challenging job can pay off in more ways than one. It can even help maintain your cognitive health while preventing dementia later in life.

“Our results show the value of having an occupation that requires more complex thinking as a way to maintain memory and ...Read more

New technologies are making it easier for companies to fix prices and discriminate against individual consumers, the Biden administration’s top consumer watchdog said Tuesday.

Algorithms make it possible for companies to fix prices without explicitly coordinating with one another, posing a new test for regulators policing the market, said ...Read more

There is increasing evidence that implicit bias – non-conscious attitudes toward specific groups – is a source of racial inequities in certain aspects of health care, and lawmakers are taking note.

Since the tragic murder of George Floyd in May 2020, wherein a Black man was killed by police, several U.S. federal and state ...Read more

Myopia, or the need for corrected vision to focus or see objects at a distance, has become a lot more common in recent decades. Some even consider myopia, also known as nearsightedness, an epidemic.

Optometry researchers estimate that about half of the global population will need corrective lenses to offset myopia by 2050 if current ...Read more

Kava is a compound (extracted from a plant member of the pepper family called Piper methysticum) native to islands of the western Pacific.

Overview

The root of the plant is emulsified into a beverage or it can be dried and incorporated into dietary supplement form. Kava may also be called kava-kava, kavain, yaqona, and more.

Historically, ...Read more

Nitrates in cured meats, such as bacon, hot dogs and cold cuts, have long had a bad rap, but more recently there’s been a lot of talk about the health benefits of nitrates in beets and other vegetables. Confusing? Yes. But we’ll straighten it all out for you.

What are nitrates?

Nitrates are compounds made up of nitrogen and oxygen. Most ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My son is in his 20s and has had epilepsy for years. He had undergone extensive evaluation over a decade ago. Lately, his medication hasn’t been effectively preventing seizures. What are some of the innovations available to provide him the chance of seizure freedom and improve his quality of life?

ANSWER: An epilepsy ...Read more

Dermatologists advise their patients to avoid harmful ultraviolet light, which can cause skin damage, photoaging and skin cancer. But they also may prescribe light therapy to treat certain skin conditions. Light therapy is a treatment that uses different wavelengths of light to treat various skin conditions.

In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Dawn...Read more

This is the second half of a two-part series on making decisions about driving as we age.

It’s a simple but unfortunate fact: Driving skills can wane over time.

Eventually, driving can become unsafe for an older driver, their passengers, and others on the road. If you notice a decline in driving abilities in a loved one, or in yourself, what...Read more

New Jersey is proposing new rules to better protect patients from sexual misconduct in doctors' offices.

The rules would require doctors to confirm that patients have read and understood their right to have another licensed medical professional present as an observer before proceeding with a sensitive examination, including breast, pelvic, ...Read more

A rise in invasive serogroup Y meningococcal disease has prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a health advisory for health care providers.

"Meningococcal disease is a bacterial infection caused by Neisseria meningitidis. About 1 in 10 people are natural carriers of the bacteria, and it can spread to others by sharing...Read more

Within the last century, researchers’ understanding of genetics has undergone a profound transformation.

Genes, regions of DNA that are largely responsible for our physical characteristics, were considered unchanging under the original model of genetics pioneered by biologist Gregor Mendel in 1865. That is, genes were thought to be ...Read more

No one can predict the future, but putting together an advance directive can bring you peace of mind and a plan for your medical care during an emergency or end of life.

Dr. Maisha Robinson, chair of the Palliative Medicine Department at Mayo Clinic in Florida, advises people to have these conversations with family members and loved ones.

"An ...Read more

Carrie Lester looks forward to the phone call every Thursday from her doctors’ medical assistant, who asks how she’s doing and if she needs prescription refills. The assistant counsels her on dealing with anxiety and her other health issues.

Lester credits the chats for keeping her out of the hospital and reducing the need for clinic visits...Read more

Eventually, most adults reach a point where we realize we are out of touch with those much younger than us.

Perhaps it is a pop culture reference that sparks the realization. For me, this moment happened when I was in my late 20s and working with adolescents in school settings to help them quit smoking. When other drugs would ...Read more