Medical marijuana could soon be reclassified into a medical category that includes prescription drugs like Tylenol with codeine, ketamine and anabolic steroids.

One in four U.S. adolescents is exposed to violence in their neighborhood, and those teens are more than twice as likely to use cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs to cope, according to a new study from the University of Texas at Arlington. Published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, the study was led by UT Arlington School of Social Work Professor Philip Baiden and drew on national data from the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Researchers analyzed responses from 20,005 adolescents ages 12 to 18, offering new insights into early pathways to substance use, a persistent public health concern.

Cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of death worldwide. To save lives, constantly improving diagnostic and risk assessments is vital. One researcher from the University of Missouri School of Medicine is exploring ways to do just that by using machine learning, which is a type of artificial intelligence (AI).

A research team led by Prof. Dr. Christian Hinze, senior physician at the MHH Clinic for Kidney and Hypertension Diseases at Hannover Medical School (MHH), has gained new insights into the treatment of kidney transplant patients. The team has discovered properties of kidney cells that, after rejection, provide information about how well a transplant will recover in the long term.

Powered intracapsular tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (PITA) is associated with higher rates of fever one week postoperatively compared with cold adenotonsillectomy in children, according to a study published online Dec. 30 in Clinical Otolaryngology.

Humans are required to make several decisions daily, from choosing what to eat at a restaurant to more crucial choices, such as the studies they wish to complete.

Ankle fractures are among the most common fractures in adults. Some ankle fractures are "stable," so the patient can carry on walking on the ankle without the bones falling out of position. However, some fractures are "unstable" and require more support, sometimes even involving surgery. More than 20,000 people are admitted to hospitals in England each year with an unstable ankle fracture. The best way of treating unstable ankle fractures is an important area of research, for both patients and health care systems.

Conventional wisdom has held for some time that children who grow up in environments rich with biodiversity—farms, homes with pets, rural settings in general—are less likely to have allergies. The thing nobody has ever completely understood is why? Yale researchers have now found an answer. It turns out that exposure to diverse microbes and proteins early in life creates broad immune memory and a specific antibody that helps block allergic reactions later in life. Rather than overreacting to harmless allergens (ragweed, cats, peanuts, etc.), researchers say, an experienced immune system responds in a balanced way.

We may not need to completely overhaul our lives to live healthier for longer, according to a large UK-based study. This is welcome news, particularly as many people will already have abandoned their New Year's resolutions.

Is living in a leafy neighborhood enough to improve your mental health? Not necessarily. What matters most is frequent exposure to nature across different settings, especially while being physically active. That's the takeaway from a study led by Université de Montréal postdoctoral fellow Corentin Montiel, supervised by professor Isabelle Doré of UdeM's School of Kinesiology and Physical Activity Sciences and School of Public Health.