A peep into the history of Easter’s marshmallow icon

Easter is a popular time for America’s bunny- and chick-shaped marshmallows friends known as Peeps. Every day, about 5.5 million Peeps are produced, roughly 2 billion a year. Peeps may be made with love, but they also have some less-healthy ingredients. Four yellow marshmallow bunny Peeps — considered one serving — contain 110 calories and…… MORE

FDA OKs first medical device to treat ADHD in children

The first medical device to treat childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, was OK’d Friday by the US Food and Drug Administration. Designated for children ages 7 to 12 who are not currently on medication for the disorder, the device delivers a low-level electrical pulse to the parts of the brain responsible for ADHD…… MORE

Recall of blood pressure drug losartan expanded

If you take blood pressure medicine, you’ll want to double-check your bottle. Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has expanded its recall of losartan potassium and losartan potassium/hydrochlorothiazide tablets. Tests found trace amounts of a potentially cancer-causing impurity called N-methylnitrosobutyric acid in some of these drugs. The company is recalling 36 additional lots, it said Thursday. A full…… MORE

There were only 147 of the world’s fattest parrots alive — and then came the baby boom

Behold the delightful kākāpō, a flightless bird that holds the honor of being the fattest kind of parrot in the world. These roly-poly land angels are native to New Zealand, and unfortunately, they are also critically endangered: Up until recently, there were only 147 of them. However, the birds have just produced what could be…… MORE

Are you protected from measles? It may depend on when you were born

Nearly two decades after measles was declared eliminated in the United States, the country and the globe have seen an upsurge of cases — including adults who thought they were protected by the vaccine. Now, some are questioning whether they are properly vaccinated and whether they are still at risk for getting measles. In a…… MORE

This flu season is the longest in a decade, CDC says

It’s official: This year’s flu season is a record breaker. There have been 21 weeks of elevated flu activity reported in the United States during the 2018-19 flu season, based on data from the weekly flu report released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s one week longer than the previous 10-year…… MORE

A measles outbreak is dividing families in this Orthodox Jewish community. Passover could make it worse

As one of the holiest Jewish celebrations of the year arrives, families in the Hasidic section of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, face a dilemma. “Say you have six kids that want to come to the Seder, with all the grandchildren,” said Eli Banash, 32, a member of the Orthodox community who works in Williamsburg. “Grandmother wants everybody…… MORE

World champion triathlete breaks neck but comes back to complete Ironman

The Ironman triathlon is one of the most grueling competitions in the world. It could easily be seen as a form of self-torture. A true Ironman triathlon involves a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run. And in case you’re not aware, the Ironman competition puts these three events back-to-back-to-back. They don’t…… MORE

Life lessons from the native tribe with the healthiest hearts in the world

A few years ago, I read reports of an indigenous tribe living deep in the Amazon rainforest whose members had hardly any evidence of heart disease. In fact, the researchers concluded after a year-long study that the Tsimane, as they are called, had the healthiest hearts in the world, a title previously held by Japanese…… MORE

This baby got measles because of anti-vaxers

Fainy Sukenik believes in vaccines, and her four children are up to date on all their shots. That’s why she’s furious that her baby got measles. Too young to be vaccinated, 8-month-old Shira Goldschmidt developed complications from the virus and had to be hospitalized. Infectious disease experts say the cause is clear: anti-vaxers. Both in…… MORE