California health officials say the flu season appears to be peaking early and is more severe than in years past. Friday morning Fresno County officials announced a sixth person has died from flu-related complications, bringing the total number of flu related deaths to 13 in the Central Valley.


Officials say the man was in his 40's and had underlying health conditions like many of the others and are now urging everyone to get vaccinated.

Rebecca Perez and her family are taking extra precautions to protect themselves against the flu after her sister was diagnosed with the H1N1 strain of the flu virus and is now recovering at home.

"My doctor told me I'm highly at risk so it's very important for to me to protect myself and my child," Perez said.

More than two or three drinks a day damages men's memory.

A new study has found that men drinking heavily in mid-life experience faster declines in their cognitive abilities.

The study, published in the journal Neurology, found that men who drank the equivalent of 2.5 drinks per day showed faster declines with age (Sabia et al., 2014).

It is almost impossible to get necessary amounts of vitamin D from our daily diet; a lot of people use megadoses of supplements. UV-B radiation in sunshine is the most important factor in production of vitamin D - which is why so many people experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in winter months and possibly, more cold viruses.

There are already established health connections to vitamin D and help with diabetes, autoimmune diseases, cancer, mood and much more. But evidence is mounting that vitamin D could be one of the most important factors in preventing heart disease, the number one killer in the U.S.

The trick is, there's a very important reason it must come from the sun, not just supplements.

More scientists are discovering the underlying mechanism of how sun-produced vitamin D is needed for all heart issues - blood pressure, circulation, hardened arteries and more.

Zilmax is a Merck drug that is given to cattle to "beef" them up; it debuted in the US in 2007. It is now suspected for causing cattle's hooves to fall off - or as the spin goes: "limited mobility."

It wasn't just 17 cows dropping hooves. It's been an ongoing problem.

This is the only known video news report on the topic with a great rundown. After two minutes, it becomes more of an opinion piece.

A much-anticipated government study of more than 12,000 miners - whose publication was delayed by litigation from a group of mining companies - has found that exposure to diesel engine exhaust significantly increases the risk of lung cancer.

For the most heavily exposed miners, the risk of dying from lung cancer was three times higher than it was for those exposed to low doses. For non-smokers, the risk was seven times higher.

Fifty years after the U.S. surgeon general first linked cigarette smoking to deadly diseases such as lung cancer and heart disease, his successors continue to add to the list of health problems associated with tobacco use.

Smoking is a cause of liver cancer and colorectal cancer, the fourth-most-diagnosed form of the disease in the United States, Acting Surgeon General Boris D. Lushniak found in a report released Friday. In addition, he said, smoking is a cause of Type 2 diabetes mellitus, age-related macular degeneration, erectile dysfunction and rheumatoid arthritis. It can impair the immune system, worsen asthma and cause cleft lips and palates in fetuses. And exposure to secondhand smoke can cause strokes.

Smokers today have a much higher risk of developing lung cancers than did smokers in the 1960s, probably because of changes in the design and composition of cigarettes over time, according to the findings.


Friday's report, the latest of more than 30 such documents issued by surgeons general since the landmark 1964 examination of smoking's health consequences, offered another round of evidence of tobacco's potential to harm nearly every human organ.

Toronto - A strange vaccine-related phenomenon spotted at the start of the 2009 flu pandemic may well have been real, a new study suggests.

Canadian researchers noticed in the early weeks of the pandemic that people who got a flu shot for the 2008-2009 winter seemed to be more likely to get infected with the pandemic virus than people who hadn't received a flu shot.

Five studies done in several provinces showed the same puzzling and unsettling results. But initially research outside of Canada did not, and the effect was dismissed as "the Canadian problem."

News of the unexpected findings broke at a time when countries in North America and parts of Europe were getting ready to start vaccinating their populations against the pandemic virus.

Some jurisdictions were also trying to figure out whether to offer the seasonal flu vaccine they had purchased - similar to the 2008-2009 shot - along with the pandemic vaccine, in case the seasonal flu viruses continued to circulate. Quebec opted not to offer the seasonal vaccine because of the concerns raised by the studies.

Many people in the flu research and public health communities found the whole event unhelpful, and many rejected the findings. Some suggested if there was a problem, it might have been with the flu vaccine used in Canada, because the problem wasn't seen elsewhere.

But a new study suggests the findings may indeed have been real.

Although it would probably rather be known for having the country's tallest building or the nation's best pizza, Chicago has instead locked down its spot as the No. 1 city for bed bugs for the second straight year.

Pest control company Orkin gave the Windy City top billing on its 2013 Bed Bug Cities List, an honor which Chicago was unlucky enough to win in 2012.

The problem in Chicago has become such an issue that City Council passed an ordinance in July 2013 requiring condo associations to formally draft bed bug management plans.

"The City of Chicago is committed to making sure residents have the best information to protect themselves from bed bugs. Most experts agree that public education and awareness are the best defenses against bed bugs," reads to the city's website.

"Bed bugs can be found almost anywhere, from apartment buildings to four star hotel rooms. Recently, they have become more problematic," the city's website continues. "Possible reasons include modern bed bugs' resistance to pesticides, increased travel, global warming, and lack of public awareness. Most likely it's a combination of all of these and others."

According to Orkin, the list "ranks the cities by the number of bed bug treatments Orkin performed from January to December 2013, along with any shift in ranking compared to January to December 2012."

Rounding out the top 10 are Los Angeles, Columbus (Ohio), Detroit, Cincinnati, Cleveland/Akron/Canton, Dayton, Washington D.C., Denver and Indianapolis.

"While studies show that bed bugs do not spread disease, the physical and mental health consequences are well documented and of serious public concern," said Orkin entomologist and technical services director Ron Harrison, Ph.D. "Once bed bugs are inside your home or business, they can reproduce quickly and can travel from place to place in personal belongings and even on people. They can also move from place to place on their own, independently of objects."

Residents of Nashville and Charlotte shouldn't be all that happy, as their cities shot up the list 17 and 18 spots respectively.

In some ways it's a mystery why exercise is so good for the brain.

That's because exercise is stressful and stress is, broadly speaking, bad for the brain.

Nevertheless exercise produces a host of benefits, it:

• enhancing structural plasticity,
• reduces anxiety,
• improves learning and memory function,
• increases blood flow to the brain...and all the rest...

The following infographic is a guide to protecting children from predators that includes some "do's & don't's" as well as warning signs for parents and helpful US-based resources.