mortality

Finally, Some Good News in the Fight Against Cancer

The American Cancer Society’s annual report found that 70% of patients now survive at least five years after diagnosis.

Being Underweight Might Be Deadlier Than Being Overweight

Researchers found that overweight individuals, as well as some obese individuals, were no more likely to die than individuals in the upper end of the "normal" BMI range.

Two Years After Maui Burned, Researchers Reveal the Wildfire’s True Death Toll

A new study offers a comprehensive look at how wildfire affected the mortality rate on Maui in August 2023.

Researchers Uncover Hurricane Sandy’s Hidden Death Toll

New research shows that hurricanes increase the risk of death among seniors who continue to live in storm-battered areas, but the mortality impacts vary by region.

Human Lifespan May Have a Hard Ceiling, Research Suggests

New research finds that humankind's once-steady rise in life expectancy is slowing down, raising the question of whether we'll be able to expand our lifespan much further.

Comics Personifications of Death Ranked in Order of How Overused They Are

As often as comic book publishers bring characters back from the dead, you would think comics themselves wouldn’t feature personifications of death as major players just a rule. It’s one thing to resurrect a person in order to make any particular series or story feel impactful, but when you bring in walking, talking embodiments of…

CRISPR Baby Mutation Linked to Higher Risk of Early Death

New research shows that the genetic tweak employed by disgraced Chinese scientist He Jiankui to make babies immune to HIV carries an associated risk of early death. People with two copies of a mutation that protects against the HIV virus, known as CCR5-delta 32, are more likely to die before age 76 than individuals without…

Researchers Identify Hundreds of ‘Selfie Deaths’ From Media Reports

Next time you’re tempted to take a risk to get that perfect selfie, maybe think twice about it. A new study by medical researchers from New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences has identified hundreds of people who suffocated in bodies of water, were struck by vehicles, plummeted off high surfaces, suffered lethal burn…

World Health Organization Study Finds Alcohol Responsible for Five Percent of Deaths Worldwide

Alcohol is responsible for over one in 20 of all deaths worldwide, according to the most recent edition of a World Health Organization (WHO) report that comes out every four years. The Guardian writes that the report found that roughly three million deaths in 2016 can be attributed to alcohol, of which 2.3 million were…

Controversial Study Suggests There’s No Limit to Human Aging

The older we get, the greater our likelihood of dying. Or at least that’s what we thought. New research suggests mortality rates level off after we turn 105, and that no upper limit exists for the human lifespan. It’s an extraordinary conclusion—one that’s not going over very well with other aging researchers. Back in 1825,…

Bee Stings and Cow Kicks Kill Way More Americans Than Sharks

Around 200 people in the U.S. die every year from run-ins with animals, according to a new study, which found that over one million emergency room visits and approximately $2 billion in healthcare spending are attributable annually to problematic animal encounters. While bear or shark attacks might spring to mind, the majority of the deaths…

New AI System Predicts How Long Patients Will Live With Startling Accuracy

By using an artificially intelligent algorithm to predict patient mortality, a research team from Stanford University is hoping to improve the timing of end-of-life care for critically ill patients. In tests, the system proved eerily accurate, correctly predicting mortality outcomes in 90 percent of cases. But while the system is able to predict when a…

A Third of All Humans Are Now Either Overweight or Obese

Over two billion people around the world are now affected by weight problems, according to new research published today in The New England Journal of Medicine. At the same time, more people are dying from weight-related health conditions than ever before—a development the authors are describing as a “growing and disturbing global public health crisis.”…

Eating a Handful of Nuts Each Day Could Help You Live Longer

A sweeping analysis of current research shows that people who eat at least 20 grams of nuts each day are less likely to develop potentially fatal conditions such as cancer and heart disease. New research published in BMC Medicine is highlighting the impressive health benefits from the regular consumption of nuts such as pecans, hazel…

The 23 Most Tragic Pets in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror

Anyone who has ever had a pet knows the inevitable will happen, and that the circle of life is cruel and unavoidable. But when a dog, cat, horse, or other creature dies in a genre movie, the circumstances are often shaped by bizarre forces—supernatural, weird-science, and otherwise—that make a tragic loss even worse. Here are…

How Much You Need to Exercise to Make Up For Sitting All Day

There’s been a lot of finger-wagging of late about the health risks associated with sitting at a desk all day, or binge-watching our favorite TV shows. Now couch potatoes can rejoice because a new study has found that just an hour of moderate activity a day wipes out all the negative impacts of sedentary behavior—contrary…

We Can Finally Stop Demonizing Butter

An analysis by Tufts University researchers has failed to find a link between butter consumption and cardiovascular disease. And hallelujah to that—the ongoing hysteria against butter can now finally come to an end. For years we’ve been told to reduce the amount of butter in our diets. Health guidelines, many of which have been around…

Sugary drinks kill 184,000 people each year through diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, according to new research from Tufts University. “It should be a global priority to substantially reduce or eliminate sugar-sweetened beverages from the diet,” notes lead researcher Dariush Mozaffarian, who says these drinks have no health benefits. Image: Mike Mozart/Flickr/CC BY 2.0

How Does Genre Affect Popular Musicians’ Life Expectancy?

Do all popular musicians live hard and fast, take risks and die young? Image Credit: Surian Soosay via flickr | CC BY 2.0 This article is the third in a series examining mortality in popular musicians. To recap, the first article examined longevity, suicide, murder and accidental death rates in pop musicians compared with population…

Oliver Sacks On Learning He Has Terminal Cancer

Neurologist and science popularizer Oliver Sacks — author of such books as Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat — has written a poignant and touching op-ed in the The New York Times to reflect on the recent news that he’s dying of cancer. Sacks, who is now 81, learned a…