Authored by: Qi An Art by: Vanessa Chen Hsieh Prior research indicates that an estimated 6.9 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's dementia today. This number could grow to 13.8 million by 2060, approximately 14.7% of the total elderly population in the United States. [1] Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia in individuals over the age of 65. Unfortunately, There’s currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease except medications that h

Authored by: Nora Sheu Art by: Grace Liu In today’s digital era, TikTok is rapidly becoming the prominent social media platform for Gen Z in America. Viral trends flood people’s “For You Page” (FYP), encouraging them to go on juice cleanses or tape their mouths overnight to promote nose breathing [1]. Studies show that one in five Americans report turning to health influencers on TikTok before consulting their doctor [2]. As 64% of TikTok users identify as Gen Z, what does th

Authored by: Noah Scheidt Art by: Aleena Naeem Mental healthcare in rural America remains one of the nation’s most pressing and overlooked crises. For decades, shortages of providers, long distances to clinics, and persistent stigma have left countless patients without the help they need. The COVID-19 pandemic not only accelerated the adoption of telehealth, but also drastically increased rates of mental health issues such as depression. These circumstances provided both the

Authored by: Nicole Loy Art by: Grace Liu Various health-related myths love to circulate in our common culture. One popular example is lovingly, but incorrectly, quoted by moms everywhere: “One glass of red wine a day is good for your health." While many have shaken off this myth as correlation and not causation, another secretly pervasive myth remains: the idea that cleaning too much has increased allergies and asthma in children.  This myth is based on the "hygiene hypothes

Authored by: Natalia Collins Art by: Aleena Naeem Joel Eisiminger was fighting the Northern California wildfires when his coworkers noticed one side of his face was drooping. Joel was soon after diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a fatal blood cancer, at only 25 years old. He had no known risk factors for this form of cancer, except for his work as a wildfire firefighter. Joel’s cancer was attributed to chemicals from long term smoke inhalation over his 6 years of wildfir

Authored by: Natalie Bushell People rarely questioned the quality of their “skin, nail and hair health” until advertisements on social media and television told them they needed supplements and vitamins to "enhance their health.”  Public pronouncements of quick fixes with a tasty gummy vitamin lure in consumers. Not only will the gummy make your skin glow, but it is a delicious berry treat, and you only have to spend $14 to improve your health! These marketing tactics, along

Authored by: Mina Kanburlar Art by: Mia Hsu Parkinson’s disease (PD) is increasingly becoming a major global health issue. From 1990 to 2021, the disability-adjusted life years (total healthy years lost from illness and early death) due to PD per 100,000 people rose from 53.51 to 94.68, nearly doubling [1]. This increase highlights that medical management alone will not suffice; prevention and risk-reduction strategies, known as primary interventions, must be central to effor

Authored by: Mia Hsu Art by: Aleena Naeem Concierge medicine, or retainer medicine, is a growing healthcare practice model that emphasizes improved physician access, enhanced customer service, and continuity of quality, personalized care [1]. The majority of concierge physicians are general internists [2]. To access concierge services, patients pay an annual retainer fee typically ranging from $1500-1700 [3]. The fee may increase with patient age. Additionally, while it is no

Authored by: Max Turtz Art by: Camille Parisot Every day, people consume thousands of small plastic pieces without even realizing it [Leslie et al., 2022; Amato-Lourenço et al., 2021]. These small fragments, once thought to stay in the environment, are now found within our bodies, and what used to be seen as a problem for oceans has now become a problem for us as well. Microplastics, the name given to plastic pieces less than five millimeters in size, are abundant. They orig

Authored by: Mary Wall Art by: Grace Liu In February, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was appointed Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the Trump administration. Since assuming this role, he has generated considerable controversy [1]. Critics have targeted his funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health and his restructuring of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel [2]. Supporters have praised his efforts to limit processed foods in the American diet an

Authored By: Maia Phillips Art By: Chloe Lee According to the American Cancer Society, melanoma is a skin cancer that is highly preventable, so why do almost 105,000 people get diagnosed with melanoma and over 8,000 die per year [1]? The field of melanoma has made major strides since 2000, going from a largely incurable disease to having many treatment options [2]. Despite these improvements, there are still prevalent socioeconomic and racial disparities. A major tool of mela

Authored By: Louis Rivera Emergency Medical Responders serve as our frontline in the prehospital chain of survival and are part of the core three emergency units we often see passing by our houses: police, fire, and EMS. EMS workers across America responded to approximately 60 million calls in 2024, averaging around 165,000 calls per day [1]. Despite this, they are not considered an “essential” service by law. The New York State Senate has passed a bill, Senate Bill S7501, th

Authored by: Lexi Waite Art by: Ava Shi Domestic violence isn’t just a headline; it's an unnoticed crisis unfolding on college campuses every day, all around us. Domestic violence is an aggressive or violent behavior involving the abuse of a partner or spouse. This violence creates lasting effects that alter many women’s lives, yet many choose not to report their experiences. This silence often stems from fear and limited access to resources, making it essential to raise awar

Authored by: Leslie Liu Art by: Julia Chen For many women, the arrival of a period is met with dread. It can feel like a gruesome and painful reminder of what our bodies do each month to signal that there is no baby on the way. What we discard as waste is often viewed with disgust, something to hide or endure quietly. Yet this very blood, long stigmatized and misunderstood, carries a powerful secret that has the potential to transform modern medicine: the ability to regrow sk

Authored by: Lauren Bryan Art by: Ava Shi The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, reporting drastic increases in deaths since 2000 [1]. As the mortality rate grows, it is important to acknowledge that having a healthy birth is something that can commonly be taken for granted. Although there have been a variety of advancements in medicine and healthcare, mothers continue to face an increased risk of death during pregnancy and labor. Thes

Authored by: Lamisa Aziz Art by: Andrew Mo A diagnosis of a rare disease often sounds less like a medical label and more like a sentence: one marked by uncertainty, isolation, and the unspoken fear that help may exist but remain out of reach. Orphan drugs, treatments designed for these rare conditions, offer a glimmer of hope to patients long overlooked by the pharmaceutical market. Yet that hope comes with a staggering cost, with jarring price tags that can exceed the value

Authored by: Kenneth Li Art by: Laura Lee Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly developed in the past decade causing discussions on investment and implementation to dominate many professional fields, especially healthcare. The international AI healthcare market was projected to grow swiftly at a 47.6% compound annual growth rate from 11.2 billion USD in 2023 to 427.5 billion USD in 2032, with investment being spearheaded by leaders including Google, IBM, Johnson and Johnso

Authored by: Kendall Eddington Art by: Chloe Lee When you search #birthcontrol on TikTok, you’ll be flooded with thousands of videos of young women bashing birth control’s side effects, and self-described fertility experts cautioning against its use. This anti-birth control narrative is a surprising shift, given contraception’s historic roots in sexual liberation, and especially in the current political and legal landscape. Once a tool for the feminist movement, there has bee

Authored by: Katie Greening Art by: Kain Wang While it may be impossible to create something from absolutely nothing, new advancements in medicine bring us very close. Regenerative medicine, which is the study of repairing and replacing damaged cells in the body, is a rapidly developing field. Through stem cell therapy, gene editing, and tissue engineering, conditions once thought incurable are now becoming less of lifelong barriers, and more like challenges medicine can over

Authored by: Kate Lee Art by: Amy Em In the United States, obesity rates have increased by 37% over the past two decades, now affecting 41.9% of the   adult population [1]. This alarming rise, driven by increasingly sedentary lifestyles and nutrient-deficient diets,   is projected to continue. Obesity is medically defined as an excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to   health, or a body mass index (BMI) that exceeds 30 [2]. Beyond its impact on well-being, obesity