MAHA moms call for 'rigorous transparency' into health concerns
Mothers are increasingly speaking up today about the health and well-being of their families — and many are jumping aboard the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative. Moms across the nation are now vocal about the artificial ingredients found in foods, about the importance of preventative steps for chronic illness and about other key health concerns. (See the video at the top of the article.) Ginny Yurich, host of the parenting podcast "1000 Hours Outside," drove from Pinckney, Michigan, to Washington, D.C., to join fellow MAHA moms in rallying behind Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Jan. 29.
Moms and influencers rally behind MAHA movement, calling for transparency
Fox News' Health newsletter brings you stories on the latest developments in health care, wellness, diseases, mental health and more. TOP 3: - Meet the top influencers in the Make America Healthy Again movement - MAHA moms call for 'rigorous transparency' into health concerns - Marla Maples advocates for healthier food choices amid RFK Jr. hearings
A spine-zapping implant helped 3 people with a muscle-wasting disease walk better
WASHINGTON (AP) — Three people with a muscle-destroying disease destined to worsen got a little stronger – able to stand and walk more easily – when an implanted device zapped their spinal cord. On Wednesday, researchers reported what they called the first evidence that a spine-stimulating implant already being tested for paralysis might also aid neurodegenerative diseases like spinal muscle atrophy – by restoring some muscle function, at least temporarily. “These people were definitely not expecting an improvement,” said Marco Capogrosso, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh who led the research. Yet over the month-long pilot study, “they were getting better and better.” Spinal muscle atrophy or SMA is a genetic disease that gradually destroys motor neurons, nerve cells in the spinal cord that control muscles. That leads muscles to waste away, especially in the legs, hips and shoulders and sometimes those involved with breathing and swallowing. There is no cure. A gene therapy can save the lives of very young children with a severe form of the disease, and there are some medicines to slow worsening in older patients.
Racial gap widened in deaths among US moms around the time of childbirth
NEW YORK (AP) — Black women in the U.S. died at a rate nearly 3.5 times higher than white women around the time of childbirth in 2023, as maternal mortality fell below prepandemic levels overall but racial gaps widened, according to federal health data released Wednesday. In 2021 and 2022, the maternal death rate for Black women was about 2.6 times higher than white women. The data suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic, at its peak, impacted all pregnant women. But “once we went back to ‘usual activities,’ then the impact of systemic racism and unequal access (to medical care) ... came right back into place,” said Dr. Amanda Williams, interim medical director for the March of Dimes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s report Wednesday on the 2023 deaths was drawn from death certificates. The CDC counts women who died while pregnant, during childbirth and up to 42 days after birth. Accidental deaths are excluded.
Patients using diabetes apps can miss critical alerts. Here’s how to make sure you’re getting them
WASHINGTON (AP) — Patients who use smartphone apps to manage their diabetes could face serious health problems if they miss notifications needed to control their blood sugar, U.S. health officials warned. The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it has received multiple reports of users missing or not hearing important medical alerts from their phones, leading to cases of dangerously low blood sugar and even death. The agency’s warning applies to a growing field of wearable devices that track patients’ sugar levels or automatically deliver insulin, the hormone that helps manage glucose in the blood and break it down into energy. These days, many devices are programmed through apps on patients’ phones. But the FDA warns that certain phone settings, such as pausing notifications, may cause patients to miss critical updates. In other cases, connecting the phone to a new audio source, such as a car stereo, could change the volume of the alerts users are accustomed to hearing.
Some communication from federal health agencies is now allowed most still blocked
Much of the scientific communication typically released publicly from federal health agencies remains on pause, according to multiple sources within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. Staffers say the communications stoppage, along with a barrage of memos from the Trump administration with sweeping instructions to scrub all evidence of gender identity and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, is affecting efforts to protect Americans’ health within the health agencies. The halt in communications is occurring during an intense flu season and outbreaks of other respiratory illnesses, as well as an escalating bird flu outbreak. “Their effects on the CDC has led to a near complete stop of day-to-day work,” said a physician at the CDC who was not authorized to speak publicly. The Department of Health and Human Services directives allow for the release of communications that could be considered a matter of critical health and safety. The pause was expected to end Feb. 1. Andrew Nixon, HHS’ director of communications, wrote in an email Tuesday that “several types of external communications” are no longer subject to the pause, and that “all HHS divisions have been given clear guidance on how to seek approval for any other type of mass communication.”
Federal health workers terrified after DEI website publishes list of targets
Federal health workers are expressing fear and alarm after a website called “DEI Watch List” published the photos, names and public information of a number of workers across health agencies, describing them at one point as “targets.” It’s unclear when the website, which lists mostly Black employees who work in agencies primarily within the Department of Health and Human Services, first appeared. “Offenses” for the workers listed on the website include working on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, donating to Democrats and using pronouns in their bios. The website, a government worker said, is being circulated among multiple private group chats of federal health workers across agencies, as well as through social media links. The site also reached Dr. Georges Benjamin, the executive director of the American Public Health Association, who learned about it Tuesday evening when a federal health worker sent it to him. “This is a scare tactic to try to intimidate people who are trying to do their work and do it admirably,” Benjamin said. “It’s clear racism.” A government worker said they found out theirs was among the names on the website Tuesday afternoon after a former co-worker sent them the link on social media. “It’s unnerving,” said the person, who requested anonymity because of safety concerns. “My name and my picture is there, and in 2025, it’s very simple to Google and look up someone’s home address and all kinds of things that potentially put me at risk.” “I don’t know what the intention of the list is for,” the person said. “It’s just kind of a scary place to be.” On Tuesday evening, the site listed photos of employees and linked to further information about them under the headline “Targets.” Later Tuesday night, the headline on each page had been changed to “Dossiers.”
Common cancer type could be detected with new blood test
A new blood test was found to detect colon cancer with more than 80% accuracy — and to rule it out for 90% of healthy people. The results were presented at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium held in San Francisco late last month. They were also published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Heavy cannabis use could pose this threat to the brain
As cannabis is legalized in more states across the country, new research points to the negative side effects of partaking too much. Researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus looked into the impact of recent and lifetime cannabis use on brain function during cognitive tasks. The study, published in the journal JAMA Open Network, is the "largest of its kind," according to the university, using brain imaging technology to examine the effects of cannabis use on 1,000 young adults from 22 to 36 years old.
Trump administration’s data deletions set off ‘a mad scramble,’ researcher says
NEW YORK (AP) — Researchers are in what one described as “a mad scramble” to sort out what public data the Trump administration has deleted from government websites and electronic publications. Late last week, federal agencies took down scores of government webpages as staffers hurried to comply with President Donald Trump’s order rolling back protections for transgender people, which required the removal of “gender ideology” language from websites, contracts and emails. Some of the sites were back online Monday, but data analysts say it’s not clear exactly what was removed or changed. “You go looking for something and it’s just not there,” said Amy O’Hara, a Georgetown University researcher who is president of the Association of Public Data Users. Social science researchers and other federal data users on Monday described feeling like a five-alarm fire was triggered when they discovered late last week that vital federal datasets were inaccessible.