Washington: As the beginning of the school year approaches, parents need to remind their children about the importance of hand washing. Every day people touch several surfaces including books, desks, door knobs, sink handles, and other people and many of them harbor germs like bacteria and viruses that can cause illnesses.

Maywood: It’s always important to be conscious of weather conditions when you exercise, but especially when it comes to extreme heat.

New York: Is it possible that too much iron in infant formula may potentially increase risk for neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s in adulthood -- and are teeth the window into the past that can help us tell? This and related theories were described in a “Perspectives” article authored by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the University of Technology Sydney and Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health in Australia, and published online recently in Nature Reviews Neurology.

Minneapolis: New research suggests older people who experience migraines may have an increased risk of stroke, but only if they are smokers. The study is published in the recent online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Washington: When Keren Shemtov-Yona, a dental researcher at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, examined 100 discarded dental implants under a scanning electron microscope, she found that more than 60 percent of the implants had cracks and other flaws. Because dental implants have become increasingly popular (in the US alone, more than 3 million people have them according to American Academy of Implant Dentistry), she feels that the public should be informed about the high rate of flaws in dental implants and their potential for fracturing.

Columbia: Although the causes of many age-related diseases remain unknown, oxidative stress is thought to be the main culprit. Oxidative stress has been linked to cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases including diabetes, hypertension and age-related cancers. 

Washington: Angelina Jolie received widespread media attention in 2013 when she told the public that she’d tested positive for BRCA1, a gene associated with an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancers, and subsequently had a double mastectomy. Now research shows that this publicity did influence some women’s intentions to seek out similar genetic testing.

Los Angeles: Compared to Caucasians, African-Americans face twice the rate of sudden cardiac arrest, according to a new study from the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute.

Washington: According to new research conducted at the University of Haifa, eating salty foods does not necessarily increase a sense of thirst. 

Birmingham: Secondhand smoke is classified as a known human carcinogen, meaning it can cause cancer. While smoking is also a risk factor for stroke, it has been unclear whether or not secondhand smoke (SHS) increases risk of stroke for nonsmokers, until now.