This year’s deadly flu season is causing a significant increase of visitors to South Florida emergency rooms and hospitals. Many patients are elderly, and local doctors suggest many of these individuals are snowbirds, northerners who escape to Florida for the winter. Hospitals plan for the approximately six month long influx of this 65 and up population, which somewhere between 900,000 and one million people, increasing the state’s population by about 5 percent annually. This yearly demographic rise means there are...

A dust storm captured by NASA on Feb. 7, 2018. (NASA's Earth Observatory) At a Glance The viruses are frequently picked up by sea spray and fall back to earth via dust storms and rain.The research team is the first to quantify the number of viruses traveling through the troposphere.A single cubic meter of air containshundreds of millions of viruses and tens of millions of bacteria, the researchers found. We may not be able to see them, but billions of...

The great debate of paper towels versus hand dryers has officially been settled by science. ...

At a Glance Millions of Americans use unsafe drinking water each year, a new study has found.Water quality was poorest in parts of rural Texas, Oklahoma and Idaho during the time period studied.Small, rural, publicly owned water systems had the most frequent violations.On Saturday, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin announced a $3.4 million aid package to help the Martin County Water District fix its pipes. In Martin County, Kentucky, residents never know what they're going to get when they turn on...

The illustration above represents the interstitium, a newly-discovered possible organ that sits beneath the top layer of skin and connects tissue layers lining important components of the body. Researchers say it could be the body's largest organ and help provide insight on the spread of cancer cells. (New York University Langone Health/Jill Gregory/Mount Sinai Health System) At a Glance After going unnoticed for decades of research, a newly discovered organ is exciting researchers.Known as the interstitium, the possible organ consists...

At a Glance Cases of influenza A (H3N2) have decreased, but cases of influenza B are on the rise. Five pediatric deaths were reported for the week ending March 11, bringing the season's total to 133. It's not too late to get a flu shot, the CDC says. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the flu season is not over yetand issued a warning about a new wave of influenza B that's on the rise. The strain of...

At a Glance The antibiotic-resistant germs are "virtually untreatable with modern medicine" and can "spread like wildfire".Each year, 23,000 Americans die from antibiotic-resistant germs.Of the germs tested by the CDC, 25 percent have special genes that allow them to spread their resistance to other germs. Cases of an antibiotic-resistant family of germs known as "nightmare bacteria" are on the rise and have been confirmed in 27 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr....

The CDC warns about a new strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that’s been confirmed in 27 states. ...

At a Glance A nonprofit health organization has listed the top fruits and vegetables contaminated by pesticides.The list focuses on conventionally grown produce.Nearly 70 percent of the produce sampled had been contaminated by pesticides.Strawberries have topped the list as the most contaminated for the third year in a row. Strawberries are likely on many grocery lists as summer nears, but the fruit has topped the list of produce with the most contamination for the third year in a row, according...

In a rare procedure, a woman on dialysis was gifted a kidney from a kidney transplant patient. ...

You will never look at a bathroom hand dryer the same way again. ...

The multi-university study found wireless sensors were successful in monitoring skin temperature and pressure. ...