During a rafting trip in the West, Angela Bean took a palm full of her son's ashes and spread them across rushing water. Her 27-year-old son, who died in a fatal fall from a pickup truck in 2015, had told her he wanted to donate his organs and be cremated.

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I enjoy an active lifestyle, from gardening to playing golf, cross-country skiing and participating in water fitness. I also walk daily. My knees have begun to bother me, and I am noticing some other aches and pains. I don't want to have to cut back on the activities I love…

Forget red states and blue states.

We may have some budding entrepreneurs among us. We don't know how. It didn't come from our gene pool. I take that back. It may have.

Correlation does not prove causation, drummed my grad school statistics professor. For example, a rise in the rate of American children who regularly consume lox and a concurrent rise in Type 2 diabetes among American children does not, in and of itself, prove lox consumption increases the r…

NEW YORK — Washington is honoring Denzel Washington with its top civilian honor.

Even in his present condition (deceased since 1987), Fred Astaire is a better dancer than I am.

A Virginia man just won the state lottery for the second time and his approach defies logic.

Q: Why am I seeing brands of baby formula I’ve never heard of, and are they safe?

The rich array of daisies in my garden are now spent and faded, not nearly as fresh and vibrant as they were in the spring. So I decided to teach my grandkids how to remove (aka “deadhead”) the dried-up flowers to help direct the plant’s energy toward making new blooms.

The reversal of the most significant reproductive rights ruling in U.S. history has left Roe v. Wade supporters to grapple with what’s next.

The World Health Organization said June 25 that monkeypox wasn’t yet a public health emergency of international concern. More than 4,500 cases have been reported worldwide, with more than 300 in the U.S. 

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The overturn of Roe v. Wade leaves the decision of whether abortion is legal or not up to the states to decide. Concerns on what restrictions this will place on life-threatening cases have been voiced by medical professionals and local Texans alike.

Each year as my color design guru son James orders plants for use at his clients' homes, from those that look like historic cottages to palatial garden estates, those on the waterfront to those considered mountainous. The one color I can guarantee will be in heavy use is white.

Ann was 15 weeks pregnant with her fourth child when the results of her prenatal genetic test came back last August. The test suggested that her daughter, whom she and her husband planned to name Juliet, was missing one of her two X chromosomes — a condition called Turner syndrome that can c…

Almost half of older adults — more than 26 million people 65 and older — have prediabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How concerned should they be?

It's officially summer and extreme temperatures continue to affect many parts of the U.S.

BALTIMORE -- Doctors learned early in the pandemic that COVID-19 was more than a respiratory disease. It was attacking bodily organs, including the heart — even in healthy, young athletes.

I witnessed the Boston Tea Party, the Battle at Concord and Paul Revere's Ride.

Q: Our 14-year-old daughter is a rising high school sophomore. We let her wear eyeliner this past year, but she is wearing entirely too much. She is well-adjusted (plays sports, good grades) but seems insecure to go out in public without her makeup. When we tell her she looks prettier withou…

Q: I’ve been told my son may have Tourette syndrome. What exactly is this and how worried should I be?

LOS ANGELES -- Emily Liu’s life is a series of balancing acts.

It's not uncommon for teens to experience mental health issues like anxiety. It's believed 1 in 5 young people experiences some type of mental health issue during their teen years. For LGBTQ youth, the statistics are alarming. A recent national survey showed 45% expressed serious suicidal ideation.

SAN DIEGO -- When she attended her first Rock n' Roll Camp for Girls summer camp in 2017, Lori Rodriguez was a 12-year-old music fan who did not know how to play an instrument. Or how to write songs. Or how to be in a band.

It’s true that as we age, we don’t sleep as well or as long. Why is that? Scientists say several changes occur with aging that disrupt our natural sleep cycle.

My mind keeps returning to Shaye Moss’ brave, devastating testimony at the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the United States Capitol.

More than 55 million people worldwide are believed to be living with dementia, according to the World Health Organization. And women are likely to be twice as affected by dementia as men.

LOS ANGELES -- Tearing out our lawns is a good start toward wiser water use in Southern California, but it's not enough.

SAN JOSE — Vowing that “we aren’t going anywhere,” the performer King Art Babe forged ahead Tuesday evening with the Alameda County Library’s first Drag Queen Story Hour event since a group of apparent Proud Boys members disrupted another reading earlier this month in San Lorenzo.

Dispatches from the Fourth Quarter, Chapter 9

SACRAMENTO -- Sacramento’s four hospital systems teamed up with WellSpace Health to tackle a longstanding challenge for the region’s homeless residents: Where can they go to get the conditions needed to recuperate after a hospital visit?

Let’s talk about the world today and what it’s like being alive in this very different time. We have been living in a pandemic for over two years, and well over a million people in the United States have died along with millions more in other countries.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Kai was 13 when his period arrived, crushing his spirit.

As the temperature rises in the summer, so does the risk of heat-related illnesses, like heat exhaustion and heatstroke. Over the past 30 years, extreme heat has claimed more lives in America than any other weather-related hazard, including flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes or lightning, accor…

Q: Our 8-year-old, the oldest of three, is often rude to his siblings. I know some sibling conflict is normal, but this seems excessive. I hear him multiple times per day tell his younger brothers how annoying they are. In addition, he often yells at them to stop whatever they are doing that…

Food safety is important for everybody, but it is especially important if you're expecting. Hormonal changes during pregnancy can change a pregnant person's immune system, making her more susceptible to contracting foodborne illness.

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I recently realized that I often ask people to repeat themselves, and I must turn up the volume on the TV louder than before. How do I know if I have hearing loss? I am 46. Aren't I too young for hearing loss? Can I take steps to prevent future hearing loss?

Q: How can I help my daughter, who has autism, prepare for a telehealth appointment?

When Cynthia Johnson learned she would owe $200 out-of-pocket for a diagnostic mammogram in Houston, she almost put off getting the test that told her she had breast cancer.

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: A close friend was diagnosed recently with Lyme disease due to a tick bite. However, I recently read about some new type of tick-borne illness. My family loves to hike and be outdoors, but I'm nervous now about continuing our activities. How can I reduce our risk of illness…

Readers Letters

Jessica Oberoi, 13, can’t exactly remember when her eyesight started getting blurry. All she knows is that she had to squint to see the whiteboard at school.

After Grossmont College's commencement June 9, several students took off their caps and gowns and deposited them in a special box as a gift for members of next year's graduating class who lack money to purchase the ceremonial robes.

SACRAMENTO -- A spike in flu cases across the country, along with another COVID-19 surge, is leaving more people vulnerable to catching some form of disease — especially those who aren’t vaccinated.

When thinking about men's health, many people tend to think about heart disease or ailments that that affect men as they age, such as an enlarged prostate or prostate cancer.

Four years after her daughter watched a friend get shot in a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School classroom, Nicole Cook is angry that another community faces the same magnitude of mental health recovery without a roadmap.

If you were lucky enough to have had a good dad, not a Super Dad but just a regular guy dad, you really hit the jackpot. So many kids grow up (or try to) without the emotional support or even the presence of a father. The idea of not having one is heartbreaking to me, and I know it is all to…

Nicolas Espinosa’s hopes for his 11-year-old daughter, Julia, are basic and profound: He wants her to stay alive and perhaps be able to eat normally someday.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Have you recently contracted COVID-19 for the first time during the pandemic? Those who have avoided the virus for more than two years may be disappointed to catch it during the current, relatively mild wave. But there are a variety of factors contributing to this unoffici…

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, there have been significant shortages of infant formulas in some stores, largely caused by supply chain issues, as well as a recent recall of several contaminated baby formula products.