A nurse monitors a fetal heart rate at Rochester General Hospital in Rochester, N.Y., on Nov. 13, 2025. While C-sections for first-time mothers ticked up across the U.S. in recent years, Rochester General Hospital dropped its rate dramatically. (Lauren Petracca/The New York Times) By SARAH KLIFF and BIANCA PALLARO When Dr. Elizabeth Bostock took over the obstetrics department at Rochester General Hospital in New York in 2019, she was alarmed by its high rate of C-sections: 40

Everything bagel cottage-cheese dip. Make dips with nutritional heavy hitters like cottage cheese or Greek or Icelandic yogurt, and you’ll get a hefty dose of protein and calcium along with satisfying, tangy flavors. Food styled by Samantha Seneviratne. (Julia Gartland/The New York Times) By ANNA MALTBY Snacking can get a bad rap. But when it’s done well, it can be a helpful bridge between meals to manage blood glucose, support digestion and make sure you have the energy and

A patient recieves a CT scan in Thomas, W.Va., April 10, 2024. Tens of thousands of lives could be saved if more people got screened for lung cancer, according to a new study. (Kristian Thacker/The New York Times) By SIMAR BAJAJ Tens of thousands of lives could be saved if more people got screened for lung cancer, according to a new study. Each year, lung cancer kills nearly 125,000 people in the United States — more than breast, colorectal and cervical cancers combined. The

In an undated photo from M. Eulàlia Subirà, a lower jawbone from Individual 39, found at the settlement site of Puig Castellar, with a cut mark from decapitation visible on its chin. Skulls displayed in public 2,000 years ago were intended as a warning to enemies and a celebration of comrades, a new paper argues. (M. Eulàlia Subirà via The New York Times) By FRANZ LIDZ Some 2,000 years ago, a macabre ritual was observed in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula, a region of Spain

Ultraprocessed foods make up more than half of the calories consumed daily in the United States and in Britain. (Freepik) By ALICE CALLAHAN On Tuesday, in a series of three review papers published in The Lancet, 43 public health experts from around the world issued a call for government policies aimed at reducing the consumption of ultraprocessed foods which, they write, are driving global increases in obesity and chronic diseases. The papers compile years of evidence on the

More than half the plastics found in sea turtles were soft types, such as plastic bags that can resemble their jellyfish prey. (Freepick) By SACHI KITAJIMA MULKEY Two baseballs for a sea turtle. Three sugar cubes for a puffin. A soccer ball for a harbor porpoise. That’s roughly how much ingested plastic would be deadly for each animal, according to a study published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers analyzed data from more than 10,000 auto

Walking for exercise in New York, June 1, 2024. A new study suggests exercise may be especially beneficial for older adults at higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease. (Nicholas Sansone/The New York Times) By DANA G. SMITH Walking a few thousand steps a day can slow cognitive decline in older adults who are at increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to research published this month. Getting about 3,000 to 5,000 daily steps was advantageous compared with doing l

In an image provided by Marco Villegas, an orca swimming with a young great white shark with a visible wound in waters off Baja California, Mexico. New research has documented how a pod of orcas in the Gulf of California has repeatedly hunted juvenile white sharks to feast on their livers. (Marco Villegas via The New York Times) By ALEXA ROBLES-GIL In mid-August 2020, Erick Higuera’s drone recorded a brutal hunt off Baja California in Mexico. A pod of orcas was hitting a grea

Glasses of wine at Frog, a wine bar in New York, Sept. 14, 2024. Heavy drinking is tied to earlier and more severe brain bleeds, a new study found. The paper, published Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, in the journal Neurology, examined the link between alcohol and intracerebral hemorrhages — the deadliest, most disabling type of stroke. (Marissa Alper/The New York Times) By SIMAR BAJAJ Heavy drinking is tied to earlier and more severe brain bleeds, a new study found. The paper, publ

Nearly 20 percent of Americans 45 and older have knee osteoarthritis. (Patricia Voulgaris/The New York Times) By JEN MURPHY Nearly 20% of Americans 45 and older have knee osteoarthritis. Worldwide, the number is predicted to increase nearly 75% by 2050, because of aging, population growth and obesity. Knee osteoarthritis is a long-term, degenerative condition that can’t be reversed. It develops in four stages as cartilage in the joint wears down, eventually leaving the bones