Similar body odors may draw people together, breast cancer may spread faster at night, and more health news | Health & Fitness

You and your best friend may have your noses to thank in helping bring you together, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that pairs of friends who’d just “clicked” upon meeting tended to smell more alike, compared to random pairs of strangers. What’s more, a high-tech electronic nose was able to predict, based on body odor, which strangers would hit it off during their first interaction.

The study was small, involving 20 pairs of “click” friends, but experts said it points to a simple fact: Sniffing is not only the realm of dogs, and humans do unconsciously use it in social interaction.

That’s not to say people choose a lifelong bestie based on scent.

Women are far more likely than men to suffer from long COVID, according to a broad new research review.

The review, published June 21 in the journal Current Medical Research and Opinion, included 1.3 million patients, and revealed women were 22% more likely to develop persistent symptoms after a COVID infection.

For women, lingering symptoms after a COVID infection included fatigue; ear, nose and throat issues; as well as mood disorders like depression. They also had respiratory symptoms, and neurological, skin, gastrointestinal and rheumatic disorders.

In contrast, men with long COVID were more likely to have endocrine disorders, including diabetes and kidney issues.

As a weekend heat wave that put more than 15 million Americans in the Northern and Central Plains on alert slowly moves east, the nation’s emergency doctors have advice to keep you safe.

“Overexposure to the sun or heat can turn into an emergency faster than most people expect,” said Dr. Gillian Schmitz, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). By Tuesday, the heat dome is expected to shift to the Great Lakes and the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, and then into the southeast by Wednesday, The New York Times reported.

Schmitz said Americans can enjoy the summer and avoid the emergency department by taking precautions against heat-related illness and knowing the signs of an emergency.

It sounds easy, but standing on one leg for 10 seconds can be harder than you think.

And your ability to do so — or not — may predict whether you are more likely to die within the next decade, a new study suggests. That’s why an international team of researchers says the 10-second test should be part of routine health checks for all middle-aged and older adults.

“[It] provides rapid and objective feedback for the patient and health professionals regarding static balance,” the researchers said, adding that the test adds useful information regarding a patient’s risk of premature death.

Dr. Claudio Araujo of the Exercise Medicine Clinic in Rio de Janeiro led the study.

When breast cancer patients sleep, tumor cells may “awaken” and spread through the bloodstream, a surprising study out of Switzerland reveals.

Circulating cancer cells that later form new growths (metastases) do not arise continuously as previously assumed, according to researchers at ETH Zurich, the University Hospital Basel and the University of Basel.

“When the affected person is asleep, the tumor awakens,” said study leader Nicola Aceto, a professor of molecular oncology at ETH Zurich.

Women aren’t imagining it as they view near-empty store shelves: Global supply chain issues have prompted a shortage of tampons.

Reports on social media of shortages were confirmed this week by the on-demand grocery delivery service, Instacart, as searches for tampons rose 13% over last week.

At the same time, the ability of Instacart’s shoppers to fill orders dropped 67%, the lowest since the pandemic began, CNN Business reported. Moreover, shoppers looking to hoard tampons have sent sales up 29% week over week.