A new analysis led by UC Berkeley, published today in JAMA Health Forum, shows that the passage of "red flag" laws — also called extreme risk protection orders — does reduce suicides by gun. The researchers looked at data from four states that passed ERPO laws and eight that did not, and concluded that the laws reduced firearm suicides by a mean of 3.79 incidences per 100,000 population, with an estimated 675 suicides prevented across these four states between the year the law was passed and following year.  Non-firearm suicide rates did not change.

About The Study: In this cohort study of 47,000 adults participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, after accounting for demographic characteristics (e.g., age, race and ethnicity), behavioral factors (e.g., smoking, alcohol use), and chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes, hypertension), males had a 63% greater risk of all-cause mortality than females. These findings suggest that there may be intrinsic biological factors (sex hormones, chromosomes, or immune response) associated with sex differences in mortality. Further research should investigate the effects of sex-linked biological factors on mortality.

Researchers at WashU Medicine have developed a nasal vaccine against the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus, or bird flu, which has jumped from wild birds to livestock to humans. When tested in rodents, the vaccine elicited a strong immune response and prevented infections in animals exposed to H5N1.

GVN is monitoring reports of a  Nipah virus outbreak in India and emphasizes that such cases, while very concerning and serious, are not unexpected or unprecedented.

Fashion, beauty and lifestyle retailers join the American Heart Association to launch Heart Month by ringing the New York Stock Exchange Opening Bell

Firearm purchasing patterns can shift in response to specific events, including presidential elections, according to Rutgers Health researchers.

A study by researchers with the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center examined what extent specific groups changed their intentions and behaviors related to firearms directly in response to the 2024 presidential election by assessing a nationally representative sample of 1,530 adults in the two weeks before the election and then again in the first two weeks of 2025.

Electronic cigarettes — or vapes — can release puffs of vapor in aromatic clouds. The health risks of breathing in this secondhand or passive vapor aren’t fully understood. So, researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology conducted a preliminary study on lingering vape plumes in indoor environments. They found that aged vapor contained fine particles with several metals and highly reactive compounds, which together produce radicals that might damage lung tissue if inhaled.