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You’ve likely had countless cuts and scrapes in your life. Normally, when you get a small skin wound, your body can repair it quickly. But sometimes, the repair process doesn’t work properly. If this happens, even a tiny tear in the skin can have trouble healing. That can lead to pain and distress and pose a risk for dangerous—or even deadly—infections. Wounds that don’t heal for three months or…, Rebuilding Skin, When you have an open wound, blood can get out of the body, and germs can get in. “So the body’s goal is to seal that wound as quickly as possible,” says Dr. Maria Morasso, a skin biology researcher at NIH. This normally involves an orderly series of steps. First, a clot forms over the wound to prevent blood loss. Next, cells from the [qtip: immune system| The system that protects your body from…, Roadblocks to Healing, There are different ways the wound-healing process can go wrong. For example, too little or too much inflammation can lead to problems, Morasso explains. Too much inflammation can damage nearby tissue. It can also prevent immune cells in a wound from working the way they’re supposed to. If immune cells aren’t working properly or if there’s too little inflammation, new tissue may not form over the…, Finding New Treatments, Researchers are working to develop new ways to treat chronic wounds. Morasso and her team are comparing mouth wounds—which heal very rapidly—with normal skin wounds and nonhealing wounds. Her team’s recent study showed that diabetic foot ulcers lacked two proteins that are found in wounds that heal normally. Because the proteins were missing, immune cells weren’t able to move into the wounds. “If…

Bacteria are found nearly everywhere. They’re in your food, recreational waters, and even the air. Some bacteria help keep you healthy. But some can make you very sick. If you’re healthy, your body may fight off harmful bacteria on its own. But sometimes you need antibiotics. These are drugs that kill bacteria or stop them from growing. They can be critical for preventing or fighting a life-…, [qtip:genes|Stretches of DNA that define an organism’s characteristics.]. , Sometimes antibiotics don’t stop all the bacteria in an infection. Any bacteria that survive will continue to multiply. They may gain further drug resistance. This makes it even more difficult to control them with antibiotics. Drug-resistant infections pose many dangers. Bacteria that are resistant to one drug may still be treatable with stronger drugs. But these backup drugs can have more…, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, bacteria. These bacteria tend to spread in hospitals and other health care settings. They’re often resistant to many antibiotics. Fowler’s team is testing whether phages can be used to treat people with the infection. They’re also working on a rapid test that can tell the difference between infections caused by bacteria and those caused by viruses. Doctors could use the test to decide how to…

It can be a labor of love, and sometimes a job of necessity. A total of about 43 million U.S. adults provide unpaid care for someone with a serious health condition each year. These often-unsung heroes provide hours of assistance to others. Yet the stress and strain of caregiving can take a toll on their own health. NIH-funded researchers are working to understand the risks these caregivers face…

More than 6 million people in the U.S. are living with dementia. The condition causes loss of thinking abilities, memory, and other cognitive skills. Safe and affordable ways to prevent or slow the age-related loss of brain health are greatly needed. Past studies have linked hearing loss to the development of dementia. So, treating hearing loss may be a way to slow or prevent brain problems. A…

Palliative care is a specialized type of medical care for people who have a serious or life-threatening illness. It can help relieve pain, discomfort, stress, and other symptoms. It aims to improve quality of life when a person is seriously ill. You may receive palliative care while getting treatment for a serious illness. It can help you deal with side effects of medical treatments. You might…

Love chocolate? Most of us do. It’s a delicious treat. Or a quick pick-me-up after a long day. You may have heard that dark chocolate has health benefits. But is that true or just wishful thinking? Small studies suggest that cocoa, an ingredient in chocolate, may have health benefits. It’s possible that certain nutrients in cocoa could improve heart health and boost brain function, especially in…

A new study found that financial problems can be an early sign of dementia. Some older adults had such problems years before being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or a related condition. Dementia causes changes to the brain that can interfere with daily life. These includes the ability to manage bills and other finances. Researchers looked at when these problems begin. The team examined…

What you choose to eat can affect your heart health. Eating well can be confusing with all the diet information out there. The DASH food plan—Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension —is supported by NIH research. It’s a flexible and balanced eating plan designed to improve the health of your heart, especially if you have high blood pressure (hypertension). Following the DASH food plan doesn’t…

Learn about COVID-19 research at NIH. Read about the vaccines, treatments, and testing that are now available. Explore NIH-funded research by state. You can also find information about how to join clinical trials.

COVID-19 has claimed millions of lives around the world. But we learn more about this disease every day. Scientists are developing tools that promise to slow and eventu­ally help us overcome the pandemic. COVID-19 is caused by a new coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. There are many types of coronaviruses. Some cause the common cold. Others have led to fatal disease outbreaks. These include severe…, Protecting Yourself, You’re most likely to get COVID-19 through close contact with someone who’s infected. Coughing, sneezing, talking, and breathing produce small droplets of liquid. These are called respiratory droplets. They travel through the air and can be inhaled by someone else. “COVID-19 is spread mainly through exposure to respiratory droplets that tend to drop within six feet,” says Dr. Anthony Fauci,…, What to Look For, Common symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, headaches, fatigue, and muscle or body aches. People with COVID-19 may also lose their sense of smell or taste. Symptoms usually appear two to 14 days after being exposed to the virus. But even people who don’t seem sick can still infect others. The CDC estimates that 50% of infections are spread by people with no symptoms. While some with this…, Getting Treatment, Better COVID-19 treatments mean that fewer people now get severely sick if they catch the virus. Scientists have been working to test available drugs against the virus. They’ve found at least two that can help people who are hospitalized with the virus. A drug called remdesivir can reduce the time a patient spends in the hospital. A steroid called dexamethasone helps stop the [qtip:immune system|…, A Shot of Hope: Vaccines, It used to take a decade or more to develop a new vaccine. In this pandemic, scientists created COVID-19 vaccines in less than a year. The first two vaccines approved for emergency use are from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech. Moderna’s vaccine was co-developed with NIH scientists. Both are a new type of vaccine called mRNA vaccines. mRNA carries the genetic information for your body to make proteins…