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A head lice diagnosis is neither a health hazard nor a sign of poor hygiene, and children should not miss school because of it, new guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics states. Instead, being sent home from school because of head lice "can result in significant stigma and psychological stress." (Hayes, 9/29)

Adding to this, children who are infected with lice should be allowed to return to school, the AAP says, even if they are not lice-free yet. The AAP even suggests that zero-tolerance policies on lice infections "may violate a child’s or adolescent’s civil liberties." The AAP says it discourages such policies and asks schools to address their legal counsels about them. (Rogers, 9/28)

Vaping poses significantly fewer risks than smoking and has a slightly better success rate than other methods of giving up cigarettes, according to a study commissioned by the UK government. (Lyu, 9/29)

In the study, published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, researchers found that mild to moderate intake of ground, instant and decaffeinated coffee were all linked to "significant reductions" in mortality and cardiovascular disease – including coronary heart disease, cardiac failure and ischaemic stroke. (Grantham-Philips, 9/29)

Exercising now is good for you. But could it also be good for your future children and grandchildren? A provocative new study says it might be. The findings, based on research in mice, suggest that the exercise we do today etches itself into our cells in ways that can be passed to later generations. (Reynolds, 9/28)

Here’s some disturbing food for thought when a housefly buzzes around your lunch. A University of Massachusetts Amherst professor is arguing that more attention needs to be paid to “synanthropic” flies — the non-biting flies that live alongside us — as potential disease carriers. (Finucane, 9/29)