Health Highlights: Feb. 15, 2016

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Dies

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the most outspoken conservative on the nation’s High Court, has died. He was was 79.

Scalia was found dead Saturday morning in his room at a Texas ranch, where he had been on a hunting trip, according to published reports.

Scalia, who had served on the court for nearly 30 years, was “a brilliant legal mind with a pugnacious style, incisive wit, and colorful opinions,” President Barack Obama said Saturday night. “He will no doubt be remembered as one of the most consequential judges and thinkers to serve on the Supreme Court.”

Scalia was a leading opponent of abortion, affirmative action and what he termed the “so-called homosexual agenda.”

His intellect, “flamboyant style and eagerness to debate his detractors energized conservative law students, professors and intellectuals who felt outnumbered by liberals in their chosen professions,” according to the Washington Post.

Chief Justice Roberts said in a statement: “He was an extraordinary individual and jurist, admired and treasured by his colleagues. His passing is a great loss to the Court and the country he loyally served.”