Some people are genetically programmed to need less sleep than the rest of us, according to a new paper published this week in Science. A rare genetic mutation lets its carriers function happily and healthily even with hours less sleep each night than doctors normally recommend.
Researchers discovered the enviable gene variant …
A hormone known as the “cuddle chemical” helps humans to form monogamous bonds, to feel a loving attachment to their kids, and even to produce breast milk. Now, a new report in Science shows that an avian version of that very same hormone also helps birds to stick together as a flock — a sign that of our seemingly unique social bonds …
Cancer death rates have fallen steadily in the U.S. since the 1950s, a new paper in Cancer Research reveals. Kids and young adults were the first to see a big drop, but now the gains are felt by adults of all ages, the study reports.
If this sounds like a typical news flash that contradicts what you just read yesterday, it’s only …
Recently doctors began gene-therapy trials to treat Leber’s congenital amaurosis, a common cause of blindness in babies and children. Now, a group of doctors reports that they’ve found an unexpected benefit of the gene therapy. After treatment, vision may continue to improve with time — because the brain can re-wire itself to better …
You may have seen the recent (and well–publicized) study that shows redheads are more scared of the dentist than other people are. The idea is that the same gene variant that leads to red hair also — for some reason — makes people more susceptible to pain, and less receptive to the common anesthetics that a dentist might use before …
The White House isn’t happy with a new poster ad in DC metro stations, according to the Washington Post. The ad depicts an eight-year-old girl with the speech bubble, “President Obama’s daughters get healthy school lunches. Why don’t I?”
The poster comes from the non-profit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a group …
Most people grossly overestimate the benefits of cancer screening, according to a new survey of 10,228 Europeans. A whopping 92% of women believe the life-expectancy benefit from breast-cancer screening is at least ten times bigger than it really is, or say that they don’t know how much benefit screening provides. (On average …
A new study in the British medical journal, BMJ, suggests that big-name flu treatments oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) have only a “small benefit” in kids under 12 — but can have serious side effects. Now, even though the study reviewed four trials in kids treated only for seasonal flu, people are already drawing …
Men with a strong sense of masculinity are about 50% less likely than their not-so-macho peers to seek out preventative health-care services, according to a survey of 1,000 middle-aged American men. What’s more, even though people with higher job status are usually more likely to follow health-care guidelines, that pattern doesn’t seem …
Follow four simple rules and you could reduce your chronic-disease risk by as much as 80%, according to a new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The golden lifestyle rules: never smoking, maintaining a healthy body weight, exercising regularly, and eating a balanced diet.
Sounds simple? It is — and yet only 9% of the nearly …
Optimists outlive pessimists, a new study shows. Of nearly 100,000 women enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative, those who gave optimistic answers on a personality test were 9% less likely to develop heart disease within eight years — and 14% less likely to die — than women who got low optimism scores on the test.
TIME’s Alice …
Women who breastfeed appear to have lower risk of developing pre-menopausal breast cancer than those who don’t, according to a new study released today in in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The stats are especially compelling for women with a family history of the disease. Among that group, women in the study who’d breastfed had just …
Researchers in London say they may be able to predict a patient’s response to medication, simply by checking his or her urine. If it works, the technique would be a great boon for personalized medicine — not just helping to prevent adverse reactions, but also ensuring that patients get the most effective drug for their bodies, with …
