If you have someone in your life who stubbornly refuses to get in line by going online, here’s a carrot. Yesterday, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, presented their study showing that when adults (ages 55 to 78) go online their brains get bigger. Well, maybe not physically bigger, but they did reclaim …
Mercury not found to be higher in blood of children with autism
Mercury—a potent neurotoxin—has long been the whipping post of parents-turned-autism-activists, scientific evidence be damned. But a study published online yesterday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives casts further doubt on the tenuous connection between the heavy metal and the devastating brain disorder. In what is …
Breast cancer diagnosis hits well-educated women hardest
For any woman, a breast cancer diagnosis is a sucker punch to the gut, but a new Australian study finds that more well-educated women fare worse psychologically than their less-educated peers. For the cohort study, 1,684 women were recruited within 12 months of being diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Each woman completed a standard, …
Weight-loss surgery not a surefire bet for superobese
Weight-loss surgery is often heralded as a relatively risk-free procedure, especially compared to the health problems that can go hand-in-hand with obesity. But, for the heaviest among us—the so-called superobese—the decision to go under the knife is not one to be taken lightly. According to a study published in this month’s Archives …
Think before you drink for your health
In our science-via-soundbite culture, it’s easy to glom onto health news that validates the things we love—what? coffee might prevent Alzheimer’s? pass the triple Americano—and ignore headlines that threatens to dampen the fun, such as the drawbacks of drinking.
Everyone’s heard the news that moderate drinking may thwart heart …
A deadly tongue-piercing
Infections following a tongue-piercing led to fatal brain abscesses in the case of one 22-year-old, according to a report published in the October issue of the journal Archives of Neurology. Just two weeks after getting his tongue pierced, a young man developed 13 dangerous lesions on the brain, which ultimately led to his demise two
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Acetaminophen after shots may undermine immune response in infants
After giving infants standard childhood vaccines against diseases such as diptheria, polio, whooping cough and others, doctors sometimes also recommend acetaminophen—sold as paracetamol in Europe, Tylenol and other names in the U.S.—as a prophylactic, to help prevent fever after the shots. Acetaminophen is both an analgesic, or pain
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Do people have “odorprints”?
It’s no surprise that people have unique scents—from your seventh grade teacher’s combination of pungent perfume and chalk dust, to your mom’s familiar aroma of Gardenia and soap. But, are our particular smells unique enough for everyone to have a distinct “odorprint”? According to an article from Chemical & Engineering News, there is
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Shaming people into washing their hands
In a study that tracked hand-washing behavior in 250,000 people, researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that only a third of men washed with soap, compared with two thirds of women, the BBC reports. Authors of the study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, used sensors to monitor
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Popular antidepressant may increase suicidal thoughts in men
In a study of 811 people treating major depression over a 12-week period with the drugs nortriptyline (marketed as Aventyl and Pamelor) and competitor escitalopram (marketed as Lexapro and Cipralex), researchers found that men taking nortriptyline showed a dramatic increase in suicidal thoughts, compared to those taking the competing
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Is a rose-tinted view of your spouse good for newlyweds?
What’s better for happiness and peace of mind in a young marriage—a rosy view of everything your spouse does, or a realistic outlook on his or her charming traits, and annoying habits? According to research published in the October 13 issue of the journal Psychological Science, it’s important to have a little bit of both.
Part time work may have health benefits for retirees
For people who had been considering retirement but now remain in the job market because of the economic slump, there may at least be a salubrious silver lining. According to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, retirees who transition to a part-time or temporary job before leaving the
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Calling on canines for cancer clues
If slobbery kisses and adoring tail wags weren’t enough to secure dogs’ reputation as man’s best friend, a new initiative from some creative cancer researchers may do just that. By recruiting pet dogs with naturally occurring cancers into clinical trials, oncologists may be able to develop treatments that could eventually be used
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