U.S. health regulators are warning doctors and women of child-bearing age that half-a-dozen medications used to treat migraine headaches can decrease children’s intelligence if taken while their mothers are pregnant.
Strep Throat? Don’t Toss The Toothbrush
Parents often toss their child’s toothbrush after a bout of strep throat, but new research indicates that’s probably a waste of good bristles.
Family MattersParenting
Mom’s Saliva Can Strengthen Babies’ Immune Systems
Picking up a dropped pacifier and sucking it clean may help infants to be better germ fighters.
The practice not only protects babies from the nasty microbes on the floor, but passes on good bugs that can lower the risk of …
Viewpoint: Medicaid-Based Improvements in Depression Can Lead to Broader Health Benefits
Improvements in treating depression could lead to broader benefits in other health outcomes.
Watch: This Week in Health News
Here’s a quick look at the biggest health stories this week.
Not Just Child’s Play: Video Games Could Slow Mental Decline
The quick-thinking skills required in video games may be more helpful than crossword puzzles in slowing or even reversing declines in brain function that come with aging.
Relax: It’s Good for Your Genes
While it might seem that your body and brain aren’t doing much when you’re on break, relaxing triggers a flurry of genetic activity that is responsible for some important health benefits.
Cannibalism at Jamestown: Listening to the Bones
She was thrown out, or at least her head was, with the remains of other animals — dogs, horses, squirrels — and other debris that the colonists discarded during the winter of 1609–10.
Brain Scans Can Predict Which Alcoholics Are Most Likely to Relapse
Talking Tissue Boxes: Don’t Laugh, You Really Like Them
We talk to our phones (thank you, Siri), so why can’t our tissue boxes respond appropriately when we sneeze?
How Single or Dual Parenting Affects Early Brain Development
It’s a study in mice, but results from an intriguing experiment suggests that having one or two parents can affect new nerve growth in the brain, and that male and females respond differently to these influences.
A Nation In Need of A Pick-Me-Up: Our Need for Caffeine
Energy drinks and soda? Yawn. Now it’s all about inserting caffeine into other foods, from potato chips to mints. What’s behind our need for more caffeine?
Mediterranean Diet Improves Memory, But Not In Diabetics
The largest study to date on the effects of eating omega-3 fatty acids confirm that foods high in the fats can preserve memory and cognitive functions only in people without diabetes.
