Health, features and articles | Educational Science

Aug 31, 2015

Why Diet Soda Could Sink Your Diet

Drinking diet soda may go hand in hand with indulging in extra helpings of sugar- and fat-laden foods like cookies or french fries, a new study suggests. Researchers found that on the days that the people in the study drank diet or sugar-free drinks, they consumed about 49 more calories...

Aug 31, 2015

Fish Jaw in the Eye: Beachgoer Leaves with Odd Malady

A tourist to the Red Sea left with an unwanted souvenir: a pair of fish jaws embedded in his eyelid, according to a new report of the case. The 52-year-old man went swimming at a beach on the Red Sea, an inlet of the Indian Ocean that sits between Africa...

Aug 31, 2015

Spacing Out Vaccines? No Evidence Supports Candidates' Ideas

There is no evidence that supports spacing out childhood vaccines — which two Republican candidates for president suggested in last night's presidential debate — instead of following the recommended schedule, experts say. I am totally in favor of vaccines, but I want smaller doses over a longer period of time,...

Aug 31, 2015

Medical Research Subjects Who Lie Can Mess Up Study Results

People who lie about their health in order to get into medical research studies can mess up study results, and potentially make drugs appear more safe or effective than they really are — or less so, researchers say. Some people may stretch the truth, or outright lie, because they want...

Aug 31, 2015

Why Being Tall and Slim Sometimes Go Hand in Hand

Long and lean isn't just a catchy phrase — new research shows there may be a genetic link between being tall and being slim. The findings could help explain why people from Scandinavian countries such as Sweden and Norway have a reputation for being both tall and slender, the researchers...

Aug 31, 2015

Apple Watch Credited with Saving Life: What Conditions Can It Detect?

A Massachusetts teen says the Apple Watch saved his life, by alerting him that his heart rate was much higher than normal, leading to a diagnosis of a life-threatening condition. Experts say the gadget — and similar devices — could potentially detect alterations in people's heart rates that might be...

Aug 31, 2015

Meat May Not Be So Bad for You After All (But There's a Catch)

Although a vegetarian diet has many health benefits, eating meat may not be so terrible for you either, as long as you include plenty of vegetables, too, according to a new study. In the study, the researchers looked at how different diets affected the types of bacteria in people's guts,...

Aug 31, 2015

Vaccines May Protect Kids Against Strokes, Too

Parents have yet one more reason to vaccinate their children: Routine immunizations may reduce the risk of childhood stroke, according to a new study. Childhood strokes are rare, estimated to affect between three and 13 children per 100,000. Yet unlike adult strokes, in which environmental factors such as smoking and...

Jul 31, 2015

Fatherhood in Early 20s May Raise Risk of Midlife Death

Men who become fathers at a young age may have an increased risk of dying during middle age — in their late 40s or early 50s, new research finds. In the large Finnish study, researchers found that men who had their first child by age 22 were 26 percent more...

Jul 31, 2015

Why Does Plague Still Occur in the Western US?

Three cases of plague have occurred in the United States in recent months, and although the illness is rare, it's not uncommon to have a few cases here each year. Most recently, a girl in California became sickened with plague after visiting Yosemite National Park and the nearby Stanislaus National...

Jul 31, 2015

Coca-Cola Controversy: Is Exercising More or Eating Less Better for Weight Loss?

Coca-Cola has given a million dollars to a new research organization that has pushed a message that lack of exercise is a bigger factor in the obesity epidemic than is calorie consumption. Science, however, still counts calories as the main driver of weight gain for most people. Although exercise makes...

Jul 31, 2015

Trans Fat Linked to Heart Disease, Huge Study Review Concludes

The amount of trans fat in a person's diet is linked with his or her risk of developing or dying from heart disease, a new review of studies suggests. The review showed that people who ate higher amounts of trans fat were 34 percent more likely to die from any...

Jul 31, 2015

Jimmy Carter's Cancer: How Doctors May Find Where It Started

Former President Jimmy Carter has not revealed much about his recent cancer diagnosis, but an important part of caring for anyone with cancer is finding out where the disease started, so that doctors can best treat it, experts say. Yesterday, Carter released a statement saying that during a recent liver...

Jul 31, 2015

Are Vitamin E Supplements Healthy or Harmful?

Dr. John Swartzberg is an internist and specialist in infectious disease and chairman of the editorial board of the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter and berkeleywellness.com. He is also a clinical professor emeritus of medicine at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health and the University of California, San...

Jul 31, 2015

'Smart Drug' Modafinil Actually Works, Study Shows

The smart drug modafinil actually does work for some people, improving their performance on long and complex tasks, also enhancing decision-making and planning skills, a new review of studies finds. Modafinil, also known by its brand name Provigil, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat people with...