Health, features and articles | Educational Science

Jul 31, 2017

How Stress in Your Brain Could Lead to Stress in Your Body

The patterns in your brain may predict how your body physically reacts to stressful situations, a new study finds. That's important, because some people have stronger physical reactions to stress than others: Their hearts beat faster, and their blood pressure rises more, than you'd see in less reactive individuals, according...

Jul 31, 2017

FDA Moves Forward on Ecstasy Ingredient Trials for PTSD

The active ingredient in the drug ecstasy passed an important hurdle on the path to becoming a prescription drug for treating post-traumatic stress disorder. The ingredient, MDMA, was granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to a statement released Aug. 26 by the...

Jul 31, 2017

How Fast Do You Walk? Your Answer Could Predict Your Risk of Heart Disease Death

A simple question — how fast do you walk? — may help researchers determine who has a higher risk of death from heart disease, a new study from the United Kingdom suggests. The study found that middle-age adults who said they typically walk at a slow pace were about twice...

Jun 30, 2017

Parasitic Worm in Walrus Meat Infects 10 People in Alaska

Ten people in Alaska were recently infected with what is now a relatively rare parasitic worm that they got from eating walrus meat, according to a new report. The cases occurred between July 2016 and May 2017, the report said. All 10 were infected with a parasitic worm called Trichinella,...

Jun 30, 2017

How Bad Is Gonorrhea's Resistance to Drugs? Some Cases Are Untreatable

The sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea is becoming increasingly more difficult, or at times even impossible, to treat because strains of the bacteria that cause it have become resistant to antibiotics, according to a new report. In the report, researchers looked at data from gonorrhea cases and antibiotic resistance from 77...

Jun 30, 2017

'Brain Training' Games May Be No Better Than Video Games, Study Finds

Brain-training games such as those from Lumosity may not boost people's overall thinking abilities or help them make smarter decisions, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed information from 128 young adults who were randomly assigned to play either Lumosity games or computer video games for 10 weeks. The makers of...

Jun 30, 2017

Atorvastatin (Generic Lipitor): Uses, Dosage & Side Effects

Atorvastatin is a prescription medicine used to treat high cholesterol. It is marketed as a calcium salt under the brand name Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium), produced by Pfizer. It is also available as a generic medicine. Atorvastatin is one of the most popular medicines for treating high cholesterol. Tens of millions...

Jun 30, 2017

Eat Better, Live Longer? Small Food Changes Make a Difference

Need an incentive to eat healthier? A new study suggests that people who make even small tweaks in their diet to make it healthier over time may live longer. Researchers found that a 20-percentile increase in people's diet-quality scores was linked with an 8 to 17 percent reduction in a...

Jun 30, 2017

Missouri Woman Dies from Tick Bite: What Is Bourbon Virus?

A woman in Missouri recently died from a rare tick-borne illness called Bourbon virus disease, which was first identified only a few years ago. The woman, 58-year-old Tamela Wilson, began feeling unwell in late May, shortly after she'd spotted and removed two ticks from her body, CBS News reported. Soon,...

Jun 30, 2017

Pregnant Women Can Do These 2 Things to Lower Odds of a C-Section

Women may have another reason to eat healthy and exercise during pregnancy: These behaviors may lower their odds of having a cesarean section, a new meta-analysis finds. Gaining some weight during pregnancy is healthy and indeed expected, but gaining too much weight can have negative effects on both mom and...

Jun 30, 2017

How Brain's 'Helper Cells' Could Contribute to Schizophrenia

Problems with the brain's helper cells may contribute to schizophrenia, a new study in mice suggests. The study focused on glial cells, which provide support for the neurons that do the signaling within the brain. For instance, glial cells help organize the connections among neurons and produce myelin, which acts...

Jun 30, 2017

Images: Brains with CTE

What CTE Looks Like in the Brain (Image credit: Dr. Ann McKee, Copyright: BU Photography)The vast majority of brains donated to science by former football players show signs of the debilitating brain condition chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a new report says. [Read our full story on the report.] CTE...

Jun 30, 2017

Why You May Not Have to Finish All Your Antibiotics

If you have ever taken an antibiotic, you likely know the drill: Finish the entire course of treatment, even if you are feeling better, or else you risk a relapse. Worse, by not finishing, you might contribute to the dangerous rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The advice to always finish your...

Jun 30, 2017

Scientists Edit Human Embryo: This Is Why Designer Babies Are a Ways Off

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. The announcement by researchers in Portland, Oregon that they've successfully modified the genetic material of a human embryo took some people by surprise. With headlines referring to groundbreaking research...

Jun 30, 2017

This Is How a Woman Died from a Tick-Borne Disease Without a Tick Bite

A woman in Japan died last year from a tick-borne disease — but she was never bitten by a tick. Instead, investigators believe the woman became infected with a disease called severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome through a bite from a stray cat, according to The Japan Times. (Essentially, the...