Can avatars bring out the good in gamers?
• Children's Health • • Psychiatry / Psychology • Feb 19 14
Taking on the role of a game avatar like the benevolent Superman or villainous Voldemort may influence a person’s behavior after the game is…
Poor sleep linked to widespread pain
• Pain • • Rheumatic Diseases • Feb 19 14
Regularly feeling tired and worn out after a night’s sleep was the strongest predictor of also developing widespread pain in a new study of…
The secret of fertile sperm
• Gender: Male • • Sexual Health • Feb 19 14
To better understand the causes of male infertility, a team of Bay Area researchers is exploring the factors, both physiological and biochemical, that differentiate…
Can you boost your brain power through video?
• Brain • Feb 19 14
Watching video of simple tasks before carrying them out may boost the brain’s structure, or plasticity, and increase motor skills, according to a study…
Study examines public awareness, use of online physician rating sites
• Public Health • Feb 19 14
In a survey of a nationally representative sample of the U.S. population, 65 percent of respondents reported awareness of online physician ratings and about…
Could Metabolism Play a Role in Epilepsy?
• Epilepsy • Feb 19 14
Researchers from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio are exploring a possible link between metabolic defects and seizures. They determined that diet could influence…
New sitting risk: Disability after 60
• Aging and Gerontology • • Neurology • Feb 19 14
If you’re 60 and older, every additional hour a day you spend sitting is linked to doubling the risk of being disabled -…
Most of us have made best memories by age 25
• Brain • • Neurology • Feb 19 14
By the time most people are 25, they have made the most important memories of their lives, according to new research from the…
Addicted to tanning?
• Dermatology • • Skin Care • Feb 19 14
They keep tanning, even after turning a deep brown and experiencing some of the negative consequences. Skin cancer is among the most common, preventable…
Obese patients who feel judged by doctors are less likely to shed pounds, study shows
• Obesity • • Weight Loss • Feb 18 14
Overweight and obese people who feel their physicians are judgmental of their size are more likely to try to shed pounds but are less…
Healthy Lunchbox Challenge helps influence healthy eating habits in children
• Children's Health • • Dieting • Feb 18 14
During the school year, 21 million children receive free or reduced-price lunches, yet less than 10% of those children participate in the Department of…
Workers, get up and move
• Physical activity -exercise • Feb 18 14
Are you active at your job? If you’re like most workers, you probably aren’t. And the consequences could be deadly.
A team of researchers…
Why tackling appetite could hold the key to preventing childhood obesity
• Children's Health • • Obesity • Feb 17 14
A heartier appetite is linked to more rapid infant growth and to genetic predisposition to obesity, according to two papers published in JAMA Pediatrics…
Years after bullying, negative impact on a child’s health may remain
• Children's Health • • Psychiatry / Psychology • Feb 17 14
The longer the period of time a child is bullied, the more severe and lasting the impact on a child’s health, according to a…
Finding ways to detect and treat Alzheimer’s disease
• Brain • • Neurology • Feb 17 14
Alzheimer’s disease has long been marked by progress - but not the kind of progress the medical community seeks. It is the most…
Why does the brain remember dreams?
• Brain • • Neurology • Feb 17 14
Some people recall a dream every morning, whereas others rarely recall one. A team led by Perrine Ruby, an Inserm Research Fellow at the…
LGB individuals living in anti-gay communities die early
• Mortality and Morbidity • • Public Health • Feb 15 14
In the first study to look at the consequences of anti-gay prejudice for mortality, researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health found…
Plain cigarette packs spur quitline calls: study
• Tobacco & Marijuana • Feb 15 14
Drab olive cigarette packs bearing a prominent quit-smoking helpline number, introduced more than a year ago in Australia, had a sizeable and sustained effect…
FDA rejects wider use of Xarelto drug
• Drug Abuse • Feb 15 14
U.S. health regulators have again declined to approve proposed wider uses of Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson’s lucrative blood clot preventer Xarelto, the…
Child obesity: Cues and don’ts
• Children's Health • • Obesity • Feb 15 14
Among the multiple factors that can cause obesity is an abnormal neurocognitive or behavioral response to food cues. The brain becomes wired to seek…
Meditation might reduce workplace stress
• Neurology • Feb 14 14
Regular doses of meditation might prevent work-related stress and burnout, a small U.S. study suggests.
Teachers and support staff working at a school for…
Physical activity levels low among ‘healthy’ smokers
• Physical activity -exercise • • Tobacco & Marijuana • Feb 14 14
Smokers without signs of lung disease may be raising their chances of developing lung problems and other health issues by being couch potatoes, Brazilian…
Belgium extends “right-to-die” to terminally ill children
• Public Health • Feb 14 14
Belgium became the first country to allow euthanasia for terminally ill children of any age on Thursday when its lower house of parliament passed…
Are recommendations from remote dermatologists reliable?
• Dermatology • Feb 14 14
Offsite doctors may be able to reliably evaluate hospitalized patients with possible skin conditions based on photographs and general health information, says a new…
California lawmaker wants warning labels on sugary drinks
• Food & Nutrition • • Public Health • Feb 14 14
Sodas and most other sugar-sweetened drinks sold in California would be required to carry warning labels for obesity, diabetes and tooth decay under…