A “Third Thumb” — a robotic, prosthetic extra thumb — is easy to use and can help folks grab and tote more objects, a new study says. Hundreds of diverse test subjects at a science exhibition were able to figure out the extra thumb quickly and use it to pick up things like pegs and… read on > read on >
Newer epilepsy drugs taken while pregnant won’t affect the creative thinking of children, an effect that had been observed in older medications, a new study reports. Researchers found no difference in creativity scores at age 4 between kids of mothers with epilepsy and those of moms without the disorder, researchers reported May 29 in the… read on > read on >
The old joke holds that fatherhood causes a man’s hair to go prematurely gray. Whether or not that’s true, being a father does appear to put men at greater risk of poor heart health later in life, a new study finds. Dads tended to have worse heart health than men without kids, based on factors… read on > read on >
Folks typically think of heart disease as a byproduct of modern fast-food living, but a new study shows the condition has plagued humanity for centuries. More than a third (37%) of 237 adult mummies from seven different cultures spanning more than 4,000 years had evidence of clogged arteries, CT scans revealed. Researchers say the results… read on > read on >
U.S. girls are getting their periods at younger ages, a new study has found. Girls born between 2000 and 2005 started their periods at an average age of 11.9 years — a half year earlier than the average age of 12.5 years for girls born between 1950 and 1969, researchers reported May 29 in the… read on > read on >
A bilingual brain implant has allowed a stroke survivor to communicate in both Spanish and English, scientists report. Turning to an AI method known as a neural network, researchers trained the patient’s implant to decode words based on the brain activity produced when he tried to articulate those words, and then display those words and… read on > read on >
Feeding kids peanuts early in childhood can drastically reduce their risk of developing a peanut allergy, a new clinical trial reports. Children regularly fed peanut products from infancy to age 5 had a 71% lower rate of peanut allergies by the time they reached their teen years, researchers reported May 28 in the journal NEJM… read on > read on >
Near-infrared light pulsing into a person’s skull appears to boost healing in patients with a severe concussion, a new study finds. Patients who wore a helmet emitting near-infrared light displayed a greater change in connectivity between seven different pairs of brain regions, researchers report. “The skull is quite transparent to near-infrared light,” explained co-lead researcher… read on > read on >
Children exposed to traffic and other noise in their neighborhoods may be at higher risk for anxiety, researchers conclude, while air pollution could raise risks for other mental health woes. “Childhood and adolescent noise pollution exposure could increase anxiety by increasing stress and disrupting sleep,” wrote a team led by Joanne Newbury, of Bristol Medical… read on > read on >
Allowing pharmacists to treat minor illnesses could potentially expand health care access to more people and save millions of dollars, a new study suggests. Care for a range of minor health issues — urinary tract infections, shingles, animal bites and headaches — would cost an average of about $278 less when treated in pharmacies rather… read on > read on >
