Of course grief can ravage your mind, but science shows it can also weaken your body, leaving you open to illness. “As humans, we are strongly motivated to seek out social bonds that are warm, dependable, friendly and supportive,” explained George Slavich. He directs the Laboratory for Stress Assessment and Research at the Semel Institute…  read on >  read on >

Comedian Amy Schumer has disclosed that she has been diagnosed with Cushing’s syndrome, a condition that arises when there is too much cortisol in the body. In an interview published Friday in the News Not Noise newsletter, Schumer revealed she has exogenous Cushing syndrome, brought on by getting steroid injections. The condition can trigger weight gain, fatigue,…  read on >  read on >

Hormone replacement therapy might help women avoid depression as they go through menopause, a new study finds. Women treated with hormone therapy at a menopause clinic in Ontario, Canada, experienced a reduction in their symptoms of depression, researchers report Feb. 21 in the journal Menopause. This improvement occurred whether or not antidepressants were also prescribed,…  read on >  read on >

After states legalize the sale of weed for recreational use, on-the-job injuries rise among younger workers, new research shows. U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics for 2006 through 2020 show that legal “recreational marijuana sales were associated with a 10% increase in workplace injuries among individuals aged 20 to 34 years,” the study authors concluded. They…  read on >  read on >

A “universal” antivenom can block the lethal toxins in the venoms of a wide variety of poisonous snakes found in Africa, Asia and Australia, researchers report. The antibody protected mice from the normally deadly venom of snakes like black mambas and king cobras, according to findings published Feb. 21 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.…  read on >  read on >

FRIDAY, Feb. 23, 2024 (HealthDay news) — Artificial intelligence can match and even outperform human eye doctors in diagnosing and treating glaucoma, a new study finds. The GPT-4 system from OpenAI did as well or better than ophthalmologists in assessing 20 different patients for glaucoma and retinal disease, researchers report Feb. 22 in the journal…  read on >  read on >