Children who spend more time playing outdoors or participating in different sports tend to develop better motor skills as they advance through elementary school, a new study says. Even a half-hour of independent outdoor play after a day at childcare makes a difference in kids’ motor skill development, researchers reported in the Journal of Sports…  read on >  read on >

Newfangled eyedrops for dogs might be better at helping them fight off infections, a new study says. Eyedrops containing hyaluronic acid helped antibiotics better coat the eyes of healthy dogs, compared to traditional eyedrop formulations, researchers recently reported in the journal Veterinary Ophthalmology. As a result, higher concentrations of the antibiotics remained longer in the…  read on >  read on >

Folks with asthma might better control their symptoms by precisely timing when they use their inhaler, a new study says. A single daily preventive dose of inhaled corticosteroid is best taken at mid-afternoon for effective asthma control, researchers reported April 15 in the journal Thorax. That timing will suppress the usual nighttime worsening of symptoms…  read on >  read on >

A “smart shirt” equipped with an electrocardiogram (ECG) can help identify folks who are at higher risk of heart disease, a new study says. The shirt monitors people’s heart rate recovery after exercise, tracking the time it takes for their heart to return to a normal rhythm. “The heart’s response to exercise provides us with…  read on >  read on >

Health officials in Hood River County, Oregon, are investigating three cases of a rare and fatal brain disease known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).  Two people in the county, which has a population of about 24,000, have died from the illness, and a third case is still being reviewed, Oregon Live reported. CJD is caused by…  read on >  read on >

Natural disasters fueled by climate change might wind up increasing cancer deaths, a new study suggests. Rates of colon cancer diagnoses dropped during and after Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit Puerto Rico two weeks apart, as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers reported April 14 in the journal Cancer. However, late-stage colon cancer diagnoses…  read on >  read on >

Worried about taking the ADHD meds you’ve been prescribed because they might harm your heart health? There’s no need to fret, according to a new evidence review. ADHD medications generally have just a small effect on a person’s blood pressure, heart rate and heart electrical activity, researchers reported in The Lancet Psychiatry. What’s more, there…  read on >  read on >