Mind-opening psychedelic drugs can provide a needed boost to people dealing with cancer or struggling with alcoholism, according to a pair of new studies from New York University. One study found that psilocybin — the active ingredient in magic mushrooms — significantly reduced anxiety, depression, anger and other mental health problems in people with cancer,…  read on >  read on >

Some brain cells are more susceptible to the ravages of aging than others, a new mouse study has found. These results could shed new light on why people’s risk for dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders increase with age, researchers said in a study published Jan. 1 in the journal Nature. “Aging is the…  read on >  read on >

A Canadian teen’s severe bird flu infection has highlighted growing concerns about the H5N1 virus, commonly known as bird flu, which has seen a steady rise in human cases across the U.S. According to a news release, the 13-year-old, who was hospitalized in November, had asthma and obesity but was otherwise in good health before…  read on >  read on >

Not sure what’s causing your child’s asthma? A new quick-and-easy nasal swab test for kids can diagnose the specific immune system drivers behind their asthma, potentially opening the door to better treatments, researchers say. The test diagnoses a child’s asthma subtype, also called an endotype. “Because asthma is a highly variable disease with different endotypes,…  read on >  read on >

Considering a New Year’s resolution to quit smoking? New research might provide all the motivation you need: Each cigarette could shorten your life by up to 22 minutes, researchers say. The findings, published Dec. 29, 2024, in the journal Addiction, were based on mortality data from British smokers and suggest that smoking a pack of…  read on >  read on >

Tree-lined streets and lush public parks appear to provide city schoolkids a brain boost. Chicago students’ test scores suffered when an invasive insect wiped out half the city’s ash trees, researchers reported in the journal Global Environmental Change. “We found that test scores in areas with ash borer infestations were reduced after the onset of…  read on >  read on >

Cases of a bacterial infection called “rabbit fever” have been increasing during the past decade. Cases of tularemia increased by 56% during the 2010s compared to the previous decade, researchers report in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Half of all the nearly 2,500 reported cases between 2011 and 2022 came from four states:…  read on >  read on >