People who regularly use marijuana experience changes in their brain structure and function, but it’s not clear that cannabis is the cause, a new study finds. Researchers found specific differences in the brains of people who’d ever used weed, particularly in areas densely packed with cannabinoid receptors. However, genetic analysis couldn’t pin down any specific… read on > read on >
Women who enter menopause at a later age have a greater risk of asthma, a new study says. Meanwhile, early menopause is associated with a reduced risk of developing asthma, researchers found. The results run counter to other studies suggesting that early menopause, defined as ages 40 to 44, is more detrimental to a woman’s… read on > read on >
Artificial intelligence might be able to help doctors detect the prostate cancers most likely to be life-threatening to men, a new study suggests. An AI program successfully identified and outlined 85% of the most aggressive prostate tumors seen on MRI scans of more than 700 patients, researchers said. The larger tumors found by the AI… read on > read on >
Health officials are investigating the case of an Iowa resident who died of Lassa fever after traveling recently to West Africa. The Ebola-like virus is rarely seen in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The CDC and the Iowa Department of Health are investigating a suspected case of… read on > read on >
Researchers looking at the sweltering European summer of 2022 estimated that more than half of the heat-linked deaths occurring on the continent would not have happened if human-led climate change wasn’t in place. “Without strong action, record temperatures and heat-related mortality will continue to rise in the coming years,” said study senior author Joan Ballester… read on > read on >
Middle-aged folks facing a colon cancer screening now have a blood test they can choose over a standard colonoscopy. However, the blood test isn’t as effective as colonoscopy at detecting and preventing colon cancer, a new review finds. About two and a half times more colon cancer deaths can be expected to occur in people… read on > read on >
Artificial intelligence can accurately detect heart murmurs in dogs, a new study finds. The AI program detects heart murmurs in canines with 90% accuracy, similar to the accuracy of expert cardiologists, researchers report. And in more than half the cases tested, the AI completely agreed with a cardiologist’s assessment of the murmur’s seriousness. These heart… read on > read on >
Most kids with attention issues won’t go on to develop serious psychiatric conditions like psychosis or schizophrenia. However, a new study finds poor attention spans in childhood, plus certain genes, could play a role in raising the risk for these conditions. Of course, much more research is needed to pinpoint precursors to psychotic symptoms in… read on > read on >
Smoking marijuana during pregnancy may quell your morning sickness, but it could also harm your child’s development, a new study warns. Cannabis exposure in the womb is associated in early childhood with poorer thinking skills, researchers reported Oct. 28 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. These kids also have behavioral problems like impulse control, poor attention… read on > read on >
Repeated concussions dramatically increase a hockey player’s risk of depression and burnout, a new study warns. Hockey players who’d suffered three or more concussions had twice the risk of depression symptoms than whose who’d never had a concussion, researchers found. They also faced three and a half times the risk of burnout symptoms, results showed.… read on > read on >
