A new “smart toilet” device aims to help people track their health by analyzing their bathroom trips. The Dekoda device clamps around the rim of any standard toilet, where it uses advanced sensors to scan a person’s waste, says its manufacturer, Kohler Health. With this data, folks can monitor their hydration and gut health, as…  read on >  read on >

A growing number of Americans are turning to therapy by text message, and new research suggests it can be just as effective as traditional video sessions for some patients. In a study published Oct. 30 in JAMA Network Open, researchers found that people with mild to moderate depression who used text-based therapy showed similar improvements…  read on >  read on >

A child’s future risk of depression and anxiety might be tied to their gut health. Young children whose gut microbiomes contained certain bacteria were more likely to develop a mood disorder as tweens, researchers reported Oct. 30 in the journal Nature Communications. Researchers discovered that the kids’ gut bacteria were tied to differences in connectivity…  read on >  read on >

Germany has agreed to provide more than $1 billion in new funding to support Holocaust survivors worldwide, helping many continue to live independently in their own homes. The deal, negotiated with Germany’s Finance Ministry, makes it the largest home care budget in the organization’s history, totaling $1.076 billion (923.9 million euros) for 2025.  The funds…  read on >  read on >

Home exercises can effectively ease knee pain caused by cartilage tears and arthritis, apparently with or without physical therapy, a new study says. The stretching and strengthening exercises provided about the same amount of pain relief whether or not a person got real or sham physical therapy, researchers reported Oct. 29 in The New England…  read on >  read on >

Doctors think they’ve figured out a way to predict who might lose vision due to a high brain pressure disorder. Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) occurs when there’s unexplained pressure buildup in the fluid that cushions the brain in the skull, researchers explain in the journal Neurology. If untreated, IIH can lead to blindness, researchers said.…  read on >  read on >