Many U.S. parents don’t use child safety seats when they take ride-share vehicles like Uber or Lyft with their young children, a new study finds. “Our results are concerning, as ride-share services are increasingly popular,” said senior study author Dr. Michelle Macy, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital…  read on >  read on >

New research offers insight into why regular, long-term use of low-dose aspirin may reduce the risk of death from colon and rectal cancers. Resarchers found that aspirin prevents blood cells called platelets from producing an enzyme that allows them to clump together. Tumor cells can attach to these clumps and spread (metastasize) throughout the body.…  read on >  read on >

It’s critical for parents to maintain their children’s vision checkups during the COVID-19 pandemic, an expert says. “All children should have their eyes checked by their pediatrician at regular intervals, even if they don’t have any symptoms,” said Dr. Samantha Feldman, a pediatric ophthalmologist at the Krieger Eye Institute in Baltimore. “Part of the reason…  read on >  read on >

Once Black Americans reach age 40, their blood pressure often begins a rapid climb, putting them at significantly higher risk of stroke than their white counterparts, a new study warns. Middle-aged Black people have roughly four times the stroke risk faced by white Americans, according to the analysis of data from nearly 5,100 patients. “High…  read on >  read on >

Brain activity increases when you start to learn a new language, but slows down as you become more proficient, a new, small study finds. “In the first few months, you can quantitatively measure language-skill improvement by tracking brain activations,” study co-author Kuniyoshi Sakai, a neuroscientist at the University of Tokyo, said in a school news…  read on >  read on >

Add another part of your body to the list of what COVID-19 can invade: New research shows mouth cells can be infected with the new coronavirus. Previous studies have shown that the coronavirus infects the upper airways and lungs, the digestive system, blood vessels and kidneys, which may explain the wide-ranging symptoms experienced by COVID-19…  read on >  read on >