Even as suicide rates have risen among Americans generally, one group appears to be bucking that trend: People diagnosed with cancer. Experts are crediting improved access to counseling and other “psychosocial care” with easing the emotional toll of cancer and keeping more patients from making tragic decisions. Nevertheless, cancer patients still face elevated risks for… read on > read on >
Stuttering is a neurological condition, not a psychological one, and scientists in Finland now believe they’ve found the disrupted network in the brain that may cause it. “These findings explain well-known features of stuttering, such as the motor difficulties in speech production and the significant variability in stuttering severity across emotional states,” said senior study… read on > read on >
Cancer patients receive less effective treatment at hospitals that mainly serve minority communities, a new study shows. More than 9% of cancer patients are treated at hospitals where a significant percentage of patients are from minority groups, researchers say. Those patients are less likely to get the best care for breast, prostate, lung and colon… read on > read on >
A “Third Thumb” — a robotic, prosthetic extra thumb — is easy to use and can help folks grab and tote more objects, a new study says. Hundreds of diverse test subjects at a science exhibition were able to figure out the extra thumb quickly and use it to pick up things like pegs and… read on > read on >
Newer epilepsy drugs taken while pregnant won’t affect the creative thinking of children, an effect that had been observed in older medications, a new study reports. Researchers found no difference in creativity scores at age 4 between kids of mothers with epilepsy and those of moms without the disorder, researchers reported May 29 in the… read on > read on >
Folks typically think of heart disease as a byproduct of modern fast-food living, but a new study shows the condition has plagued humanity for centuries. More than a third (37%) of 237 adult mummies from seven different cultures spanning more than 4,000 years had evidence of clogged arteries, CT scans revealed. Researchers say the results… read on > read on >
A bilingual brain implant has allowed a stroke survivor to communicate in both Spanish and English, scientists report. Turning to an AI method known as a neural network, researchers trained the patient’s implant to decode words based on the brain activity produced when he tried to articulate those words, and then display those words and… read on > read on >
Near-infrared light pulsing into a person’s skull appears to boost healing in patients with a severe concussion, a new study finds. Patients who wore a helmet emitting near-infrared light displayed a greater change in connectivity between seven different pairs of brain regions, researchers report. “The skull is quite transparent to near-infrared light,” explained co-lead researcher… read on > read on >
Children exposed to traffic and other noise in their neighborhoods may be at higher risk for anxiety, researchers conclude, while air pollution could raise risks for other mental health woes. “Childhood and adolescent noise pollution exposure could increase anxiety by increasing stress and disrupting sleep,” wrote a team led by Joanne Newbury, of Bristol Medical… read on > read on >
A 4,000-year-old skull provides evidence that ancient Egyptians might have tried to treat cancer, a new study claims. Microscopic observation of the skull revealed 30 or so lesions scattered across its surface that are consistent with cancer, researchers report. They were stunned to also find cut marks around these lesions, probably made with a sharp… read on > read on >
