Pesticides used on commercial farms, and even your backyard flower bed, could be harming the healthy bacteria that live in your gut, new research suggests.  And it’s not only pesticides: British researchers found that other chemicals ubiquitous in modern homes — flame retardants and plastics compounds — may also be toxic to your “microbiome,” the…  read on >  read on >

Increased use of hallucinogens like psilocybin hasn’t created an increase in ER visits or hospitalizations for bad trips, researchers recently reported in JAMA Network Open. “In fact, after a small rise through early 2020, admissions declined through 2023, with no correlation to decriminalization policies,” senior researcher Dr. Kevin Xu, an assistant professor of psychiatry at…  read on >  read on >

Kissing may feel like a very human habit, but new research suggests it has much deeper roots. A team of scientists says the behavior likely began more than 20 million years ago, long before modern humans existed. Researchers from Oxford University in England reviewed decades of studies on primates to understand how kissing may have…  read on >  read on >

Adding even a few extra nurses can dramatically reduce burnout and improve morale among hospital medical staff, a new study says. Increasing nurse staffing by as little as 10% improved attitudes among both physicians and nurses working in hospitals, researchers reported Nov. 17 in JAMA Network Open. “Physician burnout is a global crisis, but few…  read on >  read on >