Adults use a special part of their brain to solve tough problems. Now, new research shows that kids do the same. Scientists used brain scans and challenging work to assess how kids and adults might work through these tough problems and whether or not their problem-solving processes were the same. Turns out they were. The… read on > read on >
Women who give birth to bigger-than-average babies are susceptible to developing type 2 diabetes later in life, a new study suggests. Large-for-gestational age infants are defined as those weighing 8 pounds or more, said lead study author Dr. Kartik Kailas Venkatesh, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Ohio State University. “In an environment of obesity,… read on > read on >
Late-night cramming, hall parties and other nocturnal activities can rob college kids of sleep, taking a big toll on grade point averages. Freshmen who racked up fewer than 6 hours of sleep a night saw a drop in their end-of-term GPA, new research showed. For every hour of nightly sleep lost, there was a .07… read on > read on >
More than a decade ago, the Obama administration passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 as a way to counter the toll the obesity epidemic was taking on children’s health. The goal was to markedly improve the nutritional value of federal food programs that regularly put free and/or low-cost breakfasts, lunches and snacks on… read on > read on >
What do race and early education have to do with dementia risk among seniors? Quite a bit, a new study suggests. Researchers spent decades tracking the onset of dementia among nearly 21,000 U.S. seniors, before reaching two main conclusions. The first is that seniors who, as kids, were educated in states that generally had shorter… read on > read on >
A highly infectious strain of avian influenza is tearing through commercial and backyard poultry flocks, causing egg prices to rise as sick chickens are culled across the United States. Now, some experts are worried that the H5N1 avian flu might become humankind’s next pandemic-causing pathogen, if the raging virus makes the leap from birds to… read on > read on >
Children who were exposed to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications their moms took during pregnancy are not more prone to neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD or autism, researchers report. The news may be welcome to women who’ve needed to take ADHD medication throughout their pregnancy. “We can see that the number of women of… read on > read on >
Doctors have dubbed kids’ progression from eczema to asthma the “atopic march,” and they know more about how it affects white children than their Black counterparts. Research scheduled for presentation at an upcoming meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) sheds new light on racial disparities. The atopic march typically begins… read on > read on >
A growing number of U.S. kids are landing in hospital emergency rooms for a mental health crisis. Now a new study finds that many do not get follow-up care after they’re discharged. Experts said the findings, published Feb. 13 in the journal Pediatrics, are yet more evidence of the cracks in the nation’s mental health… read on > read on >
An alarming new survey shows that American teen girls are experiencing record high levels of violence, sadness and suicide risk. Schools may be the answer to improving what’s happening for young people, according to the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 3 in 5 girls — 57% — said they… read on > read on >
