What do stress, loneliness and lack of sleep have in common? They are all factors that can weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to COVID-19, according to Rice University’s Christopher Fagundes, an associate professor in the department of psychological sciences who studies the link between mental and immune health. Fagundes is available […]
A nationwide study of nearly 7,500 people who are obese or severely obese has found that bariatric surgery is linked to significantly fewer heart attacks and strokes. The study, which is published in the European Heart Journal today, found there were 60% fewer fatal and non-fatal heart attacks and stroke among 3,701 men and women […]
Two new studies from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden underscore health risks associated with childhood obesity. Children with obesity have a three times higher risk of mortality in early adulthood compared with children in the general population and are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression. The findings, published in PLOS Medicine and BMC Medicine, […]
Research published today in Science Advances sheds new light on the molecular machinery that enables the shape, growth and movement of neurons. It is the first time scientists have revealed how the brain shuttles genetic code within its cells, a process believed to be crucial for the formation and storage of long-term memories. Brain cells, […]
When disease epidemics and outbreaks occur, conspiracy theories often emerge that compete with the information provided by public health officials. A Dartmouth-led study in Science Advances finds that information used to counter myths about Zika in Brazil not only failed to reduce misperceptions but also reduced the accuracy of people’s other beliefs about the disease. […]
Merely a brief introduction to mindfulness helps people deal with physical pain and negative emotions, a new study by researchers at Yale, Columbia, and Dartmouth shows. The effect of mindfulness was so pronounced, they found, that even when participants were subjected to high heat on their forearm, their brain responded as if it was experiencing […]
Investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital have made a potentially exciting discovery by jumping into the abyss of the dark side of the genome. Once dismissed as “junk DNA,” roughly 75 percent of the human genome do not code for proteins. But these dark regions of the genome are far from junk—instead, they may hold […]
If you’re in the middle of a juice cleanse or considering beginning one, it’s important to be aware of all stages of the detox, from beginning to end. While it’s obvious you’ll be drinking juice, it’s not so obvious that you should avoid strenuous exercise — and be sure to add solids if needed. But what […]
Disrupted and poor quality sleep in the earliest months of a child’s life can be an indicator of depression, anxiety and behavioural problems among toddlers, according to a new study. Researchers at the Institute for Mental Health, at the University of Birmingham in collaboration with the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, in Helsinki, found […]
Forty years since its discovery, much remains to be discovered about an enzyme called CaMKII that plays a key role in shaping learning and memory in the brain. Now Roger Colbran, Ph.D., graduate student Tyler Perfitt and colleagues report in the Journal of Neuroscience the discovery of a novel interaction between CaMKII and a protein […]
