Children who attend schools near busy roads could see their brain development hindered by air pollution, according to a new study by Spanish scientists. Researchers in Barcelona spent a year tracking the developmental progress of more than 2,700 children ages 7 to 10 at 39 schools in the city. They found that the cognitive skills of students at schools near […]
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Meditation doesn’t just improve mental and physical health in the present. It also slows the aging process, and can help meditators stay mentally sharp into old age, a new study has found. Once people reach their mid- to late 20s, their brains begin to lose volume and weight, which can eventually result in the loss of some functional ability. But […]
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People tormented by a neverending flow of negative thoughts can greatly benefit from an alternative to expensive psychotherapy or medications: a walk in the woods. Psychologists at Stanford University found that walking outdoors in natural settings can ward off the human tendency to harp on that breakup, layoff, or family problem. The study involved 38 city participants, some of which […]
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Training for a marathon and other extreme workouts may be more harmful than healthy. After reviewing over 50 studies, researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that more than an hour of intense aerobic activity per day put runners and cyclists at heightened risk of serious heart problems, including an irregular heartbeat, clogged arteries, and scarring. Habitual marathon runners and professional […]
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Drinking three or more alcoholic beverages per day increases the likelihood of developing liver cancer, but research now suggests that drinking coffee may help offset that risk. In an ongoing analysis of cancer rates, scientists from the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) looked at data from 34 previous studies involving 8 million adults, including 24,600 diagnosed with liver cancer. They […]
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Bright Lights in a World of Darkness More than 30 years ago the Supreme Court in the United States ruled that if individuals are mentally ill but not criminally insane they cannot be confined to asylums. They must be allowed to live in the general population. The results of that decision over the years have met with mixed success in different areas of the […]
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Drinking soda, long known to contribute to childhood obesity, may also have a negative effect on childhood behavior. Columbia University researchers interviewed the parents of about 3,000 5-year-olds in 20 cities about their children’s soda consumption and behavior. They found that 43 percent of the children drank at least one soda per day, and that 4 percent drank four servings […]
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Diet pop might not have the sugar and calories found in normal sodas, however individuals who drink it every day frequently wind up with fatter stomachs. A study in the Diary of the American Geriatrics Society followed 749 individuals over the age of 65 for nine years, and found that regular diet soda consumers picked up about three times as […]
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Are obesity and autism linked? A new study shows that obese pregnant women are 60 percent more likely to give birth to a child with autism than women of a healthy weight—and twice as likely to have a child with some developmental disorder. About a third of American women of reproductive age are now considered obese. Last month, the Centers […]
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PREGNANCY IS AN IMPORTANT TIME for both mom and baby, which is why moms-to-be take special care to live right so their children are born healthy. That’s relatively easy when it comes to things women can control, like avoiding alcohol, quitting smoking and eating well. But what about pollution in the air they breathe? In the first study of its […]
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