Life Changes
Healing Through Storytelling: Lessons from The Odyssey
The journey of Odysseus in Homer's 'The Odyssey' offers profound insights into healing...
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- Written by: Brian Wallheimer, Purdue University
Drinking alcohol mixed with highly caffeinated beverages can have lasting effects on the teenage brain, according to studies in mice.
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- Written by: Jim Dryden,Washington University in St. Louis
Scientists have linked mutations in a single gene to autism in people who have a rare tumor syndrome typically diagnosed in childhood.
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- Written by: Marla Paul, Northwestern University
Scientists have identified for the first time the region in the brain responsible for the “placebo effect” in pain relief, when a fake treatment actually results in substantial reduction of pain.
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- Written by: Nicola Jones, University of Warwick
Patients could soon be diagnosed with early-stage arthritis several years before the onset of physical and irreversible symptoms, scientists say.
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- Written by: Sheena Rice, University of Missouri
Minimal exercise may be all it takes for postmenopausal women to better regulate insulin, maintain metabolic function, and help prevent significant weight gain, a new study suggests.
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- Written by: Stan Goldberg, PhD
More and more people must struggle with how to face the new reality of a life-threatening disease. And over on the sidelines, friends and loved ones struggle with how best to support them.
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- Written by: Peter Rüegg, ETH Zurich
Cookies containing iron can cause a striking reduction in the blood lead levels of children in regions with high exposure to the toxic heavy metal, report researchers.
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- Written by: Kristin Samuelson, Northwestern University
Depending on your genetic make-up, you might be able to drink coffee right before bed or feel wired after just one cup, ongoing research shows.
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- Written by: Olivia Remes, University of Cambridge
About one in 14 people around the world are affected by anxiety disorders at any given time. Those who suffer from these conditions experience impairment, disability, and are at a high risk for substance abuse and suicide.
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- Written by: Jim Dryden, Washington University in St. Louis
In a small weight-loss study, women on a high-protein diet did lose weight but didn’t see improvements in insulin sensitivity, which can help lower diabetes risk.
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- Written by: Tony Burroughs
It always seems strange to me that when they play the national anthem, almost everyone holds their hand over their heart, off to the side of their chest. But wait a minute! That's not where our heart is at all. Our heart is in the exact center of our chest...
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- Written by: Alexis Blue, University of Arizona
Having a higher body mass index, or BMI, can negatively impact cognitive functioning in older adults, say researchers, who suggest inflammation is to blame.
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- Written by: Amy Pullan, University of Sheffield
Researchers find no link between how hungry we feel and the number of calories we consume.
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- Written by: Emma Rayner, University of Nottingham
Women who replaced an afternoon diet drink with water lost more weight and had better insulin sensitivity.
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- Written by: Arvind Suresh, University of Pittsburgh
Nathan Copeland, a 28-year-old man who couldn’t feel or move his lower arms and legs after a car accident, has regained the sensation of touch through a robotic arm that he controls with his brain.
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- Written by: Joshua Burns, University of Sydney and Verity Pacey, Macquarie University
Knock knees, also known as genu valgum, is a type of knee alignment seen when a child (or adult) stands up straight with their knees together, but their feet and ankles stay apart.
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- Written by: Chris Elliott, Queen's University Belfast and Marie Cantwell, Queen's University Belfast
Eating processed meat can increase your risk of getting colorectal cancer. The World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) says that each 50g portion of processed meat eaten daily (about two bacon rashers) increases bowel cancer risk by 18%.
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- Written by: Paul Bertrand; Amy Loughman, and Melinda Jackson, RMIT University
The gut microbiota is the community of bugs, including bacteria, that live in our intestine. It has been called the body’s “forgotten organ” because of the important role it plays beyond digestion and metabolism.
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- Written by: Tine Van Bortel, University of Cambridge
Mental health has long been the Cinderella of healthcare: left to scrape an existence while the bulk of funding and attention goes elsewhere.
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- Written by: Andrew Tonkin, Monash University
Aspirin is, like ibuprofen and Voltaren (diclofenac), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat pain and reduce fever.
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- Written by: Tim Spector, King's College London
A battle is waging about how often and how carefully we should wash our hands. Many allergy experts say it is vital for our future health and that of our children to reduce hand washing and allow friendly microbes back into our mouths.
