Every now and then I write a column as much to push myself to act as to inform and motivate my readers. What follows is a prime example. Last year in a column entitled “Hearing Loss Threatens Mind, Life and Limb,” I summarized the current state of knowledge about the myriad health-damaging effects linked to…
LOS ANGELES — In November, the actor Dax Shepard rolled up to a tree-shaded lot in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles in a wood-grain 1994 Buick Roadmaster and parked in front of a single-door garage. The yard was brown and dusty, with trucks out front and a portable toilet on the premises. His…
What’s good for your muscles can also be good for your mind. A single, moderate workout may immediately change how our brains function and how well we recognize common names and similar information, according to a promising new study of exercise, memory and aging. The study adds to growing evidence that exercise can have rapid…
BEIJING — A court in China on Monday sentenced He Jiankui, the researcher who shocked the global scientific community when he claimed that he had created the world’s first genetically edited babies, to three years in prison for carrying out “illegal medical practices.” In a surprise announcement from a trial that was closed to the…
TALIWANG, Indonesia — The wildcat miner had something to prove: processing gold ore with liquid mercury was perfectly safe. So he drank some of the toxic chemical, choosing the promises of gold fever over the pain of mercury poisoning. “I have no worry about mercury,” bragged the fast-talking Syarafuddin Iskandar, 58. “I drank it. We…
The New York Times Sports department is revisiting the subjects of some compelling articles from the last year or so. Here is our January report on Gracie Gold’s mental health battle. Gracie Gold is still on the ice, steadily building a comeback in figure skating one small victory at a time. At 24, she has…
A recent review and meta-analysis investigating protein intake conclude that consuming the recommended daily allowance is fine for most people, most of the time. However, more protein is not necessarily beneficial. Share on PinterestProtein supplements are increasingly popular. Many of us enthusiastically indulge in holiday treats, which means that come New Year’s Day, beginning a…
SACRAMENTO–A groundbreaking law, the California Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act, which passed in 2018, will ban all sales of cosmetics that have been tested on animals after January 1, 2020. The new law, authored by Senator Cathleen Galgiani (Stockton) and co-sponsored by Social Compassion in Legislation and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, was applauded by conscientious…
MINNEAPOLIS – The scientific community has long believed that beta-amyloid, a protein that can clump together and form sticky plaques in the brain, is the first sign of Alzheimer’s disease. Beta-amyloid then leads to other brain changes including neurodegeneration and eventually to thinking and memory problems. But a new study challenges that theory. The study…
Proper disposal of leftover medication, particularly antibiotics and opioids, can help reduce antibiotic resistance, prevent children from being poisoned and stop the misuse of addiction-forming drugs. But a telephone survey conducted by researchers at UC San Francisco found that fewer than half of California pharmacies provided disposal instructions meeting U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines,…