In a sleepy haze, reaching out and grabbing the coffee cup in front of you seems to happen on autopilot. But your caffeine-deprived brain is working hard. It’s collecting sensory information and other kinds of feedback – clues about where your arm is in space relative to the mug – and sending it to your…
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that manifests through symptoms such as tremor, slow movements, limb rigidity and gait and balance problems. As such, nearly all diagnostic testing revolves around how a patient moves and requires the patient to walk for extensive distances and amounts of time. The discomfort caused to patients by this kind…
In an internal memo, Pentagon leadership has urged military personnel not to take mail-in DNA tests, warning that they create security risks, are unreliable and could negatively affect service members’ careers. The letter, which was reported by Yahoo News, was sent on Friday. It does not name any particular DNA testing companies, but counsels broadly…
New research suggests that a rat’s experiences may act as an early warning system to its fellow rodents. Share on PinterestNew research sheds light on the mechanism of empathy in rats. Empathy is the ability to understand someone else’s emotional experiences. Typically, we think of empathy as a noble quality that we relate to compassion.…
Living with a pet dog in childhood may be linked to a reduced risk of schizophrenia in adulthood. Researchers studied adult patients at Sheppard Pratt Hospital in Baltimore, 396 with schizophrenia and 381 with bipolar disorder. They compared them with 594 healthy controls. The participants reported whether they had had a dog or a cat…
By Jane E. Brody As many as 20 percent to 30 percent of people in the general population sleep poorly. They may have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, some awaken much too early, while others do not feel rested despite spending a full night seemingly asleep in bed. For one person in 10, insomnia…
Many studies have suggested that women who take aspirin may have a lower risk of breast cancer. But how does this common anti-inflammatory affect the health outcomes of women who have already received treatment for the disease? Share on PinterestResearchers have been working to find out why aspirin use is linked to such a wide…
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Many people under 60 who develop stomach cancer have a “genetically and clinically distinct” disease, new Mayo Clinic research has discovered. Compared to stomach cancer in older adults, this new, early onset form often grows and spreads more quickly, has a worse prognosis, and is more resistant to traditional chemotherapy treatments, the…
Staph bacteria, the leading cause of potentially dangerous skin infections, are most feared for the drug-resistant strains that have become a serious threat to public health. Attempts to develop a vaccine against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have failed to outsmart the superbug’s ubiquity and adaptability to antibiotics. Now, a study from Washington University School of…
By introducing a chemical cocktail to granulosa cells, researchers in China induced the cells to transform into functional oocytes in mice. Once fertilized, these oocytes were then successfully able to produce healthy offspring, showing no differences from naturally bred mice. The chemical reprogramming method appears December 24 in the journal Cell Reports. Ovarian follicles are…