Tony Francis from Chesham, Buckinghamshire, has long suffered with anosmia It began thirty years ago when he collapsed and hit his head in a freak accident The condition is the inability to perceive odor or a lack of functioning olfaction But a new treatment could – quite literally – bring people to their (lost) senses By TONY...
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Why lack of sleep is bad for your heart
by University of Colorado at Boulder Credit: CC0 Public Domain In recent years, numerous studies have shown that people who don’t get enough sleep are at greater risk of stroke and heart attack. A new University of Colorado Boulder study, published in the journal Experimental Physiology, helps explain why. It found that people who sleep fewer than...
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MINDFULNESS APP CUTS SMOKING. BRAIN SCANS SUGGEST HOW
MAY 21ST, 2019 POSTED BY MOLLIE RAPPE-BROWN You are free to share this article under the Attribution 4.0 International license.TAGS UNIVERSITY: BROWN UNIVERSITY People who tried a new mindfulness app reported smoking fewer cigarettes a day, according to a new study. Further, the researchers say the people who most reduced the number of cigarettes they...
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‘What’s my real identity?’: As DNA ancestry sites gather more data, the answer for consumers often changes
By DAMIAN GARDE @damiangarde MAY 22, 2019 MOLLY FERGUSON FOR STAT NEW YORK — 23andMe caused Leonard Kim not one identity crisis but two. The first came in 2016, when Kim, who was raised believing he was 100% Korean, took the company’s DNA ancestry test and learned he was almost half Japanese. Then, earlier this...
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Early life exposure to nicotine alters neurons, predisposes brain to addiction later
In mouse study, neonatal exposure changed biochemistry of reward circuitry; researchers suggest same mechanism may be at work in humans IMAGE: A STAINED MICROGRAPH OF A MOUSE PURKINJE NEURON, A TYPE OF BRAIN CELL THAT RELEASES THE GABA NEUROTRANSMITTER, AND WHICH IS AFFECTED BY NICOTINE EXPOSURE. CREDIT: CELL IMAGE LIBRARY, NCMIR Neonatal exposure to nicotine...
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New cognitive training game to improve driving skills among the elderly
by Tohoku University Credit: Tohoku University The number of older car drivers worldwide is increasing, leading to accidents caused by age-related cognitive decline among drivers. Researchers at Tohoku University have developed a new cognitive training game aimed at improving road safety among elderly drivers. The game, Cognitive Training for Car Driving (CTCD), requires only a set-top...
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What you need to know about jellyfish stings
by From Mayo Clinic News Network Credit: CC0 Public Domain Jellyfish have a mighty sting as hundreds of beachgoers in Florida have discovered. More than 800 people were reported to have been stung recently at Central Florida beaches. Dr. Michael Boniface, an emergency department physician with Mayo Clinic, says most jellyfish that beachgoers encounter in...
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Working to the beat: How music can make us more productive
by Leila Ugincius, Virginia Commonwealth University Music makes us happy. Listening to music produces dopamine—nature’s happy pill—in the brain. And music also makes us sad. Listening to Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle,” Johnny Cash’s version of “Hurt” or just about anything by Hank Williams produces tears. In fact, music can evoke every emotion known to man. But can music also make us productive? Yes, if it’s the right music, according to Kathleen R. Keeler,...
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Generic version of Truvada available in U.S. by September 2020
(HealthDay)—A generic version of the HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug Truvada will be available in the United States by September 2020, a year earlier than expected, according to Gilead Sciences. “Gilead reached an agreement with Teva Pharmaceuticals in 2014 to allow the early launch of a generic version of Truvada into the market in 2020, a year earlier than required,” Douglas Brooks, Gilead executive director for community engagement, wrote in an email...
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Video Game Shown to Help Reduce Sugar Intake, Drop Weight, for People with Sweet Tooth
Sugar is considered to be a devil in much of the nutritional community these days. It is blamed for the obesity epidemic, increased rates of diabetes, and many other maladies that are on the rise. But the stuff is readily available just about everywhere in all kinds of enticing formats, so self-control is a major part...