Health, features and articles | Educational Science

Mar 31, 2009

Mom's Diet Can Change Unborn Baby's Genetics

There's an old phrase that an expectant mother is eating for two. A new study indicates it's more apt than was known. A bad diet can actually alter a baby's genes. If a mother rat does not eat well, her offspring exhibit genetic changes that affect what they'll become. Because...

Mar 31, 2009

Laughter Is Indeed Good Medicine

Nobody can say if laughter is the best medicine, but it certainly seems to help. So suggests a new but very small study of diabetes patients who were given a good dose of humor for a year. Researchers split 20 high-risk diabetic patients —all with hypertension and hyperlipidemia (a risk...

Mar 31, 2009

Flu Special Report: The Basics

With swine flu outbreaks creating what U.S. health officials Sunday called a public health emergency, LiveScience presents a 4-part Flu Special Report this week to examines the science of influenza, what you can do to be safe, and the risk of a pandemic. Part 1 today: Flu basics. The flu...

Mar 31, 2009

Swine Flu Vaccine Could Take 6 Months

A vaccine for the new swine flu in humans could take at least six months to manufacture and distribute widely, a British doctor said. The reason: Vaccines must be developed from the specific flu strain, tested for safety, sent to manufacturers for mass production, and then distributed around the world....

Mar 31, 2009

Glowing Dogs Created in Lab

South Korean scientists claim to have put fluorescent genes into eggs to create four cloned dogs (all named Ruppy) that glow red under ultraviolet light. The same feat has been accomplished with mice, pigs and cats previously. Behind the effort: Showing that these genes can be implanted in eggs that...

Mar 31, 2009

5 Wild Diseases We Got From Animals

The swine flu is just one of many deadly diseases that have jumped from animals to humans. Bacteria and viruses that are deadly to one type of creature can evolve quickly to infect another. The cross-species infection can originate on farms or in markets, where conditions foster mixing of pathogens,...

Feb 28, 2009

Study: Athletes Indeed Need Supporters

Having support from friends and family can improve an athlete's performance, a new study suggests. While hard work and talent are not discounted, the study makes a statistical link between social support and performance among golfers. The researchers studied 197 British male amateur golfers, who all played at a high...

Feb 28, 2009

Exercise: The Best Medicine

It just seems too good to be true. Study after research study consistently promoting the endless benefits of exercise. Couch potatoes everywhere are waiting for the other shoe to drop, telling us that all of those scientists were wrong and we should remain as sedentary as possible. Yet four additional...

Feb 28, 2009

5 Things You Must Never Forget

5 Things You Must Never Forget (Image credit: Dreamstime)Whether it is a name, date or directions, there always seems to be something new to remember. Yet you probably feel like there's just not enough room in those little brain cells of yours to cram the latest tidbit. And unfortunately you...

Feb 28, 2009

Teen Leaders More Likely to Have Kids Later

We live in an age of overachieving young people. These kids do great in school, are sports team captains, have lots of friends who follow them around in awe, and get raises at their part-time jobs because they have the skills to get others to work hard too. Some of...

Jan 31, 2009

First Sign of Chocolate in Ancient U.S. Found

Chocolate residues left on ancient jars mark cacao's earliest known presence north of what is now the U.S.-Mexico border. The residues, found on pottery shards excavated from a large pueblo (called Pueblo Bonito) in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico, suggest the practice of drinking chocolate had traveled from what...

Jan 31, 2009

Study Suggests Why Gut Instincts Work

Sometimes when you think you're guessing, your brain may actually know better. After conducting some unique memory and recognition tests, while also recording subjects' brain waves, scientists conclude that some gut feelings are not just guesswork after all. Rather, we access memories we aren't even aware we have. We may...

Jan 31, 2009

Study Suggests Multivitamins Don't Work

Long-term multivitamin use has no impact on the risk of common cancers, cardiovascular disease or overall mortality in postmenopausal women, a new study finds. The message is simple and echoes the advice of most researchers who have looked into the effects of diet: Eat real food. Several other studies have...

Jan 31, 2009

The Strangest Valentine's Day Stories

The approach of Valentine's Day generates more meaningless articles and borderline news than any other holiday. Not to mention some bizarre rituals and events (see Zoorotica, below). Surveys about love are done, studies having anything to do with relationships or chocolate are held for release this week, and people start...

Jan 31, 2009

Infectious Superbug Invades Beaches

CHICAGO — Add the MRSA superbug to the list of concerns you bring to the beach nowadays, a research doctor said today. It's still safe to go in the water, especially if you shower thoroughly before and after swimming, but antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a strain of bacteria that can cause...