Health, features and articles | Educational Science

May 31, 2013

Sexual Images Sway Conservative Guys Toward Risk

Sexually conservative men are more swayed by sexual images than more adventurous dudes, according to a new study that might help explain why the sexually conservative, paradoxically, tend to take sexual risks. The study suggests that men who have no intention of having casual sex nevertheless become more willing to...

May 31, 2013

Which Comes First -- Optimism Or Good Health?

(ISNS) -- Boosting optimism, defined as the general expectation that the future will be favorable, could provide new ways to improve health, some researchers believe. But scientists remain unsure if optimism precedes health improvements, or vice versa. Julia Boehm, a psychologist at Harvard University, and her colleagues performed what she...

May 31, 2013

Epigenetics: Definition & Examples

Epigenetics literally means above or on top of genetics. It refers to external modifications to DNA that turn genes on or off. These modifications do not change the DNA sequence, but instead, they affect how cells read genes. Examples of epigenetics Epigenetic changes alter the physical structure of DNA. One...

May 31, 2013

Go Gluten Free? Most People Shouldn't (Op-Ed)

Katherine Tallmadge, R.D.,is a registered dietitian, author of Diet Simple: 195 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations (Lifeline Press, 2011), and a frequent national commentator on nutrition topics. Tallmadge contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. It's all the rage right now; in fact, you may be...

Apr 30, 2013

Experts: Media May Be Second Prison for Cleveland Abductees

Three women kept captive in a boarded-up Cleveland house for between nine and 11 years will likely face a long road to recovery after their nightmarish ordeal. The women, Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, all went missing between 2002 and 2004, when they were teens, or in Knight's...

Apr 30, 2013

'Junk' DNA Mystery Solved: It's Not Needed

One person's trash may be another person's treasure, but sometimes, trash is just trash. So-called junk DNA, the vast majority of the genome that doesn't code for proteins, really isn't needed for a healthy organism, according to new research. At least for a plant, junk DNA really is just junk...

Apr 30, 2013

Normal or Not? New Psychiatric Manual Stirs Controversy

With the release of the latest edition of the mental health manual, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), LiveScience takes a close look at some of the disorders it defines. This 10-part series asks the fundamental question: What is normal, and what is not? As of May...

Apr 30, 2013

Jedi Mind Trick? Brain Thinks It Inhabits Virtual Body

The brain's perception of the body may seem set in stone, but a new study shows the mind can be tricked into taking an entire virtual body for its own. In 1998, neuroscientists Matthew Botvinick and Jonathan Cohen performed an experiment where they showed people a rubber hand being stroked...

Apr 30, 2013

The Surprising Optimism of Tornado Victims (Op-Ed)

Jerry Suls is a social psychologist at the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Previously, he was a psychology professor at the University of Iowa. He contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. The people who survived the recent tornado disaster in Oklahoma...

Mar 31, 2013

Human Genome Project Marks 10th Anniversary

This month marks the 10-year anniversary of the Human Genome Project, a 13-year international effort to determine the sequence of the 3 billion letters in a human being's DNA. The $3 billion project, led by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health, began in 1990 and...

Feb 28, 2013

Head Games: Pro Soccer Players Have Sharper Mental Skills

It might be tempting to portray professional athletes as dumb jocks, but new research proves that experienced soccer players have impressive brain functioning and executive-level cognitive skills. Researchers at Brunel University in London were trying to determine what makes one soccer player better than another, particularly at anticipating and responding...

Feb 28, 2013

'Fasting Diet' Fad Could Be Unhealthy, Nutritionists Say

The latest diet craze claims to help people lose weight through intermittent fasting, but some nutritionists say it's a bad idea. People on the so-called 5:2 diet can eat whatever they want for five days a week, but must then fast for two. On the fasting days, dieters must eat...

Feb 28, 2013

Too Much Tea Causes Unusual Bone Disease

A 47-year-old Michigan woman developed a bone disease rarely seen in the U.S. after she drank a pitcher of tea made from at least 100 tea bags daily, for 17 years, researchers report. The Detroit woman visited the doctor after experiencing pain in her lower back, arms, legs and hips...

Feb 28, 2013

Normal Brain Activity Linked to DNA Damage

Brain activity from experiences as common as exploring new locations surprisingly damages the noggin's DNA, hinting that such disruptions may be a key part of thinking, learning and memory, researchers say. This damage normally heals rapidly, but abnormal proteins seen in Alzheimer's disease can increase this damage further, perhaps overwhelming...

Jan 31, 2013

4 Reasons to Limit Super Bowl Toasts

Like millions of football fans, lovers of Beyoncé and advertising junkies, you'll probably be attending or hosting a Super Bowl party on Sunday. Think chips and dip. Nachos. Ribs. Chili. And, last but not least, wine and beer — and plenty of it. As you drink and nosh and drink,...