Health, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 30, 2015

Rare Case: Man with Brain Disorder Can't Recognize His Reflection

A man who thought he saw a stranger in the bathroom mirror, when he was actually looking at his own reflection, turned out to have a rare neurological condition, a new case report finds. The 78-year-old man in France, identified in the report as Mr. B, noticed a stranger in...

Aug 31, 2015

Daily Marijuana Use Among College Students Reaches 30-Year High

The percentage of U.S. college students who say they smoke marijuana daily or nearly every day is at its highest in more than three decades, according to a new survey. In 2014, 5.9 percent of college students said they smoked marijuana 20 or more times in the prior month. That's...

Aug 31, 2015

Do 'Brain Training' Games Really Work? (Op-Ed)

Dr. John Swartzberg is an internist and specialist in infectious disease, and chairman of the editorial board of the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter and berkeleywellness.com. He is also a clinical professor emeritus of medicine at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health and the University of California, San...

Aug 31, 2015

Teens Use E-Cigarettes to 'Vape' Pot

Nearly one-fifth of high school students who use e-cigarettes have tried putting pot into the devices, according to a new study of Connecticut teens. E-cigarettes vaporize, rather than burn, substances, allowing users to inhale nicotine (or THC, the active ingredient in cannabis) without taking in the carcinogens that are caused...

Aug 31, 2015

Marijuana Use May Raise Risk of Developing High Blood Sugar

Marijuana may raise people's risk of developing prediabetes, a condition in which blood sugar levels are abnormally high but not high enough to warrant a diagnosis with type 2 diabetes, a new study finds. In the study, researchers found that people who used large amounts of marijuana during young adulthood...

Aug 31, 2015

Happy? Sad? Breastfeeding May Affect Babies' Awareness of Social Cues

Breastfeeding might affect the way babies with a certain genetic makeup perceive other people's emotions, according to a new study. In the study, researchers looked at the relationship between being breastfed and perceiving emotions in 49 female and 49 male 7-month-old infants. The babies were shown photos of faces whose...

Aug 31, 2015

Why Diet Soda Could Sink Your Diet

Drinking diet soda may go hand in hand with indulging in extra helpings of sugar- and fat-laden foods like cookies or french fries, a new study suggests. Researchers found that on the days that the people in the study drank diet or sugar-free drinks, they consumed about 49 more calories...

Aug 31, 2015

Fish Jaw in the Eye: Beachgoer Leaves with Odd Malady

A tourist to the Red Sea left with an unwanted souvenir: a pair of fish jaws embedded in his eyelid, according to a new report of the case. The 52-year-old man went swimming at a beach on the Red Sea, an inlet of the Indian Ocean that sits between Africa...

Aug 31, 2015

Spacing Out Vaccines? No Evidence Supports Candidates' Ideas

There is no evidence that supports spacing out childhood vaccines — which two Republican candidates for president suggested in last night's presidential debate — instead of following the recommended schedule, experts say. I am totally in favor of vaccines, but I want smaller doses over a longer period of time,...

Aug 31, 2015

Medical Research Subjects Who Lie Can Mess Up Study Results

People who lie about their health in order to get into medical research studies can mess up study results, and potentially make drugs appear more safe or effective than they really are — or less so, researchers say. Some people may stretch the truth, or outright lie, because they want...

Aug 31, 2015

Why Being Tall and Slim Sometimes Go Hand in Hand

Long and lean isn't just a catchy phrase — new research shows there may be a genetic link between being tall and being slim. The findings could help explain why people from Scandinavian countries such as Sweden and Norway have a reputation for being both tall and slender, the researchers...

Aug 31, 2015

Apple Watch Credited with Saving Life: What Conditions Can It Detect?

A Massachusetts teen says the Apple Watch saved his life, by alerting him that his heart rate was much higher than normal, leading to a diagnosis of a life-threatening condition. Experts say the gadget — and similar devices — could potentially detect alterations in people's heart rates that might be...

Aug 31, 2015

Meat May Not Be So Bad for You After All (But There's a Catch)

Although a vegetarian diet has many health benefits, eating meat may not be so terrible for you either, as long as you include plenty of vegetables, too, according to a new study. In the study, the researchers looked at how different diets affected the types of bacteria in people's guts,...

Aug 31, 2015

Vaccines May Protect Kids Against Strokes, Too

Parents have yet one more reason to vaccinate their children: Routine immunizations may reduce the risk of childhood stroke, according to a new study. Childhood strokes are rare, estimated to affect between three and 13 children per 100,000. Yet unlike adult strokes, in which environmental factors such as smoking and...

Jul 31, 2015

Fatherhood in Early 20s May Raise Risk of Midlife Death

Men who become fathers at a young age may have an increased risk of dying during middle age — in their late 40s or early 50s, new research finds. In the large Finnish study, researchers found that men who had their first child by age 22 were 26 percent more...