Health, features and articles | Educational Science

Mar 31, 2015

What Babies Eat May Affect Leukemia Risk

PHILADELPHIA — Infants who start eating solid foods later than usual may be at increased risk for a type of blood cancer, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed information from 172 children in Texas who had been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) — a cancer of the white blood...

Mar 31, 2015

5 Not-So-Miraculous Dr. Oz Claims

Dr. Mehmet Oz has made a name for himself in part by touting miracle cures and weight-loss products, but the TV personality is now facing fire from critics for making health claims that are not supported by scientific evidence. Oz was strongly criticized for his claims about weight-loss supplements in...

Mar 31, 2015

Polygamous Marriage May Be Bad for a Man's Heart

Having more than one wife may cause some serious heartache. Men who are polygamous face more than quadruple the risk of having blocked heart vessels, compared with men married to one woman, new research suggests. We found an association between an increasing number of wives and the severity and number...

Mar 31, 2015

'Obesity Signature' Written in Pee

A person's urine could reveal whether he or she is at risk for obesity and its related harmful conditions, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed information from more than 2,000 people in the United States and United Kingdom. The subjects had samples of their urine collected over two separate 24-hour...

Mar 31, 2015

Even a Little Walking Can Improve Your Health, Study Suggests

Want to reduce your risk of dying at a young age? Try walking casually for as little as 2 minutes per hour. While it is well known that intense exercise can help you get fitter, a new study has found that even a little exercise can still go a long...

Jan 31, 2015

For Teens, Falling Asleep Gets Harder with More Screen Time

Teenagers who while away the hours on an electronic device — whether it's a computer, cell phone, tablet or TV — tend to have more problems with sleeping at night, a new study finds. The cumulative amount of screen time a teen gets throughout the day — not just before...

Jan 31, 2015

What Your Snot Says About You (Infographic)

The paranasal sinuses are air-filled cavities that are lined with mucus-making cells. The mucus serves to keep the nose from drying out and to trap contaminants before they reach the lungs. Mucus (”snot”) is made of water, proteins, antibodies and salts. Its color is an indicator of health: CLEAR indicates...

Jan 31, 2015

Why 'Measles Parties' Are a Bad Idea

Measles parties that intentionally expose unvaccinated children to the illness are not a good idea, health officials said this week. In a statement, the California Department of Public Health said it strongly recommends against the intentional exposure of children to measles, according to the radio station KQED. Such action unnecessarily...

Jan 31, 2015

Why Exercise and Diet Changes May Not Be Enough to Treat Obesity

To treat people who are obese, doctors need to move beyond simply telling their patients to eat less and exercise more, some researchers argue. Instead, doctors should focus on the biological mechanisms that make it hard for obese people to lose weight, these researchers say. When people diet, the body...

Jan 31, 2015

Preschoolers Who Nap May Sleep Worse at Night

For parents of young children, nap time can be the best time of the day: The house is quiet, the kids are sleeping and there's finally an hour or two of personal time. But those daytime naps could make young children less likely to sleep as well at night, at...

Jan 31, 2015

It's Not Just Ice: 10 Tips to Avoid a Bad Fall

Dr. Joe Rosenthal, physical medicine and rehabilitation physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, contributed this column to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Every 13 seconds, an older adult is rushed to an emergency room because of a fall. So many older adults are falling that...

Jan 31, 2015

Hold the Sugar, US Nutrition Panel Recommends

Americans should limit the amount of added sugar they consume to no more than 10 percent of their daily calories, or about 200 calories a day for most people, say new recommendations from a government-appointed panel of nutrition experts. If upcoming federal diet guidelines adopt this recommendation, it would be...

Jan 31, 2015

3 Men Get Bionic Hands After Nerve Injuries

Three men who had lost the use of their hands in accidents are now the first people with this type of injury to receive bionic hands controlled by transplanted nerve tissue, a new study reports. During the procedure, known as bionic reconstruction, doctors amputated the useless hand, transplanted nerve and...

Jan 31, 2015

Drop Sugar for Lent? Here's How Your Brain's (Not) Coping

This article was originally published on The Conversation. The publication contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Anyone who knows me also knows that I have a huge sweet tooth. I always have. My friend and fellow graduate student Andrew is equally afflicted, and living in...

Dec 31, 2014

Cholera Bacteria Spear Their Prey to Grab Genes

The bacteria that cause cholera grab genes from other organisms in a particularly predatory way, new research finds. The microbes spear neighboring cells with a kind of poison-tipped spike. Bacteria often grab genes from other organisms and incorporate that DNA into their own genomes. But researchers at the Swiss Federal...