Health, features and articles | Educational Science

Jun 30, 2006

The Raw Food Diet: A Raw Deal

American ingenuity has found one solution to the energy crisis: food you never need to cook. There's no need for fuel when everything you eat---from salad to, well, more salad—is served up at piping room temperature. I'm speaking of the raw food diet, for those who find the vegan lifestyle...

Jun 30, 2006

Comatose Man's Brain Rewires

Doctors have their first proof that a man who was barely conscious for nearly 20 years regained speech and movement because his brain spontaneously rewired itself by growing tiny new nerve connections to replace the ones sheared apart in a car crash. Terry Wallis, 42, is one of the few...

Jun 30, 2006

Living Alone Raises Risk of Heart Attack

Living alone can be deadly, a new study shows. People who live by themselves are at twice the risk of serious heart problems compared to those who have a partner. Researchers studied records of 138,000 adults aged 30 to 69 in Denmark. Of the group, 646 suffered a heart attack...

Jun 30, 2006

Body's Own Molecules Being Customized to Fight Cancer

Scientists are tweaking naturally occurring body proteins to create customized molecules that can seek out and deliver drugs to cancer cells. The research, which is still in the very early stages and has not advanced to human clinical trials yet, could one day lead to new types of cancer drugs...

Jun 30, 2006

Medical 'Miracles' Not Supported by Evidence

The phrase medical miracle is a newsroom cliche. It means a situation in which a person makes an unexpected recovery despite great odds or a pessimistic prognosis. Yet often the phrase is used much more broadly to describe a seemingly supernatural or paranormal healing or curing event such as faith...

May 31, 2006

Study Debunks Myth that Sex Hastens Labor

A new study debunks the notion that having sex in the final weeks of pregnancy makes labor start sooner. Researchers at Ohio State University Medical Center studied 93 women in their final three weeks of pregnancy. When all was said and done, those who were sexually active had carried their...

May 31, 2006

Men Who Can't Play, Drink

Here's a shocker: Men who are not confident in their sporting abilities may try and make up for this by drinking excessively. So says Richard de Visser, whose new study looked into the masculine behaviors of young men in London and how it all affects their health. The University of...

May 31, 2006

Maybe Tonight Honey, I Have a Migraine

Migraines have been linked to sexual desire in new research that could improve understanding of the crippling headaches. In a relatively small study, 68 young men and women were surveyed about recent headaches and sexual desire. Migraine sufferers reported levels of sexual desire 20 percent higher than those suffering from...

May 31, 2006

Risk of Lung Disease Etched in Some Smokers' Faces

Heavy wrinkles on smokers' faces can indicate a higher risk of contracting lung disease, a new study finds. Smoking is known to cause premature aging. The new research finds that middle-aged smokers whose faces are heavily lined with wrinkles are five times as likely to have emphysema, bronchitis, or another...

May 31, 2006

The Most Dangerous Sports in America

Many moms might worry about their kids getting hurt playing football, but a new study shows that playing basketball and riding bicycles sent more Americans to the emergency room in 2005. More than half a million people suffered basketball-related injuries last year, compared to 485,000 hurt on bikes and 418,000...

May 31, 2006

Genetic Mutations Help Date Old Books

The fundamentals of genetic science may help date centuries-old works by Shakespeare and Rembrandt. It could be a new benchmark for the science world's oddest crossover research. The newly-announced technique, which proposes to assign years to a slew of previously undated books and art, applies the same thinking behind genetic...

May 31, 2006

Smoking and Obesity Curb Sex

For a man addicted to cigarettes and plagued by obesity, which together raise the risk of cancer and diabetes, life might seem a bit grim. At least there's sex. Well, maybe not. In a new study, scientists examined a survey database of 22,086 healthy subjects between the ages of 40...

May 31, 2006

The Secret to Living Past 80: Make it to 65

In aging, as with many things in life, it's best to take things one step at a time. Doctors conclude in the July issue of Harvard Health Letter that one of the best ways to help ensure you'll live past 80 is to first set your sights on making it...

May 31, 2006

One Drink Can Make You Blind Drunk

You don't have to be blitzed to be blind drunk, a new study shows. One stiff drink is all it takes to cause inattentional blindness, a condition where people fail to detect unexpected objects in their field of vision while focusing on another task. The study reveals that people who...

Apr 30, 2006

Lesbians' Brains React Differently

UPDATED MAY 12, 2006 AT 5:20 P.M. ET Clarification: WASHINGTON (AP) _ In a story below, The Associated Press reported on the perceptions of lesbian women and heterosexual men and women when sniffing chemicals derived from human hormones. The report was based on a chart in a research study which...