Loneliness, an emotional state rather than a mental disorder, can substantially affect the health of older adults, as well as use of health care services. A “Five things to know about …” practice article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) summarizes key points to help clinicians understand the effect of loneliness on older patients. Loneliness …
If you believe that great scientists are most creative when they’re young, you are missing part of the story. A new study of winners of the Nobel Prize in economics finds that there are two different life cycles of creativity, one that hits some people early in their career and another that more often strikes …
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that using blood thinners in patients with worsening heart failure, coronary artery disease or irregular heart rhythms was associated with a 17 percent reduced risk of thromboembolic events, such as stroke and heart attack. Results from the COMMANDER Heart Failure trial were published in …
Washington State University researchers have found a variety of diseases and other health problems in the second- and third-generation offspring of rats exposed to glyphosate, the world’s most popular weed killer. In the first study of its kind, the researchers saw descendants of exposed rats developing prostate, kidney and ovarian diseases, obesity and birth abnormalities. …
Even when feeling empathy for others isn’t financially costly or emotionally draining, people will still avoid it because they think empathy requires too much mental effort, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. Empathy, the ability to understand the feelings of another person, is often viewed as a virtue that encourages helping …
New research conducted in the Cognitive Neuroscience group of SISSA shows that a perceptual decision – recognizing an object and taking the appropriate action – is triggered as soon as the brain’s processing networks accumulate the exact right quantity of sensory information. Our sensory receptors continuously collect information from the outside world, allowing us to …
In 2000, measles was declared to be eliminated in the United States, when no sustained transmission of the virus was seen in this country for more than 12 months. Today, however, the United States and many other countries that had also eliminated the disease are experiencing concerning outbreaks of measles because of declines in measles …
People who skip breakfast and eat dinner near bedtime have worse outcomes after a heart attack. That’s the finding of research published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 The study found that people with the two eating habits had a four to five times …
Star Trek’s Spock would not be surprised: People are “illogical.” New research exploring American liberals and conservatives shows that regardless of political affiliation, tribal instincts kick in and people’s ability to think logically suffers when it comes to arguments related to their political belief systems. When confronted with the unsound reasoning of opposing groups, people …
People often say they can get by on five or fewer hours of sleep, that snoring is harmless, and that having a drink helps you to fall asleep. These are, in fact, among the most widely held myths about sleeping that not only shape poor habits, but may also pose a significant public health threat, …