Language rewires the brain. Learning and using a language actually changes brain connectivity. Neuroscientists using brain scans have found that bilinguals have more efficient brain networks than monolinguals. For instance, one MRI study showed that people fluent in two languages displayed...
Tackling hidden HIV. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) controls HIV but cannot cure it, because the virus lurks dormant (“latent”) in immune cells. Researchers have been seeking a way to flush out and eliminate this latent reservoir. A team at UCLA and the University of Bristol has developed an experimental...
Quick health “reset.” Many people try a month-long break from alcohol (e.g. “Dry January”), and scientific studies confirm real gains even in 30 days. Doctors note that after a month off, sleep quality often improves, anxiety and stress drop, and blood pressure goes down. One medica...
A quick breathing exercise. New studies suggest a few minutes of daily targeted breathing can improve cardiovascular health. The technique, called inspiratory muscle strength training (IMST), uses a small handheld device. You take about 30 slow, deep breaths through it – roughly a 5-minute sessio...
Promising early data. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) researchers have long searched for a preventive therapy. A recent report brings new hope: an experimental anti-amyloid antibody showed it could delay the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms in genetically at-risk individuals. In a trial of 73 peo...
Women’s symptoms can differ from men’s, causing delayed diagnoses. Three notable examples are endometriosis, heart disease, and ADHD, each of which often goes unrecognized in women . Endometriosis (a condition where uterine tissue grows outside the uterus) can cause extreme pain and inf...
An experimental combination therapy triggered a 700% increase in insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells in laboratory mice . The drugs – a plant compound called harmine plus a common diabetes drug (GLP-1 receptor agonist like exenatide) – made leftover human beta cells multipl...
