Computerized brain-training games are apparently good for something: They improve your ability to play a particular computer game. But do they make you smarter? According to a review of nearly 400 studies of brain training published last week in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest, there is no credible evidence […]
Health
Hormones For Prostate Cancer Up Dementia Risk
About half of the men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the United States eventually end up with some kind of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), which suppresses testosterone and slows the progression of cancer. Now come researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, who, after studying almost a decade’s worth of data, […]
Calcium Supplements May Hurt Heart
About 43 percent of Americans take a supplement that includes calcium, thought to be a builder of strong bones. But now come researchers from Johns Hopkins University with a concern that calcium in the form of supplements may raise the risk of plaque buildup in arteries and heart damage, even though […]
The Latest Supplements du Jour
Multivitamins, which, in the opinion of many experts, never did anything, are out. Vitamin D, probiotics and fish oil are in. That’s the word from the supplement fashion police, otherwise known as epidemiological researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. HealthDay reports their recent survey, which found that […]
Exercise Brain Boost May Not Last
Faithful readers of New York Times health columnist Gretchen Reynolds probably know that she has several times extolled the brain benefits of exercise. Now comes Reynolds with some less than great news: those benefits may not last. Reynolds cites a new study from researchers at the University of Maryland that took […]
Even Baseball Players Are Getting Fat
Giving new meaning to the moniker “heavy hitters,” professional baseball players have been putting on the pounds. David E. Conroy, Penn State professor of kinesiology, looked at 145 years of data on professional baseball players’ body mass, and found that the athletes’ weight held steady for over 100 years, with the […]
Oxytocin For Body and Spirit
Oxytocin doesn’t just renew aging muscles, it can also renew your spirit. Researchers at Duke University have found that men reported a greater sense of spirituality shortly after taking oxytocin and a week later, and that people who took oxytocin also experienced more positive emotions during meditation. All good things. A […]
Vasectomies And Prostate Cancer
For years, men have been wondering if vasectomies might coincidentally reduce the risk of prostate cancer, as well as offspring. Now, thanks to a study that followed 363,726 men from 1982 to 2012, we can say that the answer is “No, it does not.” And neither does it increase the risk. […]
Why We Drink More In a Drunk Crowd
How drunk do you think you are? According to researchers at Cardiff University, that judgement depends on how drunk the people around you are. A Cardiff news release reports that researchers at the school found that people who were drunk and in drinking environments ranked their perception of their own […]
OK To Watch Low-Grade Prostate Cancer
The answer to the question –What to do about prostate cancer? Watch it? Treat it? Pretend you don’t have it? –gets a little easier after seeing the results of a new study that followed 1,643 patients in Britain ages 50 to 69 who had early prostate cancers.  The New York […]