Musical myth Contrary to popular opinion, research finds no cognitive benefits of music lessons Children get plenty of benefits from music lessons – learning to play an instrument can be a great outlet for a child's creativity, and the repeated practice can teach ...

Brief laser-light treatment may significantly improve effectiveness of influenza vaccines Pretreatment with near-infrared laser also could improve response to additional intradermal vaccines Pretreating the site of intradermal vaccination – vaccine ...

Is peer-review systemically misogynist? Women's presence in science is not reflected in peer-review authorship or citations This news release is available in French. After reviewing the authorship of 5.4 million peer-reviewed articles, University ...

New guidelines for severe asthma provide an updated definition of the disease and a new plan to tack A new guideline has provided an updated definition of severe asthma along with new recommendations for treating the condition. Produced by ...

Rare gene variants double risk for Alzheimer's disease A team led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified variations in a gene that doubles a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease later in life. The ...

Asia Pacific must prepare for catastrophic increase in fragility fractures New report shows aging populations and urbanization will drive increase in osteoporosis and related fractures; health authorities must take action now to ...

Multi-gene test could help spot breast cancer patients most at risk Genetic signature identifies patients with more aggressive triple-negative cancers A new test has the potential to help physicians identify patients with the most lethal forms ...

Poverty influences children's early brain development MADISON — Poverty may have direct implications for important, early steps in the development of the brain, saddling children of low-income families with slower rates of growth in two key brain structures, ...

UK Biobank study shows dad's influence on birth weight linked to diabetes genes One of the first studies to use recently released data from the UK Biobank has provided the strongest evidence yet for a link between fathers' diabetes and low birth weight One ...

IU-designed probe opens new path for drug development against leading STD The probe mimics pathogen's amino acids, solving mystery behind Chlamydiae cell wall Biochemical sleuthing by an Indiana University graduate student has ended a nearly 50-year-old search to find ...

Increase in Hong Kong's over 70s population to cause dramatic rise in hip fractures Serious impact on health-care costs, early deaths, disability and need for elderly care Hong Kong, China – A new report issued today by the International ...

Johns Hopkins researchers identify a new way to predict the prognosis for heart failure patients Decreased energy metabolism in heart cells found to be a significant independent risk factor Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a new way to predict which ...

CCS issues guidelines to improve early diagnosis & effective treatment of heart failure in children Published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology Philadelphia, PA, December 11, 2013 – Heart failure in children is an important cause of childhood health problems ...

NASA's TRMM satellite sees powerful storms in Tropical Cyclone Madi NASA's TRMM satellite spotted heavy rainfall and very high cloud tops in strong thunderstorms in the southern quadrant of Tropical Cyclone Madi on December 11 as it neared southeastern India's coast. ...

Arctic cyclones more common than previously thought Data analysis reveals hundreds of storms -- mostly smaller ones -- that had previously escaped detection SAN FRANCISCO—From 2000 to 2010, about 1,900 cyclones churned across the top of the world each year, leaving ...

CNIO study chosen as discovery of the year in regenerative medicine The study demonstrated that cells within living organisms possess an unexpectedly high degree of plasticity The prestigious journal Nature Medicine has taken a look at the year ...

Not all species age the same; humans may be outliers Adult humans get weaker as they age and then die, but that's not the typical pattern across species. Some organisms don't appear to show signs of aging at all. These are among the findings in ...

Staying ahead of Huntington's disease Huntington's disease is a devastating, incurable disorder that results from the death of certain neurons in the brain. Its symptoms show as progressive changes in behavior and movements. The neurodegenerative ...

Gender identity and single-sex schools Study shows pressure to conform to gender roles is stronger in all-girls schools Montreal, December 11, 2013 — Newspaper headlines worldwide tout the benefits of single-sex schools: Girls 75% more likely to take ...

ASU researchers discover chameleons use colorful language to communicate Chameleons' body regions are 'billboards' for different types of information TEMPE, Ariz. – To protect themselves, some animals rapidly change color when their environments change, but ...

Upper Rio Grande impact assessment reveals potential growing gap in water supply and demand Bureau of Reclamation report shows increasing temperatures and changes in the timing of snowmelt runoff could impact the amount of water available on the upper Rio Grande in the ...

Researchers discover common cell wall component in Chlamydia bacteria Using novel method, study resolves 50-year 'chlamydial anomaly' Researchers studying Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria, which cause the sexually ...

Are younger women more likely to have and die from a heart attack? New Rochelle, NY, December 10, 2013—Young women, ages 55 years or below, are more likely to be hospitalized for an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and to die within ...

Sleep-deprived mice show connections among lack of shut-eye, diabetes, age PHILADELPHIA – Sleep, or the lack of it, seems to affect just about every aspect of human physiology. Yet, the molecular pathways through which sleep deprivation ...

Researchers at Penn show optimal framework for heartbeats