Medical Breakthrough

Soy products have repeatedly been found to help cholesterol levels. But do they do enough to make a difference? (Credit: 1989studio/Shutterstock) If you pick up a carton of soy milk, chances are you’ll spot some sort of verbiage boasting the beverage’s heart health benefits. But it’s not the only soy-based...

(Credit: Nopphon_1987/Shutterstock We all know smoking is bad for your health. But it seems smoking might be bad for your personality, too. A recent paper published in the Journal of Research In Personality reports that, compared to people who didn’t smoke, cigarette smokers were more likely to report not-so-great changes in...

(Credit: Evgeniy Kalinovskiy/Shutterstock) Nearly 37 million people suffer from human immune deficiency virus or HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The go-to treatment for the infection is antiretroviral therapy, better known as ART. It can prevent the progression of the disease, enabling infected individuals to live longer, healthier lives. But...

(Credit: aijiro/Shutterstock) Nearly a third of all deaths in the world are due to heart diseases. Now, a new study suggests that an infusion of gut bacteria might hold promise for treating cardiovascular conditions. The proof-of-concept study looked at obese people given a daily supplement of helpful bacteria that had been...

(Credit: Sergey Uryadnikov/Shutterstock) Within the rainforests of Salonga National Park, in the heart of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, bonobos wade through swamps. The slender, three-and-a-half-foot tall apes are searching for rushes and white water lilies. They pluck the herbs from the water and then discard the flowers and...

ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, usually conjures images of a child bouncing off the walls, or an adult who’s constantly distracted. Symptoms like these are what first caught physician Sir Alexander Crichton’s attention. In his 1798 book on mental conditions, he wrote that people who experienced such symptoms...

(Credit: ElROi/Shutterstock) CBD, or cannabidiol, is growing in popularity as a stress-relieving wonder drug that may help ease anxiety, inflammation and pain. Many enthusiasts also say it can cure a smorgasbord of other conditions. CBD is a non-active ingredient in cannabis — it doesn’t get you high. And that’s helped...

(Credit: AlexLMX/Shutterstock) If you’re a TV junkie, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Chernobyl, HBO’s show about the 1986 nuclear disaster of the same name. It shows, in horrifying detail, how the meltdown and explosion of part of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant spewed massive amounts of radiation from radioactive...

(Credit: Fh Photo/ Shutterstock) Eating is one of the great pleasures of living. And knowing when to stop, a wonderful virtue. For some people, the decision to stop doesn’t come easy. And can we blame them? Eating is awesome! But there comes a point where never feeling full turns into...

A study detected hidden consciousness in one out of seven unresponsive brain injury patients using widely-available hospital technology. (Credit: Chairoij/Shutterstock) There are some things that life never prepares you for — like the dreaded phone call that a loved one is in a coma, and you’re responsible for making their...