Even Untrained Dogs Seem to Know Human Gestures

There's more evidence that the canine-human bond is a tight one: New research finds that stray dogs pick up on human commands, even though they haven't been trained.

Of the untrained dogs in the study, 80% went to the place a person pointed to. This suggests dogs understand complex gestures by watching humans, which might be a clu...

Do You Take Warfarin? Time of Day Might Not Matter

Patients taking the blood thinner warfarin have been told that it should be taken at night, but a new study found the time of day doesn't matter.

"Whether warfarin is taken in the morning, or the evening, its therapeutic effect is the same," said lead researcher Dr. Scott Garrison, an associate professor of family medicine at the Univ...

Fish Oil Supplements Might Help Men Become Dads

Couples struggling to get pregnant might want to add a little more fish in their diet, a new study says.

Young men who take fish oil supplements appear to have better sperm quality and higher testosterone levels than those who don't, as well as larger testicles, researchers report.

Although it wasn't tested as part of the stu...

How Mom-to-Be's Worry Over Birth Defects Can Harm Baby

Hearing that your unborn baby has congenital heart disease can be traumatic, but now new research suggests that if you experience stress, anxiety or depression afterward it could affect your baby's brain development.

Congenital heart disease (structural problems with the heart) is the one of the most common birth defects.

"We...

AHA News: Before Grabbing a Grapefruit, Understand Its Power

Grapefruit looks sweet and friendly, but you might have heard it possesses powers far beyond those of ordinary produce.

Some of that reputation is fact, and some is myth.

Facts first: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, half a medium grapefruit has only 41 calories and nearly half a day's recommended supply of ...

College Students Picking Pot Over Drinking in States Where It's Legal

Are college students choosing marijuana instead of booze when both are legal?

New research suggests they are: In states where pot is legal, college kids use it more, but binge-drink less.

In states with legal marijuana, college students were 18% more likely to use it in the past month than in states where it's illegal, Or...

Fewer Childhood Cancer Survivors Getting Hit by Heart Troubles

Since the 1970s, serious heart disease among childhood cancer survivors had declined remarkably, a new study finds.

The decline suggests that efforts to make cancer treatments, including radiation, less toxic are paying off, researchers say.

For the study, researchers led by Dr. Daniel Mulrooney, from St. Jude Children's Re...

Sepsis Causes Far More Deaths Worldwide Than Thought

Sepsis kills more than twice as many people worldwide as once believed, and children in poor regions account for an excessive number of such deaths, researchers say.

Sepsis is an out-of-control immune response to infection that harms organs. People who survive sepsis can have lifelong disabilities.

In 2017, there were 48.9 mi...

Could a Switch to Skim Milk Add Years to Your Life?

If you want to slow down the aging process, it might not hurt to replace whole milk with skim, new research suggests.

The study of over 5,800 U.S. adults found that those who regularly indulged in higher-fat milk had shorter telomeres in their cells -- a sign of accelerated "biological aging."

The ...

How Palliative Care Remade End-of-Life Care at New York Hospitals

Providing palliative care in hospitals led to a 10% reduction in intensive care unit use by dying patients, a new study finds.

Palliative care aims to provide relief from symptoms and stress of a serious illness.

Researchers say that ICU use at the end of life is considered an indicator of poor quality of care. The study's...

'Intensity' of U.S. Binge Drinking Is on the Rise

While the frequency at which Americans binge drink has declined slightly over the past decade, the number of drinks they imbibe during a binge is rising to dangerous levels, new research shows.

In the new study, binge drinking was defined as five or more drinks on one occasion by men or four or more drinks for women.

Between ...

Researchers Alter Mosquitoes to Resist Dengue Infection

Mosquitoes that can't be infected by or spread dengue virus have been created by scientists.

The researchers genetically engineered the mosquitoes to be resistant to all four types of dengue, a mosquito-borne virus that's a significant global health threat.

This is the first time that mosquitoes have been genetically engineer...

Many Americans Are Inactive, With Southerners Faring Worse

Uncle Sam has a message for sluggish Americans: Get moving now.

More than 15% of American adults are physically inactive, a new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study reports. And all that time on the couch or staring into a computer screen adds to the risk of health problems and premature death.

"Too many a...

Millennials Most Likely to Skip Flu Shot, Believe 'Anti-Vaxxer' Claims: Poll

Millennials are less likely to have had a flu shot this season and are more likely than other American adults to agree with some false anti-vaccination information, according to a new nationwide survey.

The results also showed that nearly one-third of adults polled don't plan to get a flu shot and many underestimate how deadly flu can...

Another Cost of Climate Change: More Wildfires

Wildfires like the ones that have ravaged Australia in recent months are likely to become more common as climate change continues to wreak havoc on the planet, a new study suggests.

The Australian wildfires prompted British researchers to review 57 studies published since 2013.

All of the studies show an association between h...

AHA News: Baby Survived 27 Minutes Without a Heartbeat

Britt Spivey knew something was wrong when his pregnant wife showed up at his work following what was supposed to be a routine doctor visit. Autumn started to cry and told him their unborn child had a heart defect. They needed to go to Texas Children's Hospital in nearby Houston.

There, a more detailed scan showed the gravity of the s...

AI Might Help Spot, Evaluate Prostate Cancer

In another step toward using artificial intelligence in medicine, a new study shows that computers can be trained to match human experts in judging the severity of prostate tumors.

Researchers found that their artificial intelligence system was "near perfect" in determining whether prostate tissue contained cancer cells. And it was on ...

Nerve Stimulation Therapy Could Cut Fibromyalgia Pain

For people with the mysterious chronic pain condition fibromyalgia, researchers say nerve stimulation may offer some relief.

In a recent study, use of TENS -- transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation -- during movement or activity was shown to significantly reduce pain associated with fibromyalgia after just four weeks.

...

Are Doctors Discarding 'Injured' Kidneys That Might Be Used for Transplant?

Many of the donor kidneys that are discarded each year in the United States could instead be effectively transplanted, a large new study suggests.

At issue are kidneys from deceased donors that are acutely injured. Right now in the United States, about 30% of those organs are discarded, rather than being given to patients on transp...

Virtual Reality Can Bring Real-Life Pain

From carpal tunnel to a stiff neck, too much time on the computer can cause a slew of health problems. But what if you ditch the keyboard and mouse for virtual reality?

New research from Oregon State University in Corvallis showed that even stepping into virtual reality may be bad for the body.

Virtual reality isn't just for ...