Children With Mental Illnesses May Benefit From 'Shock' Therapy
Posted on February 13, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 639 words
| Patria Henriques
Electrically stimulating the brain with so-called "electroshock" therapy may have help some children with mental illnesses including depression whose conditions are unresponsive to other treatments, according to a new study.
After receiving the therapy now called electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, by researchers 76 percent of children showed significant improvements in their symptoms. The treatment was particularly effective for those patients with depression 17 out of 20 children diagnosed with depression showed significant amelioration.
[Read More]Does All That Headbanging Leave a Mark on Woodpeckers' Brains?
Posted on February 13, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 833 words
| Patria Henriques
Scientists may have just pecked new holes in the widely held idea that woodpeckers' brains suffer no ill effects from the considerable force generated by their high-speed pecking.
A new study — the first to examine the birds' brains — shows that woodpecker brains are not immune to these repeated impacts, and that they experience a type of protein accumulation that is associated with trauma and brain damage in humans.
[Read More]Giant Penguin: This Ancient Bird Was As Tall As a Refrigerator
Posted on February 13, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 614 words
| Trudie Dory
The fossils of a refrigerator-size penguin were so gargantuan that the scientists who discovered them initially thought they belonged to a giant turtle. The ancient behemoth is now considered the second-largest penguin on record.
The newfound penguin species would have stood nearly 6 feet tall (1.8 meters) and weighed about 220 lbs. (100 kilograms) during its heyday tens of millions of years ago.
The bird's gigantism indicates that "a very large size seems to have developed early on in penguin evolution, soon after these birds lost their flight capabilities,"
[Read More]LA's Island Playground Could Trigger Tsunamis
Posted on February 13, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 680 words
| Patria Henriques
PASADENA, Calif. — Landslides coming off Catalina Island's steep slopes could send tsunamis racing toward popular Los Angeles and Orange County beaches with just a few minutes of warning, geoscientists said on April 23 here at the annual meeting of the Seismological Society of America.
Researchers discovered chaotic deposits that are characteristic of landslides while probing underwater rocks offshore Catalina Island. Seismic waves provide images of underground sediment and rock layers in a manner similar to medical CT scanners that search for cancer and broken bones.
[Read More]Meet Tajiri! April the Giraffe's Baby Gets a 'Hopeful' Name
Posted on February 13, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 497 words
| Arica Deslauriers
They'll call him "Taj."
The baby giraffe born on April 15 at Animal Adventure Park (AAP) in Harpursville, New York, finally has a name: Tajiri (pronounced tah-JEER'-ee), which is Swahili for "hope" or "confidence," the giraffe keepers said.
The fate of the giraffe's moniker was in the hands of the public, as the park held a naming contest: For about 10 days after the birth, the public could submit naming ideas.
[Read More]Neanderthal 'Family' Possibly Victim of Cannibal Attack
Posted on February 13, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 742 words
| Fernande Dalal
The remains of a possible family group of Neanderthals, including an infant, were discovered in a cave in Spain, researchers reported. The bones of the 12 individuals show signs of cannibalism, suggesting another Neanderthal group came along and chowed down on the meat.
This group of Neanderthals died some 49,000 years ago, the research suggests. Shortly after, a violent storm or other natural disaster likely caused the cave to collapse and bury their remains at the El Sidron site.
[Read More]Pneumonia: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
Posted on February 13, 2023
| 6 minutes
| 1211 words
| Patria Henriques
Pneumonia is a broad term for a common lung(opens in new tab) infection typically caused by bacteria or viruses. The illness can also be a complication of the flu(opens in new tab).
When something like bacteria(opens in new tab), for example, gets into lung tissue, it causes an inflammatory(opens in new tab) response, which leads to the production of mucus, said Dr. Maureen Dziura, a lung specialist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
[Read More]Suspected WWII-Era Bomb Discovered at Fukushima Power Plant
Posted on February 13, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 317 words
| Patria Henriques
The Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant is still severely damaged from the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and massive tsunami that crippled it in March 2011. But now, the area is facing another threat: What is thought to be an undetonated World War II-era bomb was discovered on the grounds of the power plant, according to news sources.
Excavation workers discovered the more-than-70-year-old weapon under a parking lot that is undergoing maintenance, the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co.
[Read More]The Science Behind Our Strange, Spooky Dreams
Posted on February 13, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 818 words
| Patria Henriques
The realm of sleep and dreams has long been associated with strangeness: omens or symbols, unconscious impulses and fears.
But this sometimes disturbing world of inner turmoil, fears and desires is grounded in our day-to-day experience, sleep researchers say.
"The structure and content of thinking looks very much like the structure and content of dreaming. They may be the product of the same machine," said Matthew Wilson, a neuroscientist at MIT and a panelist at the New York Academy of Sciences discussion "
[Read More]Too Much TV Really Is Bad for Your Brain
Posted on February 13, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 484 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Young adults who watch a lot of TV and don't exercise much may start to see the effects of their unhealthy habits on their brains as early as midlife, a new study suggests.
In the study, researchers looked at the TV viewing habits of more than 3,200 people, who were 25 years old, on average, at the start of the study. The people in the study who watched more than 3 hours of TV per day on average over the next 25 years were more likely to perform poorly on certain cognitive tests, compared with people who watched little TV, the researchers found.
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