Ancient 'Peking Man' Way Older Than Thought
Posted on September 18, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 754 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
The famous fossils of an early relative of modern humans commonly called Peking Man may be 200,000 years older than previously thought, a new study finds.
The revised date could change the timeline and number of migrations of the Homo erectus species out of Africa and into Asia. It also suggests that Peking Man endured glacial climates.
Previous studies estimated that H. erectus fossils found nearly a century ago in China were from about 500,000 years ago.
[Read More]Antidepressants During Pregnancy Pose Dilemma for Women
Posted on September 18, 2022
| 8 minutes
| 1500 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
In January 2008, Clori Rose, a high school teacher in Atlanta, was halfway through her pregnancy when she started to notice a significant change in her emotions. A remark from a student that she normally would have brushed aside sent her into a state of distress.
"It made me cry, and I seriously couldn’t stop crying for 24 hours," Rose said. "I was so upset I had to call in sick.
[Read More]Fireworks Send Thousands of Americans to the ER Around the Fourth of July
Posted on September 18, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 558 words
| Fernande Dalal
Before you fire off a bunch of bottle rockets this July Fourth, spare a thought for your fingers, toes and other extremities. Injuries from fireworks send thousands of Americans to the emergency room around this time of year, new data shows.
According to the U.S. ConsumerProduct Safety Commission (CPSC), there were an estimated 9,100 fireworks-related injuries treated in U.S. emergency rooms in 2018; and of these, about 5,600 occurred in the one-month period around July Fourth (from June 22 to July 22).
[Read More]Frankie Muniz's Ministrokes: What Are Transient Ischemic Attacks?
Posted on September 18, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 536 words
| Arica Deslauriers
In an interview on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" Monday (Oct. 9), actor Frankie Muniz revealed he's had "a fair amount of ministrokes."
Muniz brought up the ministrokes while discussing problems with his memory, according to People magazine.
"I have had nine concussions and I've had a fair amount of mini-strokes … I'm not saying those things correlate exactly to the reason why my memory's not great," Muniz said. He's had an estimated 15 ministrokes, the People magazine article added.
[Read More]Humans Evolved Flexible, Lopsided Brains
Posted on September 18, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 562 words
| Trudie Dory
The two halves of the human brain are not symmetrical. This lopsidedness, which arises during brain development, may be a stamp of the adaptability of the human brain, a new study suggests.
Researchers compared geometric differences between brain scans of humans and chimpanzees. They observed structural asymmetries in both human and chimpanzee brains, but human brains were especially asymmetric. The findings, published online today (April 23) in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, suggest human and chimp brains evolved a high degree of flexibility during development.
[Read More]Is Bursitis Age-Related?
Posted on September 18, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 627 words
| Patria Henriques
Question: I'm very careful to avoid anything that might give me bursitis, which seems to run in my family. However, I've been suffering more lately in spite of my best efforts. Is this age-related?
Yes. Bursitis occurs more often as we age. As you are probably aware, repetitive motions are the worst things for people who tend to get bursitis. Other causes include joint trauma, rheumatoid arthritis, gout and infection.
[Read More]It's a Duck, It's a Rooster, It's a … Dinosaur?
Posted on September 18, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 710 words
| Arica Deslauriers
What has a mouth like a duck's and a comb like a rooster's? A dinosaur that roamed North America 75 million years ago.
A new fossil discovery reveals the duck-billed dinosaur Edmontosaurus regalis sported a fleshy comb on its head, similar to the ones on modern-day roosters. No such comb has ever been discovered before on a dinosaur.
"We're never short of being surprised by what these animals looked like,"
[Read More]Man's Lurking Parasitic Infection 'Woke Up' in His Brain
Posted on September 18, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 443 words
| Trudie Dory
A large mass in a man's brain turned out to have an unusual cause: a parasitic infection lurking in his body that had "reawakened" in his brain, according to a new report of the case.
The 31-year-old man went the emergency room after he showed signs of confusion and had trouble walking. He also had a headache and a fever. The man had immigrated to the U.S. from El Salvador six years earlier, and had recently been diagnosed with an HIV infection and AIDS, according to the report from doctors at Stanford University.
[Read More]Mystery illness sickens more than 300 in India
Posted on September 18, 2022
| 2 minutes
| 263 words
| Arica Deslauriers
A mysterious illness has sickened hundreds of people in a city in southeastern India, according to news reports.
Over the weekend, more than 300 people in the city of Eluru, located in the state of Andhra Pradesh, were hospitalized with epilepsy-like symptoms, including seizures and loss of consciousness, as well as nausea and vomiting, according to CNN. One patient with these symptoms died from a cardiac arrest, but officials said the death appeared unrelated to the mystery illness.
[Read More]New Secret to Building Muscle Revealed: Pump Less Iron
Posted on September 18, 2022
| 2 minutes
| 334 words
| Fernande Dalal
No need to strain yourself with back-breaking weight-lifting sessions involving heavy barbells. Muscle mass can be achieved just as successfully using small weights, a new study shows.
The research revealed a similar degree of muscle-building can be achieved by using lighter weights as with bulkier ones, suggesting the secret to building muscle mass is to pump iron until you reach muscle fatigue.
"Rather than grunting and straining to lift heavy weights, you can grab something much lighter but you have to lift it until you can't lift it anymore,” study researcher Stuart Phillips, associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University, said in a statement.
[Read More]