Author: healthadmin
People are often treated as unreliable narrators of their own pasts, and this skepticism persists, especially when it comes to emotionally charged childhood experiences. Researchers have long worried that memories of abuse and neglect can change depending on a person’s mood, mental health, and current circumstances, meaning that what someone tells a researcher, doctor, or social worker one year may not match what they say the next year. Our new research published in Nature Mental Health suggests these fears may be overblown. We found that reports of child maltreatment remained very stable over time, at least over several years. Child…
An analysis of Swedish twin registry data found that twin pairs in which at least one twin reported a history of psychedelic use were 50% less likely to suffer from migraines compared to twin pairs with no history of psychedelic use. Among twin pairs, twins who reported using psychedelics were almost three times less likely to suffer from migraines than twins who did not use psychedelics. The paper was published in. Journal of Psychopharmacology. Migraine is a neurological disorder characterized by repeated attacks of moderate to severe headache, often accompanied by additional sensory and gastrointestinal symptoms. This pain is generally…
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s pick to oversee public health emergency and disaster preparedness and response has questioned the use of the hepatitis B vaccine in infants and debunked the vaccine’s link to autism, in past comments reviewed by STAT. The comments by Sean Kaufman, the nominee for assistant secretary for preparedness and response, are part of an undercurrent of vaccine skepticism among some senior Department of Health and Human Services officials, from Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. down, despite efforts by White House officials to shift the conversation away from vaccines. STAT Plus: Bill Cassidy risked his legacy. May…
Federal regulators have postponed a major overhaul of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) security rules and delayed final action on the rules by a year. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is proposing to release a final rule in May 2026 that would make significant changes to the HIPAA Security Rule, marking the first major update to the 23-year-old rule in more than a decade. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) website has been updated to show that the final rule has been postponed to July 2027. The Biden administration has issued a…
Recent research published in journals neuropsychology Our results suggest that greater physical organization in six specific areas of the brain predicts better working memory in middle-aged and older adults. These findings provide evidence that preserving brain structure as we age supports our ability to temporarily retain and manipulate information. This knowledge may ultimately lead to new strategies to slow cognitive decline in aging populations. Working memory is a mental workspace that allows people to temporarily store and process information. People rely on this cognitive skill for everyday tasks such as decision-making, learning new things, reading comprehension, and mental arithmetic. However,…
Health tech startup Pearl Health has raised $110 million in a combination of debt and equity funding to build an artificial intelligence platform for Medicare providers that includes an AI agent to handle administrative tasks. Founded in November 2020, the company provides technology that helps healthcare providers deliver preemptive care to Medicare patients through AI-powered predictive insights, financial risk modeling, and streamlined workflows. Pearl said it supports a network of more than 10,000 health care providers in more than 40 states, including health systems such as University of Vermont Health and MDX Hawaii, and cares for more than 250,000 Medicare…
Bumblebees may be small, only about an inch long, but they play a huge role in global agriculture. Approximately one-third of the world’s food production relies on pollinators such as bees. At the same time, these important insects face increasing pressure from pesticides and other environmental threats. Modern pesticides are helping farmers protect crops and increase yields, but some can harm the pollinators that make big crops possible. One such chemical, sulfoxaflor, is a next-generation pesticide introduced in 2013 to control sap-sucking insects such as aphids on crops such as soybeans and corn. Although sulfoxaflor is effective against pests, it…
Get the latest news in health technology, digital health and health AI with this weekly overview. News for the week from July 6th to 10th. Samsung, Neuroscape partner in cognitive research Samsung is partnering with Neuroscape to study changes in cognitive function across adulthood, the organizations announced Thursday. The Neuroscape Technology for Aging Health – Digital Approaches (TAH-DA) study aims to identify biometric predictors of cognitive decline over a one-year period using Samsung wearable devices, namely the Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Tab A9. Recruitment began earlier this year, with a goal of 200 participants between the ages of 40 and…
Michelle Dugan Delgado has suffered from asthma for as long as she can remember. That’s why she always carries an inhaler and a face mask with her when she leaves the house – in case the wind picks up and there’s a sandstorm. “I know it’s not safe to go outside,” she told DW. “It’s like living in a bubble. You have to protect yourself.” If dust enters your lungs, it can trigger an asthma attack. Invisible bacteria, fungal spores, and viruses carried by dust can also cause life-threatening infections. “If you go out and get caught in a sandstorm,…
New research published in evolutionary psychology Students who score higher on the K factor tend to report higher college GPAs, even after accounting for SAT scores, personality traits, and parental education. Although we already know that standardized test scores, personality traits, motivation, study habits, and self-regulation predict college performance, researchers are still interested in identifying additional psychological factors that help explain why some students do better than others. This study focuses on one such factor, the K-factor, a psychometric measure rooted in life history theory. In general, life history theory asks how we allocate our limited time and energy to…