Warwick.ac.uk – Psychotherapy could be 32 times more cost effective at making you happy than simply obtaining more money, according to research by the University of Warwick and the University of Manchester. The research has obvious implications for large compensation awards in law courts but also has wider implications for general public health. Chris Boyce [...]

PNHP.org – The increased computerization in U.S. hospitals has not made them cheaper or more efficient, Harvard researchers say, although it may have modestly improved the quality of care for heart attacks. The findings, published in the online edition of the American Journal of Medicine, contradict claims by President Obama and many lawmakers that health [...]

Could exposure to phthalates from plastics be contributing to the incidence of ADHD in children? Phthalates are important components of many consumer products, including toys, cleaning materials, plastics, and personal care items. Studies to date on phthalates have been inconsistent, with some linking exposure to these chemicals to hormone disruptions, birth defects, asthma, and reproductive [...]

URMC.Rochester.edu – A study of 145 preschool children reports, for the first time, that when the concentrations of two common phthalates in mothers’ prenatal urine are elevated their sons are less likely to play with male-typical toys and games, such as trucks and play fighting. The study by the University of Rochester Medical Center was [...]

UTSouthwestern.edu – Contrary to current thinking, a condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) might develop because of immune-mediated inflammation and not as a direct result of acidic digestive juices burning the esophagus, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found in an animal study. Rather, gastroesophageal reflux spurs the esophageal cells to release chemicals called cytokines, [...]

Contrary to more conservative customs, exercising up to the end of pregnancy has no harmful effect on the weight or size of the fetus. This is the result of a human exercise study carried out by researchers of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Polytechnic University of Madrid), which also shows the positive relationship between the [...]