Obesity boot camps are not the answer to the nation’s childhood obesity problem, according to Deborah J. Rhea, associate professor in the department of kinesiology at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX. “Many programs have developed out of a desire to take advantage of the money that can be made from the obesity epidemic,” [...]

WFUBMC.edu – Vitamin D is quickly becoming the “go-to” remedy for treating a wide range of illnesses, from osteoporosis to atherosclerosis. However, new evidence from a Wake Forest University School of Medicine study suggests that supplementing vitamin D in those with low levels may have different effects based on patient race and, in black individuals, [...]

MDAnderson.org – M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is encouraging men and women to learn more about colon polyps and how they affect a person’s colon cancer risk. “Finding out you have colon polyps doesn’t have to be frightening,” said Gottumukkala S. Raju, M.D., professor in the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at M. D. [...]

UCI.edu – UC Irvine neurobiologists are providing the first visual evidence that learning promotes brain health – and, therefore, that mental stimulation could limit the debilitating effects of aging on memory and the mind. Using a novel visualization technique they devised to study memory, a research team led by Lulu Chen and Christine Gall found [...]

UCSF.edu – Doctors treat millions of children with Ritalin every year to improve their focus on tasks, but scientists now report that Ritalin also directly enhances the speed of learning. In animal research, the scientists showed for the first time that Ritalin boosts both of these cognitive abilities by increasing the activity of the neurotransmitter [...]

Med.Stanford.edu – Acupuncture appears to be an effective way to reduce depression symptoms during pregnancy, according to a first-of-its-kind study from Stanford University School of Medicine researchers. The study authors, led by Rachel Manber, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, said they hope the results will raise awareness of the problem of depression during [...]