European populations are growing older on average, a trend that could pose serious challenges to health care, budgets, and economic growth. As a greater proportion of a country’s population grows into old age, average cognition levels and national productivity tend to decline, and the incidence of dementia increases.

«Finding ways to improve the cognition of seniors is of central importance to the economic well-being of aging countries,» says IIASA researcher Vegard Skirbekk, who worked on the study with researchers Nicole Schneeweis and Rudolf Winter Ebmer at Linz University

The study exami...

A new study suggests light alcohol consumption during the first trimester is linked to a higher risk of bearing a preterm or unexpectedly small baby, even if expectant mothers keep within the government-recommended limit of two units a week.

In addition, say researchers at the University of Leeds in the UK, who report their findings in the BMJ’s Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, drinking alcohol in the weeks leading up to conception is also linked to smaller fetal growth.

The new finding adds to a debate, fueled by mixed evidence, that has been going on for some time about light a...

Probably the most common question we get on the labor and delivery ward is, «I think my water just broke, but I’m not sure…?»

In general, women who are questioning if their water has broken aren’t dealing with a sneaky uterus intent on tricking them with fake amniotic fluid.

Instead, it’s usually a form of misleading pregnancy discharge.

Increased vaginal discharge during pregnancy is a completely normal symptom — and the type and amount will vary throughout the pregnancy as well.

Why does discharge increase during pregnancy?

There is an increase in discharge during pregnancy because the ce...

Johnny may be hardwired to play with toy guns and dump trucks after all. As for his little sister’s preference for Barbie and Beanie Babies, chalk it up to DNA, say scientists.

The notion that children’s taste in toys might somehow be genetically determined has long been disparaged by psychologists, pooh-poohed as unscientific and sexist, or both.

But a study by researchers in the United States has added new fuel to the nature versus nurture debate, and suggests that when it comes to choosing between trucks and cuddly stuffed animals, chromosomes could make a difference.

There have been hundre...

Children who use their hands to gesture during a math lesson gain a deep understanding of the problems they are taught, according to new research from University of Chicago’s Department of Psychology.

Previous research has found that gestures can help children learn. This study in particular was designed to answer whether abstract gesture can support generalization beyond a particular problem and whether abstract gesture is a more effective teaching tool than concrete action.

«We found that acting gave children a relatively shallow understanding of a novel math concept, whereas gesturing led t...

Antibiotics are valuable, potentially life-saving tools that have significantly reduced human morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, antibiotics may also have unintended consequences from their off-target effects that may increase the risk of many long-term conditions. Recent epidemiologic studies have detected a possible link between antibiotic use in childhood and weight gain¹ — with disruption to the normal gut microbiota considered the most likely cause.

«Infancy is an important time in the development of the human microbiota and these studies provide evidence that early exposure to ant...

Women who were very small or underweight when they were born may be twice as likely to have fertility problems as those who were normal size at birth, new research suggests.

The study, published online March 10 in the journal BMJ Open, included more than 1,200 women in Sweden who were born in 1973 or later and sought fertility treatment with male partners between 2005 and 2010.

Fertility problems were associated with the women in 38...

Painful pregnancy

Sharon C., mom of one in Gilbert, Arizona, shares, «During the last trimester of pregnancy I began to experience a lot of pain in my pelvis and thighs. It was painful to do anything that required movement if one leg separated from the other (such as turning over in bed, putting on pants, walking up stairs or getting in or out of the car).»

The symptom is known as pubic symphysis diastasis and there isn’t much that can be done to help it...

Women in rural India who participate in a vocational training program learn more than just life skills. A recent University of Illinois study found that mothers who participated in a program designed to educate and empower women gained a network of peers that led to increased bargaining strength in the home, and significantly improved their children’s consumption of rice and dairy.

«Prior to participating in Mahila Samakhya, which loosely translates to women of equal value, most of the participants reported regularly communicating with fewer than five women outside their families,» said U of I...