Diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids may help ward off shortsightedness in children

Alice Nekesa did not know she was infected with malaria-causing parasites until it was too late. She was in the fourth month of pregnancy last year when she started bleeding, a miscarriage later attributed to untreated malaria in her.

A recent study by the University of Jyväskylä shows that participation in sports club activities among Finnish youth aged 8 to 19 has significantly increased from the 1980s to the 2020s, particularly among the youngest age groups. The work is published in the Journal of Public Health.

Conventional wisdom among neuroscientists suggests that the brain's motor functions are organized around the body, meaning certain brain areas control the hand; others the foot. An emerging alternative theory is that parts of the brain may be organized by the types of action, like reaching or using tools, no matter which body part is used to complete the task.

Self-harm in young people is a major public health concern, rates are rising, and the adolescent years present a critical period of intervention. Another modern challenge facing adolescents is sleep deficiency, with global reductions in total sleep time and inconsistent sleep patterns, and as many as 70% of teenagers getting inadequate sleep.

Two doses of recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) are associated with a reduced risk for herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO), acute myocardial infarction, and stroke among adults aged 50 years or older, according to a study published online Aug. 9 in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

A plan for tapering opioids should be developed to minimize withdrawal symptoms in children receiving opioids for five or more days, according to a clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published online Aug. 18 in Pediatrics.

Mass General Brigham researchers have identified seven molecules in the blood linked to excessive daytime sleepiness, including factors related to diet and hormones.

Vaping among teens and young people is consistently linked to subsequent smoking, marijuana and alcohol use, finds an overarching (umbrella) review of systematic reviews of the evidence, published online in the journal Tobacco Control.

The presence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is associated with an increased incidence of pulmonary diseases, but this effect may be attenuated with GERD treatment, according to research published online July 22 in Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology.

Amylin, a hormone that controls appetite and blood sugar by activating three different receptors in the brain, could be the basis for the next blockbuster obesity drugs. A University of Oklahoma study published in the journal Science Signaling reveals a new understanding of how amylin receptors react upon being activated, an advancement that will be crucial to the field of drug development.

By analyzing millions of messenger RNA molecules (mRNA) during the course of ALS, researchers at Stockholm University, in collaboration with scientists at the Paris Brain Institute and Örebro University, have identified why certain nerve cells are resistant to the disease and what happens in the sensitive nerve cells when they are affected. The study, published in the journal Genome Research, focuses on a hereditary form of ALS caused by mutations in the SOD1 gene.

A Yale research team has created a new computer tool that can pinpoint when exactly genes turn on and off over time during brain development—a finding that may one day help doctors identify the optimal window to deploy gene therapy treatments.

Older adults who regularly participated in a community-based exercise program were able to slow—and in many cases reverse—declines in cardio fitness and strength that naturally come with age, a new McMaster study shows.

School connectedness buffers against depression symptoms associated with being a victim of peer bullying in adolescence, according to a study published in BMC Public Health. School connectedness was measured by the degrees of inclusiveness, closeness, happiness and safety of adolescents within the school environment.

A group of nerve cells known for their role in detecting chemical irritation, tissue damage, heat, and pressure now emerge as critical defenders against the worst ravages of the flu caused by an overactive immune response, according to new research by scientists at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Researchers at the University of Missouri are on a mission to help patients recover from hip surgery with less pain, and they may have found an innovative solution: using the patient's own cartilage cells.

The percentage of physicians who go on to practice in New York State after completing their residency training continues to climb.

A new study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham reveals that an antibody originally designed to fight dengue virus may also block the spread of Zika virus in vulnerable areas of the body—including the reproductive organs.