HEALTH & WELLBEING

Children whose mothers were overly stressed during pregnancy are more likely to become victims of bullying at school.

The popular British TV programme, Embarrassing Bodies, is rating high in Australia. Experts explain the rise in popularity of the medical show to Australian audiences to various reasons, ranging from the need to know more about ailments to voyeurism.

Languages are highly complex systems and yet most children seem to acquire language easily, even in the absence of formal instruction. New research on young children's use of British Sign Language (BSL) sheds light on one mechanism - iconicity - that may play an important role in children's ability to learn language.

Big Brother is finding new and inventive ways to keep track of you these days, thanks to an explosion in technology, and that now includes the healthcare industry, once considered a bastion of privacy.

Terminally ill cancer patients who have an early talk with their physician about care at the end-of-life are less likely to receive aggressive therapy – and more likely to enter hospice care – than patients who delay such discussions until the days and weeks before death, a new study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers suggests.

Most people don't need an excuse to eat chocolate -- its creamy texture and delicious taste are reason enough. Yet, here is another compelling reason to savor chocolate: it helps your brain work better. Flavonols present within chocolate may be the key to this enhanced cognitive functioning.

In a 2002 Jon Rapoport interview of a retired vaccine industry researcher turned whistleblower, the whistleblower, whose identity is protected, dismisses the false premise of vaccinations creating immunity by stimulating antibodies.

The aftermath of the Northeastern U.S. Frankenstorm or superstorm demonstrates what can happen in heavily populated areas stricken without power and lots of flooding.

Here's some good news in the election results: Voters in Washington and Colorado have decriminalized small quantities of marijuana for recreational use. This is an attempt to end the insane waste of law enforcement resources on small-time pot users who pose no threat to society.

Long chain omega-3 fatty acids Ecosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are critical for brain and eye health and development throughout the course of life. The western diet is deficient in high quality omega-3 fatty acids and is loaded with processed vegetable oils.

It can be easily identified as a stated ingredient in many conventional brands of hand soap, toothpaste, shampoo, and hand sanitizer, but a new report out of Europe reveals that the deadly antibacterial chemical triclosan is also now showing up in persistently high levels in lakes and waterways around the world, as well as in human breast milk and blood plasma.

While the name laptop connotes that this device be placed on a person's lap while computing, doctors have warned against the practice because of its potential damage to male sperm.

Though there is little meaningful talk about this important subject in the mainstream media, cancer prevention is something that every single person needs to be thinking about, especially in light of the excess of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), environmental chemicals, and other modern exposures linked to rapidly rising rates of this deadly disease.

Gene therapy can be performed safely in the human salivary gland, according to scientists at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum) and Heidelberg University Hospital have identified the HDAC11 enzyme as a promising target for new cancer therapies.

Despite having two unusual genetic disorders when he was born, Arpan Saxena from Bhopal, India still exudes positive attitude about his current condition and appearance. The 4-year-old boy, who has 13 fingers and 12 toes, reportedly likes the kind of attention he receives worldwide.

China has promised to phase out its organ harvesting operations and move to a volunteer organ donation system over the next few years, reports the Associated Press.

The time from Thanksgiving to New Years is the most traveled month of the year. Even with the TSA nonsense at airports and increasing TSA presence at train stations, more people will continue the tradition of getting together with family members at some time during the holiday period.

As we enter the sweet season, parents are worried kids might indulge their way to obesity by gobbling up too many Halloween candy. But having a little fun with candy once a year will not lead to childhood obesity, says Ken Haller, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at Saint Louis University.

The next time you visit your primary care physician for a physical, you may want to consider inquiring as to whether or not you will be billed extra for asking too many questions during your checkup.

With Hurricane Sandy leaving millions of people without power, it raises the question of "what do we do?" Perhaps the most pressing matter for many families is the issue of food. These tips can help those affected by Hurricane Sandy, and it can stand as a useful guideline for families to be prepared for future events.

In the shadow of Halloween, local health departments all across the country are holding creepy new drive-thru flu shot clinics this year as part of a nationwide "emergency preparedness drill" to see how quickly and efficiently large numbers of people can be vaccinated.

Australia is poised for bigger role in the global fight to significantly reduce hundred-thousands of deaths due to malaria, which is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes.

You're probably familiar with all sorts of mythologies promoted as "truisms" in modern medicine: Flu vaccines prevent the flu (they actually don't), CT scans are harmless (they aren't), chemotherapy works to save lives from cancer (it actually causes cancer), and so on. There are all sorts of falsehoods in dentistry, too: Mercury fillings are safe for you!

In Denmark, doctors at the Aarhus University Hospital are currently in a predicament after reportedly giving a false diagnosis to a patient. Carina Melchior was proclaimed brain dead after a tragic car accident.

Australian researchers are seeking 100 women willing to be part of a clinical trial of Tefina, a testosterone gel in the form of a nasal spray to boost sexual arousal of females. The trial, which would also be conducted in the U.S. and Canada, would need subjects between the ages 18 and 49.

When it comes to discussing U.S. healthcare and the economy, most of the debate is about how and if the government should help make sure medical care is available to everyone, regardless of income.

As the groundswell of support among the general public continues to grow for Proposition 37, the effort to require labeling of genetically modified foods in California, a group of food experts has joined the ranks of backers: Chefs.

Habits are behaviors wired so deeply in our brains that we perform them automatically. This allows you to follow the same route to work every day without thinking about it, liberating your brain to ponder other things, such as what to make for dinner.