Neuroplasticity
Since the dawn of medicine, doctors have believed that, once injured, the brain could not heal. Now they've learned that the brain can heal, and are beginning to tap ways to make it heal better and faster. Experts explain.


Since the dawn of medicine, doctors have believed that, once injured, the brain could not heal. Now they've learned that the brain can heal, and are beginning to tap ways to make it heal better and faster. Experts explain.

Vitamins are essential to our health, and most of those we need we can get through our diets. Many foods are fortified today. Standards for dietary minimums help prevent deficiency diseases, but little is known about whether it's possible to consume too many vitamins.

Studies are showing that people who train hard and long at running have death rates similar to couch potatoes, while those who exercise moderately or even lightly are likely to live much longer. Experts discuss how much exercise is enough and how to make the most of light exercise.

Experts explain the brain chemistry of food addiction, how it is virtually identical to the chemistry of drug addiction and alcoholism, and what it means for the nation's fight against obesity.

Hospitals and clinics often have to stock a huge variety of bandages and dressings to address the moisture needs of different kinds of wounds. Now a high-tech “smart dressing” can replace them. It absorbs moisture when necessary but can also supply the right amount of moisture in places where it’s needed.

Measles is more widespread than it has been in years. The current measles outbreak in several states has prompted questions about the responsibility of parents to have their children immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases. Experts discuss this "social contract" cited by courts since colonial times, and why highly-contagious measles is a good test …

Many people are familiar with the use of Botox to reduce wrinkles and frown lines. But Botox can also be used to reduce the effects of depression. One of the principal researchers on this subject explains.

New parents are often at wits' end when their baby won't sleep. Infants who won't sleep and cry inconsolably are also at major risk of being victims of shaken baby syndrome.

Human papilloma viruses are responsible for many cancers, especially cervical cancer and throat cancer. Vaccines exist for the major HPVs that cause these cancers, yet relatively few eligible youths have gotten them.

Music thanatology is a specialized practice of playing harp music for the dying. A practitioner of the art explains how there is also science to it as well.

The military is beginning to recognize a new category of emotional and spiritual injury in war--moral injury, a result of committing or witnessing an event such as an atrocity that violate deeply held ethical beliefs. Experts discuss evolution of the concept, how moral injury occurs, and what psychologists are doing to prevent and treat it when it occurs.

Professional musicians often suffer from repetitive motion injuries, while dancers suffer athletic injuries. Both often "play hurt," in part due to fear of losing position or income, or because they are more likely than most professions to have no health insurance. Experts discuss ways performers are recognizing the problem and seeking to treat and prevent …
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