Playing Pretend Provides Unexpected Benefits For Growing Kids

The imaginative power of children is profound, captured in a single oft-used phrase: “Let’s pretend.”

Pretend play is seen as a harmless way for kids to have fun, but it might serve a very important role in their mental health and development, a new study says.

Toddlers who demonstrated a greater ability to play pre...

These Fun Pursuits Help Middle-Aged Folks Protect Brain Health, Study Finds

Picking up an instrument. Taking a trip abroad. Going out to dinner with friends.

All of these are pleasant activities that add spice to life.

And they are also some of the most powerful ways to boost brain power and reduce one’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, a new study says.

Engaging in physically, soci...

Eye Photos Might Offer Early Warning Of Chronic Health Problems, AI Study Finds

The eyes are the windows not only to the soul, but also to a person’s health, a new study says.

Premature aging of the retina could be a red flag for major diseases like diabetes or heart disease, researchers recently reported in the journal Communications Medicine.

They found that people had a higher risk of chronic d...

New Survey Estimates 8 Million Americans Used Psilocybin in 2024

Psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, is moving into the mainstream.

As states move toward decriminalization and the public grows more curious about its medicinal potential, a landmark study reports that an estimated 8 million Americans used the psychoactive drug in 2024.

Psilocybin is a hallucinogen that changes a pe...

Drop in NIH Funding Delays Thousands of Studies

Many scientists are waiting much longer than usual for research funding and some projects are now on hold.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the nation’s largest funder of medical research, has fallen about $1 billion behind its typical timeline for awarding new grants this year, The New York Times reported.

Fro...