Free Republic

Regular exercise at some point in life is a key to better cognitive health in old age, researchers say. Starting sooner is better and sustaining it longer are, too. A new British study has found that exercising at least once a month at any time in adulthood is linked to better thinking and memory function in later life. People who reported being physically active at least one to four times per month in separate surveys at the ages of 36, 43, 53, 60 to 64, and 69 had the biggest benefit. The effect was greater than for those who said...

Prairie voles mate for life. In addition to their humanlike inclination to stick with a mate, a rarity among mammals, prairie voles have a number of other similarities to us, including similar organs and neurological pathways, and many of the same genes. A journal study has shown that prairie voles don't form the pair-bonds they're famous for if they're born via cesarean section. The study comes with a caveat, though, adding to the intrigue: If the researchers intervened with an emergency dose of the hormone oxytocin upon delivery, the prairie voles would retain the ability to pair-bond at maturity. Carter...

New research from the Imperial College’s School of Public Health shows that “ultra-processed foods” are linked to an increased risk of developing cancer. The London researchers classified ultra-processed foods as products like carbonated drinks, cereals, mass-produced and packaged bread and pre-packaged meals. The study authors noted that such foods are typically not ingredients used in household cooking but instead are made up of “derived ingredients,” such as high fructose corn syrup or modified starch. They discovered that those who consumed convenience food items were potentially at a higher risk of developing life-threatening cancers after studying 200,000 middle-aged participants over the...

For patients with spinal stenosis, operative treatment is associated with lower risk of death and lower costs over two years, compared with nonoperative treatment, suggests a study. Patients with spinal stenosis experience narrowing of the spinal canal and compression of spinal nerves, causing back pain, leg pain, and other symptoms. In some patients, stenosis is related to degenerative spondylolisthesis, referring to "slipped" vertebrae often resulting from spinal degeneration. Operative treatment of spinal stenosis can include the use of a laminectomy to decompress the spinal canal, a spinal fusion to stabilize the spine, or a combination of both. Nonoperative treatment can...