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They are among the elite athletes who have become disciples of a practice known as blood flow restriction, which is exactly what it sounds like: cutting off blood flow to certain muscles for limited periods to both enhance the effects of training and stimulate recovery. Sato, 73, has been honing the technique and spreading its gospel for most of his adult life, building a small fortune in the process as a Japanese version of Jack LaLanne. He has created a practice and a series of products called Kaatsu that are geared toward blood flow restriction. Sato still practices blood flow...

In ads on TV, it all looks so simple. People use mouthwash, it instantly neutralises all the nasty bacteria hiding in their mouths, and – just like that – their dental hygiene is assured. But what's really going on when you rinse a cap-load of antibacterial chemicals around your mouth? What does that to your body, and to other kinds of microorganisms that may actually be beneficial to health? As a study showed last year, the downstream effects can be surprising, and far-reaching too, affecting much more than just your dental wellbeing. In an experiment led by scientists from the...

The next time you take a coffee break, you might want to consider a triple espresso. The extra caffeine will help get your blood flowing—and possibly reduce your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. A study presented Wednesday at the American Heart Assn.’s Scientific Sessions meeting offers new evidence that coffee boosts the function of small blood vessels in people who are already healthy. …

A scientist at the Medical University of South Carolina has found that magnetic resonance imaging machines also can serve as lie detectors. The study found MRI machines, which are used to take images of the brain, are more than 90 percent accurate at detecting deception, said Dr. Mark George, a distinguished professor of psychiatry, radiology and neurosciences. That compares with polygraphs that range from 80 percent to "no better than chance" at finding the truth, George said. His results are to be published this week in the journal Biological Psychiatry. Software expected to be on the market next year could...