Studies and Analyses

Hospital costs for severe cases down $100M per year since shot introduced

The chicken pox vaccine has saved America hundreds of millions of dollars since its introduction in 1995 by preventing the kinds of severe cases that used to send children, teens and adults to the hospital, a new study finds. In fact, it’s even more effective — and cost-effective — than originally predicted at preventing hospitalizations and hospital costs.

And the widespread immunity to the dis

When it comes to making noise, both parrots and humans rely on extremely specialized vibrating organs in their throats. Now scientists at Indiana University and Leiden University in The Netherlands have shown for the first time that parrots, like humans, also can use their tongues to craft and shape sound.

“This is the first direct evidence that parrots are able to use their large tongues to change the acoustic properties of their vocalizations,” said IU Bloomington neurologist Roder

Up to 37 percent of adults experience mood disorders at some point in their lives; and many receiving treatments may undergo adverse dental side effects according to a study that appears in the September/October 2004 issue of General Dentistry, the Academy of General Dentistry’s (AGD) clinical peer-reviewed journal.

Mood disorders are a group of mental conditions, including depression and bipolar disorder, which are common among adults and early diagnosis and treatment can gr

Accepting a fact as scientific is not a simple matter of whether the methodology is sound – what matters is whether the science that underpins it is compatible with our stereotypes and prejudices.

That is the key finding of a new study produced as part of ESRC research into social identity and discrimination by Professor Alex Haslam, of the School of Psychology, University of Exeter.

Professor Haslam and Dr Michelle Ryan, also at Exeter, analysed reactions to previous res

The bands of ancient Neanderthals that struggled throughout Europe during the last Ice Age faced challenges no tougher than those confronted by the modern Inuit, or Eskimos.

That’s the conclusion of a new study intended to test a long-standing belief among anthropologists that the life of the Neanderthals was too tough for their line to coexist with Homo sapiens. And the evidence discounting that theory lies with tiny grooves that mar the teeth of these ancient people.

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Research shows hormone can restore reproductive function, suggests role in treating infertility, eating disorders, bone loss
A new study has found that leptin plays a critical role in women’s reproductive and neuroendocrine health and suggests a future for the hormone in treating a number of conditions including exercise-induced bone loss, eating disorders and some cases of infertility. Led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Massachusetts General Hospital