Research News

Opioid prescriptions went down among doctors informed of patients' overdose deaths.

Sending Letters About Their Patients' Overdoses Changes Doctors' Prescribing Habits

4:16pm August 09, 2018

by Sara Kiley Watson

Many doctors never find out when a patient dies from an overdose. A new study shows that when find out, it can alter the way they prescribe addictive drugs.

Inducing labor at 39 weeks may involve IV medications and continuous fetal monitoring. But if the pregnancy is otherwise uncomplicated, mother and baby can do just fine, the latest evidence suggests.

Pregnancy Debate Revisited: To Induce Labor, Or Not?

12:22am August 09, 2018

by Richard Harris

Young women with simple pregnancies can safely ask a doctor to induce labor, a study finds. It doesn't increase their risk of needing a C-section after all and can even offer potential benefits.

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A study published Wednesday suggests men who wear briefs — tight-fitting underwear — have sperm counts that are, on average, 17 percent lower than men who wear boxers.

Boxers Or Briefs? Experts Disagree Over Tight Underwear's Effect On Male Fertility

8:20pm August 08, 2018

by Paul Chisholm

The jury's still out on whether underwear preference matters to male fertility, but men who wear briefs, or other tight options, were found to have slightly lower sperm counts in a new study.

Mother Daniele Santos holds her baby Juan Pedro, who has microcephaly, on May 30, 2016, in Recife, Brazil. Researchers are now learning that Zika's effects can appear up to a year after birth.

Babies Who Seem Fine At Birth May Have Zika-Related Problems Later, Study Finds

7:22pm August 07, 2018

by Rob Stein

The largest study to follow women infected with Zika while they were pregnant finds about 6 percent of children had problems at birth, but 14 percent had complications by their first birthday.

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Evelyn Nussembaum and her son Sam Vogelstein pick up a six month supply of Epidiolex from the experimental pharmacy at UCSF.

How One Boy's Fight With Epilepsy Led To The First Marijuana-Derived Pharmaceutical

6:47pm August 06, 2018

by Lesley Mcclurg

Sam Vogelstein used to suffer a hundred seizures a day. Then he tried a marijuana-based drug that wasn't available in the U.S. It stopped his seizures and has just been approved by the FDA.

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According to one recent study, people who checked social media the most frequently had almost three times the risk of depression.

#Blessed: Is Everyone Happier Than You On Social Media?

6:06pm August 06, 2018

by Jasmine Garsd

If you've spent time on social media, you've seen lots of pictures of people seemingly having a better time than you. They may be smiling, but they're not necessarily happy. What are they telling us?

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Northern California's River Fire tore through a canyon near the town of Lakeport early last week, filling orange-tinged skies with smoke for miles around.

California Wildfires Reignite Old Trauma For Survivors Of Last Year's Blazes

10:06am August 05, 2018

In fire-torn parts of the West, some people who are now safe struggle mightily when they again smell smoke or see an orange haze in the sky. That's normal, say therapists. And you can quench the fear.

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Hound Labs' breathalyzer and base station.

The Pot Breathalyzer Is Here. Maybe

12:00pm August 04, 2018

by Eric Westervelt

As marijuana legalization spreads, police are asking for better tools to detect drugged drivers. Some police are now working with researchers to try to bring a THC breathalyzer to market.

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Along the back of this field of sugar snap peas, sunflowers and bachelor buttons at Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center is a buffer of maturing big-leaf maples and red-osier dogwoods. It's a combination of forest and thicket that the farm has left standing t

Which Vision Of Farming Is Better For The Planet?

6:23pm August 03, 2018

by Paul Chisholm

Should we concentrate farming in a small area, or spread it out to reduce the environmental impact? It's a dilemma farmers face as they feed a growing planet. A new study weighs in.

When it comes to making decisions, very different types of leaders have at least one thing in common, research suggests.

What Makes A Leader?

2:00pm August 02, 2018

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Leaders make decisions for a group in the same way they make choices for themselves, a study suggests. They don't change their decision-making behavior, even when the welfare of others is at stake.