ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Blue Monday: Brutal cold, short days, post-holiday letdown raise risk of depression
• Loss of function of a single gene linked to diabetes in mice
• A novel look at how stories may change the brain
• How invariant natural killers keep tuberculosis in check
• Odors expressible in language, as long as you speak right language
• Having Medicaid increases emergency room visits

Blue Monday: Brutal cold, short days, post-holiday letdown raise risk of depression Posted: 03 Jan 2014 05:52 PM PST The first Monday after the holidays can be a depressing time for people coping with post-holiday letdown or depression triggered by short days called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This year, First Monday will be especially blue, due to the added stress of the brutal cold in many parts of the country.

Loss of function of a single gene linked to diabetes in mice Posted: 03 Jan 2014 05:51 PM PST Researchers have found that dysfunction in a single gene in mice causes fasting hyperglycemia, one of the major symptoms of type 2 diabetes.

A novel look at how stories may change the brain Posted: 03 Jan 2014 05:44 PM PST Many people can recall reading at least one cherished story that they say changed their life. Now researchers have detected what may be biological traces related to this feeling: Actual changes in the brain that linger, at least for a few days, after reading a novel. Their findings, that reading a novel may cause changes in resting-state connectivity of the brain that persist, were published by the journal Brain Connectivity.

How invariant natural killers keep tuberculosis in check Posted: 03 Jan 2014 05:56 AM PST Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a major cause of death worldwide, and a formidable foe. Most healthy people can defend themselves against tuberculosis, but they need all parts of their immune system to work together. A new study reveals how a special class of immune cells called "invariant natural killer T cells" make their contribution to this concerted effort.

Odors expressible in language, as long as you speak right language Posted: 03 Jan 2014 05:52 AM PST It is widely believed that people are bad at naming odors. This has led researchers to suggest smell representations are simply not accessible to the language centers of the brain. But is this really so? New evidence for smell language has been found in the Malay Peninsula.

Having Medicaid increases emergency room visits Posted: 02 Jan 2014 11:20 AM PST Adults who are covered by Medicaid use emergency rooms 40 percent more than those in similar circumstances who do not have health insurance, according to a unique new study that sheds empirical light on the inner workings of health care in the US.

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