Boccia's appeal and rising popularity comes from its showcase as a Paralympic sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities. An Osaka Metropolitan University team has developed an extended reality version of the game as a rehabilitation program, showing how the game that requires accuracy and strategy can aid motor and…

Women who experience significant weight gain after the age of 20 and either have their first child after the age of 30 or don't have children are almost three times more likely to develop breast cancer than those who give birth earlier and whose weight remains relatively stable, new research from the UK being presented…

New research reveals a key metabolic advantage in women: once fat breakdown starts, it happens more efficiently than in men. This insight could help tailor future diabetes prevention strategies, especially for men at higher metabolic risk. Image Credit: Jose Luis Calvo / Shutterstock The research focused on lipolysis, the process through which…

Even a few nights with insufficient sleep increases promote molecular mechanisms linked to a greater risk of heart problems. This has been shown in a new study in which the researchers investigated how sleep deprivation affects biomarkers (in this case proteins) associated with cardiovascular disease. The study was led from Uppsala University and is published…

Study:  A 10 years update of effects of exercise on depression disorders—In otherwise healthy adults: A systematic review of meta-analyses and neurobiological mechanisms . Image Credit: People-Images.com / Yuri A / Shutterstock.com A new PLoS ONE study provides an updated review on how exercise influences depression in otherwise healthy adults. How does physical activity…

A novel health-assessment tool uses eight metrics derived from a person's physical exam and routine lab tests to characterize biological age. It may be able to predict a person's risk of disability and death better than current health predictors. University of Washington School of Medicine researchers describe their method in a May 5 Nature Communication paper. The method, called…

Young people with a diagnosable mental health condition report differences in their experiences of social media compared to those without a condition, including greater dissatisfaction with online friend counts and more time spent on social media sites. This is according to a new study led by the University of Cambridge, which suggests that adolescents with…

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have identified what is believed to be the first intervention found in a randomized controlled trial to show large and very large improvements in multiple symptoms associated with Long COVID, and to result in people debilitated by those symptoms returning to work. The study deployed progressively…

A new study reveals that ultra-processed food consumption may significantly raise the risk of depression in women, while men appear less affected after early adulthood. Could sex-specific diet advice be the future of mental health prevention? Dietary Patterns and Major Depression: Results from 15,262 Participants (International ALIMENTAL Study). Image Credit: Kwangmoozaa / Shutterstock…

Virtual pulmonary rehabilitation is a safe, effective alternative to traditional pulmonary rehabilitation programs for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who also require supplemental oxygen, according to a new report. The report is published in the March 2025 issue of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal. COPD…