Embrace Wellness with AI: Chatbots Boosting Exercise, Diet, and Sleep Quality

Summary: Researchers found artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots can significantly enhance physical activity, diet, and sleep patterns. The study, the first systematic review and meta-analysis of its kind, shows that chatbots…

Untangling the Ties Between Chronic Pain and Mental Health

Summary: A recent commentary underscores the complex relationship between chronic pain and mental health disorders like depression and anxiety. The interaction is revealed to be driven by a bi-directional feedback…

Negative Memory Replay Offers PTSD Insight

Summary: Scientists discovered that rats intensify their memories of negative experiences in familiar places by repetitively replaying them. This mental map, generated by specific neurons known as place cells, can…

Selfish or Generous? Your Behavior Dictates Your Perception of Others

Summary: A recent study finds that an individual’s own behavior, rather than societal norms, plays a pivotal role in how they perceive and respond to others in competitive situations. Generous…

People expect others to mirror their own selfishness, generosity

In a new study, researchers tracked how a person’s own behavior guides their expectations of others’ generosity or selfishness. U. of I. Ph.D. candidate Paul Bogdan, right, and psychology professors…

Study supports government initiative to give free vapes to disadvantaged people who want to quit smoking

Credit: CC0 Public Domain A government scheme to give out free vapes to smokers appeals to most but not all, according to new research from the University of East Anglia…

How abortion ban exemptions play out in a post-‘Roe’ world

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain This pregnancy felt different. After the heartache of more than a dozen miscarriages, Anya Cook was 16 weeks along. She and husband Derick Cook spent a…

An expert answers your questions

A wave of leprosy cases in Florida has led public health officials to conclude the disease-causing bacteria may be naturally found in the state. In the past, most people with…

Linking Childhood Trauma to Mental Illness: Astrocytes Key to the Puzzle

Summary: The removal of excitatory synapses by astrocytes, triggered by stress hormones, can lead to mental illnesses induced by childhood neglect or abuse. The study reveals that synthetic glucocorticoids, or…

How Our Own Sleep Ratings Shape Our Next-Day Mood

Summary: According to a recent study people’s feelings about their sleep have a stronger influence on their well-being than data from sleep-tracking technology. Over 100 participants kept daily sleep diaries…