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Mother's milk sends signals that affect babies' behavior and temperament

Among rhesus macaque monkeys, mothers who weigh more and have had previous pregnancies produce more and better breast milk for their babies than mothers who weigh less and are less experienced.

3 Mar 2010

Prehistoric data suggests link between tooth enamel defects and early mortality

Ancient human teeth are telling secrets that may relate to modern-day health: Some stressful events that occurred early in development are linked to shorter life spans.

5 Feb 2010

Flowers can uplift patients’ mood and reduce pain and anxiety

Does flower water harbour potentially deadly bacteria? Do bedside blooms compete with patients for oxygen? Do bouquets pose a health and safety risk around medical equipment?

17 Dec 2009

Anthropologists create framework for measuring nutrition and health in violence-prone regions

For nearly two decades, Ivy Pike, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona, has been studying ethnic groups in rural northern Kenya to understand how violence shapes the health of those eking out a living there.

14 Dec 2009

New initiative launched to take care of patients with sickle cell disease

The Medical College of Georgia is leading an initiative that could result in a paradigm shift in the care of patients with sickle cell disease.

23 Nov 2009

NIH grants to develop screening tool for autistic disorder

A Florida State University College of Medicine researcher has been awarded two separate grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) totaling $2.4 million to continue her work in detecting autism in children as young as 18 months.

19 Oct 2009

The Leverhulme Trust funds researchers for understanding the relationship between agricultural production and population health

Pioneering researchers coordinated by the London International Development Centre (LIDC) have won approximately £3.5m to address the global food security crisis by investigating the neglected links between agriculture and health. Their programme, funded by The Leverhulme Trust, bridges traditional disciplines and aims to create a new holistic paradigm for understanding the relationship between agricultural production and population health.

2 Sep 2009

A broken trust: lessons from the vaccine–autism wars

Researchers long ago rejected the theory that vaccines cause autism, yet many parents don't believe them. Can scientists bridge the gap between evidence and doubt?

27 May 2009

Ancient skeletal evidence for leprosy in India

A biological anthropologist from Appalachian State University working with an undergraduate student from Appalachian, an evolutionary biologist from UNC Greensboro, and a team of archaeologists from Deccan College (Pune, India) recently reported analysis of a 4000-year-old skeleton from India bearing evidence of leprosy. This skeleton represents both the earliest archaeological evidence for human infection with Mycobacterium leprae in the world and the first evidence for the disease in prehistoric India.

26 May 2009

Research suggests the importance of play in the evolutionary success of the human species

A new theory about early human adaptation suggests that our ancestors capitalized on their capacities for play to enable the development of a highly cooperative way of life.

15 Apr 2009

The use of native African plants in veterinary medicine studied by K-State researchers

When animals in southern Africa are sick, often the first place their caretakers look for help is from native plants.

30 Mar 2009

Anthropologist's studies of childbirth bring new focus on women in evolution

Contrary to the TV sitcom where the wife experiencing strong labor pains screams at her husband to stay away from her, women rarely give birth alone.

18 Feb 2009

New insights into human genetic makeup

Genetic diseases and genetically mixed populations can help researchers understand human diversity and human origins according to a Penn State physical anthropologist.

16 Feb 2009

Report highlights diagnostic and treatment uncertainties in ADHD

Significant local and international variations in the diagnosis and treatment of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) stem at least in part from a "zone of ambiguity"--different interpretations of what is normal behavior and what level of impairment is required for a psychiatric diagnosis.

21 Jan 2009

Ancient African exodus mostly involved men

Modern humans left Africa over 60,000 years ago in a migration that many believe was responsible for nearly all of the human population that exist outside Africa today.

21 Dec 2008

Stereotypical imperfections offer health benefits when it comes to bodies

Having an imperfect body may come with some substantial benefits for some women, according to a new article in the December issue of Current Anthropology.

3 Dec 2008

Why are so many infectious diseases jumping from animals to humans?

Why do we have so little capacity to predict epidemics, or avoid them? Some answers, and possible solutions, can be found in the first trench-to-bench guide to wild primate infectious diseases, published Nov. 17 in the Yearbook of Physical Anthropology.

18 Nov 2008

Why do women typically experience poorer dental health than men?

Reproduction pressures and rising fertility explain why women suffered a more rapid decline in dental health than did men as humans transitioned from hunter-and-gatherers to farmers and more sedentary pursuits, says a University of Oregon anthropologist.

14 Oct 2008

100 years of HIV in humans

HIV has existed among human populations for about 100 years, decades earlier than previously believed, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, the Los Angeles Times reports (Engel, Los Angeles Times, 10/2).

5 Oct 2008

Anthropologists explore cultural dynamics of mental health in native North America:

In September's special issue of Ethos-the Journal of the Society for Psychological Anthropology-three investigators explore mental health discourses and practices in three diverse Native North American communities, illuminating how clinical and Western ideas of medicine and healing could be reconsidered.

23 Sep 2008