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Very Smart Dogs Learn Words Quickly, Study Shows

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Think your dog is smart? New research suggests one way to find out. Most dogs can’t learn words without extensive training, but a few with exceptional abilities learn words without any formal training, researchers report. They learn words simply by playing with their owners. The team of Hungarian researchers investigated how quickly two of these talented pooches could learn new words. Their study included a Border Collie named Whisky from Norway — already famous for her spontaneous categorization skills — and a Yorkshire terrier named Vicky Nina, from Brazil. “We wanted to know under which conditions the gifted dogs may learn novel words. To test this, we exposed Whisky and Vicky Nina to the new words in two different conditions — during an exclusion-based task and in a social, playful context with their owners,” said study first author Claudia Fugazza, a member of the Family Dog Project research team at Eötvös Loránd University, in Budapest. “Importantly, in both conditions the dogs heard the name of the new toy only four times,” Fugazza said. In the exclusion-based task, the dogs were presented with seven familiar dog toys, along with a new one. Their ability to choose the new toy after hearing its new name was tested. The dogs failed this test. But the dogs quickly learned the name of a new toy after hearing it just…  read on >  read on >

Retired Doctors, Nurses Will Be Approved to Give COVID Vaccine, White House Says

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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Retired doctors and nurses are being called to the front lines of the U.S. coronavirus vaccination effort, the White House COVID-19 Response team announced Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is amending its rules to allow retired health professionals to administer COVID-19 vaccine shots, said Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 Response coordinator. The rules, drafted under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, will also be adapted to allow licensed doctors, nurses and health practitioners to administer shots across state lines, Zients said. “We need to increase the number of places where people can get vaccinated, and also at the same time increase the number of vaccinators,” Zients said. “This action by HHS today will help get more vaccinators in the field.” The team also went over other strategies being implemented to increase vaccination rates across the United States, including: Planning the launch of 100 community vaccination centers across the country during February. Arranging to supply vaccines directly to pharmacies. Standing up mobile vaccination clinics to reach under-served communities. Speeding up the production of low-dead-space syringes that can squeeze an extra sixth dose out of Pfizer vaccine vials. “I want to level with the public. We are facing two constraining factors,” said Andrew Slavitt, senior advisor to the White House COVID-19 Response team.…  read on >  read on >

Legacy of Racist Neighborhood ‘Redlining’: Fewer Healthy Green Spaces Today

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A racist mortgage appraisal practice used in the United States decades ago has resulted in less green space in some urban neighborhoods today, researchers say. Those so-called “redlined” neighborhoods have higher rates of air and noise pollution, racial segregation and poverty — all of which can contribute to poorer health. In the 1930s, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) gave neighborhoods nationwide risk grades that were based on racial makeup and other factors. “Hazardous” areas — often those whose residents included people of color — were outlined in red on HOLC maps. In the decades since, these neighborhoods have seen less private and public investment and have remained segregated. “Though redlining is now outlawed, its effects on urban neighborhoods persist in many ways, including by depriving residents of green space, which is known to promote health and buffer stress,” said study first author Anthony Nardone, a medical student at the University of California, San Francisco. Senior author Joan Casey called for action to remedy the problem. “Future policies should, with the input of local leaders, strive to expand availability of green space, a health-promoting amenity, in communities of color,” she said. Casey is an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. For the study, the researchers examined the relationship between HOLC risk grades and…  read on >  read on >

Retired Doctors, Nurses Will Be Approved to Give COVID Vaccine, White House Says

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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Retired doctors and nurses are being called to the front lines of the U.S. coronavirus vaccination effort, the White House COVID-19 Response team announced Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is amending its rules to allow retired health professionals to administer COVID-19 vaccine shots, said Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 Response coordinator. The rules, drafted under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, will also be adapted to allow licensed doctors, nurses and health practitioners to administer shots across state lines, Zients said. “We need to increase the number of places where people can get vaccinated, and also at the same time increase the number of vaccinators,” Zients said. “This action by HHS today will help get more vaccinators in the field.” The team also went over other strategies being implemented to increase vaccination rates across the United States, including: Planning the launch of 100 community vaccination centers across the country during February. Arranging to supply vaccines directly to pharmacies. Standing up mobile vaccination clinics to reach under-served communities. Speeding up the production of low-dead-space syringes that can squeeze an extra sixth dose out of Pfizer vaccine vials. “I want to level with the public. We are facing two constraining factors,” said Andrew Slavitt, senior advisor to the White House COVID-19 Response team.…  read on >  read on >

Legacy of Racist Neighborhood ‘Redlining’: Fewer Healthy Green Spaces Today

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A racist mortgage appraisal practice used in the United States decades ago has resulted in less green space in some urban neighborhoods today, researchers say. Those so-called “redlined” neighborhoods have higher rates of air and noise pollution, racial segregation and poverty — all of which can contribute to poorer health. In the 1930s, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) gave neighborhoods nationwide risk grades that were based on racial makeup and other factors. “Hazardous” areas — often those whose residents included people of color — were outlined in red on HOLC maps. In the decades since, these neighborhoods have seen less private and public investment and have remained segregated. “Though redlining is now outlawed, its effects on urban neighborhoods persist in many ways, including by depriving residents of green space, which is known to promote health and buffer stress,” said study first author Anthony Nardone, a medical student at the University of California, San Francisco. Senior author Joan Casey called for action to remedy the problem. “Future policies should, with the input of local leaders, strive to expand availability of green space, a health-promoting amenity, in communities of color,” she said. Casey is an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. For the study, the researchers examined the relationship between HOLC risk grades and…  read on >  read on >

Do Touchscreens Make Your Toddler More Distractible?

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Too much screen time can make your toddler more distractible, British researchers warn. The use of smartphones and tablets by babies and toddlers has soared in recent years. “The first few years of life are critical for children to learn how to control their attention and ignore distraction, early skills that are known to be important for later academic achievement,” said lead author Tim Smith, a professor at the Center for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck, University of London. “There has been growing concern that toddler touchscreen use may negatively impact their developing attention, but previously there was no empirical evidence to support this,” Smith added. To learn more, Smith’s team studied toddlers with different levels of touchscreen usage, assessing them at 12 months, 18 months and 3.5 years of age. At each visit, the toddlers did computer tasks while an eye-tracker measured their attention. Objects appeared in different locations of the computer screen, and researchers monitored how quickly the children looked at the objects and how well they ignored distracting objects. Toddlers with high daily touchscreen use were quicker to look when objects appeared and were less able to resist distraction than those with little or no daily screen time, the study found. Main researcher Ana Maria Portugal, an associate research fellow at Birkbeck University of London, said the team could not conclude,…  read on >  read on >

Exercise Rehab Should Include Stroke Survivors, Study Suggests

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Exercise programs that are standard for heart attack survivors can also benefit people who’ve suffered a stroke, a new pilot study suggests. Researchers found that a three-month cardiac rehabilitation program improved fitness levels and muscle strength in 24 stroke survivors. While the study was small, the researchers said it offers evidence of what’s intuitive: People recovering from a stroke benefit from regular, structured exercise. Cardiac rehab programs have long been offered to people with heart disease. Yet insurance does not cover the therapy for stroke patients. That’s partly because after a stroke, the emphasis is often on rehab for any disabilities a patient might have, said Elizabeth Regan, a clinical assistant professor of physical therapy at the University of South Carolina, in Columbia. “We haven’t thought enough about the importance of cardiovascular endurance for stroke patients,” she said. After a stroke, people are often in a deconditioned state, so working on fitness and muscle strength is vital. Beyond that, Regan said, exercise can help lower their risk of having another stroke. Unfortunately, research shows that most stroke survivors do not exercise regularly. Regan said that cardiac rehab, which includes supervised exercise, might help people gain the self-confidence they need to exercise on their own. To study the question, she and her colleagues recruited two dozen stroke survivors. They ranged in age from 33 to 81,…  read on >  read on >

Retired Doctors, Nurses Will Be Approved to Give COVID Vaccine, White House Says

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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Retired doctors and nurses are being called to the front lines of the U.S. coronavirus vaccination effort, the White House COVID-19 Response team announced Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is amending its rules to allow retired health professionals to administer COVID-19 vaccine shots, said Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 Response coordinator. The rules, drafted under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, will also be adapted to allow licensed doctors, nurses and health practitioners to administer shots across state lines, Zients said. “We need to increase the number of places where people can get vaccinated, and also at the same time increase the number of vaccinators,” Zients said. “This action by HHS today will help get more vaccinators in the field.” The team also went over other strategies being implemented to increase vaccination rates across the United States, including: Planning the launch of 100 community vaccination centers across the country during February. Arranging to supply vaccines directly to pharmacies. Standing up mobile vaccination clinics to reach under-served communities. Speeding up the production of low-dead-space syringes that can squeeze an extra sixth dose out of Pfizer vaccine vials. “I want to level with the public. We are facing two constraining factors,” said Andrew Slavitt, senior advisor to the White House COVID-19 Response team.…  read on >  read on >

Legacy of Racist Neighborhood ‘Redlining’: Fewer Healthy Green Spaces Today

By | | Add a Comment

A racist mortgage appraisal practice used in the United States decades ago has resulted in less green space in some urban neighborhoods today, researchers say. Those so-called “redlined” neighborhoods have higher rates of air and noise pollution, racial segregation and poverty — all of which can contribute to poorer health. In the 1930s, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) gave neighborhoods nationwide risk grades that were based on racial makeup and other factors. “Hazardous” areas — often those whose residents included people of color — were outlined in red on HOLC maps. In the decades since, these neighborhoods have seen less private and public investment and have remained segregated. “Though redlining is now outlawed, its effects on urban neighborhoods persist in many ways, including by depriving residents of green space, which is known to promote health and buffer stress,” said study first author Anthony Nardone, a medical student at the University of California, San Francisco. Senior author Joan Casey called for action to remedy the problem. “Future policies should, with the input of local leaders, strive to expand availability of green space, a health-promoting amenity, in communities of color,” she said. Casey is an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. For the study, the researchers examined the relationship between HOLC risk grades and…  read on >  read on >

Do Touchscreens Make Your Toddler More Distractible?

By | | Add a Comment

Too much screen time can make your toddler more distractible, British researchers warn. The use of smartphones and tablets by babies and toddlers has soared in recent years. “The first few years of life are critical for children to learn how to control their attention and ignore distraction, early skills that are known to be important for later academic achievement,” said lead author Tim Smith, a professor at the Center for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck, University of London. “There has been growing concern that toddler touchscreen use may negatively impact their developing attention, but previously there was no empirical evidence to support this,” Smith added. To learn more, Smith’s team studied toddlers with different levels of touchscreen usage, assessing them at 12 months, 18 months and 3.5 years of age. At each visit, the toddlers did computer tasks while an eye-tracker measured their attention. Objects appeared in different locations of the computer screen, and researchers monitored how quickly the children looked at the objects and how well they ignored distracting objects. Toddlers with high daily touchscreen use were quicker to look when objects appeared and were less able to resist distraction than those with little or no daily screen time, the study found. Main researcher Ana Maria Portugal, an associate research fellow at Birkbeck University of London, said the team could not conclude,…  read on >  read on >