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Like mother, like fetus: Study finds contagious yawning begins in the womb

Yawning is incredibly contagious, and more often than not, seeing someone yawn right in front of us makes us instinctively do the same. It is often tied to social and emotional connection and brain mirroring, where we automatically ...

Treatment-resistant depression may yield to combinations of medications already in clinical use

Many people with major depressive disorder get no relief from current treatments. Newer combinations of existing medications might help, researchers report in JAMA Psychiatry.

Medical research news

Common asthma drug shows promise for reversing fatty liver

MUSC researchers are tackling MASH, or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, a liver disease affecting hundreds of millions worldwide. It is also a leading cause of liver transplantation, yet treatment options ...

Specialized RNA molecules could counter ALS neurodegeneration

Misshapen proteins cause a mess of trouble—particularly in neurodegenerative diseases. But a new study suggests it's possible that giving them a little bit of extra support could keep them working correctly, and even reverse ...

Metformin's real power may be in the gut

For decades, physicians and scientists thought metformin, the leading type 2 diabetes medication taken by millions worldwide, mainly targets the liver to suppress glucose production. But a new Northwestern University study ...

Brain imaging reveals migraine headache subtypes

They've been described as "brain on fire" or "an ice pick through the head." Migraine headaches affect more than one in 10 Americans, and they're so much worse than a regular headache.