A new clinical trial headed by scientists from the United States is hoping to find treatments to prevent Alzheimer’s disease, a type of dementia that robs people of their memories.

According to a May 2012 study published in the journal Neurology, nearly 1 out of 3 adults in the United States sleepwalk or, as the authors say, have “nocturnal wanderings.”

An American study on the distance people drive to work and the amount of healthy exercise they get each week has resulted in some not-so-surprising conclusions.

MIT researchers fed some mice yogurt on a daily basis, while others got a regular mouse diet. They found that these yogurt-eating mice had shinier fur coats; and, in the sexual category, these yogurt-eating mice were far better off than the other mice (if you know what I mean).

Visually blind people may be able to see through an Australian developed bionic eye by as early as 2013, according to researchers at the University of NSW. The first new implantable bionic eyes will work in conjunction with an external electronic camera such as a smart phone.

The winning team in the Australian round of Microsoft's Imagine Cup developed a digital stethoscope that can diagnose pneumonia, the largest killer of children under 5.

Two studies relating to TV watching and negative behaviors in kids are to be reported at the 2012 Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting. One stated that kids who recognize TV alcohol advertisements are more likely to try alcoholic beverages. The other one states that kids who see a lot of fast food ads on TV are at higher risk for becoming obese.

An Australian research paper published in April 2012 concludes that the consumption of resistant starch could help to protect damage to the bowel, which may lead to bowel cancer. Unfortunately, most people in Australia, the United States, and other parts of the world, do not get enough resistant starch in their diets.

A 2012 U.S. study of melanomas showed a six times higher incidence in young adults than what was shown 40 years ago. The study points that women are in most danger because of their use of tanning beds and suntanning.

According to a U.S. study performed at Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond), taking a dog to the workplace helps to make the workplace a better place for the dog owner and makes the other employees feel good, too.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have initiated - for the first time - a national anti-smoking campaign that shows the ugly consequences of using tobacco products. The U.S. government hopes these stark but real images of former smokers will get people to quit smoking cigarettes.

A group of American researchers has developed a blood test that they say will predict if a person will have a heart attack in the near future. It could drastically help us in the future to reduce heart attacks and improve our cardiac health.

Australian researchers may have found a more reliable and much less risky way to pinpoint peanut allergy in children. They propose that the peanut protein "Ara h 2" may be tested in order to crack this nut dilemma for our kids.

A 2012 U.S. study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that unnecessary sedation during some low-risk colonoscopies and gastrointestinal endoscopies is costing the United States almost $1 billion annually in health care costs. As health care costs continue to skyrocket, such unnecessary sedation only adds to the expensive.

A 2012 American study shows that pregnant women who take methamphetamine before giving birth are more like to produce 3- to 5-year-old children with behavior problems.

An American professor has declared that the character Tiny Tim in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol suffered from rickets and tuberculosis. Dr. Russell Chesney, author of the article in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, said Scrooge could have cured him with cod liver oil, a better diet, and plenty of sunshine.

An American study, published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, found that iPads help doctors be more efficient at ordering tests and procedures as they took care of their patients in their medical facilities. Is your doctor hanging around with a personal tablet computer, like an iPad?

An American/German study, which was published in March 2012, found that people who daily ate red meat had an increased risk from dying of heart disease or cancer. However, better eating can reduce that risk of mortality -- especially if hot dogs and bacon are eliminated from your diet, or at least reduced.

In order to prevent a compulsory FDA warning on its bottles and cans, the Coca-Cola and PepsiCo companies are reducing the amount of 4-MEI in their soda pop within the United States. In a sufficient concentration, 4-MEI is considered a carcinogen-causing (cancer-causing) substance.

Central Connecticut State University compiles the annual list of the most literate cities in the United States based on such factors as the number of bookstores, size of libraries, sales of books/e-books on the Internet, and newspaper circulation. Can you guess which one is in the top spot?