MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Study: YouTube self-mutilation videos pose risk for youth. Researchers looked at 100 videos (selected by view number and other scientific parameters) and found that they have been viewed more than 2 million times, and "favorite’d" more than 12,000 times, on aggregate. About 14 to 24 per cent of youth and young adults injure themselves as a way of dealing with stress, but the presence of the videos could serve to normalize self-injury behavior, wrote the researchers in the journal Pediatrics. The scientists recommended that search engines provide people who search for self-mutilation videos resources such as websites and phone numbers for crisis lines.
Climate change is making allergy season last longer, says study. Allergies have become increasingly prevalent in the last three decades, and researchers point to one possible factor (when it comes to hay fever, at least): climate change, writes The Los Angeles Times. The ragweed pollen season is getting longer and its increasing length is associated with global warming, the researchers wrote in a study released yesterday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Bilingualism might reduce dementia risk. Learning a second language and speaking it regularly can improve cognitive skills and delay the onset of dementia, according to researcher. The cognitive scientists compared bilingual individuals with monoglots and published their study in the journal Neurology.
For stroke risk in women, don’t look for cholesterol, says study. High levels of cholesterol don’t predict the risk of stroke in women, according to research published in Annals of Neurology. The Danish researchers who conducted the study recommend using a different type of fat in the blood: non-fasting triglycerides.
Senate Dems band together to fight for abortion rights. The newly empowered House Republicans are pushing ahead with a slate of anti-abortion legislation, and a few Senate Democrats have been fighting back hard for weeks, reports The Hill. The House on Feb. 18 approved an amendment by Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) to strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood, which receives about $350 million each year in federal, state and local grants.
