ScienceDaily: Living Well News

You know your dog gets your gist when you point and say 'go find the ball' and he scampers right to it. This knack for understanding human gestures may seem unremarkable, but it's a complex cognitive ability that is rare in the animal kingdom. New research comparing dog puppies to human-reared wolf pups offers some clues to how dogs' unusual people-reading skills came to be.

A new study sheds light on how the specter of dementia and chronic pain reduce people's desire to live into older ages. Among Norwegians 60 years of age and older the desire to live into advanced ages was significantly reduced by hypothetical adverse life scenarios with the strongest effect caused by dementia and chronic pain.

Researchers found that a four-week training course made a substantial difference in helping special education teachers anticipate different ways students with learning disabilities might solve math problems.

An international study of parks and gardens finds even the humble roadside verge plays an important role in the environment and for our health.