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MONDAY, May 4, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Love to cuddle up? It might bring a 'mind meld,' too, new research shows. People in close physical contact appear to have synchronized brain patterns, a revolutionary new MRI technique has revealed. A functional MRI scan of two people cuddling under a blanket showed that their brains appeared to be falling into similar patterns of action and response, as they took turns gently tapping the other's lips, a Finnish research team reports. "In general terms, it shows how the brains of two individuals become 'tuned in' together during this kind of elementary human interaction," said senior researcher Lauri Nummenmaa, head of the Human Emotion Systems laboratory at the University of Turku in Finland. Research of this sort could be valuable in...

MONDAY, May 4, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. coronavirus death toll could reach 100,000, President Donald Trump predicted Sunday night. That number is far higher than the 60,000 lives lost that was predicted just a few weeks ago, but Trump continued to push states to reopen their economies. In a virtual town hall meeting on Fox News, Trump acknowledged that COVID-19 has proved more deadly than expected, but added that parks and beaches should begin reopening and schools should resume classes in the fall. "We're going to lose anywhere from 75, 80 to 100,000 people," he said. "That's a horrible thing. We shouldn't lose one person over this." Even as the death toll predictions rose, a new analysis finds inadequate levels of testing for the coronavirus in 60% of states, many of...

SUNDAY, May 3, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- A new analysis finds inadequate levels of testing for the coronavirus in 60% of states, many of which are actively reopening after weeks of lockdown. The analysis, conducted by the Associated Press, uses a 2% testing rate per month -- a rate advised by federal officials that many public health experts still feel falls short. In a recent White House briefing, officials said each state would receive enough testing materials to test 2.6% of their populations in both May and June. Representatives of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also offered another number -- 2% -- without explaining the reason for the discrepancy between the two rates. But according to the AP analysis, right now just 40% of states can even meet the lower 2%...

SUNDAY, May 3, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The coronavirus pandemic has families spending plenty of "quality time" together, but living under the same roof 24 hours a day can tax relationships, an expert in child development says. This is "a completely new and unique situation," said Murray Krantz, a professor in the College of Human Sciences at Florida State University, in Tallahassee. Luckily, there are ways to reduce the risk of conflict, he noted. First, assess family members for resilience, which is "surprising strength in the face of adversity," Krantz said, and encourage those people. For example, a person might show leadership by finding ways to make an ordinary recipe taste better, lightening the mood for everyone, or managing their emotions in a way that sets an example for...