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NIH News in Health · Source article
Physical activity is one of the best things you can do for your health, but getting enough of it might not be just about willpower. Your neighborhood can play a bigger role than you might think. The streets, sidewalks, and nearby destinations around you can affect how much you move each day. Researchers are looking at what elements in neighborhoods encourage more activity.
“A person’s surrounding physical and social environment plays a major role in shaping their behaviors,” says Dr. Abby King, a clinical psychologist and professor at Stanford University. She has spent the last decade studying how our surroundings affect how active we are.
Many people want to live healthier lives. But if their neighborhood makes it hard to walk or find healthy food, it can make it tougher to do so every day.
“Our goal is to make the healthy choice an easy choice. An important way to do that is to make our communities more walkable,” King says.
Walkability describes how easy it is to walk or be active in a given area. That depends on things like how streets connect and whether places like cafes, shops, or libraries are close enough to reach on foot, by bike, or by wheelchair.
The biggest factors include city block length, how often streets cross, and whether parks and shops are nearby. But smaller features like sidewalks, benches, lighting, and crosswalks are also important for walkability.
“Multiple studies have shown, adding ‘walkability’ features to an area can have positive effects on people’s activity levels regardless of age, gender, weight, and initial activity levels,” says King.
King and her colleagues’ recent study showed that people who moved to more walkable cities walked about 1,100 more steps each day. Over a week, that adds up to almost an hour of extra activity. More activity means a lower risk of serious conditions like heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and depression.
But moving to a more walkable city is not an option for most people. That is why King and her team have created tools to help everyday residents make changes in their neighborhoods. They created a program called “Our Voice.” This is a research initiative that captures walkability using a simple app. Local residents record what helps or hurts walkability in their area. The residents can share what they find with local leaders. Then they can partner with them to make real changes in their neighborhoods. The program has been used in over 30 U.S. states and more than 30 countries across six continents.
Making a neighborhood more walkable does not always mean big, costly projects. Simple upgrades like crosswalks, better lighting, and green spaces can help. If your neighborhood needs work, local community groups are a great place to start. Programs like Our Voice show that people can make real change happen when they work together.
But you don’t have to wait for your neighborhood to change to add more steps to your day. See the Wise Choices box for simple ways to get more activity in your day.
Further reading and research references
- Step It Up! Get Active for Your Health
- Nurturing Healthy Neighborhoods: Communities Affect Health
- Opportunities Abound for Moving Around: Get Active, Wherever You Are
- Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (HHS)
- Physical Activity (HHS)
- National Walkability Index (EPA)
- Designing Activity-Friendly Communities (CDC)
- Strategies for Physical Activity Through Community Design (CDC)
- Built Environment Assessment Tool and Manual (CDC)
- Our Voice (Stanford University)
- Countrywide natural experiment links built environment to physical activity.
Illustrative archival photograph: National Cancer Institute / Unsplash, used under the Unsplash License. The people or equipment shown are not identified as participants in the research or interviews described here.
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NIH News in Health · Source article Health Capsule Most of us have some decline in our memory and learning abilities as we age. But certain older adults can remember past events better than most people 25 to 30 years younger. Researchers recently found that exceptional recall and memory is linked to the ability to create new brain cells. An NIH-funded research team analyzed more than 350,000 individual brain cells from younger and older adults, including cognitive SuperAgers. Cognitive SuperAgers are people at least 80 years old with memory test scores as good as or better than people in their 50s and 60s. The cells were from donated postmortem brains. The team looked for newly formed brain cells. They found that the molecular make up of new brain cells differed depending on the donor’s cognitive abilities. SuperAgers’ brain cells had a unique molecular make-up. SuperAgers also had more newly created brain cells than other groups. Certain cell processes in the SuperAgers’ brains appeared to be better maintained, too. These processes serve important functions. Some are involved in communication between brain cells. Others help with cell survival. “Determining why some brains age more healthily than others can help researchers make therapeutics that will boost memory in aging and prevent Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias,” says Dr. Orly Lazarov at the University of Illinois, Chicago, who co-led the study. Source: NIH News in Health. Originally published June 2026. Republished by Graymedy on 11 October 2026. This is a sourced NIH article, not a Graymedy interview or original study. Read the original article and its research references. NIH News in Health permits republication of its articles and illustrations with acknowledgement. Research findings retain their original study context. Further reading and research references Dealing with Dementia: When Thinking and Behavior Decline What is Dementia? Symptoms, Types, and Diagnosis Alzheimer's Disease & Related Dementias Human hippocampal neurogenesis in adulthood, ageing and Alzheimer's disease Illustrative archival photograph: National Cancer Institute / Unsplash, used under the Unsplash License. The people or equipment shown are not identified as participants in the research or interviews described here.
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NIH News in Health · Source article Burns can affect anyone. The consequences can range from mild skin damage to permanent scarring or even death. That’s why it’s important for everyone to know how to prevent burns. Most burn injuries occur at home. Kitchen fires or other household accidents are common causes. For children, scalds are the leading cause of burn injury. These are caused by steam or boiling water. Treatment depends on how serious the burn is. A first-degree burn affects only the outer layer of skin, called the epidermis. Sunburns are one example. You can usually treat them at home by cleaning the area and applying lotion to keep it moist. Second-degree burns are deeper. They affect the second layer of skin, called the dermis. These burns may cause scars or change how the skin feels. Some can be treated with wound care only. This includes washing the wound and covering it with a bandage. Deep second-degree burns may require a surgery called skin grafting. This is where healthy skin is removed from one area of the body and used to cover the damaged area. Third-degree burns are even deeper. They damage the entire skin down to the fat and nerves beneath the dermis. Fourth-degree burn cases are the most serious. Muscles, tendons, and bones can also be affected. These burns always require medical care. Treatment often includes skin grafting surgery. Doctors determine how serious a burn is through visual examination. “Burn injuries often worsen after the initial injury, so it can take up to a week to get an accurate assessment,” says Dr. Angela Gibson, a surgeon who specializes in burn care at the University of Wisconsin. Gibson and her team are studying an imaging technology to help determine how deep a burn is. The tool uses fluorescent dyes to see into the skin. If successful, the tool may help doctors more accurately predict burn depth. This could allow patients to get the right care sooner. It could also help doctors identify healthy tissue, so they remove only damaged tissue. “We want to limit the amount of healthy skin we cut away,” Gibson explains. “If you cut away tissue, you must replace it with the patient’s skin. In those cases, we’d like to keep the area where the skin was taken for the skin graft, or donor site, as small as we can.” Gibson’s lab is also studying bandages that generate tiny electrical signals. These signals tell cells to grow and move to the injured area. This helps new skin form and supports the growth of new blood vessels. The bandages copy the body’s natural electrical activity, which helps burn injuries heal faster. Traditional electrical stimulation therapy needs an external power source. But the bandages use the body’s movements. Movement creates electricity to power the bandages. This technology is being studied for multiple uses, including wound healing. But it’s still in the early stages and needs more research. Scientists continue to study new treatment options. But Gibson says prevention is the best defense. She recommends burn prevention education for everyone. Learn ways to help prevent burns at home. See the Wise Choices box for tips. “A burn injury can happen to anyone,” Gibson says. “Prevention is just as important as knowing how to care for burns.” Source: NIH News in Health. Originally published May 2026. Republished by Graymedy on 11 October 2026. This is a sourced NIH article, not a Graymedy interview or original study. Read the original article and its research references. NIH News in Health permits republication of its articles and illustrations with acknowledgement. Research findings retain their original study context. Further reading and research references Learn About Burn Care Burn Prevention, First Aid and Calling 911(FEMA) Protect the ones you love (CDC) References Indocyanine green and protoporphyrin IX fluorescence imaging of inflammation, hypoxia, and necrosis of burns Burn progression in human skin—A review of current knowledge and opportunities for future research Recent advances of nanogenerator technology for cardiovascular sensing and monitoring Illustrative archival photograph: National Cancer Institute / Unsplash, used under the Unsplash License. The people or equipment shown are not identified as participants in the research or interviews described here.
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