The old saying that laughter is the best medicine may be true, according to new research that suggests it is also a vital catalyst for children’s development.

Laughter and play are fundamental to healthy brain growth, emotional well-being and social bonding, according to Jacqueline Harding, Ph.D., an early childhood expert at Middlesex University in London.

In her book, “The Brain That Loves to Laugh,” Harding argues that joy is a complex biological phenomenon that helps children navigate stress and build more resilient, receptive minds, news agency SWNS reported.

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“When we see children laugh, we witness the brilliance of the brain in action: learning, connecting and growing,” Harding told SWNS.

“Hope and humor, it seems, are not just the seasoning of life, but foundational to a recipe for healthy development.”

Laughter activates broad brain networks, including motor regions and the prefrontal cortex, long before children learn to speak. By helping the brain resolve conflicting ideas, it boosts creativity and engages working memory, acting as a “mental workout,” experts say.

At a molecular level, laughter alters the internal chemistry by decreasing stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine. It also increases “happiness chemicals” like dopamine, serotonin and endorphins.

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Additionally, laughter is known to boost oxytocin, which deepens emotional bonds between parents and children.

Prolonged stress does the exact opposite: It impairs learning, suppresses immune function and alters the developing limbic system, which governs emotion and long-term memory, according to SWNS.

“Stated simply, the emotional state of young children directly influences how they navigate their way through the world,” Harding said.

Parents can foster these benefits through moments of spontaneous play and joyful connection, the expert advised.

“Spontaneous, joyful play is an antidote to stress.”

These interactions do more than spark laughter — they help children develop emotional regulation, strengthen feelings of safety and connection, and support social and cognitive development, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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“Spontaneous, joyful play is an antidote to stress, as it increases levels of endorphins released by the brain,” Harding said. “Creative, happy play does its most brilliant work at a molecular level, especially at a time when the human brain is at its most receptive.”

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This shared joy also establishes “co-regulation,” where a child learns to manage their own stress by drawing on a biological store of positive early experiences.

Harding advocates for integrating humor directly into classrooms to reduce cognitive load and improve how children retain key concepts. 

By uplifting the nervous system, joy creates an optimal environment for information absorption, as the SWNS piece noted.

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“Safe relationships and non-stressful play environments promote learning,” she added. 

“The curriculum must never be prioritized over those two fundamental factors.”

People who incorporate strength training into their weekly routines may be more likely to live longer, according to a new study.

Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed data from 147,374 adults and found that people who engaged in moderate amounts of resistance training had a lower risk of dying from several major causes, including heart disease and neurological disease.

The findings were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

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People who performed between 90 and 119 minutes of resistance training per week had a 13% lower risk of death from any cause compared to those who did no strength training.

The same group also experienced a 19% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 27% lower risk of death from neurological diseases, most of which were related to dementia.

Researchers found that the greatest benefit occurred when resistance training was combined with aerobic exercise.

Adults who regularly participated in both forms of exercise had up to a 45% lower risk of death than those who did little aerobic activity and no resistance training.

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However, more exercise was not necessarily better.

The study found no additional reduction in mortality risk beyond about 120 minutes of resistance training per week.

The research followed participants for up to 30 years and repeatedly tracked their exercise habits over time, giving researchers a more complete picture of long-term behavior.

Josephine Hunt, an educational leader, former group fitness instructor and founder of The Resilience Revolution based in New Jersey, who was not involved in the study, said the findings support a growing body of research linking strength training to healthy aging.

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“The conversation about longevity often focuses on living longer, but I believe the more important goal is maintaining the strength, mobility, independence, and vitality to fully participate in life as we age,” Hunt told Fox News Digital.

Hunt said resistance training helps preserve muscle mass and bone density, improves balance and supports overall physical function as people get older.

For women, she noted, strength training becomes especially important after menopause, when muscle mass and bone density can decline more rapidly.

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“Resistance training is not about bodybuilding, appearance, or achieving a certain physique,” Hunt said.

“It is about preserving the ability to live life on your own terms.”

She added that strength training can help people remain independent, recover from illness or injury, travel more easily and stay active later in life.

Researchers noted that the study has limitations.

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While the findings suggest a connection between strength training and a lower risk of death, the study cannot prove that lifting weights was the reason participants lived longer.

The study also relied on self-reported exercise habits and primarily included white, middle-aged and older health professionals, which may limit how broadly the findings apply to the general population.

A new “living bandage” could soon revolutionize how doctors treat serious injuries by accelerating the healing process, according to new research reported by SWNS.

The high-tech patch was developed by researchers at Rice University in Texas. It acts like an around-the-clock mini factory, continuously delivering healing proteins directly to different types of wounds, the same source noted.

Caring for chronic wounds is often a challenge for doctors, as it’s difficult to deliver steady, localized signals that tell the body to repair its own tissue, the researchers said. 

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The body naturally relies on small chemical messengers called cytokines to control inflammation and healing. However, traditional treatments like ointments or injections usually fail, as fragile proteins break down too quickly or wash away from the injury site.

To solve the problem, the research team created a cell-based patch that stays on top of the wound. Inside the device, scientists placed engineered cells programmed to manufacture and secrete three specific healing cytokines, known as IL-10, IL-12 and Transforming Growth Factor-beta.

These cells are safely housed inside protective material that acts like a shield — letting vital nutrients and therapeutic proteins pass through to the skin while keeping the body’s immune system from attacking the engineered cells inside.

The system also uses a special hydrogel that helps the patch blend naturally with the wound, SWNS reported. It may be updated eventually, the research team indicated, to work alongside electronic components.

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In lab tests on rodents and pigs, the patch successfully accelerated wound healing. By analyzing the genetic material of the cells, the researchers confirmed the treatment successfully activated the processes needed for tissue repair.

Professor Omid Veiseh, faculty director of the Rice Biotech Launch Pad and leader of the laboratory development, said the animal trials showed strong potential for the approach.

“The findings show how continuous, localized cytokine delivery can support key biological pathways involved in tissue repair,” Veiseh said, according to SWNS.

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“By maintaining a consistent presence of these signaling molecules at the wound site, we can more effectively engage the body’s natural healing response.”

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He said genetic analysis “revealed coordinated upregulation of genes associated with tissue regeneration and immune modulation, providing a mechanistic basis for the functional improvements observed.”

The platform is fully customizable, so the engineered cells can easily be adapted to produce different combinations of proteins and growth factors, depending on what each individual patient needs.

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Study co-author Christian Schreib, Ph.D., noted that “the ability to tune both the type and timing of cytokine delivery opens the door to more precise control over the healing process.”

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Schreib said that “future work will focus on expanding the flexibility of the platform, including approaches such as optogenetic control” — using light to control cell activity — “to regulate cytokine secretion in real time.”

The technology is still in an early stage and has not yet been tested on human patients. 

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Further research is needed to understand how the technology will be used on humans.

The study was published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.