Being Lonely May Be A Hazard To Your Health Photo by J. Bruce Baumann Being alone doesn’t just feel bad. It’s bad for you — especially if you’re older. In the second study, which was conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, scientists studied information from the Health and Retirement Study. “In our typical medical model, we don’t think of subjective feelings as affecting health,” said Dr. It also underscores the importance of maintaining social ties as we get older. For all the latest science news, check out the National Geographic’s twice-weekly news rundown, EarthCurrent.
'Female Schindler' who saved 2,500 Jewish children, has died aged 98 By Richard Pendlebury Updated: 12:21 GMT, 22 May 2008 She smuggled out the children in suitcases, ambulances, coffins, sewer pipes, rucksacks and, on one occasion, even a tool box. Those old enough to ask knew their saviour only by her codename "Jolanta". But she kept hidden a meticulous record of all their real names and new identities - created to protect the Jewish youngsters from the pursuing Nazis - so they might later be re-united with their families. Her finest hour: Irena Sendler rescued thousands of Jewish children By any measure, Irena Sendler was one of the most remarkable and noble figures to have emerged from the horrors of World War II. When the Germans finally caught her, the Roman Catholic social worker had managed to save 2,500 Jewish babies and toddlers from deportation to the concentration camps. She had spirited them out of the heavily-guarded Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, and hidden their identities in two glass jars buried under an apple tree in her neighbour's garden.
Publication of flu study reveals full nature of threat - health - 21 June 2012 It's one of the most troubled scientific gestations on record. Nine months after it was first presented at a conference, research showing that just five mutations lead to a deadly H5N1 bird flu which transmits through the air between mammals has finally been published. Estimates published with it show that nature might well produce this virus too – and reveal the science we now need to head off that threat. The research, by Ron Fouchier and colleagues at Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was presented at a meeting and reported by New Scientist last September. The main benefit was that it alerts us to some of the warning signs that might suggest one of the vast number of H5N1 viruses circulating in birds could become a pandemic. Each lab did different things to H5N1 to make it transmissible. For one thing, you need to change the HA surface protein so it binds a cell-surface sugar in mammals' noses, instead of the one it binds in birds. Beyond the lab More from the web
Quantified Self: The Ultimate Beginner's Guideand List of the Best Personal Data Tools Out There) A transformation is happening. People, like you, are taking control of something conventional wisdom has told us is not ours to understand: our health. Why are we fat? Watch Ari Meisel explain how he cured his Crohn’s disease by following data. This is the Quantified Self. This is not new. The only difference today is the technology. Self-trackers are pushing the limits of personal health. As self-trackers are pushing the movement forward, entrepreneurs are helping it scale. Why this matters Where there are trends, there are opportunities. Crowdfunding sites are often a good indicator of market trends, and quantified self tools are among the most successful. Making it personal Are you becoming happier over time? Unfortunately, happiness, performance, productivity, and other variables in our lives are complex, confusing, and chaotic processes. What about your startup? In other words, instead of relying on intuition or feelings, you use data. Our daily lives are no different. Let’s begin
H5N1 Bird Flu Research That Stoked Fears Is Published The paper, by scientists at Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands, identified five mutations apparently necessary to make the bird flu virus spread easily among ferrets, which catch the same flus that humans do. Only about 600 humans are known to have caught H5N1 in the last decade as it circulated in poultry and wild birds, mostly in Asia and Egypt, but more than half died of it. The paper’s publication, in the journal Science, ended an acrimonious debate over whether such results should ever be released. Critics said they could help a rogue scientist create a superweapon. Proponents said the world needed to identify dangerous mutations so countermeasures could be designed. “There is always a risk,” Dr. Two of the five mutations are already common in the H5N1 virus in the wild, said Ron A. The Dutch team artificially introduced three mutations. Four changes were in the hemagglutinin “spike” that attaches the virus to cells. As the virus became more contagious, it lost lethality. Dr.
Adblock Plus - Surf the web without annoying ads! Q&A: Happiest Baby Author, Dr. Harvey Karp, on Getting Your Baby to Sleep Like, Well, a Baby Parents wonder about lots of things — when to start solid foods, how to soothe their babies, when to ditch diapers and tackle potty training. But the biggest bugaboo, speaking from personal experience, is sleep. How much do babies need? And why don’t they seem to be getting it? On Thursday night, in more than 500 movie theaters across the country, from Union Square Stadium 14 in New York City to AMC Century City 15 in Los Angeles, Dr. Karp, author of the best-selling The Happiest Baby on the Block and its sequel, The Happiest Toddler on the Block, has a new addition to his pediatric pantheon. “It’s kind of like a house call to the nation,” says Karp. (MORE: A History of Kids and Sleep: Why They Never Get Enough) The event, sponsored by BabyCenter, SwaddleDesigns and NCM Fathom Event, will feature a live screening of Karp doling out doctorly advice, which will then be broadcast to these theaters. Since his first book came out a decade ago, he’s cobbled together an empire of products.
Half A Dozen Hacks For A Thriving Sex Life - Jordan Gray Consulting Sex is everywhere except in sex in western society. Magazine ads, billboards, and mainstream media shove sex in our faces on a daily basis but it’s still somewhat shameful to discuss sex publicly. As a byproduct of the commercialization of sex to sell soft drinks, deodorant, and video games, the sexual act itself has become increasingly void of depth and passion. The massive success of books like 50 Shades of Grey speaks to an under-sexed culture of people who are looking for intimacy and intensity that they currently aren’t experiencing in their sex lives. Do you ever feel like the spark is gone from your sex life? With a couple of smart tools under your belt, you can start to inhabit your sexual self more deeply, and more truthfully. Here are half a dozen hacks for a thriving sex life… 1. Studies have shown that, early on in a romantic relationship, the greater the amount of time you and your partner spend making eye contact the greater chance of success your relationship has long-term. 2.
Blood test could show women at risk of Post Natal Depression Researchers at Warwick Medical School have discovered a way of identifying which women are most at risk of postnatal depression (PND) by checking for specific genetic variants. The findings could lead to the development of a simple, accurate blood test which checks for the likelihood of developing the condition. Presenting the research to the International Congress of Endocrinology/European Congress of Endocrinology, Professor Dimitris Grammatopoulos, Professor of Molecular Medicine at the University of Warwick, said that approximately one in seven women who give birth suffer from PND, which normally starts around two weeks after childbirth. He explained: “Current screening policies rely on the opportunistic finding of PND cases using tools such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Score (EPDS), but such tests cannot identify women at risk, ahead of them developing the condition.” “We believe that we have made a discovery with important clinical and social implications.
Healthy Soda Alternatives: Low Sugar Drinks For Hot Summer Days Yale University's The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity released a study last week, revealing that we already know how bad sugar sweetened beverages like soda and energy drinks are for us -- and that we're hoping to cut down. Especially in summer months, when we should up our liquid consumption to avoid dehydration, it's important to keep drink choices healthy and plentiful, but also enticing. And if New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is able to pass his proposed ban on supersized sodas, at least one city's residents will need a low-cal alternative come the dog days of August. Liquid sources of added sugar are especially dangerous in our diet, explains HuffPost blogger Dr. HFCS is absorbed more rapidly than regular sugar, and it doesn't stimulate insulin or leptin production. But before you go for the diet soda, remember that fake sweeteners may be associated with metabolic syndrome and weight gain as well. But when plain old water won't cut it, there are other options.