Public Health

Research examined 19,349 twins between the ages of 12 and 41 yrs of age and had participants complete  a questionnaire at the start and end of the study to compare alcohol intake with the risk of developing asthma over 8 yrs. The results showed that the lowest risk of asthma was seen in the group which had a moderate intake of alcohol, as less than 4% of those who drank 1-6 units per week developed asthma. Drinking alcohol in moderate quantities can reduce the risk of asthma, the researchers concluded. Drinking 1-6 units of alcohol a week could reduce the risk of developing the…

Anti-science progressive alarmists have been on a rampage against Bisphenol A (BPA), a common component of plastic used in many consumer products, because of concern it can mimic natural estrogen in the body. A new study by Brown University toxicologists, however, finds that male mice whose mothers were exposed even to high doses of BPA while pregnant developed no signs of harm to their testes as adults. In the study, a team led by Mary Hixon, assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Brown University and lead author Jessica LaRocca, a graduate student, exposed mice to BPA…

With a ban on incandescent bulbs looming in the US, the race is on to try and replace them - unfortunately the ban was used to artificially force innovation, which isn't how things work in science and technology, and CFL bulbs have mercury risk while concerns linger about LEDs and melatonin.  Melatonin is a compound that adjusts our biological clock and is known for its anti-oxidant and anti-cancerous properties.   "White" light bulbs that emit light at shorter wavelengths are greater suppressors of the body's production of melatonin than bulbs emitting orange-yellow light, a…

Whenever a popular television health claim makes its way into the media, some skepticism is in order.  A decade-long war on "trans fats", including outright bans in some areas, was not based on science or objective evidence. Not all trans fats are good, obviously, but you're also more likely to get E. coli from organic food - that doesn't make organic food a bad idea.  We just need better labeling for trans fats, particularly when it comes to dairy and beef products.  A new review in Advances in Nutrition shows natural trans fats produced by ruminant animals such as dairy and…

Sitting for hours at your desk is bad for you, even fatal in the long run. Paul Knoepfler has recently again made me aware of this – read his Thinking on your feet: practical suggestions for creating and using a standing workstation. There is no point in writing yet another article, because you will have forgotten everything about it after five minutes. So, this here will be different. I am in no mood to repeat all that has been said better already elsewhere, like the different opinions at NYTimes. Also The Times told readers to “Stand Up While You Read This” while their business section…

Studies....So Many Studies... Lots of buzz over recent weeks on various studies concerning autism, genetics, and environment, along with the incidence of autism occurring in subsequent siblings. I had the opportunity to listen to Clara Lajonchere speak at the volunteer leadership conference I attended in July; she spoke about the recent twin study she worked on being a game-changer because for the first time it showed that environmental factors played a greater role than genetics. Autism Speaks's science news page covered the study under the name "The Womb as Environment." In the…

1. Rosa macrophylla Lindley. Family : Rosaceae Bhutanese medicinal name: Se-rgod. Common name : Taste metog Distribution Area : Temperate Himalaya, Bhutan, Sikkim, alt. 1,200-3,500m. In Bhutan found in Ha, Paro, Thimphu, Bumthang,Gasa and Mongar districts. Description : An upright shrub 3-5m, with dark red or purple stems with few prickles and with large, often solitary bright pink flower, 3-7 cm across. Petals 5, broadly obcordate; sepals long - pointed often with leafy tip, nearly as long as petals or longer, usually with glandular bristles. Leaves 8-20 cm, with 7-11 ovate elliptic,…

Saxifraga moorcroftiana (Seringe) Wallich. ex. sternb. Family : Saxifragaceae Bhutanese medicinal name : Bri- ta- sa- zin Distribution area: Bhutan, Nepal to S.W. China. Alt. 3,600-4,500m. Alpine slopes; common, Aug. - Sept. Description : An erect perennial 10-40 cm., with terminal clusters of few bright yellow flowers and with ovate clasping upper stem leaves and narrower stalked lower leaves. Flowers several, in a terminal cluster; petals 7-10 mm, broadly oblong - ovate; sepals broadly ovate, shorter, glandular, hairy; flower - stalks glandular, hairy. Lower leaves hairless with…

     Alcohol is a class of organic compounds with -OH (hydroxyl) group attached to the hydrocarbon chain.  The hydrocarbon chain got its hydroxyl group through replacement of its hydrogen.     Among the many alcohols in the class, ethyl alcohol or ethanol is the alcohol in your alcoholic beverages: in table wines (10-13%), beers (4-5%), and distillled liquors (30% up).    Ethanol can be prepared through fermentation of sucrose and starches. It can also be prepared synthetically from ethene with the aid of a catalyst.     Ethanol…

Progressive kooks in San Francisco want to ban Happy Meals but they can't have a beef with vegan burgers, right?    Just down the road from 'Frisco, at Stanford, biochem professor (and founding co-director of PLoS - yayy, open access!) Pat Brown is trying to make vegan burgers that will appeal to humans and maybe keep McDonald's in business in the bay area. Brown wants to make a vegan cheeseburger to replace what you get at fast-food franchises like McDonald's, his goal being to decrease the global impact of animal farming.    What is that impact?  Well, no one knows…