Public Health

Lots of people say they care about their weight, and there is no end to weight-loss schemes available on websites, but if you ask nutritionists, personal trainers and even some doctors where fat goes when people lose weight, they can't tell you the right answer. Caveat emptor.  The most common misconception is that the missing mass has been converted into energy or heat. It's physics, after all. Except it isn't, not in the way they think it is. To lose 10 kilograms of fat requires 29 kilograms of oxygen for the body and that metabolic process produces 28 kilograms of carbon dioxide and…

The drive for energy efficient homes is increasing asthma risk, finds a team at the University of Exeter Medical School. People are so concerned about energy savings they end up with homes that are not properly heated or ventilated, which could lead to more people developing asthma. Working with a UK social housing provider, Coastline Housing, the research team assessed data from the residents of 700 properties in Cornwall. They found that people living in more energy efficient homes had a greater risk of asthma, and that the presence of mold doubled this risk. This study, published in the…

Creativity is a complex and vast construct that has been vital to the progress of human civilization and the development of human reasoning processes. Indeed, the immense array of creative endeavors encompasses the works of such disparate activities as those undertaken by painters, sculptors, nuclear engineers, landscape architects, graphic designers, and software developers. Sadly, many of the brightest, most creative children are misdiagnosed with behavioral and emotional disorders such as ADHD, Oppositional-Defiant Disorder, Bipolar Disorder or OCD. As a result, many often receive…

If you are buying herbal dietary supplements like Ginkgo biloba (G. biloba) to boost cognitive capacity, the first thing you should do is stop spending money on herbal dietary supplements like Ginkgo biloba and the next thing you should do is wonder how, in a completely unregulated market, you can even know if it is real. It might not be. Even the olive oil industry thinks supplement makers need to be more honest. A new study in Genome used DNA barcoding to test the authenticity of Ginkgo biloba (G. biloba) found that almost 20 percent of samples didn't even have any.  Dr. Damon…

When a broken bone protrudes through the skin, causing a puncture wound, it is called an open break. It is understandably traumatizing for kids and perhaps even more so for parents but there may be good news for those daunted by the prospect of surgery on top of all that - it may not be necessary. Many children who sustain open bone fractures in the forearm or lower leg heal safely without surgery, according to the results of a small study in the Journal of Children's Orthopaedics, if the wound is small -- less than a half-inch in diameter -- and the surrounding tissue is free of…

Past your bedtime? Mikael Damkier/Shutterstock By Elizabeth Englander, Bridgewater State University About three years ago, a teenage girl was talking with me and other students about using her cell phone late at night. She told us how she waited until her parents were asleep, then spent at least four hours every night texting with her friends. Her parents thought she was asleep in bed. “I’d sleep a few hours, then get up at 6am,” she told me. “My parents always thought I had slept through the night and was just the first one up.” The kicker? She reported doing this virtually every night. I…

In modern times, it seems a little strange to read claims in Europe and in U.S. cities like San Francisco that cell phone radiation is harmful to humans - but their reasoning is based on work in the 1970s which found an epidemiological association between increased risk of childhood leukemia and living near overhead power lines. Like most epidemiology claims that find two curves going the same way and garner media attention, some skepticism is warranted, and later studies were unable to find the same connection, but the perception has held. Regardless,  groups like the International…

E-cigarettes appear to be less addictive than cigarettes for former smokers - and this could assist in efforts to understand how to curb cigarette smoking, according to researchers. The popularity of e-cigarettes, which typically deliver nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerin and flavorings through inhaled vapor, has increased in the past five years. There are currently more than 400 brands of "e-cigs" available. E-cigarettes contain far fewer cancer-causing and other toxic substances than cigarettes, however their long-term effects on health and nicotine dependence are unknown. To study e-…

The holiday season is upon us and alcohol is frequently more visible and free flowing during this time.  Exactly where the line is between heavy drinking and clinical alcoholism can be vague. A new study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found a distinction between drinking too much and being alcohol dependent. The researchers say 9 in 10 Americans who drink too much should not be classified as alcoholics, but this does not mean they are not doing real damage to themselves both physically and socially. In recent years binge drinking has been a…

Popular meniscal tear surgery may increase the risk of osteoarthritis and cartilage loss, according to a presentation at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. The new study focused on the meniscus, a wedge-shaped piece of cartilage in the knee that acts as a shock absorber between the femur, or thighbone, and tibia, or shinbone. The two menisci in each knee also play an important role in joint stability. Meniscal tears are among the most common knee injuries, and surgery is often performed to alleviate pain. "Meniscal surgery is one of the most common orthopedic…