Public Health

Soda consumption has been linked to obesity but a new study in the American Journal of Public Health links it to disease independent from its role in fat. The paper finds that telomeres, the protective units of DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes in cells, were shorter in the white blood cells of survey participants who reported drinking more soda. The length of telomeres within white blood cells — where it can most easily be measured — has previously been associated with human lifespan. Short telomeres also have been associated with the development of chronic diseases of aging, including…

Millions of Americans are continually losing hope on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ability to identify and stop the spread of infectious disease.  The gold standard agency has been enjoying the respect across the globe due to its archetype virtue of being occupied by world's most renowned health professionals in identifying and dealing with infectious diseases.  However, these assertion have started taking a new direction at a fast pace as the agency chief and his team continue issuing misleading statements that contravenes some facts about Ebola and its…

Do you like to keep your fingernails and toenails aesthetically pleasing? You could be putting yourself at risk of serious nail conditions, say researchers at the University of Nottingham who have devised equations to identify the physical laws that govern nail growth and used them to throw light on the causes of some of the most common nail problems, such as ingrown toe nails, spoon-shaped nails and pincer nails. Writing in Physical Biology, they note that regular poor trimming can tip the fine balance of nails, causing residual stress to occur across the entire nail. That residual stress…

The Ebola crisis in Africa is getting a lot of attention but coverage of a regional problem is displacing concern over a more pressing problem worldwide; influenza.  The pandemic risk from strains of influenza virus is far more worrisome than Ebola. Influenza pandemics arise when a new virus strain – against which humans have yet to develop widespread immunity – spreads in the human population. There have been 5 such pandemics in the past 100 years, the worst of which – the 1918 Spanish Flu – cost 50 million lives. Of those pandemics, 3 are thought to have spread from birds and 1…

A joke in the European business community is that most young people turn 18 and start thinking about their pensions. They may have good reason, according to a study by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR), which found that for each additional euro the eastern Germans received in benefits from pensions and public health insurance after reunification, they gained on average three hours of life expectancy per person per year.  Public spending appears to have contributed substantially to life expectancy, they say, so much that in just a generation life expectancy in…

Mothers are already responsible for propagating the species, a thankless job which men wisely avoid in all ways, but now they may be tasked with a better diet and exercising more also, because it has been directly associated with a range of improved outcomes at birth by researchers from the University of Adelaide. They say it is the  biggest study of its kind two papers were published on the findings in BMC Medicine. "While it might have been expected that healthier eating and increased physical activity during pregnancy would be associated with differences in weight gain, our…

It's not a secret that rats carry diseases, they quite literally carried the pests that caused the Bubonic Plague across Europe in the middle ages. But New York City has always felt like their rats were exceptional compared to rats beyond the Hudson River, and so scientists at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health trapped 133 Norway rats at 5 sites in New York City, focusing on rats trapped inside residential buildings. They examined them for identified bacterial pathogens, including E. coli, Salmonella, and C. difficile, that cause mild to life-threatening gastroenteritis in…

While the modern talk is all about how antioxidants and good and free radicals are bad, biology has never been so simple. Rather than being simply destructive to tissues and cells, free radicals generated by the cell's mitochondria—the energy producing structures in the cell—are actually beneficial to healing wounds. Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are chemically reactive molecules containing oxygen, such as peroxides and they are commonly referred to as free radicals. A new study finds they are necessary for the proper healing of skin wounds in the laboratory roundworm C. elegans. The…

Very little has been published on VivaGel in peer-reviewed literature. Credit: Morgan/Flickr, CC BY By Bridget Haire The Australian biotech company Starpharma has announced the imminent launch of a condom coated with an antimicrobial chemical known as VivaGel. While it might be marketed as a great leap forward for preventing sexually transmitted infections (STIs), it’s unlikely to offer any more protection than your average condom. Condoms are effective at preventing pregnancy and a range of STDs, including HIV, because they provide a direct barrier to the transfer of fluids between sexual…

Decaffeinated coffee drinking may benefit liver health, according to a paper in Hepatology by  Researchers from the National Cancer Institute whichsayss that higher coffee consumption, regardless of caffeine content, was linked to lower levels of abnormal liver enzymes. This suggests that chemical compounds in coffee other than caffeine may help protect the liver.  Coffee consumption is highly prevalent with more than half of all Americans over 18 drinking on average three cups each day according to a 2010 report from the National Coffee Association. Moreover, the International…