Health & Wellness
When fisheries veterinarian Matthew Landos got his first look at the double-headed fish embryos in a Queensland hatchery, he had no idea he would soon team up with a Tasmanian doctor worried that the widespread use of agricultural and forestry chemicals was making her patients sick.
Diabetics face the daily issue of controlling their insulin levels to avoid extreme high and low blood sugar, which is known to be detrimental to overall health. Medical data clearly links type 2 diabetes with the possibility of heart attack and stroke, and a study published in the April 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association connects the disease to increased risk of dementia.
Short writing assignments in which students discuss their most cherished value may be a powerful new tool to help struggling black youths reduce stress and boost their grades, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
Twelve- and 13-year-old black students who did a series of 15-minute writing exercises saw their grades improve significantly over the course a year, and the benefit has persisted two years after the exercises stopped, they said.
"The effects were primarily among low-achieving African-American students," Geoffrey Cohen of the University of Colorado at Boulder, whose study appears in the journal Science, said in an audio interview on the Science website.
Twelve- and 13-year-old black students who did a series of 15-minute writing exercises saw their grades improve significantly over the course a year, and the benefit has persisted two years after the exercises stopped, they said.
"The effects were primarily among low-achieving African-American students," Geoffrey Cohen of the University of Colorado at Boulder, whose study appears in the journal Science, said in an audio interview on the Science website.
Is your Facebook time affecting your grades here at Pacific? According to a pilot study from Ohio State University, there may be a relationship between the amount of time a student spends on the social networking site and their grade point average.
The study found that college students who use the site spend less time studying and have lower grade point averages than those students who do not use Facebook.
"We can't say that the use of Facebook leads to lower grades and less studying," said Aryn Karpinski, one of the study's authors. "But we did find a relationship there."
The study found that college students who use the site spend less time studying and have lower grade point averages than those students who do not use Facebook.
"We can't say that the use of Facebook leads to lower grades and less studying," said Aryn Karpinski, one of the study's authors. "But we did find a relationship there."
If you suffer from frequent headaches or migraines, chances are you shy away from exercise for fear of inducing a headache. You may be surprised to hear you can find relief through exercise. A recent Swedish study published in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain showed that exercise does not seem to increase migraines. In fact, regular activity can reduce the number of migraines, the intensity of migraines and the need for pain medication.
Heart patients who become depressed have a higher risk of developing heart failure, regardless of whether they take antidepressants, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
They said the study is the first to look at whether depression raises the risk for heart failure, a chronic condition affecting 5 million Americans in which the heart gradually loses its ability to pump blood efficiently.
They said the study is the first to look at whether depression raises the risk for heart failure, a chronic condition affecting 5 million Americans in which the heart gradually loses its ability to pump blood efficiently.
U.S. doctors suggest the depression sometimes linked to a stay in the intensive care unit may be rooted in care issues.
The study, published online in Critical Care Medicine, tracked 160 intensive care patients that survived six months after coming to one of 13 Baltimore hospitals for acute lung injury -- a respiratory distress syndrome that despite greatly reduced mortality rates still kills about 40 percent of those affected.
The researchers found 26 percent scored above the threshold for possible depression. The depressed patients were found to be more likely to have suffered greater severity of organ failure and to have received 75 mg or more of a benzodiazepine sedative daily.
The study, published online in Critical Care Medicine, tracked 160 intensive care patients that survived six months after coming to one of 13 Baltimore hospitals for acute lung injury -- a respiratory distress syndrome that despite greatly reduced mortality rates still kills about 40 percent of those affected.
The researchers found 26 percent scored above the threshold for possible depression. The depressed patients were found to be more likely to have suffered greater severity of organ failure and to have received 75 mg or more of a benzodiazepine sedative daily.
Nothing brings up the images of summer breezes and relaxation like pineapple, the sweet juicy treat from the tropics. While thoughts of fun in the sun ease the mind, eating pineapple can greatly ease the body. Bromelain, the key enzyme in pineapple, banishes inflammation as effectively as drugs. It reduces swelling, helps against sore throat, treats arthritis and gout, and speeds digestion of proteins. New research is even showing pineapple to be highly effective at cancer prevention and treatment.
Bromelain keeps cancers from getting started and shrinks tumors
In a study reported on March 30, in the Cancer Letter, scientists at the Indian Institute of Toxicology Research in India, noted the anti-inflammatory, anti-invasive, and anti-metastatic properties of bromelain. They studied its anti tumor-initiating effects against induced skin tumor formation in mice.
Bromelain keeps cancers from getting started and shrinks tumors
In a study reported on March 30, in the Cancer Letter, scientists at the Indian Institute of Toxicology Research in India, noted the anti-inflammatory, anti-invasive, and anti-metastatic properties of bromelain. They studied its anti tumor-initiating effects against induced skin tumor formation in mice.
Why are suicides among Iraq war soldiers twice that of other wars?
One reason could be that 80 percent of troops with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are given drugs that didn't exist during other wars.
Antidepressants like Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and Celexa (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors or SSRIs) and Cymbalta and Effexor (Serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors or SRNIs) that are so closely associated with suicide they carry suicide warnings.
660 people have killed themselves on SSRIs and SNRIs since1988 according to published newspaper reports including at least 17 Iraq war veterans. Many more have attempted suicide and committed felonies, self-harm, police stand-offs, murders, murder/suicides and mass murders with high powered weapons.
Yet what does the US Department of Veterans Affairs' suggest as a treatment for PTSD?
One reason could be that 80 percent of troops with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are given drugs that didn't exist during other wars.
Antidepressants like Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and Celexa (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors or SSRIs) and Cymbalta and Effexor (Serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors or SRNIs) that are so closely associated with suicide they carry suicide warnings.
660 people have killed themselves on SSRIs and SNRIs since1988 according to published newspaper reports including at least 17 Iraq war veterans. Many more have attempted suicide and committed felonies, self-harm, police stand-offs, murders, murder/suicides and mass murders with high powered weapons.
Yet what does the US Department of Veterans Affairs' suggest as a treatment for PTSD?
If I tot up the number of vulnerable children who I've met in recent years in my role as a journalist there are well over 50 of them, and it's strange how many of their faces I remember. Not necessarily their names - I always change them for publication - but the faces, they stay with you.
There was the 14-year-old burglar who said that he'd rather stay in a secure establishment than go back into care. Locked up, he felt safe. He pointed out that he had nothing to look forward to and when I asked how he saw his future he replied with one word: "Prison." He begged for a mention, but didn't believe I'd honour my promise to write about him because people always let him down.
Many of the boys - especially boys - were desperate for attention, even from someone they didn't know. Others had shockingly bleak faces and couldn't communicate. There were twitchy children who couldn't sit still, lots of them. Recently I met a bright, fizzy 12-year-old who hungered for conversation but didn't know how to sit down.
There was the 14-year-old burglar who said that he'd rather stay in a secure establishment than go back into care. Locked up, he felt safe. He pointed out that he had nothing to look forward to and when I asked how he saw his future he replied with one word: "Prison." He begged for a mention, but didn't believe I'd honour my promise to write about him because people always let him down.
Many of the boys - especially boys - were desperate for attention, even from someone they didn't know. Others had shockingly bleak faces and couldn't communicate. There were twitchy children who couldn't sit still, lots of them. Recently I met a bright, fizzy 12-year-old who hungered for conversation but didn't know how to sit down.
