Mum's the word among federal officials about the health benefits of eating organic foods.
The Department of Health and Human Services defers questions about organic foods to the Food and Drug Administration. But the FDA has no policy on organics because it says they're the domain of the Department of Agriculture, which will admit to using the "o-word," but says its mandate is simply to regulate use of the certified organic label, not to judge the relative benefits of organic versus conventional foods.
In a study that reaffirms the restorative powers of nature, researchers at the University of Washington report that for stress relief, looking outside trumps toiling away in a windowless room or viewing a digital version of that outdoor scene.
UW researchers found that plasma screens displaying an outdoor scene were about as effective as a blank wall in reducing test subjects' tension, as measured by a drop in heart rates.
A man whose heart had stopped beating woke up just as surgeons were about to remove his organs for donation, it was disclosed yesterday.
Doctors in Paris earlier this year called in transplant surgeons after failing to resuscitate a 45-year old man believed to have suffered a massive heart attack in the French capital.
According to a report by the Paris university hospital's ethics committee - seen by Le Monde newspaper - doctors continued providing a heart massage for an hour and a half while they waited for the surgeons to arrive.
When the surgeons began operating on the man to remove his organs, he began to breathe, his pupils became responsive and he reacted to a pain test.
Good dental hygiene and health may be crucial in preventing heart valve infection, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
In a study of 290 dental patients, researchers investigated several measures of bacteremia (bacteria released into the bloodstream) during three different dental activities -- tooth brushing, a single tooth extraction with a preventive antibiotic and a single tooth extraction with a placebo.
British scientists said on Tuesday they had identified subtle chemical changes that allow abnormal cells to multiply out of control, a finding that could help detect colon cancer earlier.
The researchers looked at changes affecting 18 genes that play a key role in the very early stages of colon cancer and found a pattern of chemical changes in people who had pre-cancerous polyps likely to develop into a tumor.
Call it a psycho conflict of interest affecting the health and lives of thousands of children, an Iowa senator has discovered 3 Harvard researchers earned millions of dollars in consulting fees from drug companies, for performing research and evangelizing antipsychotic drug use in children.
DANGEROUS DYES? A food safety advocacy group claims eight dyes commonly used in food, from Lucky Charms to M&Ms, cause behavioral problems in children. Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration disputed these claims in the past, it seems unlikely it will ban the artificial colorings.
Monday the Center for Science in the Public Interest formally petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban eight food dyes, including the two most common - Red 40 and Yellow 5. The United Kingdom already phased out several of these dyes.
Just because scientific advances now allow individuals to learn their genetic make-up doesn't mean they should rush into genetic testing in hopes of making revolutionary improvements to their health, cautions a geneticist and practicing physician at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"From a basic science perspective, the advances being made in genomics are important discoveries, but it's unrealistic for individuals to believe those advances can yield meaningful information that will improve their health," said James P. Evans, M.D., Ph.D., professor of genetics and medicine in the UNC School of Medicine. "And even saying 'It's not there yet' is too optimistic. It's going to be a long time before the potential is realized."
Du Xiaodan
CCTVMon, 09 Jun 2008 18:19 UTC
Hong Kong health officials have slaughtered 2,700 chickens in a local market after five birds were found to be carrying the H5N1 bird flu virus.
A new and "non-invasive" technique to identify a person's natural sleep pattern has been developed, university researchers have said.
Researchers from the School of Medicine at Swansea University tested the method at Cheltenham Science Festival to identify their natural pattern of wake and sleep - known as the circadian rhythm.
All that is required from the subject is a quick cheek-swab. Previously, blood samples were required to obtain the ribonucleic acid (RNA) needed for this type of research, the university said.
