Health & WellnessS


Syringe

Jump in measles outbreaks worries control system

Mike Stobbe
Associated Press
Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:08 UTC
The number of measles cases in the U.S. is at its highest level since 1997, and nearly half of those involve children whose parents rejected vaccination, government health officials reported Thursday.


Comment: So what does this say about the vaccination? The reporter skirts the issue, but if 95% of the public is vaccinated against measles and "nearly half" of those who get the disease are the un-vaccinated which means that MORE than half were vaccinated!!! that isn't saying much for its preventive effects, is it?


Comment: How about all the information. Frankly, if the government and doctors were so concerned about children's health,they'd be providing better nutrition and removing environmental hazards from instead of introducing toxins to developing children.

Read More...
Magic Wand

They Teach Happiness at Harvard

Matt Mabe
Business Week
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:22 UTC
In Tal Ben-Shahar's positive psychology class, students learn that happiness isn't just an accident, it's a science

An entire industry has been built up around the pursuit of happiness. A stroll past any bookstore window demonstrates the explosive popularity of the feel-good, self-help movements of recent years. And whether these products are genuine paths to ultimate happiness or just pleasure-peddling scams, the trend seems likely to hold.
Read More...
Attention

FDA to allow radiation of spinach and lettuce

Susan Heavey
Reuters
Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:15 UTC
WASHINGTON - Health regulators have approved the use of ionizing radiation for fresh spinach and lettuce, saying the technique already approved for other foods can help control harmful bacteria and other pathogens.

Image
©REUTERS/David Gray
A worker picks some New Zealand spinach growing in a greenhouse at an organic farm located on the outskirts of Beijing June 20, 2008.

The Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday the radiation treatment also would make the leafy greens last longer and give them greater "shelf-life" for retailers and consumers.

The approval comes two years after E. coli outbreaks linked to spinach and lettuce sold in grocery stores and served at various restaurants. Outbreaks of the dangerous bacteria sickened dozens of consumers and led some to be hospitalized.

In severe cases, patients developed kidney failure.

Since then, other outbreaks have affected a variety of products, most recently Salmonella contamination in hot peppers from Mexico that surfaced earlier this summer.
Read More...
Health

Boosting 'good' fat to burn off the bad

Heidi Ledford
Nature
Fri, 22 Aug 2008 03:19 UTC
To most dieters, no fat is good fat. But in work published this week in Nature, an insight into the origin of a special class of calorie-burning fat cells could lead to new ways of boosting metabolism and combating obesity, researchers say.

The sworn enemy of the dieter is the 'white' fat cell. Such cells are little more than sacks of fat, storing energy and providing padding. Less known - and less reviled - is brown fat, made up of heat-producing cells chock full of fat and energy-generating structures called mitochondria. The iron attached to proteins in these mitochondria gives brown fat its characteristic colour.
Read More...
Syringe

Flashback Metabolic switch delivers healthy fat

Michael Hopkin
Nature
Tue, 10 Jul 2007 03:26 UTC
Researchers have identified a cellular switch that triggers the production of 'good' fat cells, which pump out heat and raise the body's metabolic rate. The discovery, made in mice, might one day provide a way to treat or prevent obesity in humans.

In adult humans, nearly all fat tissue is made of white fat cells, which store excess energy for later use. But brown fat cells have a high metabolic rate and burn up the chemical fuel, rather than store it. A higher proportion of babies' fat is brown, probably as a way to keep warm. But these deposits are mostly lost after infancy.
Read More...
Health

Scotland: Outbreak of superbug C difficile closes hospital ward


The Scotsman
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:13 UTC
A hospital ward has been closed after an outbreak of the Clostridium difficile superbug, it emerged yesterday.

Seven patients at the Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline, tested positive for the infection. The ward where they were treated has been closed to new admissions since Friday, when the patients were first taken ill. Fife NHS Board said procedures were in place to control the spread of the infection.

In a statement, the board said: "The patients are being nursed in isolation as part of standard operational procedure and enhanced infection control measures have been put in place."
Read More...
People

Salmonella outbreak spreads to Sweden and France

Dr. Muris Houston
The Irish Times
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:10 UTC
The Salmonella outbreak possibly linked to a meat plant in Co Kildare has now spread to Sweden and France, bringing to five the number of European Union countries affected.

The latest figures for the outbreak of salmonella agona, released last night, show some 132 people have now been infected by the bug. Sweden has reported its first two cases, while France has confirmed one person has been infected by the relatively rare strain of the bacterium.

There has been one death linked to the salmonella outbreak. A 77-year-old British woman died from complications thought to be associated with the infection.
Read More...
People

Rare Salmonella Outbreak Spreads to Wales

Madeleine Brindley
Western Mail
Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:05 UTC
Eight people in Wales have been diagnosed with a rare form of food poisoning linked to a nationwide outbreak.

The salmonella outbreak, associated with cooked bacon from Ireland but sold in the UK, has infected 119 people, killing one person in England.

Several types of ready-to-use sandwich fillings containing cooked bacon have now been recalled.

And the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), which is leading the investigation into the outbreak, has also warned that bacon pieces from a Dawn Farm Foods plant used as pizza toppings and ready meal ingredients could also be affected.

The FSAI identified Dawn Farm Foods plant number 734, in County Kildare, and some of its products as a possible source of the Salmonella Agona outbreak, which started earlier this month.
Read More...
Health

US: Lab Tests May Show Cause of Legionnaires' Outbreak

Ana Liss and Katie Graham
Associated Press
Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:58 UTC
Preliminary lab results show the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease is in the hot water system at the senior housing complex in Elmira, New York where state officials say six residents were stricken and one died.

The Chemung County Health Department says the state lab test found Legionella bacteria, and as of Friday evening the use of the hot water had been suspended while the tanks were flushed and the system super heated to kill the bacteria.
Read More...
Bulb

New Study Shows False Memories Affect Behavior


Association for Psychological Science
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:55 UTC
Do you know someone who claims to remember their first day of kindergarten? Or a trip they took as a toddler? While some people may be able to recall trivial details from the past, laboratory research shows that the human memory can be remarkably fragile and even inventive.

In fact, people can easily create false memories of their past and a new study shows that such memories can have long-term effects on our behavior.
Read More...