Health & WellnessS


Book

Uncertain Peril: A Compelling Look at Genetically Modified Organisms

Paula Crossfield
Civil Eats
Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:42 UTC
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One thing we know for sure is that we just don't know enough about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and biotechnology to know that in planting their seeds, we aren't affecting future generations' ability to feed themselves. For many people, the fact that they're corporately controlled and thus make for bad social policy, or that they genetically contaminate other species and as such increase claims against farmers, while undermining a farmer's ability to save seed and be self sufficient, are enough of an argument against their propagation. But in Claire Hope Cummings' excellent book, Uncertain Peril: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Seeds, she weaves in the stories of the people and places behind a phenomenon that's gotten a few rich, while farmers struggle with shrinking margins.
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A Cup of Brazilian Mint Tea Relieves Pain as Well as Aspirin, But Without the Harmful Side Effects

Mike Adams
NaturalNews
Sat, 28 Nov 2009 07:00 UTC
Researchers from Newcastle University have scientifically proven that Hyptis crenata, also known as Brazilian mint, is a powerful pain reliever that works just as well as Indometacin, a synthetic drug similar to aspirin. A traditional remedy for treating the flu, stomach problems, high fevers, and headaches, Brazilian mint was found to be extremely powerful and safe.

The team, led by Graciela Rocha, set out to perform the study using the traditional preparation of the herb. Surveys were conducted in Brazil to figure out exactly how this was done and how much should be consumed in order to achieve beneficial results. The preparation the team ended up using consisted of the herb's dried leaves being steeped in boiling water for 30 minutes. Once cool, the tea was consumed in the same way as any other brewed tea would be. The results indicated efficacy in a wide range of ailments.

Graciela emphasized the fact that more than 50,000 plants worldwide are used for some type of medicinal purpose and that researchers should focus on identifying these types of plants and testing their efficacy. Since more than half of all prescription drugs are derived from plant compounds, it is a worthy effort to study plant medicines in their natural, safe forms.
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Detox Your Liver with These Natural Herbs

Elizabeth Walling
NaturalNews
Sat, 28 Nov 2009 07:00 UTC
Maybe you have a childhood memory of forgetting to clean your fish tank's filter. After all, it's easy to forget a fish tank even has a filter until it's so clogged up it starts to malfunction. Eventually, the tank is covered in slime and the health of your fish begins to fail. This scenario is much like the way we view our liver today. We often overlook the importance of the liver until it begins to adversely affect our health. However, this organ plays a vital role in cleansing, detoxifying and purification on a daily basis. The liver is also where many important nutrients are metabolized. Without a healthy liver, we cannot be healthy.

If you want to keep the environment clear and healthy in your fish tank, regular filter maintenance is a must. Similarly, if you want to enjoy vibrant health, maintaining your liver is crucial. When liver health is declining, you may experience a variety of symptoms including fatigue, sluggishness, hormone imbalances, acne, headaches and more.

In our literally toxic modern society, maintaining liver health is more important than ever. These natural herbs provide potent results in detoxifying and restoring the liver:
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Auditory Illusion: How Our Brains Can Fill in the Gaps to Create Continuous Sound


ScienceDaily
Fri, 27 Nov 2009 04:00 UTC
It is relatively common for listeners to "hear" sounds that are not really there. In fact, it is the brain's ability to reconstruct fragmented sounds that allows us to successfully carry on a conversation in a noisy room. Now, a new study helps to explain what happens in the brain that allows us to perceive a physically interrupted sound as being continuous. The research, published by Cell Press in the November 25 issue of Neuron provides fascinating insight into the constructive nature of human hearing.

"In our day-to-day lives, sounds we wish to pay attention to may be distorted or masked by background noise, which means that some of the information gets lost. In spite of this, our brains manage to fill in the information gaps, giving us an overall 'image' of the sound," explains senior study author, Dr. Lars Riecke from the Department of Cognitive Neuroscience at Maastricht University in The Netherlands. Dr. Riecke and colleagues were interested in unraveling the neural mechanisms associated with this auditory continuity illusion, where a physically interrupted sound is heard as continuing through background noise.

The researchers investigated the timing of sensory-perceptual processes associated with the encoding of physically interrupted sounds and their auditory restoration, respectively, by combining behavioral measures where a participant rated the continuity of a tone, with simultaneous measures of electrical activity in the brain. Interestingly, slow brain waves called theta oscillations, which are involved in encoding boundaries of sounds, were suppressed during an interruption in a sound when that sound was illusorily restored. "It was as if a physically uninterrupted sound was encoded in the brain," says Dr. Riecke. This restoration-related suppression was most obvious in the right auditory cortex.
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Biological Basis of 'Bacterial Immune System' Discovered


ScienceDaily
Sat, 28 Nov 2009 02:00 UTC
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© OAR/National Undersea Research ProgramBacteria and archaea (first discovered in extreme environments such as deep-sea volcanic vents, such as the one shown above) manage to survive thanks in part to a built-in defense system that helps protect them from many viruses and other invaders.
Bacteria don't have easy lives. In addition to mammalian immune systems that besiege the bugs, they have natural enemies called bacteriophages, viruses that kill half the bacteria on Earth every two days.

Still, bacteria and another class of microorganisms called archaea (first discovered in extreme environments such as deep-sea volcanic vents) manage just fine, thank you, in part because they have a built-in defense system that helps protect them from many viruses and other invaders.

A team of scientists led by researchers at the University of Georgia has now discovered how this bacterial defense system works, and it could lead to new classes of targeted antibiotics, new tools to study gene function in microorganisms and more stable bacterial cultures used by food and biotechnology industries to make products such as yogurt and cheese.

The research was published November 26 in the journal Cell.
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Pills

Over-the-Counter Eye Drops Raise Concern Over Antibiotic Resistance


ScienceDaily
Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:00 UTC
The use of antibiotic eye drops for conjunctivitis has increased by almost half since they became available over the counter at chemists in 2005, data obtained by Oxford University researchers has shown.

This is despite the fact that evidence from clinical trials from around the same time showed the eye drops to have minimal benefit.

The findings, published in the British Journal of General Practice, have implications for further decisions on over-the-counter availability of antibiotics, as it is a widely accepted priority to reduce antibiotic use substantially to limit bacteria acquiring resistance to the drugs.

'It's very important that antibiotics aren't used where they're not needed,' says Dr Peter Rose of the University of Oxford, who led the research. 'We've shown that selling eye drops over the counter for conjunctivitis has resulted in greater use at the same time as the evidence showed they have little benefit.'
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Talking to Ourselves: How Consumers Navigate Choices and Inner Conflict


ScienceDaily
Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:00 UTC
From simple decisions like "Should I eat this brownie?" to bigger questions such as "Should my next car be a hybrid?" consumers are involved in an inner dialogue that reflects thoughts and perspectives of their different selves, according to the authors of a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

Shalini Bahl (iAM Business Consulting) and George R. Milne (University of Massachusetts) studied the multiple perspectives that exist within consumers and explored the ways they navigate inconsistent preferences to make consumption decisions.

The authors conducted a study combining in-depth interviews, multi-dimensional scaling, and metaphors to identify some of the voices that engage consumers' minds. They used "dialogic self theory," which differentiates between the "Meta-self" and multiple selves. According to the authors, multiple selves have unique perspectives and speak from different positions with relatively independent voices, while the Meta-self reflects a distanced neutral perspective.

"In our analysis of relationships between two selves with different worldviews and consumption preferences, we discovered a unique relationship in which one self offers a non-judgmental acceptance of another self's opposing views and behavior, and in doing so brings peace and equanimity in a situation involving opposing preferences," the authors write.
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Family

Should Dads be in the Delivery Room?

Clare Murphy
BBC News
Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:59 UTC
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Would it have been better if he wasn't there?
It was once imparted to the father over the phone, yet now it's men themselves who often tell their exhausted partner the sex of the child she has just delivered. But could men be more of a hindrance than a help in the delivery room?

French obstetrician Michel Odent says yes, and even blames fathers for an increasing rate of births by Caesarean section.

At a debate hosted this week by the Royal College of Midwives, Mr Odent will argue against what he dubs "the masculinisation of the birth environment".

The presence of an anxious male partner in the labour room makes the woman tense and slows her production of the hormone oxytocin, which aids the process of labour, so the French doctor contends.

This, he says, makes her much more likely to end up on the operating table having an emergency Caesarean section.

"Having been involved for more than 50 years in childbirths in homes and hospitals in France, England and Africa, the best environment I know for an easy birth is when there is nobody around the woman in labour apart from a silent, low-profile and experienced midwife," he says.
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Brains Benefit From Multilingualism


ScienceDaily
Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:00 UTC
For a considerable time already there has been discussion within scientific circles about whether knowing and using multiple languages could possibly have positive effects on the human brain and thinking. There have been a number of international studies on the subject, which indicate that the ability to use more than one language brings an individual a considerable advantage.

The report of the research team appointed by the European Commission, "The Contribution of Multilingualism to Creativity," presents the first known macro analysis based on the available evidence, which has been conducted by searching through several studies and giving particular attention on recent research on the brain.

David Marsh, specialized planner at the Continuing Professional Development Centre of Jyväskylä University, who coordinated the international research team behind the study, says that especially the research conducted within neurosciences offers an increasing amount of strong evidence of versatile knowledge of languages being beneficial for the usage of an individual's brain.
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Family

"Too Fat to Be a Princess?" Young Girls Worry About Body Image, Study Shows


ScienceDaily
Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:00 UTC
Even before they start school, many young girls worry that they are fat. But a new study suggests watching a movie starring a stereotypically thin and beautiful princess may not increase children's anxieties.

Nearly half of the 3- to 6-year-old girls in a study by University of Central Florida psychology professor Stacey Tantleff-Dunn and doctoral student Sharon Hayes said they worry about being fat. About one-third would change a physical attribute, such as their weight or hair color.

The number of girls worried about being fat at such a young age concerns Tantleff-Dunn because of the potential implications later in life. Studies have shown that young girls worried about their body image are more likely to suffer from eating disorders when they are older.

The encouraging news for parents is that taking their young daughters to see the new Disney film The Princess and the Frog isn't likely to influence how they perceive their bodies.
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