Health & WellnessS

Cow

US: Beef Packers Recalls Beef Products Over Possible E. Coli Contamination

Fresno, California's Beef Packers, Inc., is recalling approximately 1,560 pounds of beef cheek products over concerns that the meat may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (UDSA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The problem was discovered during company microbiological testing and the recall is identified as a Class I Recall, which means that this is a health hazard situation wherein there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.

Attention

Arsenic risk high in Sumatra, Myanmar and Cambodia



IRrawaddy Delta home
©Unknown
A home along the Irrawaddy Delta

Eastern Sumatra, the Irrawaddy delta in Myanmar and Cambodia's Tonle Sap lake are among areas in Southeast Asia facing a high risk of arsenic contamination in the water, according to a study published on Friday.

The researchers use innovative digitalised techniques, drawing on geology, geography and soil chemistry, to compile a "probability map" of naturally-occurring arsenic concentrations in five Southeast Asian countries and Bangladesh.

Health

Scientists Suspect Omega-3 Fatty Acids Could Slow Acute Wound Healing

A recent study shows that popular fish oil supplements have an effect on the healing process of small, acute wounds in human skin. But whether that effect is detrimental, as researchers initially suspected, remains a mystery.

The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils are widely considered to benefit cardiovascular health and other diseases related to chronic inflammation because of their anti-inflammatory properties. But insufficient inflammation during the initial stage of wound healing may delay the advancement of later stages.

Bulb

New Method for Controversy-Free Embryonic Stem Cells



Embroyonic stem cell
©Unknown

If Hilde Van de Velde had developed a potentially embryo-gentle method of deriving embryonic stem cells just a few months sooner, the science media would be buzzing today.

Instead, with media and the public suffering from stem cell burnout, Van de Velde's technique -- in which a single cell is removed from a four-cell embryo -- has merited just a single cursory mention by The Press Association.

Eye 1

Facing the inevitable: Experts in death studies gather to ponder life's 'tragic opportunity'

This weekend, 300 experts will meet at a Toronto hotel to discuss the brighter side of death. Determined to put a positive spin on humanity's most fearsome process, the 5th Biennial International Meaning Conference is calling the event "Living well and dying well: New frontiers of positive psychology, therapy and physical care."

Arrow Up

Frequent family meals might reduce teen substance use

Parents who have regular meals with their adolescent children might help lessen the chances they will start drinking or smoking later in their teen years, according to new research.

Past studies have shown that family meals provide many benefits, including offering a venue for parents to communicate with their adolescents about their daily activities, as well as monitor their moods and whereabouts.

In the new study, researchers noted benefits in families that ate five or more meals together each week, and found that about 60 percent of the participants did so.

Comment: Wow... Who knew that a sense of belonging or being cared for might help a kid feel less like running from reality?


Attention

Flashback USDA Suspends Pesticide Reporting to Benefit Monsanto

On May 21, the US Department of Agriculture, or USDA, announced that it would stop its annual publication on the kinds and amounts of pesticides applied to crops in the U.S.

This annual Agricultural Chemical Usage report, begun in 1990, will no longer serve thousands of farmers, agricultural inspectors, environmental agencies, state and local representatives, chemical researchers and even chemical manufacturing companies, as a free resource to track U.S. pesticide usage. The alternatives for getting the information, priced as high as $500, are both out of the financial reach of many farmers and consumers, and provide less reliable information.

Calculator

Study: No gender differences in math performance

We've all heard it. Many of us in fact believe it. Girls just aren't as good at math as boys.

But is it true? After sifting through mountains of data - including SAT results and math scores from 7 million students who were tested in accordance with the No Child Left Behind Act - a team of scientists says the answer is no. Whether they looked at average performance, the scores of the most gifted children or students' ability to solve complex math problems, girls measured up to boys.

"There just aren't gender differences anymore in math performance," says University of Wisconsin-Madison psychology professor Janet Hyde, the study's leader. "So parents and teachers need to revise their thoughts about this."

The UW-Madison and University of California, Berkeley, researchers report their findings in the July 25 issue of Science.

People

Romania to Allow Girls Under Age 15 to Have Abortions Up to 24 Weeks

Romania's health ministry says it has proposed a law allowing under-15s to have an abortion at up to 24 weeks.

Current legislation does not allow for abortions beyond 14 weeks, except to save a woman's life and in the case of extraordinary circumstances. The circumstances are not specified in the law.

Bulb

Older people may need less sleep, study finds

Along with all the other changes that come with age, healthy older people also lose some capacity for sleep, according to a new report published online on July 24th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. When asked to stay in bed for 16 hours in the dark each day for several days, younger people get an average of 9 hours of shuteye compared to 7.5 for older people, the researchers report.

"The most parsimonious explanation for our results is that older people need less sleep," said Elizabeth Klerman of Brigham and Women's Hospital & Harvard Medical School. "It's also possible that they sleep less even when given the opportunity for more sleep because of age-related changes in the ability to fall asleep and remain asleep," she added, noting that the new results apply only to healthy individuals taking no medication and having no medical conditions or sleep disorders.