Health & WellnessS


Bulb

Does touch affect flavor? Study finds that how a container feels can affect taste


University of Chicago Press Journals
Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:14 UTC
Does coffee in a flimsy cup taste worse than coffee in a more substantial cup? Firms such as McDonalds and Starbucks spend millions of dollars every year on disposable packaging, but a new study from the April issue of the Journal of Consumer Research suggests that trying to skimp in this area might not be worth it - and may negatively impact consumers' perceptions of taste and quality.

In a series of four experiments, Aradhna Krishna (University of Michigan) and Maureen Morrin (Rutgers University) find that many people do indeed judge a drink by its container. Specifically, the firmness of a cup seems to have an impact on consumer evaluations of the beverage contained inside.
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Monkey Wrench

Ukraine: Brain surgeon operates with DIY drill

Jessica Jonzen and Daniel Foggo
The Sunday Times
Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:58 UTC
An eminent British neuro-surgeon has been performing complex brain operations using a £30 do-it-yourself cordless power drill at a clinic in Ukraine.

Henry Marsh, a senior consultant at St George's hospital in Tooting, south London, has used the Bosch 9.6 volt battery-operated hand tool to open up the skulls of his patients to remove life-threatening tumours. Occasionally the battery has gone flat halfway through.
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Pills

Scotland: Valium Nation

Judith Duffy
Sunday Herald
Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:42 UTC
It gained notoriety in the 1960s as mother's little helper'' ... but now Valium is Scotland's hidden drugs scourge, affecting thousands from all sectors of society.

An investigation by the Sunday Herald has revealed a shocking picture of the scale of use of powerful tranquillisers known as benzodiazepines. Those abusing the drug range from heroin addicts to middle-class cocaine users, while others have unwittingly become hooked for decades after being prescribed the medication by doctors.

Illicit supplies of the drug are also flooding in to Scotland from abroad, and it can be bought on the streets for as little as 50p, as well as being easily obtained over the internet.

Valium, which is now prescribed under its generic name diazepam, is one benzodiazepine. This drug group is used to help overcome anxiety and sleep deprivation, but can lead to addiction and horrific withdrawal symptoms.
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Ambulance

SARS Memories Haunt Hong Kong as Flu Outbreak Closes Schools

Cathy Chan and Chia-Peck Wong
Bloomberg
Fri, 14 Mar 2008 02:07 UTC
When Louis Wong came home from work earlier this week his wife brushed aside his attempt to hug their 2-year-old son and sent him straight to the shower.

Hong Kong is on flu alert after the unexplained deaths of four young children with flu-like symptoms. Worried residents are donning surgical masks, flooding hospital waiting rooms and buying up supplies of antibacterial soap as they remember the SARS outbreak that killed 299 people five years ago.
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People

Depression: the symptoms in children are not like in adults


Deutsches Aerzteblatt International
Sun, 16 Mar 2008 15:35 UTC
Depression is not always manifested in children as dejection and anhedonia. Depending on the age of the child, the dominant features may be weeping, irritability or defiance, as explained by Prof. Claudia Mehler-Wex and Dr. Michael Kölch of Ulm University in the new edition of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2008; 105(9): 149-55).

The signs of depression in infants are often screaming, restlessness, and weeping attacks for no clear reason. Preschool children may behave irritably and aggressively, while schoolchildren may be listless and apathetic. The symptoms in adolescents become similar to those in adults.
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Eye 1

Researchers discover second depth-perception method in brain


University of Rochester
Sun, 16 Mar 2008 15:22 UTC
It's common knowledge that humans and other animals are able to visually judge depth because we have two eyes and the brain compares the images from each. But we can also judge depth with only one eye, and scientists have been searching for how the brain accomplishes that feat.

Now, a team led by a scientist at the University of Rochester believes it has discovered the answer in a small part of the brain that processes both the image from a single eye and also with the motion of our bodies.

The team of researchers, led by Greg DeAngelis, professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Rochester, has published the findings in the March 20 online issue of the journal Nature.

"It looks as though in this area of the brain, the neurons are combining visual cues and non-visual cues to come up with a unique way to determine depth," says DeAngelis.
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Coffee

Cup Of Black Tea Could Defend Against Anthrax Threat, Research Suggests


sciencedaily.com
Sun, 16 Mar 2008 14:56 UTC
A cup of black tea could be the next line of defence in the threat of bio-terrorism according to new international research.A new study by an international team of researchers from Cardiff University and University of Maryland has revealed how the humble cup of tea could well be an antidote to Bacillus anthracis --more commonly know as anthrax.

As a nation, Brits currently drink 165 million cups of tea, and the healing benefits of the nation's favourite beverage have long been acknowledged.

cup of black tea
©iStockphoto/Daniel Chau
A cup of black tea could be the next line of defence in the threat of bio-terrorism according to new international research.

But now the team of scientists led by Professor Les Baillie from Welsh School of Pharmacy at Cardiff University and Doctor Theresa Gallagher, Biodefense Institute, part of the Medical Biotechnology Centre of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute in Baltimore, has found that the widely-available English Breakfast tea has the potential to inhibit the activity of anthrax, as long as it is black tea.
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Health

Study Raises Caution On New Painkillers


sciencedaily.com
Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:24 UTC
A new class of painkillers that block a receptor called TRPV1 may interfere with brain functions such as learning and memory, a new study suggests. The experiments with rat brain found that the TRPV1 receptor regulates a neural mechanism called long-term depression, which is believed to be central to establishing memory pathways in the brain.
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Attention

War Trauma Is an Admission of Weakness in 'Macho' Army Culture

Penny Coleman
AlterNet
Fri, 14 Mar 2008 19:55 UTC
Army studies say one in three soldiers will return from Iraq with significant mental health problems, but the system isn't there to help them.

The seven qualities of leadership itemized in Army Field Manual (FM) 22-100 are loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage. Nowhere in that list is there any reference to heartlessness, lack of compassion and a cavalier disregard for the wellbeing of one's troops. And there is certainly no reference to posturing, denial or dissembling. Leading by example trumps mindless stoicism every time.
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Question

Why Men Do Stupid Things: The Psychological Appeal of Prostitutes

Michael Bader
Alternet
Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:27 UTC


Moulin Rouge
©Toulouse-Lautrec

There will no doubt be a lot written about Eliot Spitzer's ethics, his hypocrisy and the damage done to his family, as well as discussions of the degradation that most prostitutes experience. He will be tarred and feathered for seeing a prostitute. And perhaps he should be, having broken vows to his wife, supporters and the citizens of New York State. As Spitzer takes his place with other politicians who have been busted for seeing a hooker, questions invariably arise: What is up with politicians screwing up their careers by visiting prostitutes? How can smart men do such incredibly dumb things? Does the attraction have something to do with power? Escape? Self-sabotage? For the moment, I want to put on my psychotherapist hat and try to explain what goes on in the deeper recesses of the minds of men like Spitzer.
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