Health & WellnessS


Alarm Clock

Sleep deprivation hits some brain areas hard

Rachel Ehrenberg
Science News
Thu, 11 Aug 2016 09:03 UTC
Some regions resist drowsiness, while others falter without slumber.
sleeping women
© shutterstock
Pulling consecutive all-nighters makes some brain areas groggier than others. Regions involved with problem solving and concentration become especially sluggish when sleep-deprived, a new study using brain scans reveals. Other areas keep ticking along, appearing to be less affected by a mounting sleep debt.

The results might lead to a better understanding of the rhythmic nature of symptoms in certain psychiatric or neurodegenerative disorders, says study coauthor Derk-Jan Dijk. People with dementia, for instance, can be afflicted with "sundowning," which worsens their symptoms at the end of the day. More broadly, the findings, published August 12 in Science, document the brain's response to too little shut-eye.

"We've shown what shift workers already know," says Dijk, of the University of Surrey in England. "Being awake at 6 a.m. after a night of no sleep, it isn't easy. But what wasn't known was the remarkably different response of these brain areas."

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Clock

Genes that make our circadian clocks tick

Giles E. Duffield
The Conversation
Mon, 07 Nov 2016 23:57 UTC
clocks
© shutterstockTime to get up.
Have you ever wondered why you don't feel tired until late at night but your spouse is fast asleep at 10 p.m. and wakes spontaneously at 6 a.m.?

We each have an internal biological clock, called a circadian clock, that organizes the internal and external activities of our body around the 24-hour day.

While these clocks can be influenced by exposure to sunlight and electric light, for instance, our genes also play a role in how they function. That's part of the reason that sleep and wake habits can vary from individual to individual. And that may also explain why certain chronotherapies, which help change the timing of the circadian clock, such as light boxes and taking the natural hormone melatonin as a supplement, vary in dose and effectiveness from person to person.

Circadian clocks are found in individual cells of our body. My research team at the University of Notre Dame is teasing apart the molecular mechanisms of these cellular clocks, looking at how genes and the proteins they produce control the multitude of 24-hour rhythms in our bodily functions.

We think that an improved understanding of the circadian system, from genes through to physiology and behavior, will allow for the development of new and improved chronotherapies.

Comment: The Health & Wellness Show: Sleep, Light and Circadian Rhythms

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Life Preserver

Study shows: Caloric restriction can be beneficial to the brain


lifeextension.com
Fri, 28 Oct 2016 15:27 UTC
caloric restriction
Studies of different animal species suggest a link between eating less and living longer, but the molecular mechanisms by which caloric restriction affords protection against disease and extends longevity are not well understood.

New clues to help solve the mystery are presented in an article published in the September issue of Aging Cell by scientists at the Center for Research on Redox Processes in Biomedicine (Redoxoma), one of the Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers (RIDCs) funded by FAPESP.

The results of in vitro and in vivo experiments performed by the Redoxoma team included the finding that a 40% reduction in dietary caloric intake increases mitochondrial calcium retention in situations where intracellular calcium levels are pathologically high. In the brain, this can help avoid the death of neurons that is associated with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and stroke, among other neurodegenerative conditions.

Mitochondria are organelles that keep cells full of energy and regulate cellular metabolism.

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Health

Baby wipe ingredient linked to persistent skin rashes

L.J. Devon
Natural News
Mon, 07 Nov 2016 15:12 UTC
baby wipes
It's not always easy figuring out the cause of a skin rash. Rashes may develop over time due to systemic toxicity of the blood and inefficiency of the detoxifying organs. Rashes can also be caused by allergic reactions to topical chemicals, injected chemicals or other irritants. Parents can have a hard time isolating the cause. Something as simple as an allergic reaction to a toxin in a household product can easily be mistaken for full blown medical conditions such as eczema, impetigo or psoriasis.

According to a new study, a rash on a baby's butt or face may simply be the skin's reaction to a preservative found in baby wipes.

Baby wipe preservative causing persistent skin rashes in children

Six cases of severe, persistent rash on children have been linked to baby wipes, according to a two-year study at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. "I think it may be more common than people realize," said study coauthor Dr. Mary Wu Chang, an associate professor of dermatology and pediatrics at the university.

Comment: Rashes from wipes, liquid soaps on the rise

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Stop

Dept. of Agriculture proudly approves GMO taters

J.D. Heyes
Natural News
Mon, 07 Nov 2016 15:05 UTC
Potatoes
Once more, the social change engineers and bureaucrats "in charge" of the country are acting like they know best when it comes to the issues of food freedom and food health.

Despite push-back from millions of Americans and Europeans who are opposed to genetically modified foods because of the known health issues they can cause, the Department of Agriculture has nevertheless approved commercial planting of two types of GMO potatoes that have been altered to supposedly resist the pathogen that led to the Irish potato famine - which occurred more than 170 years ago, and has not been repeated since.

After USDA approval, the next step is that the potatoes must clear a voluntary review process by the Food and Drug Administration (yes, voluntary), and then get the go-ahead from the Environmental Protection Agency, The Associated Press reported.

So, in other words, this is pretty much already a done deal.

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Microscope 1

HIV's 'Patient Zero' wrongly blamed for AIDS epidemic

Agata Blaszczak-Boxe
Live Science
Wed, 02 Nov 2016 17:00 UTC
HIV virus
© Sebastian Kaulitzki | Shutterstock.com
A man who was believed to have introduced HIV to North America — the man sometimes referred to as "Patient Zero" — was actually not the initial source of the virus on this continent, new research shows.

Rather, this man was one of the thousands of people in North America who were infected with HIV in the years before the virus was officially recognized, according to the new findings published today (Oct. 26) in the journal Nature.

The man, Gaétan Dugas, was a Canadian flight attendant, and was thought to have introduced HIV into one or more major U.S. cities by infecting his sexual partners, setting off the AIDS crisis that struck the U.S.in the 1980s, the researchers said. Dugas died from AIDS in 1984.

"Gaétan Dugas is one of the most demonized patients in history, and one of a long line of individuals and groups vilified in the belief that they somehow fuelled epidemics with malicious intent," study co-author Richard McKay, a historian at the University of Cambridge in England, said in a statement.

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Health

Just one raw egg a day can reduce the risk of stroke

Natasha Longo
Prevent Disease
Wed, 02 Nov 2016 15:04 UTC
raw egg
When it comes to recommendations on healthy food choices, the last reputable source is often public health. This usually stems from a lack of integrity and biased conclusions forced upon public officials by special interests. Our society's bias against saturated fat and cholesterol has become so strong that we often forget that in nature those are the exact foods where the most nutrients are found. Eggs are no different and more evidence continues to shed light that their regular consumption helps prevent heart attacks and strokes, something unheard of a few decades ago.

It was previously thought that eggs raised blood cholesterol levels or increased LDL cholesterol. The yolk in a single large egg contains five grams of fat, so many nutritionists assumed that eggs clogged up people's arteries, especially since they also contain dietary cholesterol.

Another myth was that LDL cholesterol is fat when it's actually a protein. Cholesterol is a waxy substance that resembles fat, but has little to do with it. Today, scientists know that cholesterol content in food and the cholesterol in our blood aren't intimately connected at all.
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Better Earth

The essence of life - water

Rishma Parpia
The Vaccine Reaction
Sat, 05 Nov 2016 13:36 UTC
Water for life
Water is the essence of life. The human body cannot survive without water because it is so critical for all bodily functions. In fact, on average, the body of an adult human being contains 60 percent of water.1 Not drinking adequate amounts of water can have such a detrimental effect on overall health that a reduction in 10 percent of your normal body water percentage can lead to a medical emergency.2

Despite water's important role, many people do not consume enough of this liquid. While many people believe they are consuming enough water, they may not realize that they are indeed dehydrated. Consuming soda, sugary drinks, juice, sports drinks and other beverages does not replace the body's need for plain water. According to research, 75 percent of Americans are in a chronic state of dehydration.3

Dehydration affects the body in a plethora of ways ranging from mild effects such as dry skin and constipation to moderate effects such as headaches and fatigue to severe effects such as low blood pressure, organ failure and shock.4 However, dehydration is also one of the easiest conditions to reverse that tends to be overlooked by medical professionals.3

Comment: The Health & Wellness Show: Water: What Do We Really Know?
Water: it makes up the majority of our planet and our own bodies, filling everything from the earth and skies to our own cells. Yet what is actually known about this mysterious substance, so vital to life? It may surprise us to find that, despite its prevalence in our lives, scientists admit that there is still a great deal to learn about water. Does water have a "memory"? Are there really only three phases of water (liquid, solid and vapor) or is there a "fourth phase of water?" Does water create energy? When we speak to water, does it listen? Is there a structure to water?


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Sun

In the sunny country of the United Arab Emirates, there are people with vitamin D deficiency

Shirin Jaafari
pri.org
Sun, 06 Nov 2016 13:19 UTC
United Arab Emirates
© Mosab OmarThe Burj Khalifa (C) skyscraper is seen as the sun sets over Dubai on Oct. 5, 2010.
As the winter creeps closer for the northern hemisphere, one thing that some of us are worrying about is getting enough vitamin D. Studies show that direct sunlight helps our bodies make vitamin D. And so people who live in places where there's less sunlight are prone to vitamin D deficiency.

Which is why it's surprising that the United Arab Emirates, a place with plenty of sun, sees a high number of people with vitamin D deficiency.

Comment: The virtues of Vitamin D: It's time we saw the light

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2 + 2 = 4

Aging now a chronic illness? Humanity should treat it like one, scientist says

Rhenn Anthony Taguliam
Nature World News
Thu, 03 Nov 2016 12:57 UTC
Scientists are starting to reconsider our major preconception about aging. Is it really a natural phenomenon or a disease that could be treated?

elderly man reading
© Gabriella Demczuk/Getty ImagesScientists are starting to reconsider how they view "aging." Some are starting to believe that it should be considered a "disease," given its effects on the human body.
It may be helpful to remember that under this question are a lot of factors. For instance, is aging really just a natural process that we should recognize? Why then are we so focused on creating technologies that will reverse its effects?

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