Health & WellnessS


Roses

When a Rose Is Not Red: Simultanagnosia


Mind Hacks
Sun, 30 Dec 2007 17:13 UTC
There's an interesting article in January's Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience about a brain injured patient who has a curious form of simultanagnosia - the inability to perceive more than one object at once.

In this case, he also seemed unable to report more than one attribute, like colour or name, at a time, while looking at the object.
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Heart

Have a Heart; Here's How

Douglas LaBier
Washington Post
Tue, 25 Dec 2007 07:18 UTC
empathy
A few exercises to help increase your feelings of empathy:

Building empathy for your intimate partner

Envision a characteristic or behavior of yours that you know your partner dislikes. Imagine shifting your consciousness into your partner's perspective, even though you may disagree with that perspective.

Immerse yourself in your partner's perceptions of you. Try to experience them fully. At the same time, hold on to your own views.

Then try to understand your partner's attitudes as a reflection of who he or she is, based on all the influences and choices that have shaped him or her. Don't judge.
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Coffee

Snorting a Brain Chemical Could Replace Sleep

Alexis Madrigal
Wired
Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:00 UTC
A nasal spray of a key brain hormone cures sleepiness in sleep-deprived monkeys. With no apparent side effects, the hormone might be a promising sleep-replacement drug.

In what sounds like a dream for millions of tired coffee drinkers, Darpa-funded scientists might have found a drug that will eliminate sleepiness.
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Red Flag

Anthrax Blamed for Deaths of 8 Afghans

Jason Straziuso
Associated Press
Sat, 29 Dec 2007 15:17 UTC
KABUL, Afghanistan - Eight Afghans who ate an infected camel as part of a religious celebration died of what health experts suspect is a rare case of naturally occurring anthrax, officials said Saturday.
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People

Studies show yoga has multiple benefits

C. Vidyashankar, MD
Reuters
Sat, 29 Dec 2007 01:14 UTC


©REUTERS/Susana Vera
People take part in a free yoga class at the Parque del Oeste in Madrid September 27, 2007.

Yoga induces a feeling of well-being in healthy people, and can reverse the clinical and biochemical changes associated with metabolic syndrome, according to results of studies from Sweden and India. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and high blood sugar.
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People

High-fat, high-carb meals more harmful to obese

Anne Harding
Reuters
Sat, 29 Dec 2007 01:05 UTC


©REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
A hamburger is displayed in Hollywood, California October 3, 2007.

Eating a high-fat, high-carb fast food meal produces damaging cellular changes that are greater and longer-lasting in obese people than in normal-weight people, a new study shows.
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Syringe

Rare genetic marker in Choctaw blood


upi.com
Fri, 28 Dec 2007 21:45 UTC
Researchers at the Oklahoma Blood Institute are collecting blood from American Indians to see if a rare genetic marker linked to the Choctaw tribe shows up.

In 1997, researchers in Oklahoma City discovered by accident an antibody, ENAV MNS42 or "Avis," on the walls of red blood cells donated by a Choctaw. Only two other donors, both of Choctaw descent, have been found to carry the antibody, the Tulsa World reported.

OBI Medical Director Dr. James Smith said the finding is significant because it helps the blood bank find blood for patients with the rare antibody.

All three of the Choctaws with the antigen lived in southeastern Oklahoma. The Choctaw Nation has fewer than 200,000 registered members.
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Syringe

Drug helps boost blood-platelets in Hep C


upi.com
Fri, 28 Dec 2007 21:35 UTC
A report in the New England Journal of Medicine says the drug eltrombopag appears to significantly boost platelet counts in hepatitis C patients.

A low blood platelet count is a frequent complication associated with advanced disease, a problem compounded by the fact that standard antiviral treatment for the disease can further reduce platelet numbers to dangerously low levels, Dr. Samuel Sigal of Weill Cornell Medical College said Friday in a release.

Sigal said tests show eltrombopag increased platelet counts, allowing more patients to complete antiviral therapy.
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Butterfly

Brain Turns to Positive Thoughts When Faced With Death

E.J. Mundell
livescience.com
Fri, 28 Dec 2007 19:11 UTC
When thoughts of death intrude, the human mind isn't paralyzed with negativity or fear. Instead, the brain instinctively moves toward happier notions and images, a new study suggests.

The finding supports the notion that people are stronger, emotionally, when faced with their own or a loved one's death than they may have ever thought possible.

"It again speaks to how resilient humans are and how this tendency to cope with threats is some sort of indicator of mental health," said study co-author Nathan DeWall, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky.

DeWall and co-researcher Roy Baumeister, of Florida State University, published their findings in a recent issue of Psychological Science.
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Heart

Your Baby is Watching (and Judging) You

Meredith F. Small
livescience.com
Fri, 28 Dec 2007 19:06 UTC
Next time the baby shoots you a dirty look, it might not be gas. Instead, the baby might be really disgusted by your behavior.

Interpersonal interaction is a major survival feature of the human species and so it's not surprising that we come hard-wired with the mental power to track relationships. The big news is that we also start very early to track how others play out those rules, even when the interaction has nothing to do with us.

Babies have far more social smarts than we give them credit for. For instance, research on babies has shown for years that they recognize and prefer a human face. Put a Picasso face arrangement - with eyes where the nose should be - in their line of vision and babies look away in disgust. But present them with a real face or a picture of a real face, and they are captivated. Also, as early as 3 weeks of age, a baby can tell the difference between an object and a person, and they prefer the person.
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