Health & WellnessS


Eye 1

Why Emotional Memories Of Traumatic Life Events Are So Persistent

Emotional memories of traumatic life events such as accidents, war experiences or serious illnesses are stored in a particularly robust way by the brain. This renders effective treatment very difficult. Researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich have now successfully tracked down the molecular bases of these strong, very persistent memories.

Syringe

Leading Dr.: Vaccines-Autism Link Not Studied out of Fear of Scaring People

[Dr. Bernadine Healy, the former head of the National Institutes of Health] goes on to say public health officials have intentionally avoided researching whether subsets of children are "susceptible" to vaccine side effects - afraid the answer will scare the public.

"You're saying that public health officials have turned their back on a viable area of research largely because they're afraid of what might be found?" Attkisson asked.

Healy said: "There is a completely expressed concern that they don't want to pursue a hypothesis because that hypothesis could be damaging to the public health community at large by scaring people."

Question

Is marriage without children the key to bliss?

Married life is the key to happiness but having children can ruin it all, a psychologist claims.

People

US: Anonymous rape tests are going nationwide

Elkton, Md. - Starting next year across the country, rape victims too afraid or too ashamed to go to police can undergo an emergency-room forensic rape exam, and the evidence gathered will be kept on file in a sealed envelope in case they decide to press charges.

Heart

Heal, boy: How pets can keep you healthy



Dog at hospital
©Carlos Jasso
Dog days: Billie-Jean at The Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in Putney, south London

As she makes her way through the hospital wards, Billie-Jean keeps up an impressive pace. She has to if she is going to see all the patients who are waiting for her. Wearing her official uniform, she looks neat and trim, and despite how busy she is, she always has time to stop if someone wants to say hello or slip her a Bonio. You see, Billie-Jean isn't a ward sister doing the rounds or a doctor bringing vital medicine, she's an Irish terrier. But despite the fact she's a canine, not human, carer, her medical value is second-to-none because she is a Pets As Therapy dog.

Pills

More than 2 million U.S. youths depressed: study

Washington - More than 2 million U.S. teenagers have suffered a serious bout of depression in the past year, including nearly 13 percent of girls, according to a federal government survey released on Tuesday.

On average, 8.5 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 described having had a major depressive episode in the previous year, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported.

Magnify

Nanoparticles scrutinized for health effects

Windows cleaned by raindrops, white sofas immune to red wine spills, tiles protected from limescale buildup - new products created from minute substances called nanoparticles are making such domestic dreams come true.

Health

Court hears claim linking vaccines to autism

WASHINGTON - The parents of two 10-year-old boys who believe vaccines caused their sons to develop autism brought their case to U.S. federal court on Monday, arguing a mercury preservative in the shots caused a rare reaction.

Their case is the second of three being heard by a special court trying to determine if autism might sometimes be caused by vaccines. Although most medical experts say there is no link, the court can rule there is a plausible association and allow parents of children with autism to get federal compensation from a special vaccine fund.

More than 5,300 cases have been filed by parents who believe vaccines may have caused autism in their children and are seeking payment under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, a no-fault system that pays out for vaccine injuries.

Under the program, someone injured by a vaccine does not have to prove the vaccine actually caused his or her injuries.

Bulb

How Pot Became Demonized: the Fine Line Between Good Medicine and 'Dangerous Drugs'

The following is an excerpt from "Dying to Get High" by Wendy Chapkis and Richard J. Webb (NYU Press, 2008). (c) 2008 NYU Press.

For many modern critics, the concept of "medical marijuana" is a contradiction in terms. Medicine is standardized, synthetic, and pure; marijuana involves the unrefined and promiscuous coupling of more than four hundred components rooted in the dirt. Medicine -- in its most powerful and privileged forms -- rests in the hands of men, while the most potent form of marijuana is found in the female flowering plant. Medicine engages in heroic battles against death. Marijuana claims only to enhance the quality of life.

Health

Is Your Child Safe From The Scoundrels Of Medicine?

In response to a court case regarding Michelle Cedillo (one of thousands of families attempting to establish the connection between vaccines and their child's autism), Dr. Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania claims the apparent connection between vaccines and autism is "nothing more than a sad coincidence". Imagine being the parent (and there are many!) who watched their child's fast retreat into silence and disability following a round of vaccinations upon hearing this incomprehensible dismissal!