Health & WellnessS


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Jewish, and uncircumcised

It's no longer just a medical debate. A small but growing number of Jewish parents are questioning why they should circumcise their sons - and are deciding to reject a fundamental tenet of their faith

Vader

Discrimination and hatred under cover of concern : Gay men still can't donate blood

Gay men remain banned for life from donating blood, the government said Wednesday, leaving in place, for now, a 1983 prohibition meant to prevent the spread of HIV through transfusions.

The Food and Drug Administration reiterated its long-standing policy on its Web site Wednesday, more than a year after the Red Cross and two other blood groups criticized the policy as "medically and scientifically unwarranted."

"I am disappointed, I must confess," said Dr. Celso Bianco, executive vice president of America's Blood Centers, whose members provide nearly half the nation's blood supply.

Magic Wand

Firm makes 'healing super-water'

US scientists have developed "super-oxidised" water which they say speeds up wound healing.

Oculus, the Californian firm which developed the water - made by filtering it through a salt membrane - says it kills viruses, bacteria and fungi.

It is also effective against MRSA and UK trials are being carried out on patients with diabetic foot ulcers, New Scientist magazine reported.

Experts said wound healing was a major problem for people with diabetes.

Question

Maritime mumps outbreak blamed on vaccination program

More than 300 cases of mumps have surfaced in May in the Maritimes - 56 in New Brunswick alone - and health officials say those in their late teens and early 20s are most at risk.

Jeannette Macey, the head of Disease Surveillance with the Public Health Agency of Canada, said the outbreak stems from waning immunity within that age group.

Evil Rays

Health fear over new airport scanners

New X-Ray scanners at British airports could be exposing passengers to potentially dangerous levels of radiation, according to one senior radiologist.

The machines are designed to "strip search" passengers by using low-level X-Rays, which produce an image of their bodies, revealing whether they are secretly carrying weapons, explosives or illegal drugs.

But the scanners may not be safe for certain people, particularly children and women in the early stages of pregnancy, according to Dr Sarah Burnett, who works as an independent radiologist in London.

Bomb

Finger length predicts SAT scores

"A quick look at the lengths of children's index and ring fingers can be used to predict how well students will perform on SATs, new research claims."


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Scientists find war vets' hand dexterity determines susceptibility to PTSD, and how it effects their role as a Human Killing Machines.

A recent study conducted by investigators with the Geisinger Center for Health Research shows a clear link between combat veterans' use of both hands for common tasks and the likelihood that they will experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Combat veterans with an extreme level of mixed handedness are nearly twice as likely to develop (PTSD) after combat compared to veterans who use both hands less often, according to the study, which is being published in the May issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.

The study also found that veterans with extreme mixed handedness and high combat exposure were nearly five times more likely to have PTSD than those with lower degrees of mixed handedness.

Joseph Boscarino, PhD, MPH and Stuart Hoffman, DO of the Geisinger Center for Health Research measured PTSD and handedness among a national sample of 2,490 Vietnam veterans exposed to combat.

Health

Police in southern Russia hunt anthrax-infected meat

Local police and agriculture inspectors in southern Russia are searching for itinerant gypsies who may have contracted anthrax when they bought contaminated meat from a local farm, authorities said Tuesday.

Investigators, who followed medical workers cleaning the farm of Apatovo in Stavropol Territory of an anthrax case that killed a local resident May 12, learned that the man who had killed an infected ox six days earlier sold part of its meat to gypsies.

"Any anthrax case is an emergency," Alexei Alexeienko of Rosselkhoznadzor, the inspectorate overseeing compliance with standards and official requirements in the agricultural sector, said.

Health

WHO bans vaccine, sends experts to probe child deaths in Vietnam

The World Health Organization has suspended the use of a Hepatitis B vaccine worldwide after three newborns died and another became seriously ill in Vietnam after getting shots in the last few weeks.

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Medical journal criticizes WHO for neglecting evidence when issuing health advice

When developing "evidence-based" guidelines, the World Health Organization routinely forgets one key ingredient: evidence. That is the verdict from a study published in The Lancet online Tuesday.

The medical journal's criticism of WHO could shock many in the global health community, as one of WHO's main jobs is to produce guidelines on everything from fighting the spread of bird flu and malaria control to enacting anti-tobacco legislation.