remedy against diabetes.The fruit is also a staple of certain Asian cuisines, adding to local dishes' unique flavor through its specific bitterness.Recently, Prof. Ratna Ray — from Saint Louis University in Missouri — and her colleagues made an intriguing find. In experiments using mouse models, bitter melon extract appeared to be effective in preventing cancer…
Share on PinterestMeasuring the dilation of a person's pupil may indicate whether they can hear or not.Traditional ways of testing a person's hearing include tuning fork tests, speaker distance examination, and pure-tone threshold tests. These tests involve reflexes, such as raising the hand or pressing a button on hearing a particular sound. From this, the…
Share on PinterestNew research suggests that our regular body temperature has dropped over time.Most of us only take our temperatures when we are worried that we have a fever, as a result of an infection or a cold, for example.But body temperature can indicate and be influenced by many other factors; lifestyle habits, age, and…
cancer tumors, many factors influence whether or not they will respond to treatment. One of these is whether the tumors are "hot" or "cold." What does this mean?In recent years, a new type of anticancer therapy has been gaining in popularity: immunotherapy. This form of therapy works by boosting the body's own immune response to…
Share on PinterestContamination fears may cause people with OCD to wash their hands excessively.In 1998, researchers Matthew Botvinick and Jonathan Cohen of the University of Pittsburgh, PA, detailed an experiment that people would later refer to as the "rubber hand illusion" (RHI).In the experiment, 10 people sat down, resting their left arm on a table.…
Share on PinterestThousands of LA jail inmates would benefit from receiving mental health support away from prison, a new report suggests.The Los Angeles (LA) county jail system holds thousands of inmates at any one time, and past reports have suggested that these include many people who were previously homeless and who experience mental health issues.As…
Insomnia is a sleep condition that affects around one-third of the population of the United States, with 10–15 % of people experiencing "severe and chronic insomnia."The National Sleep Foundation describe insomnia as a condition in which a person experiences unsatisfactory sleep despite having the opportunity to sleep. In practical terms, this means trouble falling or…
Share on PinterestAs little as a $1 increase to the minimum wage could prevent thousands of people from attempting suicide, a new study suggests.According to the National Institute for Mental Health, in 2017, the latest year for which data is available, "[s]uicide was the 10th leading cause of death overall in the United States," accounting…
Nutrition is big business, and the public is growing increasingly interested in how food affects health. At the same time, mental health has become a huge focus for scientists and the general population alike.It is no surprise, then, that interest in the impact of food on mental health, or "nutritional psychiatry," is also gathering momentum.Supermarkets…
Share on PinterestResearchers have found some evidence that exposure to polluted air during childhood could increase a person's risk of schizophrenia.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 20 million people all around the globe live with schizophrenia.Hallucinations, persistent false beliefs, disordered thinking, and emotional disconnect chiefly characterize this mental health condition, and it is…
Share on PinterestNew research points to a link between bone health and ambient air quality.Osteoporosis is a condition characterized by impaired bone density, which causes them to become brittle and fragile.This condition tends to affect older individuals, particularly females, but some environmental factors — such as a lack of vitamin D — can also contribute…
Share on PinterestResearchers have now mapped the main 13 categories of emotion that music can evoke in us.Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted a playlist of musical tracks to put you in a certain mood — for example, to motivate you to work — but were unsure how to find it…
October 2019.In Canada, respondents to recent Deloitte surveys reported that they were eager to use edibles not just for recreational purposes, but also for a range of medical reasons, chiefly to help them cope with anxiety and sleep disorders."It is [also] notable that current edible consumers say they are more likely to buy premade cannabis…
backing — some scientists believe that the black and white stripes of a zebra protect it from biting insects.As just one example, a 2019 study found that horses wearing coats with striped patterns attracted fewer flies than both horses without any covering and horses wearing materials without stripes.With growing support, it now seems reasonable that…
diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and Parkinson's disease."The authors also note that earlier studies into the impact of pyrethroids on health have had limitations; to date, there have been no investigations into the links between exposure to these pesticides and mortality. So, the scientists set out to plug these gaps in our knowledge.They have now published their…
Journal of Anatomy.There are a lot of intriguing — and somewhat endearing — facts about baby pandas.For one thing, the giant panda newborns are particularly "helpless." They are born blind, pink, and hairless. They do not open their eyes until they are 6–8 weeks old, and they cannot move before the age of 3 months.The…