A huge virus discovered in sediment on the Chilean coast and another in an Australian pond are not only the largest scientists have ever seen, but also among the most baffling. A single so-called pandora virus is 1,000 times the size of the influenza virus and holds 2,556 genes, compared with the flu’s 13. Only 6 percent of its genes […]
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For years the Federal Dietary Guidelines have handed out a blueprint to Americans for good nutrition. As it turns out this may not be a good outline for all Americans. People are different in all respects; even identical twins have different ways they respond to food. People have been told to follow the same diet as the next person. Now […]
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Could obesity be treated as a form of drug addiction? A new study suggests that some overweight people may be addicted to eating in the same way that, say, a cocaine addict craves another hit of his favorite drug. Researchers at Yale University gave a small group of young women questionnaires to determine their levels of food addiction. Then they […]
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Residents of rich countries are more likely to be affected by depression than those who live in poorer nations. That’s the startling conclusion World Health Organization researchers reached when they interviewed nearly 90,000 people in 18 countries about their mental health. France and the U.S. were the most depressed; 21 percent of French people and more than 19 percent […]
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Smokers or those who are exposed to secondhand smoke may require heavier doses of anesthesia and painkillers during surgery. A new study found that cigarettes—which are filled with more than 4,000 chemicals—can not only affect the metabolism of anesthetic drugs in the liver but may also influence nerve cells involved in the sensation of pain. Among 90 women who underwent […]
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Feeling itchy from a sunburn, a bug bite or some other skin irritation is miserable, but the pleasure you get from scratching it isn’t just the absence of pain. It feels legitimately good to scratch, and the reason is fascinating. A 2008 study at Wake Forest University hooked people up to a MRI scanner and monitored brain activity when they […]
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A research group tested a group of about 125 cyclists aged between 50 and around 80 – ¾ of the group were male and ¼ were female. They did not study any people with high blood pressure, alcoholics, smokers, or any other health problems. Another group of non-exercising adults aged between 50 to 80 and 20 to 36 underwent tests […]
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A major Gates Foundation- backed study found that over 95% of people in 2013 lived with a health problem. The leading issues varied across the 188 countries surveyed: U.S. Back pain Ireland Major depressive disorder Saudi Arabia Diabetes Iraq Iron-deficiency anemia Burma Hearing loss Qatar Opioid dependence
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Stress and depression can take a combined toll on the heart, creating a “psychosocial perfect storm” that dramatically increases the risk of death from heart disease, new research has found. A study involving nearly 4,500 adults with coronary artery disease found those who also suffered from significant stress and depression were nearly 50 percent more likely to die or have […]
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