Amnesia (2018)
It's a rare thing for people to lose their memory of past events. An expert discusses why doctors believe it may occur, and a woman to whom it happened recounts her experience.
Little People, Disability and the Prospect of a “Cure”
Many people with dwarfism also face skeletal abnormalities which can lead to disability. Experts, and little people themselves, discuss major causes of dwarfism, the hurdles they create, the struggle for respect, and the prospect of treatments that could one day make little people much more rare.
Medical Notes: Week of December 23, 2018
The reason for a decline of American lifespans, a study explaining why waiting a year between the birth of 1 child lowers complications, and finally if your desk is a mess, your co-workers probably make negative assumptions about you.
Avoiding Food Waste
During the holidays, leftovers from gatherings and parties may threaten to take over the refrigerator. An expert discusses consumer-friendly how-to’s, including how to read labels, that can lengthen food life and help avoid food waste.
The Good and Bad of Medical Crowdfunding (2018)
Medical campaigns account for a third of monies raised on crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe, and many people who’ve fallen through the holes of the safety net have been helped this way. But new studies show that fraud is rampant in crowdfunding, with fake patients and medical providers who all too eager to take money for worthless treatment. Experts discuss these issues and the need for regulation.
Medical Notes: Week of December 16, 2018
Studies showing neither aspirin, nor omega 3 fish oil supplements help during a heart attack. Then, health issues related to inflammation and grief and finally, people with ADHD being recognized as assets to their employers.
ICU Inefficiency
With monitors surveying every part of patients’ bodies, hospital intensive care units appear to be a model of high tech. But systems engineers say ICU’s are actually models of inefficiency because few of those high tech devices talk to each other. Experts discuss how ICU’s could be improved to save lives.
Party Food Safety
During the holidays, party foods are a prime source of food-borne illness. Two food scientists discuss common ways foods become contaminated, some of the myths of food contamination, and ways to keep foods safe when you have guests to protect.
Medical Notes: Week of December 9, 2018
The increase in skin cancer deaths among men, a higher heart attack risk due to an immune molecule called IL-17, and finally, changes to diagnosing pain levels using EEG.
Fungal Sinusitis
Many people who have chronic recurrent sinusitis may have an allergic reaction to fungi rather than a bacterial infection. Treatments for the two are completely different, and in some cases, fungal sinusitis can be life threatening. Two experts and a patient explain.
Implicit Biases in Science
Most people think of science as fact-based and not as subject to bias as the rest of the world. However, studies show that gender bias is rampant in science, and that women are not taken as seriously as men, even with identical qualifications. Experts discuss the problem and possible solutions.
Medical Notes: Week of December 2, 2018
A study indicating how ramping up exposure to peanuts can make it safer for kids with allergies. Then, the increase of multigenerational households, and why volunteering to help out co-workers isn't always a good idea. Finally, genetic super tasters, and their likeliness to enjoy more caffeine.
School Based Mental Health
Schools would be a good place for programs to screen for mental health issues in students, and to educate about mental health to lessen the pervasive stigma. Some states are making programs mandatory, but elsewhere schools and personnel may resist, seeing mental health as outside the normal role of teachers. Experts discuss how inventive programs are overcoming obstacles.
Open Offices
Companies instituting open offices without walls often claim they improve collaboration and interaction. Studies now show that the opposite is true—that workers put on headphones and interact via email rather than in person in order to shut out distractions and stress. Experts discuss.
Medical Notes: Week of November 25, 2018
Medical Notes for the week of November 25, 2018 including: The cost of non-fatal injuries annually, a possibly cause to scoliosis, why volunteering to help out a co-worker isn't always a good thing, and finally, what kind of person swears the most?
Reporting “Bad Parents” (2018)
Just about anyone can report a parent to a child abuse hotline. It’s meant to protect children, but all too often, parents are reported when no abuse or neglect exists in order to retaliate for a divorce or some other grievance. And though the world is actually safer for children than it used to be, some parents are reported for merely letting children play outside or walk to school without an …
Medical Notes: Week of November 18, 2018
The connection between the appendix and Parkinson's Disease, plus asthma related issues due to obesity, third generation households, and finally, makers of smoke alarms may be thinking of changing what they sound like.
MDMA for PTSD
People suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder often can’t face their trauma, which is necessary for psychotherapy to work. It is a big reason PTSD is so difficult to treat. Scientists are leading clinical trials into the use of the banned drug MDMA in connection with therapy to help break this hurdle, and the results so far have been outstanding in curing PTSD.
Leprosy in the Modern Era
Thanks in part to its Biblical past, the disfiguring disease leprosy carries more stigma than most diseases. We hear little about it today, but it still exists, and because it’s now treatable, often the stigma is worse than the disease. An expert discusses.
Medical Notes: Week of November 11, 2018
Doctors pinpointing the gene at fault for AML. Plus, obesity links tied to asthma, immaturity being mistaken for ADHD, and finally vitamin gum and it's benefits.
The Psychology of Adopted People (2018)
People who are adopted have more psychological problems than others, yet they also tend to have other psychological strengths. Experts, both themselves also adoptees, discuss the roots and outcomes of these issues as adopted children grow up.
The Surprising Importance of Tickling
Tickling is a unique application of the sense of touch that surprisingly has developmental and cultural importance. Experts discuss the science and sociology of tickling.
Medical Notes: Week of November 4, 2018
Post surgery opioid addiction in women. The Risks of drinking everyday. Intestinal bacteria tied to obesity in toddlers. Lung cancer death decreases in California. And finally, a reduction in the flu for some due to television watching habits.
Exploding Myths about the Flu and Flu Vaccines
About 40 percent of eligible people have been vaccinated against the flu in recent years, but many more might do so were it not for persistent myths about the disease and its vaccine. For example, a new survey shows that more than half of parents believe the flu shot can cause the flu. Experts explain why those myths aren’t true and set the record straight.
