Radio Health Journal
The latest in health, science, technology, and the intersection of medicine and public policy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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?
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 …
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sleep disorders can be difficult to diagnose and treat. A science journalist discusses his efforts to overcome narcolepsy, which produces extreme daytime sleepiness, and cataplexy, which produces instant sleep-like paralysis, as well as the science behind sleep disorders.
Hay fever vaccines, egg freezing becoming common for young women, and finally more evidence supporting the existence of junk food addiction.
Surveys show that hospital gowns are one of the things that most makes a hospital stay unpleasant. Finally hospitals may be moving to get rid of the old style gowns toward a less revealing, more dignified design that is still functional for healthcare workers. Experts discuss.
A new study suggest gum disease may kick start Alzheimer's disease. Nearly half of Americans spend most of the work day sitting, and some have now installed treadmill desks. Finally, scientists in India have uncovered a major public health threat...taking selfies.
About two-thirds of people with dementia in the United States are women, and researchers are discovering it’s not just because they live longer. Reproductive history also plays a role. Scientists are focusing on the role of estrogen as a potential protective factor against Alzheimer’s disease. Several who are involved in this research explain.
What we now call “homesickness” used to be a medical diagnosis called “nostalgia,” and it was considered life-threatening. Today many people consider homesickness to be a childish emotion, but an expert says it’s nothing to be ashamed of. We all suffer from it sometime and need to know how to cope.
Subscribe to get the latest from Radio Health Journal directly in your inbox.
