—BRENDA ESKENAZI, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who led a study that found higher levels of the flame retardants polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, in Mexican-American children in California than in nearly any other group of children studied. PBDEs, which are associated with fertility and thyroid problems, may be found in upholstered [...]
As the Obama administration and the media increasingly promote the idea that prescription drug misuse is this generation’s crack epidemic, I want to take a few minutes to note how irresponsible and off-base this idea is.
Previous studies have linked drinking diet soda with a higher risk of diabetes, among other health problems. But a large, long-term study bucks the trend, suggesting that diet sodas and other artificially sweetened drinks won’t raise your chance of developing diabetes after all.
Playing a musical instrument is great for kids’ developing brains — think it’s sheer coincidence that Tiger Mom placed so much emphasis on piano practice? — but a new study shows it could be bad for their health.
Don’t worry, you didn’t just accidentally click on spam email. Though most advertised penis-enlargement methods are bogus, a new review of 10 existing studies suggests that some non-surgical techniques really can increase the length of a man’s organ.
—BARRY PITTENDRIGH, University of Illinois entomologist and lead author of a study that examined the effects of methamphetamine exposure in fruit flies. The study found that meth affects chemical reactions involved with energy generation, sperm cell formation and regulation of hormones and muscles. [via The Los Angeles Times]
Leave it to a terrible spell of spring allergies to ruin your day, or for many sufferers, many days or even weeks. It turns out, the coughing, sneezing and itchy eyes that accompany seasonal allergies may also help trigger or exacerbate low mood.
Half of all states and the District of Columbia now have comprehensive bans on smoking in restaurants, bars and the workplace, federal officials said Thursday — an extraordinary pace of progress, considering that just over a decade ago, no state had enacted such a ban.
Consider this: of the trillions upon trillions of cells in the human body, only about 1 in 10 is actually human. The rest belong to microbes, which colonize every inch of you, from the inside of your mouth to the skin between your toes. It’s no wonder, then, that research is increasingly finding that the [...]
Americans have tremendous fear of aging — and a great deal of prejudice against the elderly. But, as the joke has it, being old is better than the alternative. And, despite our fears, new research suggests that being old is also a lot better than it looks.
