Dutch scientists have shown that simply reading happy words — verbs like “to smile” and “to laugh” — can bring a smile to someone’s face. Reading unhappy words like “to cry,” on the other hand, tends to activate the muscles that control frowning. Not all words have equal pull on your facial muscles. Verbs seem to work much better …
Why the FDA needs to step up
Obama’s commissioner for the Food and Drug Administration says her agency must act faster and be more aggressive about enforcing food and drug safety laws. “The FDA must be vigilant, the FDA must be strategic, the FDA must be quick and the FDA must be visible,” Margaret Hamburg said in an address yesterday.
Is U.S. product safety …
Electronic records can save lives
A program that reduced cardiac deaths by 73% can also help heart-attack patients to stay healthy years later, with better control of their lipid levels and blood pressure. This new innovation, however, is nothing more than electronic records. During acute care, the program from Kaiser Permanente linked together information from primary …
Could Facebook be sowing seeds of jealousy?
This may come as no surprise to regular users of Facebook, but students who are heavy users of the social-networking tool tend to report more jealousy toward their romantic partners than students who use the site less often.
In a new Canadian study, 308 students aged 17 to 24 were asked about the time they spend on Facebook, their …
Nurses’ advice: how to avoid a medical disaster
Medical errors kill more Americans each year than car crashes, breast cancer or AIDS, according to a 1999 report from the Institute of Medicine. So what can you do to protect yourself?
Today CNN sets out to answer exactly this. They interview a bunch of nurses and pump them for practical tips that you can use to ensure a safe hospital …
The science of itching
Scientists have found a way to manipulate the neurons in mice that respond to itch — and, in the process, have settled a longstanding debate: Is itchiness just a form of pain, or a separate, unique sensation?
It turns out the brain treats itch and pain completely differently, even though they can both be excruciating.
First swine flu vaccines are ready to go
Vaccine producer Baxter International, Inc., says it’s finished its first batch of pandemic H1N1 vaccine and is figuring out distribution plans with the five national health authorities that ordered it.
The U.S. isn’t due to receive any of the 80 million vaccine doses that Baxter will eventually produce this year,
Psychologists discredit therapies designed to turn gays straight
The American Psychological Association has agreed that mental-health workers should not tell patients they can change their sexual orientation. An Association task force reviewed extensive research literature on the subject and found no good evidence that “reparative therapy” — therapy to turn gays and lesbians straight — can …
The sunburn forecast
Wondering which days are safest to be out in the sun? If you live in the U.S., you can check out the SunWise ultraviolet forecast, based on predictions from the National Weather Center. Looks like this weekend will be a scorcher!
Plug in a zip code or a city and a state, and the UV forecast will tell you how intense the sun’s rays …
What Causes Back Pain?
A common back-pain surgery works no better than a faked surgical procedure, according to a study released today in the New England Journal of Medicine. But the setback for the treatment may raise new questions about what really …
Does Sunscreen Really Prevent Skin Cancer?
You’d be surprised. There’s a difference between preventing sunburn and preventing other types of skin damage. Some sunscreens can do both, but others can’t.
The Roots of Individuality
Why do different people’s minds work so differently? Human brain cells don’t follow a set DNA script. Instead, they contain a surprising number of mobile elements — or “jumping genes” — that let them reorganize their genetic code.
One More Reason to Cut Cholesterol …
Researchers from Kaiser Permanente find that elevated cholesterol levels — even levels just a little bit elevated, in fact — are predictive of dementia in old age.
A four-decade study of 9,844 men and women in northern California found a strong association between cholesterol when people were in their 40s and Alzheimer’s disease …
