health Archives

Sleepless, Lying Awake in Your Hotel? This Might Be Why

April 27, 2016July 22, 2021 Science Connectedhealth, sleep, sleeplessness, travel

A study shows that the left brain hemisphere is more wakeful than normal when sleeping in a new place for the first time, leaving exhausted travelers lying awake in hotels rooms around the world. The fact that many people sleep poorly during the first night in a new environment – such as a hotel room – is a well-known phenomenon. Now, results from a new study in Current Biology by Brown University researchers could point to why this is the case. We talked to the study’s lead author, Masako Tamaki, to find out why one…

Environment Health

Does Air Pollution Raise Your Risk of Obesity?

April 4, 2016April 2, 2016 Science Connectedair pollution, health, obesity

By Kate Stone @GotScienceOrg It is generally understood that breathing polluted air can damage our lungs. However, a new study recently found that lab rats that breathed Beijing’s highly polluted air for eight weeks not only developed breathing problems, but also gained weight. The researchers warn that air pollution exposure can contribute to metabolic dysfunction and obesity. About the Study: Air Pollution and Obesity In a study led by Duke University, with the support of the Chinese government, scientists tested the health impact of Beijing’s polluted air. They placed pregnant rats…

A woman in the village of Karech, in rural India, prepares a meal on a traditional three-stone hearth. Courtesy of H.S. Udaykumar and University of Iowa

Environment Health

Small Metal Stove Grate Makes Big Impact

February 2, 2016April 7, 2021 Science Connectedcooking, environment, global warming, health

An inexpensive metal stove grate insert for primitive cookstoves, created by a University of Iowa research team, may decrease global warming and potentially save many lives. By Kate Stone The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2.7 billion people worldwide still rely on wood fires to cook their food, and more than 4 million die each year from illnesses connected to household air pollution caused by that method of cooking. The insert decreases wood consumption by about 60 percent, and further testing conducted in a national lab in India found…

Antibiotic resistance: Tinker Creek is a pristine black water stream on the Savannah River Site. The bacteria in this stream are susceptible to antibiotics. Photo credit: Linda Lee/University of Georgia

Biology Environment Health

Environmental Contaminants Add to Antibiotic Resistance

February 1, 2016March 17, 2021 Science Connectedantibiotics, health

Are you concerned about overuse of antibiotics leading to antibiotic-resistant bacteria? Industrial waste may be another trigger for antibiotic resistance.

antibioticsStaphylococcus aureus (Public Domain photo by Janice Haney Carr, Matthew J. Arduino, DRPH, USCDCP)

Biology Health

Searching for Alternatives to Antibiotics

July 21, 2015March 18, 2021 Science Connectedantibiotics, bacteria, disease, health

As bacteria mutate and become increasingly resistant to our arsenal of antibiotics, scientists try to find alternatives to antibiotics.

Cat Videos: Bloomington, Indiana's own Lil Bub is one of the more popular felines on the Internet. (Photo by Mike Bridavsky/www.lilbub.com)

Citizen Science Health Zoology

Cat Videos Boost Energy, Good Feelings

June 30, 2015September 2, 2015 Science Connectedanimals, emotion, health, neurobiology, psychology

Do you get a warm, fuzzy feeling after watching cat videos online? If so, that emotional effect may be more profound than you realize. The Internet phenomenon of watching cat videos, from Lil Bub to Grumpy Cat, apparently does more than simply entertain. It boosts viewers’ energy and positive emotions while decreasing negative feelings, according to a new study from Indiana University Media School. Can a Cat Video a Day Keep the Doctor Away? The study, by assistant professor Jessica Gall Myrick, surveyed almost 7,000 people about their viewing of…

An employee working at a treadmill desk. (Jaren Wilkey/BYU)

Health

How to Ask Your Boss for a Treadmill Desk

April 27, 2015June 16, 2015 Science Connecteddiet, health, medicine, memory, nutrition, sports, treadmill desk

The adverse effects of sedentary office work have given adjustable desks, standing desks, and treadmill desks new attention, but treadmill desks are not everyone’s cup of tea. Now, the latest research from Brigham Young University reveals the impact that treadmill desks can have on job performance. So You Want a Treadmill Desk If you are interested in using a treadmill desk at the office, your greatest challenge may be convincing your boss that it will not have a negative impact on your job performance. Some employers worry that standing or…

Volunteers wearing the rubber soled shoes walk up and down an ice-covered inclined floor in the Challenging Environment Assessment Lab. (Reza Rizvi, Yue Li, and Sharon Ravindran/ Toronto Rehabilitation Institute)

Health New Technologies Physics

Winter Hack: New Rubber Grips Icy Surfaces

March 18, 2015April 7, 2021 Science Connectedchemistry, gerontology, health, materials, materials science, physics

Winter storms dumped record amounts of snow on the East Coast and other regions of the United States this year, forcing many people to navigate icy sidewalks and roads. However, treacherous travel by foot may soon be a thing of the past thanks to a team of researchers from the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and the University of Toronto, Canada, who are working on a new rubber sole to help pedestrians get a better grip on slippery surfaces. The material is made up of glass fibers embedded in rubber, and it…

Treadmill Desk (Photo courtesy of Marcolm via freedigitalphotos.net)

Health

Walk While You Work: Do treadmill desks help?

February 10, 2015May 3, 2021 Science Connectedbusiness/economics, exercise, health, public health, treadmill desk

Treadmill desks help sedentary office workers get out of their chairs and get moving, but researchers at Oregon State University have found that walking while you work will not automatically rectify an otherwise unhealthy lifestyle. Seth Roberts, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley designed a treadmill desk in 1996. Since then, this kind of hybrid workstation — part office furniture, part exercise machine — has been gaining popularity. How effective is a treadmill desk for weight loss? In a 2007 study, James Levine of the Mayo…

Biology Health

Tapeworm Removed from Man’s Brain

November 22, 2014September 4, 2015 Science Connectedbiology, genetics, health

Doctors in the UK recently removed a very rare tapeworm from a man’s brain that had been living there for four years. During its residency, the worm traveled five centimeters from one side of the brain to the other before it was detected and removed. Following the successful operation, a team took the opportunity to sequence the genome of this rare and poorly understood parasite. The tapeworm, Spirometra erinaceieuropaei, has been reported only 300 times worldwide since 1953 and never before in the UK. The parasite causes sparganosis: inflammation of…