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Things You Certainly Did Not Know About Sneezing

February 12, 2016 By Brian Galloway Leave a Comment

What actually goes on during during a big ‘achoo!’ is a lot more complex than what meets the eye.

New research reveals things you certainly did not know about sneezing and you have to be aware of, starting now.

While popular notion holds that sneezing disperses a uniform spray of fluid, the new research – published in the journal Experiments in Fluids – suggests this is not the case. MIT researchers used high-speed video to stop more than 100 sneezes in action, capturing those fractions of a second where saliva flies from the mouth and into the air. What they found was that sneezes don’t project a uniform spray, but instead produce fragments of fluid that resemble paint being hurled toward a canvas.

To reach their findings, the team used two high-speed monochrome cameras to record more than 100 sneezes – induced by nose tickling – of three healthy participants who were placed against a black backdrop.The high-speed imaging allowed researchers to capture around 200 milliseconds of each participant’s sneezes and analyze them frame by frame.

From their analysis, the researchers found that as soon as fluid leaves a person’s mouth through sneezing, it combines with the simultaneously exhaled air to form a balloon. As this balloon moves through the air, it breaks into thin threads that divide into sprays of different-sized droplets. These droplets either stay in the air or fall to the ground.

Moreover, the team found that for subjects whose sneezes contained more elastic saliva, their exhaled fluid stayed in thin threads for longer, meaning it traveled farther before breaking into droplets. The team declared that the findings came entirely as a surprise.

These stills were captured with a camera operating at 6,000 to 8,000 frames per second. The stills show how the fluid from sneezes travels very quickly.

Lydia Bourouiba, an assistant professor at MIT who led the study, said the goal of the research was to determine the size of the droplets emitted by a sneeze. Bourouiba also states that understanding how sneezing disperses droplets can help researchers map the spread of infections through the environment, as well as identify individuals who may be ‘super spreaders.’

The findings of this research are built on those of another study from the MIT team, which was reported by Medical News Today in 2014. In that study, the researchers found that droplets from coughs and sneezes travel around 200 times farther than previously thought. The team hopes that their previous research combined with their new study will help identify individuals who are most likely to spread illness, as well as aid the development of disease prevention models.

Currently, the researchers are setting up a new lab space at MIT specifically designed to accommodate parallel experiments to understand various modes of disease transmission. This space will also include a smaller, climate-controlled chamber in which they will be able to visualize sneezes, coughs and other modes of disease transmission, in collaboration with medical partners.

All in all, it is very interesting how a simple sneeze can mean so much more than we initially thought. It seems like what actually goes on during during a big ‘achoo!’ is a lot more complex than what meets the eye.

Image Sources: globe-views.com; p.o0bc.com.

Helping Drug Addicts Is Now A Political Priority

February 10, 2016 By Brian Galloway Leave a Comment

More Americans die from drug overdoses now than from car crashes.

Recent news inform us that helping drug addicts is now a political priority.

The so-called ‘use of drugs’, as we know it, is one of the biggest problems our society confronts nowadays. Heroin is a highly addictive, illegal drug. It is used by millions of addicts around the world who are unable to overcome the urge to continue taking this drug every day of their lives.

It is clear that a person dealing with addiction needs the help and support of family members and friends. It takes an understanding support system to deal with the ongoing challenges. Nationwide, about 2.2 million people need treatment for opioid abuse, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, but about only 1 million manage to get it.

To help make that happen, the federal government is looking to increase funding for heroin addiction programs. The Obama administration is proposing a significant boost in federal spending to battle the nation’s heroin addiction epidemic. They will seek a $1 billion increase in spending over two years to expand access to treatment. The administration will spend about $127 million on such treatment programs this year.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has also proposed legislation focused on authorizing grants to expand local treatment and recovery programs to dispose of excess painkillers. Florida Republican, Marco Rubio just signed on to co-sponsor the legislation, on the eve of the New Hampshire primary:

This bill will improve treatment options, increase prevention efforts, and help law enforcement fight drug abuse.

he stated in a declaration.

New Hampshire is a state that has been particularly ravaged by drugs. It has one of the highest rates of fatal opioid overdoses in the country. That means a lot of voters in New Hampshire want to talk about drug addiction. They want to know what the men and women running for president can do to help. They want to know what those in Congress can do about it and for good reason.

Another recent graph representation shows that more Americans die from drug overdoses now than from car crashes. In 2014, that was about 47,000 people. Most of these people took opioid painkillers prescribed by a doctor; many others died from heroin, the cheaper alternative.

Now, returning to the political report, one could easily say that the Obama administration and Congress are acting more because it’s politically expedient than because it’s the right thing to do for millions of Americans.

Even if it were true, it wouldn’t matter. More help and treatment services need to be made available for all the drug addicts and this proposal is a good step in that direction.

Image Source: slate.com; turner.com.

The More You Sigh, The Better – The Surprising Reason Behind Our Sighs

February 10, 2016 By Germaine Hicks Leave a Comment

Did you know that sighing is actually necessary for our survival?

You are not going to believe this but, the more you sigh, the better – the surprising reason behind our sighs has been revealed by the scientists.

Yet another discovery has been made and this time it’s about the habit of sighing. One could say that, when in public, people always seem to think sighing is either rude or that something is wrong. But, according to the experts, the proven reason for the drawn-out exhalation we know as a sigh, is that it can be explained as a vital reflex that keeps us from suffocating.

So, sighing doesn’t just telegraph emotion? Well, you can discount that for now, because sighing’s actually a crucial reflex that keeps our lungs healthy. Not only they revealed that, but the researchers have also uncovered the switch in our brain that controls it.

The team identified two tiny clusters of neurons in the brain stem that automatically turn normal breaths into sighs when our lungs need some extra help. This happens usually every 5 minutes (or 12 times an hour), regardless of whether or not we are thinking about something depressing.

Published in the advance online edition of Nature, the discovery may hopefully one day allow physicians to treat patients who cannot breathe deeply on their own, or who suffer from disorders in which frequent sighing becomes debilitating.

One of the holy grails in neuroscience is figuring out how the brain controls behavior. Our finding gives us insights into mechanisms that may underlie much more complex behaviors.

explained Jack Feldman, a professor of neurobiology at UCLA.

Using a mouse model, professor Mark Krasnow from Stanford University School of Medicine, screened more than 19,000 gene-expression patterns in the animals’ brain cells. They found 200 neurons in the brain stem that manufacture and release one of two neuropeptides, which enable brain cells to talk to each other. Still, the scientists did not know which brain cells these neurons communicated with or why.

However, Feldman knew that the same family of peptides, also found in humans, was highly active in a part of the brain that influences breathing and plays an important role in sighing. What he had not identified were the genes or neurons that controlled them.

By joining their forces, Krasnow’s and Feldman’s labs discovered that the peptides triggered a second set of 200 neurons. These cells activate the mouse’s breathing muscles to produce a sigh, roughly 40 times an hour.

The experts also found that blocking one of the peptides cut the animals’ sighing rate in half. On the other hand, silencing both peptides halted the mice’s ability to sigh completely. Further research is needed to confirm that this same pathway exists in humans, but the similarities in the mouse and human systems suggest researchers are on the right track.

So, the next time you feel like sighing and you’re afraid that it may seem disrespectful, forget about the preconceptions. Remember this research and the scientific proof that sighing is vital for your health.

Image Source: giphy.com.

An Unusual Proposal That Will Make Your Heart Melt

February 3, 2016 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

Gideon Robinson is currently battling leukemia.

All the media is talking about this unusual porposal that will make your heart melt. A 5-year-old boy, battling cancer, just became a superhero after proposing to his favorite nurse at the Rady’s Children’s Hospital, in San Diego.

His story is one of those stories you can not read without getting emotional. The little boy, named Gideon Robinson, was diagnosed with leukemia at the early age of 5 years. He is only a kid, but he is tough as iron. During the ‘battle process’ with the awful disease, doctors put a port device into the cancer patient’s tiny chest to pump him full of chemotherapy treatment. Since then, Gideon’s mother calls him “Ironman”.

What his mother didn’t know at that time, is that her little ‘Iron’ boy was not only ‘Ironman’, but also a superhero. Three months after Gideon was diagnosed with leukemia, he made a life-changing decision. He was going to ask his favorite nurse, who he called ‘Tall Sarah’, to marry him.

When talking about ‘Tall Sarah’, Mrs. Robinson says that she was the first nurse that took the most care of Gideon when he was first diagnosed with leukemia and that even when he was really sick and wasn’t his usual outgoing, happy self, nurse Sarah managed to make his day with her fun personality.

Before taking the big step, Gideon asked another nurse whether or not Sarah was married. The nurse let him know that she wasn’t, but really wants to be — and jokingly said to him that he should ask her. That information was enough for little Gideon. He immediately said: ‘I will marry her!’

For a 5-year-old, he’s pretty confident.

his mother said, amused by the situation.

The nurse brought the little boy some craft supplies, and he got to work. After forming a pink and white pipe cleaner into a perfect circle, Gideon hand-picked a purple heart-shaped bead to use as the stone. On the special day, Mrs. Robinson asked her son: ‘How are you going to ask her to marry you?’. ‘I’m going to bend down,’ replied Gideon, while getting down on one knee. I’m gonna say, ‘Sarah, would you have that…’.’

After the rehearsal, the courageous 5-year-old headed for the nurse station to meet his potential bride-to-be. The nurse didn’t know what it was about to happen. She was happy that she had Gideon in front of her, but had no clue about what was coming next. She asked him what he was up to. After a moment of hesitation, Gideon took a leap and popped the big question.

The nurse happily accepted his proposal, as she placed the improvised ring on her finger. The lovely pair sealed the engagement with a tight hug. Now, they make a perfect team and it is certain that their future together will be full of dance parties, laughs and — of course — Legos. At least that’s what Gideon hopes.

Image Source: dailymail.co.uk

Zika Virus Case Transmitted Sexually Is Now Confirmed

February 3, 2016 By Chen Lai Leave a Comment

The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the U.S. has been confirmed.

It seems like the bad news about the Zika virus spreading rapidly will not cease – a Zika virus case transmitted sexually is now confirmed.

The rare case is about a patient infected in Dallas, Texas, who is likely to have been infected by sexual contact. According to the experts who are on the case, this patient had not travelled to infected areas but their partner had returned recently from Venezuela.

The case has been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which confirmed it was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite.

Now that we know Zika virus can be transmitted through sex, this increases our awareness campaign in educating the public about protecting themselves and others.

said Zachary Thompson, DCHHS director. He also added that next to abstinence, condoms are the best prevention method against any sexually-transmitted infections and he encouraged people to use them, with no exception.

An analysis made by James Gallagher, health editor at BBC, points out that if Zika can readily spread through sex, then it poses a risk to every country not just those with the Aedes mosquito.

This explosive outbreak has caught the world by surprise and many key questions remain unanswered. Exactly how common or rare is sexual transmission? Also, can it be spread by the 80% of people who show no symptoms? How long does the virus persist in semen? When is it safe to have sex again? What should men do after visiting affected countries? Can women also spread the virus through sex?

However, as according to the BBC editor, we must not despair. This is not as bad as HIV/Aids infection. Zika infections are short, mild and pose a significant threat only in pregnancy.

Generally, Zika virus is transmitted by mosquitos. Symptoms include fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. At the moment, the virus is spreading through the Americas and the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the disease linked to the virus a global public health emergency.

As a safety measure, The American Red Cross has urged prospective blood donors returning from Zika-hit countries to wait at least 28 days before donating their blood. The “self-deferral” will apply to people returning from Mexico, the Caribbean or Central or South America during the past four weeks, the Red Cross said in a statement.

Brazil, the country worst hit by the outbreak – has revealed it is investigating 3,670 suspected cases of microcephaly in babies linked to the Zika virus.

WHO estimates there could be up to 4 million cases of Zika in the Americas in the next year. Officials said people can avoid the Zika virus by protecting against mosquito bites and avoiding sexual contact with those infected.

So far, there are no medications available that fight Zika virus and there are no vaccines.

Image Source: cdn.skim.gs

New Marijuana Legalization Initiative In California

February 2, 2016 By Brian Galloway Leave a Comment

California Medical Association endorses marijuana legalization initiative.

Sources say that The California Medical Association is having a new marijuana legalization initiative in California, as we speak. The California Medical Association, representing more than 41,000 physician members statewide, is the largest professional association of doctors in the state.

The state of California is well-known for its former initiative of allowing the use of this drug, as being the first state to legalize medical marijuana.

That was in the past. Now, two decades later, the voters are in the position of answering whether the recreational use of the drug should be legalized or not.

Supporting this initiative, the medical group has released a declaration, stating that the most effective way to protect the public health is to tightly control, track and regulate marijuana and to educate the public on its health impacts, not through ineffective prohibition.

Now, there are a few questions in line regarding this matter.

First of all, who is behind this effort? The official proponents are Donald Lyman, a retired physician, and Michael Sutton, a conservationist. Among the project’s financiers is billionaire venture capitalist Sean Parker. The initiative’s highest-profile political supporter is Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Secondly, who would be in charge of this decision? Licensing and regulation of marijuana would be handled by a Bureau of Marijuana Control within the Department of Consumer Affairs. The Department of Food and Agriculture would be charged with licensing and overseeing marijuana cultivation, while Department of Public Health would license and oversee manufacturing and testing.

Thirdly, what’s going on in other states? The answer is that all the four states – Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska, and the District of Columbia – have legalized recreational pop already.

Another aspect, could one grow weed in their own home? Personal cultivation is allowed, but no more than six plants could be cultivated, harvested, dried or processed in each home or apartment, or on its grounds.

And finally, would legal marijuana cost more? On this matter, some proponents say they actually expect the prices will drop some once the licenses are issued and after the first harvest.

Taking all of the above information into consideration, Dr. Steven Larson, CMA president, issued a statement that The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana offers a new, modern perspective. In this statement he points out the measure as being comprehensive and thoughtfully constructed.

The opinions are, of course, divided.

It remains to see if this new initiative will come into force or not.

Image Source: foxnews.com

Ecstasy Will Be Tested As Therapy For Anxiety

May 27, 2015 By Jason Leathers 2 Comments

Scientists are trying to find out whether MDMA, which is the active ingredient in Ecstasy, can aid in the treatment of social anxiety in adults suffering from autism.

Los Angeles scientists want to see if MDMA can reduce the anxiety of interacting with people. It is the first such study that evaluates MDMA for autistic people, lead researcher Alicia Danforth explained.

MDMA has been proven to boost confidence, increase understanding of social cues, heighten bonding and all qualities which could improve social anxiety, scientists said.

Researchers are not attempting to “cure” autism but to find data on MDMA’s effect on social fears. “That’s really hard for people to wrap their minds around. It’s not another quack treatment for autism. Yet traditional medication does not work as effectively for people with autism,” Danforth said.

The study is extremely important because few therapy options exist for adults with autism the researchers from the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute and Stanford University said.

The MDMA which will be used in the research is safer than Ecstasy because it is pure. The drugs which are generally used are contaminated most of the time, with less than 20% of Ecstasy pills event having MDMA in their composition. Street drugs can be harmful, scientists warn, who add that the pure version has rarely had any adverse effects in lab studies

The first study, which was given the green light by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, started more than a year back but gathered attention during Memorial Day weekend.

To recruit participants, researchers searched for people with autism with “rigorous criteria,” among which were at least two years of college, in order to find 12 patients over the age of 21. The team of scientists have not yet completed its search.

The MDMA is offered to eight of the patients in two monitored sessions which happens every month. The other four subjects receive placebos.

The participants can chose to listen to music while being blindfolded in order to become more relaxed with their thoughts or to interact with the scientists.

In a six months period after the MDMA treatment sessions, subjects were brought in for “integrative therapy”. This step analyzes their progress and their concerns. At this point, the four subjects who got placebos can choose to try taking the MDMA.

Unitl now, seven subjects have been given either placebo or MDMA.

Image Source: The Atlantic

People With HIV Could Cut Organ Demand

May 16, 2015 By Deborah Nielsen Leave a Comment

People who die after being infected with HIV can be a potential source for transplantation with more than 400 annual donors in the United States. for the benefit of people who got the infection but need organs to live, according to researchers who explained there would be an important benefit for non-infected patients also on the waiting-list.

The research assessed the level of quality that potential organs from HIV-infected deceased donors have. They discovered for example that HIV-associated kidney disease would need to be evaluated for future kidney donation while in the case of the livers they revealed to be of better transplant quality.

Until recently, explain the authors who published their results in the American Journal of Transplantation, HIV-infected patients were labeled ineligible to get an organ transplant, but they can now access the organs if their body has a “good renal and liver outcomes” compared with remaining on the list.

In spite of this, the US disparity between the numbers of patients on the waiting list and available organs “can disproportionately affect HIV-infected patients”. This group of patients needing organs are more likely to die on the list than those who are HIV-negative.

America’s HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act was signed into law in November of 2013 to allow research into organ donations from one person with HIV to another.

“The findings are significant because there are not enough organ donors in the US to meet the needs of all of the patients who might benefit from life-saving organ transplants”, said Dr. Emily Blumberg, the senior author of the study and professor in infectious diseases at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

“Some of the patients waiting for organsare infected with HIV but never make it to transplant because they either die while waiting or become too sick to be transplanted. HIV patients who undergo transplantation generally do well, so it is important to continue to look for ways to improve access to transplantation for them”, she said.

The risk of HIV transmission has made illegal the donation to uninfected people, but some patients could still benefit from organ supply by turning to HIV-infected deceased donors. Expanding the options for people who are already infected would cut the demand on organs offered by HIV-free donors.

Approximately 123,000 people are currently waiting for an organ on the US list for transplants. The wait is long. For example, for almost half of last year just 11,844 people got organ transplants.

Image Source: The ODRC

Exercise As Beneficial As Quitting Smoking For Older Men

May 16, 2015 By Deborah Nielsen Leave a Comment

New research suggests that only thirty minutes of physical activity six days each week is linked with 40 percent lower risk of death for elderly men. The study claims even light activity is very beneficial.

The study, which was published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, also discovered that increasing exercise levels seemed to be as good for health as quitting smoking.

The results, researchers wrote, point to the fact that “public health strategies in elderly men should include efforts to increase physical activity in line with efforts to reduce smoking behavior.”

Scientists from Norway started with a survey of 15,000 men who were born between 1923 and 1932. As part of the Oslo Study from 1972, the men’s weight, height, blood pressure, cholesterol and smoking status were collected. They also recorded their weekly leisure time and physical activity levels, which were split into more categories: watching TV/reading (sedentary); walking or cycling, including to and from work (light); formal exercise or heavy gardening for at least 4 hours a week (moderate); and hard training or competitive sports a few times a week (vigorous).

Nearly three decades later, approximately 5,700 of the surviving men took the tests again. They were analyzed for almost 12 more years to observe if physical activity levels over a long period of time could be connected to a lowered risk of death from heart disease or any other cause, and to observe how how the body reacts to smoking cessation.

During the monitoring schedule, 2,154 of the men who had taken part in both studies died. The findings revealed that while less than an hour of light exercise each week had too little effect on risk of death, more than an hour was linked with a 32 to 56 percent lower risk.

The more time spent taking part in vigorous physical activity, the lower the risk appeared to be. Men who regularly participate to moderate to physical activity enjoyed an average of five years more of life than participants who were labeled as sedentary.

When looking at all the results, scientists determined that half an hour of physical activity, no matter if it is light, moderate, or vigorous, carried out six days a week, was connected with a 40 percent reduction in risk of death from any cause.

Scientists acknowledged that the study did not determine cause and effect, and that just the healthiest men from the first portion of the study took part in the second round, which may have affected the numbers.

Image Source: Web MD

Call Uber If You Need a Flu Shot!

October 24, 2014 By Brian Galloway Leave a Comment

An one-day project was propelled on Thursday between 10 am to 3 pm utilizing the Uber stage to bring influenza counteractive action shots and packs alongside Vaccine Finder to people at assigned places in New York, Washington and Boston. Every one of the one needed to do was to utilize the Passport Health and Pager system to organize a gathering spot to get the shot. By tapping on the Smartphone Uber application the Uber auto administration was summoned and an enrolled attendant touched base to control the shots. A gift of $5 will be offered to the Red Cross immunization exertions for every individual who takes this season’s cold virus security shots.

Influenza shots are likewise accessible at a few air terminals and drug stores that do these immunization programs. Endeavors are, no doubt made to achieve people and guarantee that they are inoculated against influenza and this incorporates babies beyond 6 years old months. Despite the fact that people are mindful of the need to take the shots, they for the most part overlook as they get made up for lost time with different exercises.

John Brownstein, disease transmission expert from Harvard Medical School concocted this splendid thought of shipping specialists or medical attendants to business locales and homes in the three urban communities. When the assent structure was marked, the inoculation was managed and influenza counteractive action packs and packs were distributed to people.

Uber has constantly created exposure by utilizing novel systems to convey items and even creatures to people. The Uberhealth system turns out to be one of their healthiest special tricks as of date. This one-day immunization project did in three urban communities was a spark to other people to get immunized and secure themselves from seasonal influenza which turns out to be risky and influences little kids and the elderly as well as all times of people.

Zuhairah Washington, general director for Uber states “We’ve been arranging Uberhealth for a considerable length of time and are truly eager to see all the diligent work from numerous groups at Uber become animated.”

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