Health & Wellness

Details: Written by: Jim Erickson, University of Michigan

Mercury contamination is widespread across western North America in the air, soil, lake sediments, plants, fish, and wildlife, according to new research.

Details: Written by: Tara MacIsaac, Epoch Times

45 Potentially Hazardous Chemicals Common in Household Dust Researchers at George Washington University compiled data from household dust samples collected throughout the United States and found 45 potentially toxic chemicals used in many common products, such as vinyl flooring, personal care and cleaning products, building materials, and furniture.

Details: Written by: Jason Yosar, The University of Queensland

What Are Cataracts and How Are They Treated? Nearly one-third of Australians aged 55 or over (or around 1.5 million people) have an untreated cataract. In 2013-14, there were 229,693 hospital admissions for cataract surgeries, making cataracts one of the most prevalent conditions among Australians.

Details: Written by: Clare Collins, University of Newcastle

If You Love Me, Don’t Feed Me Bacon or Soft Drinks A friend reckons he has it good. His partner cooks a bacon-hash-brown-fry-up for breakfast every day. “Are you sure?” I said. “Cause that’s exactly what I would feed my partner if I wanted to bump him off!”

Details: Written by: Richard E. Peltier, University of Massachusetts Amherst

air polution 9 18 Anyone who has stepped off an airplane in one of the major cities of the developing world has encountered profound and noxious air pollution. In New Delhi, Jakarta,

Details: Written by: Irene Luo, Epoch Times

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” says the proverb—but maybe not in China. Due to a lack of regulation and enforcement, farmers in China regularly add dangerous amounts of fertilizers, preservatives, pesticides, and other chemicals

Details: Written by: Simon Cotton, University of Birmingham

What Is The Clever Chemistry That Can Stop Your Food Rotting A hotel in Reykjavík has on display a McDonald’s burger and fries, seemingly undecomposed after 2,512 days – and counting. It was bought on October 30, 2009, the day that the last McDonald’s in Iceland closed.

Details: Written by: David Orenstein, Brown University

Narrowing In On The Theory Of Aging A new study increases and strengthens the links that have led scientists to propose the “transposon theory of aging.”

Details: Written by: Marla Paul, Northwestern University

There Is More Than One Kind Of Alzheimer’s Disease Relying on clinical symptoms of memory loss to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease may miss other forms of dementia caused by Alzheimer’s that don’t initially affect memory, a new study suggests.

Details: Written by: Sarah Ades and Kenneth Keiler, Pennsylvania State University

Why You Should Dispense With Antibacterial Soaps An FDA ruling on Sept. 2 bans the use of triclosan, triclocarban and 17 other antiseptics from household soaps because they have not been shown to be safe or even have any benefit.

Details: Written by: Irene Luo, Epoch Times

What Is The Quality Seafood From China? In a squalid fish farm in Yangjiang, Guangdong, farmers fed tilapia fish with the feces of pigs and geese to lower the cost of production.

Details: Written by: Angie Hunt, Iowa State University

The key to sticking with an exercise program is actually enjoying it, new research shows.

Details: Written by: Kathryn M. Flinn, Baldwin Wallace University

The Rise And Fall Of Reality TV Star American Ginseng In one of television’s more bizarre recent offerings, the History Channel show “Appalachian Outlaws” follows a band of West Virginians as they hunt rugged forests for American ginseng, a medicinal root worth hundreds of dollars per pound.

Details: Written by: Jennifer Langston, University of Washington

Use Your Smartphone, Not A Needle, To Check For Anemia A new screening tool called HemaApp uses a smartphone camera to estimate hemoglobin concentrations and screen for anemia.

Details: Written by: Irene Luo, Epoch Times

Can You Trust ‘Organic’ Produce From China? After numerous food scares in China, the Chinese have become disillusioned with the communist regime’s ability to properly regulate the food industry. And the contaminated food does not just stay in China. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regularly refuses shipments from China...

Details: Written by: Steve Manas, Rutgers University

The Five Second Food Drop Rule Isn’t So Simple A new study complicates the “five-second rule,” the widely accepted idea that it’s okay to scoop up fallen food and eat it if you’re quick enough.

Details: Written by: Jim Dryden, Washington University in St. Louis

Quitting Smoking Pays Off, Even For Those Considered High-risk Quitting smoking improves health and lowers odds of developing lung cancer. And even among smokers with a genetic predisposition to smoking heavily and developing lung cancer at a young age, the benefits of quitting are significant.

Details: Written by: National University of Singapore

Low Vitamin D May Be Linked To Mental Decline Low levels of vitamin D are linked to an increased risk of cognitive decline and impairment in elderly Chinese people.

Details: Written by: Barbara Mahe and David Allsop, Lancaster University

Is There A Link Between Car Exhausts And Alzheimer’s? Iron is known to be toxic to brain cells, and tiny magnetic iron particles (magnetite) are thought to be involved in the development of neurological disorders.

Details: Written by: George Havenith, Loughborough University

Electric Fans May Not Help The Elderly In A Heatwave Researchers have found that when elderly people use an electric fan in extreme heat, instead of cooling them down, it actually raises their core body temperature and increases their heart rate.

Details: Written by: Bryan Lessard, CSIRO

How We Could Feed Growing Population With Flies Scientists have predicted that by 2050 there will be 9.6 billion humans living on Earth. With the rise of the middle class, we are expected to increase our consumption of animal products by up to 70% using the same limited resources that we have today.