Heath and Wellbeing to June 2012
Health | Nitrogen Dioxide
Current scientific evidence links short-term NO 2 exposures, ranging from 30 minutes to 24 hours, with adverse respiratory effects including airway inflammation in healthy people and increased respiratory symptoms in people with asthma. Also, studies show a connection between breathing elevated short-term NO 2 concentrations, and increased visits to emergency departments and hospital admissions for respiratory issues, especially asthma. NO 2 concentrations in vehicles and near roadways are appreciably higher than those measured at monitors in the current network.How Social Media Tracks Disease
After analyzing 17 million mentions of illness in Facebook posts and tweets (separating "Bieber fever" from actual fever) and plotting genuine ailment mentions on a map, founder of Sickweather, Graham Dodge, has noticed trends in how disease spreads throughout the United States. For one thing, disease spreads most quickly between Hartford, Conn. and Washington D.C., an area he has dubbed "contagion alley." And it is impacted by big events like the Super Bowl .
Have we had our fill of water? | Society
Over the last few weeks, those who visited the British Medical Journal's website might have noticed an advert for a new public health initiative, Hydration for Health. It is sponsored by Danone – which owns the Evian, Volvic and Badoit bottled water brands – and urges healthcare professionals to encourage people to drink more water, claiming that "evidence is increasing that even mild dehydration plays a role in the development of various diseases". Margaret McCartney, a GP and columnist, saw these adverts and complained about it, writing an article for the BMJ (who admitted "we hadn't followed our own guidelines. The advertisement bypassed our editorial checks") about the lack of evidence – and citing the shortcomings of many studies – that people should be drinking more water.
Sunscreen pill could be available within five years, scientists say | Environment
The scientists analysed coral samples from the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Photograph: Australian Institute For Marine Science/PA A secret from the sea could lead to a pill that prevents sunburn within five years, say scientists. British researchers have uncovered the unique way coral shields itself against harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays.
Infectious microbes have been part of the human ecology for millennia, and it is only recently that more hygienic environments in affluent industrialized settings have substantially reduced the level and diversity of exposure. (Credit: Rebecca Weaver/Flickr ) NORTHWESTERN (US) — New research on chronic inflammation suggests American parents may want to rethink how much they protect their kids from everyday germs. A new Northwestern University study done in lowland Ecuador remarkably finds no evidence of chronic low-grade inflammation—associated with diseases of aging like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and dementia.
US hyper hygiene linked to inflammation
Eating veggies may help smokers quit
And unlike some foods which are known to enhance the taste of tobacco, such as meats, caffeinated beverages and alcohol, fruits and vegetables do the opposite, says JeffreyHaibach, first author of the study. "Foods like fruit and vegetables may actually worsen the taste of cigarettes." (Credit: "Carrot in shirt pocket" via Shutterstock ) U.
Putting Poop In Its Place: The Problems With Bad Global Sanitation
Everybody poops (or so we’ve heard ). But if you’re reading this on the Internet, you probably poop in a toilet that flushes. This seems normal to you but, in fact, you are living in the lap of luxury.
Issue here is that many people in developing countries have no access to good sanitation - but actually - western toilets are unsustainable. If the whole world was flushing toilets we'd be in trouble. This article notes that to improve sanitation and health abroad, we need technological change. We need a super-loo. by May 25
