Health, features and articles | Educational Science

May 31, 2008

Key to All Optical Illusions Discovered

Humans can see into the future, says a cognitive scientist. It's nothing like the alleged predictive powers of Nostradamus, but we do get a glimpse of events one-tenth of a second before they occur. And the mechanism behind that can also explain why we are tricked by optical illusions. Researcher...

May 31, 2008

Pigs Pack Human Pathogens

Here's mud in your eye: Pigs raised without antibiotics in an effort to placate consumer fears over those chemicals carry more bacteria and parasites, which of course consumers fear in the wake of the tomato scare and beef, chicken and spinach contaminations of days gone by. At least this is...

May 31, 2008

How Stress and Diet Cause Heart Attacks

Word of Tim Russert's death at 58 shocked many Americans today, and behind the grief came nagging questions about heart attacks, like the one that struck the newsman, and anxiety about how they kill. Russert's death came in a week when the government reported U.S. life expectancy had risen to...

May 31, 2008

Study Finds Hot Flashes Truly Forgettable

Some women get far more hot flashes than they realize. A new study finds women in mid-life underreport the number of hot flashes they get by 40 percent. The problem seems to be linked to memory. Hot flashes are a symptom of menopause. Previous research indicates that about 40 percent...

May 31, 2008

Warming May Make 'Perfect Storm' of Disease

A perfect storm of diseases can get unleashed by the kind of extreme swings in weather expected with global warming, triggering mass die-offs of wildlife or livestock, research now reveals. Now the first clear example of such a perfect storm of diseases has been discovered by an international team of...

Apr 30, 2008

Signs of Suicide Seen in Brain Scans

Suicides always leave behind sad and tough questions. One big one is whether those who commit suicide have faulty genes. It turns out that although they may have normal genes, child abuse may still have left its mark on the DNA in the brains of some, new research suggests. About...

Apr 30, 2008

Happy Mother's Day: Woman Pregnant With 18th Child

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — It's a happy Mother's Day for an Arkansas woman — she's pregnant with her 18th child. Michelle Duggar, 41, is due on New Year's Day, and the latest addition will join seven sisters and 10 brothers. There are two sets of twins. We've had three...

Apr 30, 2008

Myanmar Aid Deliveries Now 'Race Against Time'

Updated at 10:30 a.m. ET Saturday, May 10 Editor's Note: Newswires and aid organizations have continued to update estimates of the death toll from the Myanmar cyclone, with most of the reports stating the current number to be more than 23,000 dead, with up to twice as many missing. The...

Apr 30, 2008

'Designer Baby' Work Criticized

NEW YORK (AP) — News that scientists have for the first time genetically altered a human embryo is drawing fire from some watchdog groups that say it's a step toward creating designer babies.'' But an author of the study says the work was focused on stem cells. He notes that...

Apr 30, 2008

Beware Cheap Sunglasses

Summer is rapidly approaching. That means sunshine, the beach, and kiosks selling sunglasses with dubious information about the true level of UV protection they offer. UV light can damage the eyes by essentially giving the cornea a sunburn or, in the long run, causing cataracts and retinal and macular degeneration....

Apr 30, 2008

Girl's Twin Found Inside Her Stomach

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A 9-year-old girl who went to hospital in central Greece suffering from stomach pains was found to be carrying her embryonic twin, doctors said Thursday. Doctors at Larissa General Hospital examined the girl and surgically removed a growth they later discovered was an embryo more than...

Apr 30, 2008

Same Sex Couples Common in the Wild

As gay couples celebrate their newfound right to marry in California and opposition groups rally to fight the ruling, many struggle with this question: Is homosexuality natural? On this issue, Nature has spoken: Same-sex lovin' is common in hundreds of species, scientists say. Roy and Silo, two male chinstrap penguins...

Apr 30, 2008

Causes of Morning Sickness Revealed

As irritating as morning sickness may be for pregnant women, it may protect embryos. Doctors have long known that morning sickness — the nausea and vomiting usually experienced in early pregnancy — is actually a good sign of a healthy pregnancy, despite the discomfort it brings. However, scientists have debated...

Apr 30, 2008

Mammography: Can It Be Improved?

Common Sense 101: if benefits outweigh the costs, generally people will opt in to whatever action is under consideration. If you can prevent or reduce your chance of death from cancer by early screenings at a nominal fee, you will probably get screened. Now throw a twist into the equation....

Apr 30, 2008

Brain Tumors: What Senator Kennedy's Diagnosis Means

Senator Edward M. Kennedy was diagnosed with a type of brain tumor after he experienced a seizure Saturday morning and was brought to Massachusetts General Hospital. Doctors diagnosed Sen. Kennedy, 76, with a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe, a region of the brain involved in sensation (such as...