|
Milky protection
BASEL —
The simple life has some distinct advantages, it seems.
Drinking farm milk protects children against asthma
and hay fever, according to a Swiss study in the May
issue of Clinical and Experimental Allergy. In
fact, all farm-produced dairy products seem to lower
the risk of asthma. The findings present scientists
with an interesting quandary: "Consuming farm milk that
hasn't been boiled poses serious health risks, and further
research is needed to develop a safe product that still
provides protection against these common childhood diseases
without the dangers of unpasteurized milk," said lead
author Marco Waser, PhD.
Pooh's
ulcer-proof diet
EAU CLAIRE, WI
— Turns out Winnie had the right idea all
along. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin Health's
Eau Claire Family Medicine Clinic are looking into the
use of honey for the treatment of diabetic skin ulcers.
Honey's acidic pH, its low water content and the hydrogen
peroxide secreted by its naturally occurring enzymes
make it ideal for combatting organisms with resistance
to standard anitbiotics. If it proves effective in clinical
trials, it could provide a promising alternative treatment
for the 30 million diabetics who develop ulcers.
Five-second
rule spoiled
CLEMSON, SC —
You may remember the guideline from your childhood,
but a new study implores you not to pick up any food
on the floor — even if the five-second rule applies.
The "rule" is just a myth, says the study in the April
issue of the Journal of Applied Microbiology.
Enough salmonella bacteria can thrive on your hardwood
floor for as long as four weeks to easily jump to any
food that lands there. Coincidentally, it took just
about five seconds for 99% of the bacteria from the
tile floor to transfer to the bologna used in the study.
The study did find, however, that food dropped on carpeted
surfaces picked up far less bacteria than tile or wood
floors.
A
giving heart
LOS ANGELES —
One long-lived heart is now pumping blood in its third
body, thanks to the first ever transplant of a previously
transplanted heart. Surgeons at the Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center in Los Angeles first recycled the heart two months
ago after its initial owner died. The heart's new home
is a 45-year old man who was suffering from a rare cardiac
condition called noncompaction syndrome. The short time
the heart spent in the first recipient — just two
weeks — may have been critical to the success of
the re-transplantation. The heart is still going strong
in the third patient, who is doing well with no signs
of rejection.
Not-so-vestal
virgins
PARIS —
Doctors in France are torn over hymenoplasty, the controversial
hymen-reconstruction surgery that many French Muslim
women are now demanding — along with medical certificates
proving their virginity, to avoid the common post-chaste
social rejection. Though some doctors agree to help,
many doctors refuse. "We get more and more women coming
in and saying that their brothers or fathers will kill
them if they find out they've slept with a man. But
it's important to say no, because if we don't we're
giving in to the fundamentalists," said Dr Jacques Lansac,
chairman of the French National College of Gynaecologists
and Obstetricians.
Working
off the pounds
ROCHESTER, MN
— Mayo Clinic researchers have devised a
new machine to fight obesity: a vertical workstation
that can be latched onto a treadmill to allow people
to work at a computer while exercising. Published online
May 14 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine,
the study monitored 15 obese volunteers while they used
the treadmill-desk. Participants burned an average of
191 kCal per hour, compared to 72 kCal per hour while
sitting down. An obese employee could potentially shed
45 to 65 pounds a year using the vertical workstation,
the developers predict.
|
