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This issue's
news briefs include a look back at some of the year's weirdest science and wackiest
medical news. Bracelet
yourself for the worst
TAMPA
— Officials at BayCare Health Hospitals warn that patients wearing
popular Lance Armstrong Foundation yellow bracelets might be in for a rude awakening
— or a lack thereof. The hospitals use a colour-coded wristband system to
signify emergency instructions to caregivers — and yellow means 'do not resuscitate.'
So far, no patients were mistakenly left to meet their maker, but hospital officials
aren't taking any chances. They've ordered staff to tape over any Lance Armstrong
cancer bracelets they see. Doom
and bust cycle
COPENHAGEN —
A study in the December 13 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine found
that women with breast implants were three times more likely than other women
to commit suicide. The study followed 2,800 women who had breast augmentations,
700 who had breast reductions, and 1,800 who had other plastic surgery between
1975 and 1993. Eight percent of the women who had breast implants also reported
being admitted to psychiatric hospitals, while only 4.7% of breast-reduced women
and 5.5% of those who'd had another cosmetic procedure spent time in the psychiatric
ward. Yoda — the
murine centenarian
ANN ARBOR
— A dwarf mouse named Yoda celebrated his 136th birthday — in
mouse years that is — last April. University of Michigan scientists altered
his pituitary and thyroid glands as well as insulin production in order to slow
the aging process. These changes made him much smaller than an average mouse,
but the frisky four-year-old is still mobile and sexually active. Yoda holds the
record for the oldest mouse of his kind — his natural life expectancy is
two years. The researchers hope they can someday apply this process to humans.
Holy
smoke causes cancer?
MAASTRICHT
— New research suggests that even if church going is good for the
soul, it could do a number on your lungs. A study in the December issue of the
European Respiratory Journal says that candles and incense release carcinogenic
particles like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and free radicals. After a simulated
mass in a Dutch church, it was found that there were about 20 times as many particles
in the air as on a busy road, including 20 times more than the European Union
limit of PM10. Commercials
warp young minds
MEMPHIS, TN
— There's a lot of hoopla these days surrounding violence in movies,
videogames and TV shows but a study in the December issue of Pediatrics
says we're ignoring another potential danger to our children — commercials.
A whole six percent of 1,185 commercials screened for this study depicted violence,
while another 14% showed 'risky behavior' — like riding a bike without a
helmet. Meditation in
the classroom
AUGUSTA, GA —
While most kids are probably more familiar with Yogi Bear than with yoga,
a study published in the November-December issue of Psychosomatic Medicine
suggests it would behoove our youngsters to meditate. The authors found that 20
minutes a day of meditation lowered the blood pressure and heart rates of middle
schoolers. The study involved 73 kids who were randomly assigned to either a regular
health education class, or to two 10-minute sessions of meditation every school
day for three months. Frankincense,
gold, myrrh and anthrax?
ROCKVILLE,
MD — With all those gaily wrapped parcels arriving in the mail for
Christmas, the paranoid may begin to fret about bioterrorism. Not to worry —
A study in the December issue of Biomedical Instrumentation and Technology
was chock full of handy household hints straight from the FDA. The authors found
that anthrax could be sterilized with either ethylene oxide gas, gamma irradiation
or electron beams. Sadly, none of the methods could zap the anthrax without discolouring
or otherwise ruining the contents of the package. Super-size
my radiology machine
BOSTON,
MA — Super-sized meals lead to super-sized people, who may have super-sized
health problems like heart disease and diabetes. But a presentation at the Radiological
Society of America's annual meeting in Chicago this past November brought another
point to our attention. Diagnostic machines are built with a certain smaller-sized
person in mind. The presenters found the percentage of radiological exams where
the machine failed to yield useable images because of the patient's size, doubled
in the past 15 years. Waddlegate:
debonair, avian and gay
NEW YORK
— In the US, a different species of gay rights issue reared its, er,
beak this year. The 'coming out' of a pair of penguins involved in a longterm
same-sex relationship in Central Park Zoo sparked controversy in scientific and
religious communities alike. Lovebirds Roy and Silo even tried to become parents,
unsuccessfully incubating a stone until their sympathetic keeper gave them a real
egg to look after. When a female chick — Tango — was born, the proud
papas raised the little chick until she was ready to waddle out on her own. Radioactive
false alarms
NEWARK, NJ —
For all those snowbirds thinking of winging their way to warmer climes, here's
some advice: Try not to set off any alarms. That may sound easy, but the radioactive
material used in bone and thyroid scans can stick around for up to 90 days, and
may set off the increasingly sensitive radiation detectors of security personnel.
It's a good idea to give these patients a doctor's note if they plan on travelling.
Researchers from the New Jersey Medical School presented their findings at the
annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.
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