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8 brilliant scientific screw-ups
Anesthesia (1844)
Mistake leading to discovery: Recreational drug use
Lesson learned: Too much of a good thing can sometimes be, well, a good thingFor decades Nitrous oxide was considered no more than a party toy. Finally, in 1844, a dentist came upon the idea after witnessing a nitrous mishap at a party. High on the gas, a friend of fell and suffered a deep gash in his leg, but didn’t feel a thing. In fact, he didn’t know he’d been seriously injured until someone pointed out the blood pooling at his feet.
7 other accidental scientific discoveries
Photo from: Topical Press Agency/Getty Images
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33 percent of Americans feel pressured to go to work even when they’re sick. But you can transmit the flu from up to 6 feet away.
Maybe you should think about staying home next time?(Source: theweek.com)
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Our newest infographic features some pretty shocking facts about our plastic surgery obsession. For example, teenage plastic surgery is on the rise. There were 14,000 procedures performed on teens in 1996, compared to 77,000 in 2011.
(Source: theweek.com)
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According to new research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions, hair loss, along with other visible signs of aging, could indicate a higher risk of heart disease. However gray hair and wrinkles didn’t show any discernible connection to heart problems.
Are bald people really more likely to get heart disease?
(Source: theweek.com)
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This does not equate to a loss of life, but it is extremely disheartening to see years of research go down the drain.
— An NYU source remarks on the loss of years of medical research, destroyed by Hurricane Sandy(Source: theweek.com)
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According to a new study, U.S. males are starting puberty two years younger than the previous national average age.
“This should perhaps set a standard going forward for being very attentive to puberty in boys and being mindful that they’re developing earlier,” says Dolores J. Lamb, a molecular endocrinologist at Baylor College of Medicine and president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, who wasn’t involved in the study. On the contrary, says lead author Marcia Herman-Giddens, a researcher at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The results shouldn’t be interpreted to establish a “new normal,” says Herman-Giddens. “Just because this is happening doesn’t mean this is normal or healthy.”
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Photo: Thinkstock
In 1993, the average stroke victim suffered his first attack at age 71. In 2005, that number fell to 69. More disturbingly, the stroke rate of people under age 55 increased significantly from 13 percent of all stroke victims studied in 1993 to 19 percent in 2005. In other words, as of 2005, people under age 55 accounted for one in five stroke victims. That rise comes despite an overall drop in the number of people suffering strokes and was consistent across different ethnic groups, says BBC News.
Why are more young Americans having strokes?
(Source: theweek.com)
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Study: Botox may actually be an asset for battling depression.
Researchers selected 30 participants suffering from major depression. Half were given five injections of Botox between and just above the eyebrows while the other half were given placebo injections in the same places.
After six weeks, researchers found the Botox patients had a 47% decrease in depressive symptoms, while the placebo group saw only a 9% decrease.
(Source: theweek.com)
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The bubonic plague, or “Black Death” once wiped out more than a third of medieval Europe. But 7-year-old Sierra Jane Downing just beat it.
Photo: AP Photo/Jack Dempsey
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800,000 women in the U.K. use a birth control called Implanon. It’s a match stick-sized device that is placed under the skin in a fat layer of the upper arm. It’s designed to release hormones that stop ovulation, preventing conception for up to five years. It’s a fairly simple procedure, and the implant can be taken out at any time. But it must be put in, and taken out, by a doctor.
But hundreds of British women who were using an implant nevertheless wound up pregnant last year and — after visiting doctors to have the implants removed — discovered that the implants were nowhere to be found.
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What my doctor thinks of ObamaCare
“Want real health reform that is in the interest of you and your family? Don’t make the same mistake that Washington did. In formulating ObamaCare, the politicians listened to lobbyists, policy wonks, academics, health theorists, regulators, and occasionally to each other. But they failed to listen to the people who actually care for patients: Doctors.
Go ahead, ask your physician at your next visit what she or he thinks of current Washington-directed reform and its impact on the doctor-patient relationship. What you hear will likely surprise you, because it will likely be markedly different from what you hear from Washington. The policy theorists are simply too far removed from the reality of front-line patient care. Health reform, whether via the implementation of ObamaCare or the GOP’s “repeal and replace” plan, should no longer ignore the input and counsel of experienced, front-line, practicing doctors.”
Columnist Bill Frist asked his doctor about ObamaCare. Here are the responses.
(Source: theweek.com)
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Once a week for the past seven years, Veronica Pardo, a volunteer, has brought two dogs to the only hospital in Quito, Ecuador, that treats children with cancer. The dogs not only “bring a sparkle to the eyes and smile to the faces of little ones in the midst of a huge struggle to stay alive,” says The Associated Press, they also have been shown to boost the children’s adrenaline, which helps them bolster their resistance to the harsh effects of chemotherapy.
A dog is man’s best friend in the most ordinary situations, but it’s when you’re down and out that your canine partner really comes through in the clutch. From easing military veterans’ battles with post-traumatic stress disorder to reducing heart and lung pressure for heart-failure patients, the tail-wagging beasts are walking therapy centers.
Here, eight ways dogs improve our health
Photo: AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa
(Source: theweek.com)
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The Army has a huge suicide problem. In July, the number of soldiers who killed themselves (38) amounted to more than double the number from the previous month; that was also the highest one-month tally since the military began keeping suicide records. That brings this year’s total suicides for active-duty soldiers to 116 so far, and doesn’t even account for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or depression.
To address the rampant problem, the Pentagon is investing $3 million for doctors at the University of Indiana to develop a new solution: A nasal spray that, hopefully, will keep depressed soldiers from making irrational decisions.
Could a nasal spray lower the Army’s suicide rate? Here’s how it works…
(Source: theweek.com)
