A new study indicates that giving babies an egg every day may improve their chances of growing healthy and tall.

According to a new research, giving weaned babies an egg every day could help them grow bigger, taller, and healthier, especially if they are undernourished.

The new study was carried out in Ecuador, a country confronting a widespread growth stunting problem. Research was conducted in the Ecuadorian Andes and involved around 160 babies aged 6 to 9 months old.

These had all been recently weaned. As part of the study, 80 of them were given an egg every day over six months. The remaining 80 babies continued being fed according to their usual diet. Study results are available in a paper in the journal Pediatrics.

An Egg Every Day Can Help Increase Growth Chances

The study team noted that the babies fed with an egg on a daily basis were twice more likely to growth bigger, taller, and healthier when compared to the other group. Also, researchers point out that this is the first controlled and randomized study to analyze the effects of eggs on stunting.

“It’s no single nutrient in the eggs but rather the whole package of amino acids and fatty acids, and also vitamins like and choline and B12,” states Lora Iannotti.

She is the study’s author and part of Washington University in St. Louis. Stunting is one of the main issues that the World Health Assembly is planning on overcoming by 2025. Babies with a stunted growth tend to develop into smaller children and then rather reduced height adults.

Stunting was also associated with a reduced lifespan and even cognitive development problems. As such, the study team considers that eggs could be both a promising and somewhat cheap way of dealing with stunting. Especially so in countries in which this is a big problem.

Also, the team detected an unexpected other effect of eating an egg a day. Babies with such a dietary plan also consumed less sugar and sugar-sweetened foods. Iannotti states that the study wasn’t looking or expecting such an effect.

They also have yet to establish a cause and effect relation for this finding. Still, they believe that the sensation of being filled decrease the kids’ appetite for other foods.

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A new report shows that there were more than 4,000 overdose deaths in Ohio.

The opioid crisis is one of the biggest problems the United States is currently facing. In the last few years, thousands of lives have been taken by opioids. A new report shows that there were more than 4,000 overdose deaths in Ohio. This state is one of the most affected by the opioid crisis.

Overdose Deaths

The number of overdose deaths seems to increase every year, despite considerable efforts made by state officials. Ohio saw a 36% increase in overdose deaths since 2015. Two years ago, more than 3,000 cases were reported. In 2016, more than 4,149 overdose deaths were linked with opioid overdose or consumption. This year, authorities are concerned that the number of deaths caused by opioids will only be higher.

Another report, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, shows that Ohio had the biggest incidence of overdose deaths in the US in the last 2 years. Synthetic opioids like carfentanil and fentanyl were the more likely culprits. These drugs are more powerful than heroin and morphine, and significantly cheaper. Nevertheless, just a small amount can kill a person.

Police officers and investigators observed that many drug dealers are presently selling fentanyl-laced heroin. Unsuspecting buyers get more than they bargain for when preparing and injecting the substance which, in normal conditions, if 50 to 100 times more potent than what they were accustomed to.

Accidental Overdoses

Cops have a hard time protecting themselves from the opioid crisis. Since fentanyl and carfentanil hit the market, officers are also at risk. Carfentanil, for instance, is actually an elephant tranquilizer. When it comes into contact with the skin, a very small amount can prove fatal, especially since the epiderm absorbs the substance. Several police officers overdosed at the scenes after touching objects laced with carfentanil.

An Ohio officer accidentally overdosed after he brushed off some white powder from his shirt. The white powder was fentanyl-laced heroin belonging to a man that was arrested earlier that night. Several doses of Narcan were used to revive the officer.

Another policeman overdosed on 19 May, after he was at the scene of a suspected opioid overdose. The man started feeling sick seconds after he started searching for drugs at the scene. To revive him, the paramedics used several doses of Narcan. Even the paramedic that helped the police officer needed treatment for exposure to drugs.

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Research showed the beneficial effects of eating tree nuts after following a colon cancer treatment.

A new study showed that eating certain types of tree nuts could significantly help people that have followed a colon cancer treatment. They may do so as they were noted to lower the recurrence risk of the diseases and to reduce death risks.

This new report was released earlier this week, ahead of the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology or ASCO. This will be taking place in Chicago next month. Its results are based on an observational, long-term study. It followed over 826 patients that had been treated for stage III colon cancer. Usually, this therapy includes both chemotherapy and surgery.

Patients to follow this treatment and whose cancer has not spread in the body have a 70 percent median survival chance of 3 years following therapy.

Tree Nuts, an Efficient and Natural Post-Treatment Treat

According to the research team, around 19 percent of the involved patients consumed around 2 or more ounces of nuts of all type on a weekly basis. These presented an average 42 percent lower risk of cancer recurrence. Also, they had a 57 percent decreased risk of death when compared with patients that consumed no nuts at all.

Based on this, the study team also took a closer look at the types of nuts consumed. Which helped them determined that tree nuts had even better results, even if only by a few. Patients that ate these types showed a 53 percent lower risk of death. They also had a 46 percent decreased cancer recurrence rate. This was also for a consumption rate of 2 or more ounces per week.

“[…] we felt that it was important to determine if these benefits [of nut consumption] could also apply to colorectal cancer patients,” said Temidayo Fadelu.

He is the study’s lead and a clinical fellow in medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Still, scientists point out that tree nuts should be used aside and not replace colon cancer treatments.

Also, the team noted that this was an observational study. As such, they were unable to establish a cause and effect relation.

Tree nuts include walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashew, and hazelnuts. The more commonly eaten peanut and peanut butter reported no significant effect.

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There have been many debates whether the human sense of smell is, in fact, inferior to that of animals.

Many have started debates on the subject of the human sense of smell and its alleged inferiority to that of its animal kingdom equivalent. In response, a researcher named John McGann recently released a paper which contradicts this claim. According to McGann, there’s nothing wrong with humanity’s olfactory capabilities. In fact, they may be even better than believed.

John McGann is a neuroscientist part of the Rutgers Department of Psychology Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience Department. He published his new study result in a paper in the journal Science. The researcher based his studies on the comparisons between the human and rodent sense of smell.

“Actually, we have a really excellent sense of smell,” says McGann. “There are quite a lot of experiments showing that the human sense of smell is pretty similar to what you can find with a rat or a mouse or a dog”.

Myth of the Human Sense of Smell and its Origins

So the researcher nosed his way until he found the reported root of this misconception. McGann states that this idea can be traced back to Paul Broca. He is a French neuroanatomist which lived in the 19^th century. Broca divided mammals into two olfactory groups according to a set of factors. His division was based on the smell’s importance to the day-to-day life, was it critical for them (dogs, for example) or not (humans)?

His conclusion was that humans did not have to rely on their olfactory sense and that we sacrificed smell for evolution. His idea was then embraced by other scientists, including Sigmund Freud, among others, and its influence has created an actual myth around the human sense of smell.

Some of these claims are based on the fact that people have some 400 distinct smell receptors in their nose. This is less than a half of the 1000 detected in rats. However, McGann argues that “400 is an awful lot”. They can also allegedly help distinguish some “tens of millions of unique smells”.

The battle of the nose receptors has yet to offer a conclusive winner or lead to a consistent response. But as McGann points out, and other researchers as well agree, humans “are best” at detecting some smells, while dogs are better are smelling other odors.

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A 2017 study that examined health data from 2014 recently revealed the top 5 preventable life shorteners in the U.S.

A 2017 study that examined health data from 2014 recently revealed the top 5 preventable life shorteners and causes of death in the United States. Working together, a team of researchers from the Cleveland Clinic and New York University School of Medicine established the following top 5. Obesity, diabetes, tobacco use, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol, in that order, are shortening life spans across the nation.

Obesity Takes the Lead as the Top Life Shorteners

While tobacco once topped the list of preventable ways Americans die, obesity has now surpassed it. This tops the list of deadly life choices, shortening life spans by 47% more years than tobacco. These results are seemingly not surprising.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity has been steadily rising since 1997. Then, 19.4% of the Americans over the age of 20 were obese. By 2015, that number had increased to 30.4%.

Diabetes came in second on the list. This too, is unsurprising, as obesity is on the rise and is “the single best predictor of type 2 diabetes.” Tobacco use and hypertension can shorten the life by almost the same amount. High cholesterol levels rounded out the top 5 preventable causes of death.

This study confirms that lifestyle choices are, in fact, linked to longevity. It is an excellent reminder that people have significant control over their health. It is possible to prevent or control every one of the life shorteners on this list. Though dangerous, high cholesterol and blood pressure respond to lifestyle changes.

Diabetes, too, can be managed and controlled. A study conducted by the National Institutes of Health showed that those with risk factors for diabetes reduced their likelihood of becoming diabetic by 58% through lifestyle changes.

Obesity can also be mastered with such changes, and tobacco use is always optional. The fact that this latter is no longer the nation’s top preventable killer proves that unhealthy habits can be altered. Medical science already knows how to prevent and control the killers on this list. This serves as an important guide detailing which unhealthy habits America needs to focus on defeating.

In short, this study sheds light on the preventable ways people are shortening their lives. Because each of these life shorteners is preventable, identifying them gives doctors and their patients the information they need to make healthier choices. Doing so can avoid or minimize the risks presented by such issues.

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According to a clinical trial, a new skull cap device could help improve the survival chances of brain tumor patients.

According to a clinical trial, a new skull cap device could help improve the survival chances of brain cancer patients. It could do so as it shocks the tumor with low-intensity electric fields. Nonetheless, this therapy would also have to combine with an oral chemotherapy.

The new clinical trial study results were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting. This new skull cap device is produced by Optune and works as follows. It is capable of continuously delivering alternating electric fields to the affected brain part. According to the researchers, this can have an anticancer effect as it helps block cell division.

This New Skull Cap Could Improve And Prolong Glioblastoma Survival Rates

The trial study involved patients diagnosed with the aggressive cancer type named glioblastoma. For the trial, they were randomly assigned to one of two treatment methods. A first was based on the Optune skull cap combined with a chemotherapy treatment. The other offered solely the chemo method.

Then, the research team monitored the patients and reported their median overall survival rates. Those that used the Optune cap had a 21-months such rate. In contrast, chemo-only patients had a 16-months median overall survival one.

Median survival rates presented, in general, an overall improvement even on the 1 to 5-years time frame. After a year, the team reported a 43 percent cap survival rate, compared to 31 percent for patients with just chemo. 5 years later, the percentages had fallen to 13 percent versus 5 percent, but the Optune results still stand.

 “Now, we see a meaningful improvement in survival at two years and beyond. With the combination of Optune a temozolomide, one out of seven patients is living longer than 5 years.”

This is according to Dr. Roger Stupp, a Neurological Surgery Professor part of Northwestern University.

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Deep breaths are the ones that calm our brain activity.

Remember when you were so angry that you wanted to punch somebody. When you feel that way the best thing you can do to calm down is to take deep breaths. A new research shows that deep breaths can calm your nerves in a few seconds.

This new study focused on showing the effects of deep breathing when it comes to our feeling. In order to conduct this study, researchers analyzed mice. They observed a connection between the nerve cells and breathing. Deep breaths were the ones that calmed the brain activity.

Less than 400 nerve cells are responsible for the connection between our brain activity and breathing. Once the researchers removed those nerve cells from the mice they observed that the mice were very calm and that they breathed normally.

Scientists mentioned that their research could, someday, help people that suffer from panic attacks, anxiety, and stress. Their findings were published in the journal Science. Breathing is involuntary, an unconscious action that we do in order to stay alive. Animals and human inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide after they used the oxygen to create energy.

People have been taking deep breaths when they feel angry or anxious for a long time. This research just showed the connection between the activity of the brain and deep breaths. Panic attacks, for instance, make a person to take fast, short breaths. This causes the person to feel even more panicked.

This research was conducted by scientists from Stanford University School of Medicine. They observed that our breathing can control the way we feel. When we are angry we tend to breathe faster and to inhale less oxygen. The interesting fact is that the brain is the ones that control the breathing. So, if we manage to make our brain to control the breathing in such a way for us to take deep breaths in the moments when we feel angry, we are more likely to calm down easily.

The problem is that people who suffer from a panic attack have a hard time controlling their breathing. Despite this fact, people who suffer from anxiety should consider doing this simple “treatment”. Deep breaths can make a person feel calm and relax in almost any situation.

What is your opinion about this study? Did you ever use this method of calming down?

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