If you are in America, breathe easy. Ebola is NOT a big threat to your health. Ebola is a public health nightmare in affected African countries. The outbreak is still spreading, and may infect over one million people by next year. This is devastating for both the health of citizens and the stability of governments in affected countries. However, that’s not the whole story. First, …
Got Milk?
I love me some milk. Or at least I did, before my body became less tolerant to lactose and started getting bloated, gassy, and overall unpleasant to be around after drinking it. These symptoms have eased, and I can happily still enjoy nature’s most perfect food – ice cream. Despite this turbulent relationship, I was surprised to see this piece by Matt Saccaro …
The Fecal Frontier
We are in the dawn of a new age. Where clean, synthetic drugs of the classic Western medicine have fallen short, doctors have started using poop to treat diseases. Poop, a hazardous substance that overwhelmingly triggers our inherent disgust, is full of bacteria which appear to be able to re-calibrate the microbiome when it is unbalanced. This may hold the key to saving …
Ebola: the main thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Ebola. The Voldemort of viruses, we can barely stand to hear its name without paroxysms of fear. A virus with a 90% death rate. An incurable menace that has ravaged western Africa in an outbreak that has killed thousands of people. It’s only one flight away from arriving in the US and wreaking havoc in our cities and homes. Everybody panic! You’re …
Pregnant and (anti)depressed – Part 3: Potential Solutions?
At this point, we know that antidepressant use is skyrocketing, there are negative health effects of antidepressant use on fetal development, and we understand some of the mechanisms for how this might happen. But how should we move forward from a scientific and medical standpoint? Science! From a scientific standpoint, future directions are straight-forward: let’s gather more relevant data! A clear gap in the …
Pregnant and (anti)depressed Part 2 – A potential mechanism?
Disclaimer: I do NOT think that women should be blamed or targeted for taking antidepressants during pregnancy. Antidepressants are absolutely necessary for many people to be mentally and physically healthy individuals. I am pointing out that there may be unappreciated health consequences to antidepressant use during pregnancy, and that these should be part of the conversation. As I discussed last time, …
Pregnant and (anti)depressed – Part 1
When it comes to pregnancy, everyone is a vocal and nosy expert. “My word! You can’t have WINE when you’re expecting!” “Are you sure you should be eating that? It’s bad for the baby!” “Oh, let me rub your beautiful baby bump. Yes, isn’t that nice?” Thus, I’m reluctant to enter the already tense conversation about what expectant mothers should do with …
Young blood
Centuries ago in the dark forests of Hungary, Elizabeth of Bathory preyed upon the daughters of peasants and servants in a sadistic quest for youth and pleasure. On top of torture and murder, legend has it that she bathed in the blood of virgins to maintain her youth. Crazily, she may have been onto something. There is promising research suggesting that transfusions of …
Love your bugs
Featured image from Kelly Brogan As much as you may want to, you can’t escape germs. In fact, it’s probably better if you don’t. Humans are populated by a rich community of about 100 trillion microbes, 10 times as many cells as we have in our bodies, and weighing an estimated 3 pounds (the weight discrepancy is due to the larger size of human …
Challenge Those Assumptions!
Happily, we live in a time where challenging dogmatic ideas about the world is not punishable by being burnt at a stake. We know the earth is spherical, that the Earth revolves around the sun, and innumerable other facts about our tiny place in this immense universe. These breakthroughs have come when thinkers push back at conventional wisdom with careful reasoning to build new …