Making time to really listen to patients
(Rana L.A. Awdish and Leonard L. Berry/ Harvard Business Review) — Modern medicine’s true healing potential depends on a resource that is being systematically depleted: the time and capacity to truly listen to patients, hear their stories, and learn not only what’s the matter with them but also what matters to them. Some health …
The many ways your house is killing you
(Richard A Lovett/ Cosmos) — We may not think of our living rooms and offices as chemical factories, but reactions occurring within them can produce a dangerous array of toxic air pollutants, scientists say.
In some cases, these chemicals are formed by the same reactions that produce urban smog, says Sasho Gligorovski, a physicist …
Promising new test for common uterine cancers has Montreal connection
(Charlie Fidelman/ The Gazette) — Early detection. Faster, safer, better. Aggressive ovarian cancer is more often than not detected when it’s so advanced that survival is limited; there is no reliable screening test.
Now researchers at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Centre and McGill University say they’ve developed a genetic-based …
A big breakfast could aid weight loss, glucose control
(Honor Whiteman/ Medical News Today) — You may have heard that breakfast is “the most important meal of the day,” and a new study helps to support this. It found that eating a big breakfast and reducing lunch and dinner size may be key for people looking to lose weight and improve their blood glucose levels.
Led by researchers …
Our latest weapon against antibiotic resistance? Platypus milk
(Kristen Houser/ Futurism) — The platypus is, frankly, a weirdo. It’s one of the last surviving species of egg-laying mammals. It has venomous flippers. And that furry body combined with the duck bill? Looks like it belongs on evolution’s blooper reel.
And now another strange element of its biology is intriguing scientists: …
Have scientists found an answer to chronic pain?
(Tim Newman/ Medical News Today) — Using computer modeling, researchers have designed a new compound that may help to treat neuropathic pain. In animal trials, it produced immediate, long-lasting therapeutic effects.
Neuropathic pain is a chronic condition wherein people have a heightened sensibility to pain, or hyperalgesia,
Study challenges ‘healthy but obese’ theory
(Agence France-Presse) — Being overweight or obese does pose a risk of heart disease, despite claims to the contrary, a study of nearly 300,000 British adults suggested Friday.
While it is generally accepted that being overweight increases a person’s disease risk, some researchers have recently suggested that carrying extra …
Being sleepy during the day could be a warning sign of Alzheimer’s
(Alice Park/ Time) — Researchers know that a condition as complicated as Alzheimer’s can’t be traced to a single or simple cause. Genetic factors contribute to the degenerative brain disorder that robs people of their memory, and biological process related to aging play a role as well.
But in recent years, scientists have uncovered …
WHO launches health review after microplastics found in 90% of bottled water
(Graham Readfearn/ The Guardian) —The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced a review into the potential risks of plastic in drinking water after a new analysis of some of the world’s most popular bottled water brands found that more than 90% contained tiny pieces of plastic. A previous study also found high levels of microplastics …