Hot MedFax

Who has the most mobile phones? The U.S.?  E.U.?  Africa?  If you guessed the last, you're right. http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/africa-has-more-mobile-phone-users-than-the-us-or-eu/9053?tag=main;featured-stories

Sad truth: eating healthy doesn't make you live longer. But red meat can kill you. http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/science-scope/eating-any-red-meat-hastens-death/12370?tag=content;siu-container

My husband's afraid of the dentist.  But then, he is one.  Now there's a new reason for him to be scared. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/dentist-drill-comes-unstuck-falls-1508759

Scorpions and tumors. They are working together to fight cancer. http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/tumor-paint-scorpion-toxin-highlights-brain-tumors/9083?tag=nl.e660&s_cid=e660

We may learn from cow brains how cellphone radiation affects ours. http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/mri-maps-heat-from-cellphone-radiation-in-jarred-cow-brains/8951?tag=main;river

Ever had your house robbed?  I have, and it's not pleasant. But now two companies in the UK are making DNA property kids available to neighborhoods which have high burglary rates. http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/dna-making-counterfeiting-theft-much-more-difficult/8821?tag=main

What if a wearable device could alert you to something that's going to upset you? http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/a-watch-that-monitors-stress-tells-you-what-to-avoid/8767?tag=nl.e660&s_cid=e660 http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/a-watch-that-monitors-stress-tells-you-what-to-avoid/8767?tag=nl.e660&s_cid=e660

Christmas, and Newtown.  Here is how I have come to peace with it. http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/default/article/Op-Ed-Taking-strength-from-a-father-s-grace-4135853.php

Hot MedFax: Asperger's Normally Does Not Incite Violence : It's been a week but none of the horror and heartbreak is over.  Despite many reports that the killer of 20 children in Newtown may have had...

It's been a week but none of the horror and heartbreak is over.  Despite many reports that the killer of 20 children in Newtown may have had Asperger's, a form of autism, this illness is not known to spawn violence in its sufferers.  Those in the autism movement fear the syndrome may have been mischaracterized. http://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2012/12/aspergers-syndrome-violence-not-something-we-expect-expert-says

Too bad we weren't around in the 19th and early 20th centuries!  That's when they forgot about Robitussin and used heroin instead to calm coughs. http://books.google.com/books?id=HFO_bUEt3IsC&pg=PA147&lpg=PA147&dq=calming+coughs+heroin&source=bl&ots=d86K_aqxq4&sig=cb6PSDQxR-oGxL6XzMm5lCo-Gts&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kJ3UUJDJJ8nE0AGJ74CIBg&ved=0CEgQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=calming%20coughs%20heroin&f=false

Hope you're not planning on having surgery any time soon.  A new report finds that over 4,000 "never happens" errors occur every year, from removing the wrong limb, to leaving sponges and surgical instruments inside patients. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2012/December/20/doctor-issues.aspx

Oh no, say it ain't so!  Diet soda a no-no for those trying to lose weight -- and who want to keep their teeth?! http://www.dallasnews.com/health/weight-loss/headlines/20121203-does-no-calorie-mean-no-worry-when-it-comes-to-sodas-not-necessarily..ece

The bad news?  One in two men will get cancer in their lifetime, according to a new UK study.  The good news?  It's because we're living longer. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/254259.php

OK. Here's a new reason to drink coffee. It can prevent oral cancer.  No joke. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/risks-coffee-linked-to-fewer-oral-cancer-deaths/

Big surprise.  Physically fit kids do better in school.  Wish I could get my son off the computer!!!! http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/physically-fit-students-do-better-in-school-than-others-study-finds/2012/12/14/6e181614-6a25-11e1-acc6-32fefc7ccd67_story.html

Why do we lie?  Is it from that little jab of guilty pleasure, when we follow all the other rules? But you might want to think about it, next time.  Honesty improves both mental health and physical health. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/09/why-we-lie-time-factor-truth_n_1862384.html

If you work less than 30 hours a week (which used to be considered full-time!), our employer can opt out of Obamacare.  That's what Walmart is doing.  Expects others to follow suit. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/13/walmart-obamacare-medicaid_n_2280118.html

I'm often capable of making my husband frown. Whether's it's because I didn't make our son start homework at 4, or dinner is late (or not big enough), he's often cranky when he comes home from work. And before you know it, I'm cranky, too. It's not so much that his obnoxiousness makes me obnoxious (although he might argue that), but that our own feelings and emotions tend, unconsciously, to mimic those around us. http://www.contemplativecomputing.org/2011/01/smiles-emotion-and-embodied-knowledge.html

It's a fact.  Men are dumber around women.  At least, that's what a recent study found. And not just my opinion! http://www.scienceofrelationships.com/home/2012/7/24/hot-women-make-men-dumb-and-dumber.html

We are all grieving. But Dr. Sanjay Gupta says the sleep the victims' -- and survivors' --parents and siblings got last night will determine how well they cope. https://twitter.com/drsanjaygupta/status/279822454145306624

Do you like organic foods?  A new study says you may be more stingy than others. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/05/does-organic-foods-make-jerks-out-of-people/#.UMpSZG-RTwk

Great.  Just when kids' obesity rates are starting to come down, now we have schools deciding to cut back on the veggies, bowing to parents (parents!) and politicians. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/12/11/healthy-school-lunches-vegetables/1760527/

Live till 100?  If you're a man, maybe not so much. http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/will-you-live-past-100/7778?tag=nl.e660&s_cid=e660

I've worn contacts for years. They've helped me see. Now they may also help me text. http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/new-technology-could-deliver-text-messages-via-contact-lens/7657?tag=nl.e660&s_cid=e660

If you hear a rocking "Jingle Bells" at the mall, head for the exits! Research tells us that retail outlets know we spend more when we're uncomfortable so they hike the heat, speed up the music and bombard us with merchandise to  aggravate our adrenal glands.  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/opinion/sunday/suffer-spend-repeat.html

So we thought we were safe from bedbugs at school.  Now they could be in our library books! http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/garden/bedbugs-hitch-a-ride-on-library-books.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

What if you were trying to decide whether to "love it or list it," or go to France for Christmas, or even, leave your spouse?  Now there's an app  for that. http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/an-app-to-model-lifes-big-decisions/7447?tag=nl.e660&s_cid=e660

Did you know that waiting for biopsy results is equal to learning you have cancer, stress-wise?  Well, it is.  I am living proof of that. Once the waiting was over, and we moved on to treatment options, I felt calmer. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/the-anxiety-of-the-biopsy/

I use social media to stay in touch but now a famous heart association is saying that it can help obese kids lose weight. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/schooled_in_sports/2012/12/heart_association_says_social_media_can_help_combat_childhood_obesity.html

They patent smart phones. Lyrics. Even shoe designs. Now they want to patent your genes. The Supreme Court will soon decide a case which accuses a company in Utah of holding a monopoly on the process for testing for breast cancer genes. I used them to discover that, though I had breast cancer, I don't have the gene. http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/supreme-court-well-decide-if-human-genes-can-be-patented/7214?tag=nl.e660&s_cid=e660

Obamacare forcing many small businesses to rethink health insurance, some, like Denny's, charging customers 5% more, and others, slashing hours for full-timers so they become part-timers and therefore, not eligible.  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/01/business/small-employers-weigh-impact-of-providing-health-insurance.html?pagewanted=all