Hot MedFax

Does Facebook make you lonely?  For me, it does when I see all the parties I'm not invited to.  But beyond that, a new study has found that only the lonely use it the most. Not so surprising, but, according to newswise.com, a new study has found that, though social media was supposedly developed to bring people closer together, it may just be the people who are the most distanced from others who are drawn to it. There is a relationship between Facebook use and loneliness. The researchers concluded that relationship exists because the feeling of loneliness brings its users to Facebook, rather than because Facebook makes people lonely. The researchers chose to focus on Facebook because it is by far the most popular online social media site, with people using it to share personal information, meet people and develop friendships, according to the study. The use of Facebook – at home and at work – accounts for 54 percent of users’ time online globally and 62 percent...

As if you needed another reason to quit smoking. . . Now there's definitive proof it's linked to oral cancer. According to newswise.com, researchers have found a link between tobacco and the virus that causes this kind of cancer. Johns Hopkins scientists have shown a strong association between tobacco use or exposure and infection with oral human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16), the sexually transmitted virus responsible for mouth and throat cancers worldwide. The numbers of such cancers have increased 225 percent in the United States over the past two decades.   HPV16 is found in 80 percent of cancers located in the back of the throat and is transmitted through oral sex.   Remember Michael Douglas? “The practice of oral sex is common, but this cancer is rare. So there must be cofactors in the process that explain why some people develop persistent HPV16 infections and HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers when most other people don’t,” says Gypsyamber D’So...

When I have a little time, I like to scroll through the top news stories at CNN.com.  Now I wish I hadn't. AARP did a study of the eight things you should never touch, and lemon wedges were right up there at the top of the list.   The article says you should never use lemons in a restaurant.  Request your drink naked, it said.  But I live on iced tea and drinking that without a lemon would be like, well, french fries without ketchup.  Pizza without cheese.  Romeo without Juliet.  You get my drift. The article said that the reason lemon wedges are so dicey is because of all the people who don't wash their hands and then touch the food.  (Scary fact: only 15% of people wash their hands correctly after using the rest room.) On average, an adult can touch as many as 30 objects within a minute, including germ-harboring, high-traffic surfaces such as light switches, doorknobs, phone receivers and remote controls, according to AARP. And you don...

Admit it. When you've had a bad day, don't you want to go on Facebook and see that your work friend's car slid off the driveway in the ice storm and smashed into a tree?  Or your college pal's getting a divorce?  Or the neighbor who never waves back has her windows shaving-creamed on Halloween. OK, so maybe you have friends like I do, who only post wedding anniversaries in the Caribbean (we had our 20th at Kozi's) or children who get 1600s on their SATs.  But a new study says, if you're in a bad mood, chances are your best bet is to head to Facebook and find someone else who's worse off, according to newswise.com. When people are in a bad mood, they are more likely to actively search social networking sites like Facebook to find friends who are doing even worse than they are, the study suggests. Researchers found that, in general, people use social media to connect with people who are posting positive and success-oriented updates. “But when ...

It probably shouldn't come as a surprise but men are more likely to deceive women in negotiations than other men. The real shocker is that women do this, too. According to a new study, women face dishonesty more in negotiations than men.  That's because it's perceived that women are easier to deceive.  By both men and women. Researchers have found that women are usually at a real disadvantage during negotiations. Think back to your own sessions with someone when you're trying to get something you want.  Maybe a job.  On the interview you have everything all lined up, your portfolio, background information on the company and possibly the people you will be talking to, the company's expectations and requirements for the job.  You arrive on time.  You're dressed appropriately.  You feel pretty confident. And then the meeting starts and you're suddenly at a loss.  Or, this is what happens to me.  I go in, answer all the questions, lik...

We just don't get a break. A new study is saying that worry, jealousy and moodiness in women are linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer's. Now if only the men in our lives weren't causing us to have these emotions!  Just kidding. But it's a fairly serious finding.  Women who are anxious, jealous, or moody and distressed in middle age may be at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life, according to a nearly 40-year-long study, according to newswise.com. “Most Alzheimer’s research has been devoted to factors such as education, heart and blood risk factors, head trauma, family history and genetics,” said study author Lena Johannsson, PhD, of the University of Gothenburg in Gothenburg, Sweden. “Personality may influence the individual’s risk for dementia through its effect on behavior, lifestyle or reactions to stress.” For the study, 800 women with an average age of 46 were followed for 38 years and given personality tests that looked...

We've always been told to get out and get some fresh air.  But did you know that walking can stave off depression? According to newswise.com, a new study has found that nature group walks lead to improved health. Now, I've never been a big fan of groups.  I've always enjoyed solo endeavors, especially in any kind of athletics (could that be because I'm a complete klutz?).  I've run for years, only once or twice with others (the only time my husband and I went running, he took off like a shot; later he said he's just always competitive -- we've never run together again!).  One of the places I most enjoyed running was in a wooded park near our condo before we had a child.  I ran in this quiet, eerie place for over 10 years (only requiring one stitch in my knee, after a stumble).  I got through many family fights, estrangements, work disasters and trying for years to have our child, running through the peaceful stillness of those beautiful slowly changin...