health

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Public health announcement

Talk about a buzzkill -- my boss just waltzed into the office wearing a fabulous new top from a local vintage store, and instead of oohing-and-ahhing as was clearly expected, my co-worker said, "oh, you got that at the Garment District? I bought a shirt there once and it gave me ringworm." This prompted a lively discussion in which I learned the following not-very-fun facts: (1) you really can get ringworm from sharing clothes, (2) ringworm is not a worm, but a skin-infecting fungus, (3) "jock itch"... READ ON

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Pop stars to the rescue!

First a Green Day album cover saves a little girl from exploding, now this: British popster James Blunt's song You're Beautiful has taken a beating of late, with even the singer himself referring to it as "overplayed". But Britain's Daily Mail has revealed that the song might have miracle powers. Five-year-old Claudia De'Alwis, had been a coma for 10 days following a head-first plunge from a five-metre balcony. She began to awake after her favourite song came over the hospital radio - it was [James]... READ ON

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Are Prisons Becoming Asylums?

Frontline has done so many fascinating documentaries for PBS and the latest is no exception. It's called "The New Asylums" and explores the American prison system and asks why there are so many mentally ill inmates in prison. Although a little less than 55,000 Americans receive treatment in psychiatric wards, almost ten times that many mentally ill adults are in jails and prisons across the country. Here's a bit from the Frontline website: Of the nearly 2 million inmates being held in prisons and... READ ON

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Japan's Fertility Problem

Will Japan face a population decline? There's definitely a shortage of babies.  "Japanese people simply aren't having sex," Dr. Kunio Kitamura, director of the Japan Family Planning Association, was quoted as saying by the Japan Times, an English language daily. An association survey of 936 people between the ages of 16 and 49 showed 31 percent had not had sex for more than a month "for no particular reason" -- a condition known as "sexless." Japan's fertility rate -- the average number of... READ ON
  1. FIND THESE T-SHIRTS AND MORE IN THE STORE!

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Questionably Intelligent Design

So, why would anyone pay $750,000 for a loft with concave floors (meant to throw you off-balance), misplaced light switches (you have to grope around for), and a garish aesthetic only a McDonald's Playland could appreciate. Well, because it's all supposed to make you live longer of course! According to architects Shusaku Arakawa and Madeline Gins, "comfort leads to degeneration, and ultimately, death" so they designed a house that keeps your brain sharp and your body on your toes. They also advise that... READ ON

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