medicine

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Peanut Butter Diamonds, Air-Conditioned Shirts and On-Demand Amnesia

Tiffany's? More like Jif-any's!: Researchers at Edinburgh University have created a way to make diamonds out of most carbon-based materials, including peanut butter. They create an oddly-named "stiletto heel effect" by squeezing material between the tips of two diamonds, creating pressure greater than at the center of the earth. Besides making diamonds out of sandwich dressings, the scientists also say they could turn oxygen into red crystals. Kind of makes me wish I had held out for more than a cupcake... READ ON

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Summer First Aid Tips

Walking home last night, I witnessed a variety of Independence Day near-mishaps, as cars drove past twinkling buckets of fire, children made their first explosions, and hardcore fireworks dudes lit up the night. The National Safety Council declares Independence Day the most dangerous holiday, so I figured I'd share some first aid links to help you cope with this summer's injuries. First up: 10 Useless or Even Dangerous First Aid Myths reports on what not to do to treat a snakebite, jellyfish sting, or... READ ON

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Let us now praise Vitamin A...

Trader Joe's recently peddled me a very attractive assortment of vitamin supplements, and in each self-contained valentine of pills were all the usual suspects reassuringly packaged together. The tiny ruby of the group, I thought, had to be something special, and indeed it was an old vitamin fave: Vitamin A. As a nearly legally blind person (but lively & w/excellent hearing!), I've always been after any talisman claiming to benefit one's eyes--even though I wasn't sure how much use I'd be able to get out... READ ON

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Hamsters use Viagra to combat jet lag

New Scientist is reporting that extremely small doses of Viagra help hamsters deal with their jet lag. And while I had no idea hamsters even had a problem with jet lag, the multi-use drug seems to be working wonders for the jet-setting lot. Scientists were quick to point out that while the one-off Viagra doses could be beneficial to humans traipsing across the globe, the suggested doses would be too small to cause any sort of sexual arousal. More at New... READ ON

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Scott Adams and Spasmodic Dysphonia

Dilbert creator Scott Adams was stricken in 2005 with a rare condition called Spasmodic Dysphonia, which prevented him from speaking in a normal voice. The condition is somewhat bizarre, because sufferers can sometimes sing or speak in unusual circumstances, just not with their normal voices. The condition has struck a variety of famous people (according to Wikipedia), including Darryl McDaniels of Run DMC, and Diane Rehm from NPR. For Adams, the condition meant he could still speak publicly, sing, or... READ ON

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Fun With Ear Wax

While researching a new article for the print version of the _floss, I came across some surprising inventions to tackle ear wax. First was the practice of "ear candling," in which a hollow conical candle is placed over the ear and lit. The fire supposedly creates a vacuum which sucks wax out of the ear. Now in my personal opinion, the first sign that something is wrong in your personal hygiene ritual is that the procedure involves starting a fire on something stuck to your head. Why Ear Candling is... READ ON

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Can carbon monoxide stop MS?

New Scientist is reporting that Portuguese researchers have discovered that small doses of carbon monoxide may hinder multiple sclerosis in mice. The scientists injected MS into their test subjects, and then placed some of the rodents in an environment where they were exposed to a limited amount of the monoxide. At the end of the experiment, the mice with CO exposure had much better mobility than the ones without. Apparently, the carbon monoxide aids in binding iron to certain molecules in the brain, which... READ ON

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Can brain damage help you quit smoking?

According to New Scientist online, a little brain damage might go a long way with smokers trying to quit. Scientists at the University of Southern California in LA were intrigued by a heavy smoker (40 cigarettes a day) who immediately lost the urge to light up once his insula was damaged. In follow-up studies, 70% of smokers with damage to that tiny part of the brain also managed to kick the habit with ease. While the research is all positive, the hope is that in the future surgeons will be able to tamper... READ ON

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How to be a First Aid Hero (aka 10 Things to Avoid)

Apparently, helping the sick means not taking your med school cues from the movies. In fact, the Ririan Project has compiled a pretty great list of the Top 10 things you ought not to do, including peeing on jellyfish stings and sucking on snakebites. Of course, my favorite of the group is this one: 5. Slapping a Raw Steak on a Black Eye In the movies, you always see someone put a raw steak over their black eye. While it may feel good, the grease from the steak might get into the eye, causing more... READ ON

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Paris has Japanese tourists running to the Shrink

Just for the record, we're talking about Paris the city, not Paris the celebutante. According to a new Reuters report, every year about a dozen Japanese tourists suffer from "Paris syndrome"-- a condition requiring psychological treatment after the realities of visiting Paris conflict with their romanticized expectations. According to psychologist Yousef Mahmoudia, "A third of patients get better immediately, a third suffer relapses and the rest have psychoses." Apparently, the syndrome affects fragile... READ ON