High Suicide Risk, Prejudice Plague Transgender People

 Posted on February 24, 2023  |  6 minutes  |  1169 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

A staggering 41 percent of transgender people in the United States have attempted to commit suicide, according to a new survey. About 19 percent of transgender people report being refused medical care because of their gender-nonconforming status, and a shocking 2 percent have been violently assaulted in a doctor's office. These statistics are just some of the sobering findings from a survey of more than 7,000 transgender people conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, released in October 2010. [Read More]

Infertility in Obese Women Might be Explained by Insulin Levels

 Posted on February 24, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  410 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Obesity is known to be tied to infertility in women, and a new study suggests a possible reason why: the brain's pituitary gland may be sensitive to the increased insulin levels that occur with obesity, and in turn, may impair fertility. The study, conducted in mice, shows that high levels of insulin, a hormone that helps control blood sugar, act on the pituitary gland, which is involved in regulating ovulation. Elevated levels of insulin, a side effect of obesity , prompt the pituitary gland to pump out large amounts of hormones that disrupt ovulation. [Read More]

When Dieting, Not All Calories Are Created Equal

 Posted on February 24, 2023  |  5 minutes  |  924 words  |  Patria Henriques

A calorie is a calorie, goes the popular mantra. But now doctors and dieticians might have to eat those words. Researchers have found that not all calories are created equal and that the types of calories you eat, particularly after losing weight, can have a profound effect on how efficiently your body burns calories and keeps off unwanted pounds. The ideal diet that promotes a fast metabolism — that is, your body's ability to quickly burn off calories — as well as promotes long-term health in terms of disease-free organs appears to be (surprise! [Read More]

Why an Escaped Jaguar Went on a Killing Spree at New Orleans Zoo

 Posted on February 24, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  703 words  |  Patria Henriques

Nine animals have died since an escaped jaguar attacked them at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans on Saturday (July 14). But the jaguar didn't actually eat the animals — including red foxes, alpacas and an emu — so why did it attack so many? The answer? The 3-year-old male jaguar likely went into a mode known as "surplus killing," in which a predator kills more prey than it can possibly eat at one time, said Howard Quigley, executive director of the jaguar program at Panthera, a global wildcat-conservation organization, who isn't involved with the jaguar at the Audubon Zoo. [Read More]

Why Painful Memories Linger

 Posted on February 24, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  653 words  |  Patria Henriques

Memories of traumatic events can be hard to shake, and now scientists say they understand why. Studies on laboratory rats have revealed, for the first time, the brain mechanism that translates unpleasant experiences into long-lasting memories. The findings support a 65-year-old hypothesis called Hebbian plasticity. This idea states that in the face of trauma, such as watching a dog sink its teeth into your leg, more neurons in the brain fire electrical impulses in unison and make stronger connections to each other than under normal situations. [Read More]

Winter Outlook 2017: What's the Forecast for Your Region?

 Posted on February 24, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  780 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Is the United States in for a bitterly cold winter or a bearable one? It all depends on where you live, according to a three-month outlook released Thursday (Dec. 15) by the U.S. Climate Prediction Center (CPC). Because of the cooling effects of the weather pattern called La Niña and other factors, temperatures and rainfall won't be par for the course across large swaths of the country this year, said Jon Gottschalck, a meteorologist with the CPC. [Read More]

Woman Dies from Rabies After Rescuing Puppy While on Vacation

 Posted on February 24, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  382 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

A Norwegian woman died from rabies after she played with an infected puppy that she attempted to rescue while on vacation, according to news reports. The woman, 24-year-old Birgitte Kallestad, was traveling in the Philippines with friends in February when they found the puppy on the side of the road, according to the Washington Post. Kallestad took the puppy back to the resort, where she washed and played with it. [Read More]

Woman's Death Linked to Alternative Cancer Treatment

 Posted on February 24, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  752 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

A Colorado woman died after using cesium chloride supplements as an alternative treatment for breast cancer, a new case study reports. The 61-year-old woman had been taking cesium supplements daily for a year as a treatment for breast cancer, but it was a single injection of cesium chloride liquid into a lump in her right breast that is likely what ultimately proved fatal, the report said. The woman had been following the advice of a nutritionist, who had recommended cesium chloride to help shrink her breast tumor. [Read More]

'Bug Bombs' Still Causing Injuries Despite Product Warnings

 Posted on February 23, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  510 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Despite new warning labels on "bug bomb" products, Americans are still injuring themselves with these at-home pesticides, according to a new report. Bug bombs, more formally known as "total release foggers," are pesticide products that are designed to fill an area with insecticide; they are often used indoors to kill cockroaches, fleas and other pests, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The chemicals in these products can make people sick when used incorrectly — for example, people exposed to these products have reported symptoms such as coughing, respiratory irritation, nausea or vomiting, the CDC said. [Read More]

'Shredder' enzyme might tear cells apart in severe COVID-19

 Posted on February 23, 2023  |  5 minutes  |  1031 words  |  Trudie Dory

An enzyme that can tear cell membranes to shreds may contribute to the organ damage that ultimately kills some people with severe COVID-19, a new study hints. The enzyme, called "secreted phospholipase A2 Group IIA" (sPLA2-IIA), normally protects the body from invaders, such as bacteria, by grabbing hold of specific fats in the microbes' membranes and tearing them apart, said senior author Floyd Chilton, a biochemist and director of the Precision Nutrition and Wellness Initiative at the University of Arizona. [Read More]