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Teeth pendants speak of the elk’s prominent status in the Stone Age

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Roughly 8,200 years ago, the island of Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov in Lake Onega in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, housed a large burial ground where men, women and children of varying ages were buried.

Many of the graves contain an abundance of objects and red ochre, signifying the wish to ensure the comfort of the buried also after death. Pendants made of elk incisors were apparently attached to clothing and accessories, such as dresses, coats, cloaks, headdresses and belts.

Although no clothing material has been preserved, the location of the elk teeth sheds light on the possible type of these outfits. [Read more…] about Teeth pendants speak of the elk’s prominent status in the Stone Age

One small alcoholic drink a day is linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation

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A study of nearly 108,000 people has found that people who regularly drink a modest amount of alcohol are at increased risk of atrial fibrillation, a condition where the heart beats in an abnormal rhythm.

The study, published today (Wednesday) in the European Heart Journal, found that, compared to drinking no alcohol at all, just one alcoholic drink a day was linked to a 16% increased risk of atrial fibrillation over an average (median) follow-up time of nearly 14 years.

This means that while four teetotallers in 100 might develop atrial fibrillation over the period of the study, five per 100 might develop the condition if they consumed alcohol starting with slightly more than an alcoholic drink a week and more than 75% of them consumed up to one drink a day. [Read more…] about One small alcoholic drink a day is linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation

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  • Stretching more effective than walking to lower high blood pressure: USask study
    36
    Stretching more effective than walking to lower high blood pressure: USask studyA new University of Saskatchewan (USask) study has found that stretching is superior to brisk walking for reducing blood pressure in people with high blood pressure or who are at risk of developing elevated blood pressure levels. Walking has long been the prescription of choice for physicians trying to help…
    Tags: study, people, news, health
  • Physical distancing policies ‘not enough to protect lower-income people’
    31
    Physical distancing policies ‘not enough to protect lower-income people’A new Boston University School of Public Health study of the first four months of America's coronavirus epidemic, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, shows that physical distancing (also called "social distancing") policies had little effect on lower income people still needing to leave their homes to go to work…
    Tags: people, study, health, news
  • ECDC and WHO call for improved HIV testing in Europe
    31
    ECDC and WHO call for improved HIV testing in EuropeThe number of people living with undiagnosed HIV is increasing in the WHO European Region. According to data published today by ECDC and the WHO/Europe, more than 136 000 people were newly diagnosed in 2019 – roughly 20% of these diagnoses were in the EU/EAA and 80% in the eastern…
    Tags: people, news, health

Stretching more effective than walking to lower high blood pressure: USask study

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A new University of Saskatchewan (USask) study has found that stretching is superior to brisk walking for reducing blood pressure in people with high blood pressure or who are at risk of developing elevated blood pressure levels.

Walking has long been the prescription of choice for physicians trying to help their patients bring down their blood pressure. High blood pressure (hypertension) is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease and among the top preventable risk factors affecting overall mortality.

This new finding, published December 18, 2020 in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, shows that stretching should be part of a well-rounded treatment plan for people wrestling with hypertension. [Read more…] about Stretching more effective than walking to lower high blood pressure: USask study

Related Posts

  • ECDC and WHO call for improved HIV testing in Europe
    38
    ECDC and WHO call for improved HIV testing in EuropeThe number of people living with undiagnosed HIV is increasing in the WHO European Region. According to data published today by ECDC and the WHO/Europe, more than 136 000 people were newly diagnosed in 2019 – roughly 20% of these diagnoses were in the EU/EAA and 80% in the eastern…
    Tags: people, news, health
  • Physical distancing policies ‘not enough to protect lower-income people’
    36
    Physical distancing policies ‘not enough to protect lower-income people’A new Boston University School of Public Health study of the first four months of America's coronavirus epidemic, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, shows that physical distancing (also called "social distancing") policies had little effect on lower income people still needing to leave their homes to go to work…
    Tags: people, study, health, news
  • One small alcoholic drink a day is linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation
    36
    One small alcoholic drink a day is linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillationA study of nearly 108,000 people has found that people who regularly drink a modest amount of alcohol are at increased risk of atrial fibrillation, a condition where the heart beats in an abnormal rhythm. The study, published today (Wednesday) in the European Heart Journal, found that, compared to drinking no…
    Tags: study, people, news, health
  • Is sitting always bad for your mind? A new study suggests maybe not
    31
    Is sitting always bad for your mind? A new study suggests maybe notIt's generally accepted health advice that adults of all ages should sit less, move more, and engage in regular exercise to feel better and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. However, when it comes to the brain and cognition, a new study of older adults from Colorado State University suggests…
    Tags: study, health, people, news
  • Making health care more personal
    30
    Making health care more personalThe health care system today largely focuses on helping people after they have problems. When they do receive treatment, it’s based on what has worked best on average across a huge, diverse group of patients. Now the company Health at Scale is making health care more proactive and personalized –…
    Tags: health, people

What happens when your brain can’t tell which way is up or down?

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What feels like up may actually be some other direction depending on how our brains process our orientation, according to psychology researchers at York University’s Faculty of Health. 

In a new study, researchers at York University’s Centre for Vision Research found that an individual’s interpretation of the direction of gravity can be altered by how their brain responds to visual information.

Laurence Harris, a professor in the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Health and Meaghan McManus, a graduate student in his lab, found, using virtual reality, that people differ in how much they are influenced by their visual environment. [Read more…] about What happens when your brain can’t tell which way is up or down?

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  • Keeping weight off is up to your brain, not just willpower, Ben-Gurion U researchers discover
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    Keeping weight off is up to your brain, not just willpower, Ben-Gurion U researchers discoverWhat if an MRI scan could determine whether a weight loss program was likely to be effective? Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers have discovered a neural subnetwork of connected regions between the brain and gastric basal electric frequency that correlates with future weight loss based on connectivity patterns.…
    Tags: brain, researchers, participants, visual, health
  • Why some friends make you feel more supported than others
    33
    Why some friends make you feel more supported than othersIt's good to have friends and family to back you up when you need it – but it's even better if your supporters are close with each other too, a new set of studies suggests. Researchers found that people perceived they had more support from a group of friends or…
    Tags: people, group, participants, study, researchers, life

How medical schools can transform curriculums to undo racial biases

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Medical school curriculums may misuse race and play a role in perpetuating physician bias, a team led by Penn Medicine researchers found in an analysis of curriculum from the preclinical phase of medical education.

In a perspective piece published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers identified five key categories in which curriculum misrepresented race in class discussions, presentations, and assessments.

The authors recommend that rather than oversimplifying conversations about how race affects diseases’ prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment, medical school faculty must widen the lens to “impart an adequate and accurate understanding of the complexity of these relationships”. [Read more…] about How medical schools can transform curriculums to undo racial biases

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  • Empathy may be in the eye of the beholder
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    Empathy may be in the eye of the beholderEmpathy is talked about a lot these days. Against the backdrop of a global pandemic and a divisive political climate in the United States, calls for empathy have become louder and more urgent. We encourage empathy for those inflicted with Covid-19 and those struggling with unemployment. We reminisce about the…
    Tags: people, news, life

ECDC and WHO call for improved HIV testing in Europe

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The number of people living with undiagnosed HIV is increasing in the WHO European Region. According to data published today by ECDC and the WHO/Europe, more than 136 000 people were newly diagnosed in 2019 – roughly 20% of these diagnoses were in the EU/EAA and 80% in the eastern part of the European Region.

Every second HIV diagnosis (53%) happens at a late stage of the infection, when the immune system has already started to fail. This is a sign that testing strategies in the Region are not working properly to diagnose HIV early. [Read more…] about ECDC and WHO call for improved HIV testing in Europe

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  • Physical distancing policies ‘not enough to protect lower-income people’
    41
    Physical distancing policies ‘not enough to protect lower-income people’A new Boston University School of Public Health study of the first four months of America's coronavirus epidemic, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, shows that physical distancing (also called "social distancing") policies had little effect on lower income people still needing to leave their homes to go to work…
    Tags: people, health, news, uncategorized
  • Making health care more personal
    39
    Making health care more personalThe health care system today largely focuses on helping people after they have problems. When they do receive treatment, it’s based on what has worked best on average across a huge, diverse group of patients. Now the company Health at Scale is making health care more proactive and personalized –…
    Tags: health, people
  • Stretching more effective than walking to lower high blood pressure: USask study
    38
    Stretching more effective than walking to lower high blood pressure: USask studyA new University of Saskatchewan (USask) study has found that stretching is superior to brisk walking for reducing blood pressure in people with high blood pressure or who are at risk of developing elevated blood pressure levels. Walking has long been the prescription of choice for physicians trying to help…
    Tags: people, news, health
  • Empathy may be in the eye of the beholder
    35
    Empathy may be in the eye of the beholderEmpathy is talked about a lot these days. Against the backdrop of a global pandemic and a divisive political climate in the United States, calls for empathy have become louder and more urgent. We encourage empathy for those inflicted with Covid-19 and those struggling with unemployment. We reminisce about the…
    Tags: people, news
  • Obesity is not only the individual's responsibility
    31
    Obesity is not only the individual's responsibilityResearch based on 5,425 citizens’ responses to a questionnaire survey has illuminated that obesity causes are linked to various factors in addition to the individual's current socioeconomic circumstances, including childhood experiences, particularly those of abuse. The study was carried out by Project Professor Tamori Yoshikazu (Division of Creative Health Promotion)…
    Tags: news, health, uncategorized

Scientists develop new gene therapy for eye disease

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Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have developed a new gene therapy approach that offers promise for one day treating an eye disease that leads to a progressive loss of vision and affects thousands of people across the globe.

The study, which involved a collaboration with clinical teams in the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital and the Mater Hospital, also has implications for a much wider suite of neurological disorders associated with ageing.

The scientists publish their results today [Thursday 26th November 2020] in leading journal, Frontiers in Neuroscience. [Read more…] about Scientists develop new gene therapy for eye disease

Simple, no-cost ways to help the public care for common resources

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Researchers from University of Wisconsin-Madison, New York Institute of Technology, University of Iowa, and Cornell University published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines whether it is possible to make people feel as if the property is theirs – a feeling known as psychological ownership – and how this affects their stewardship behaviors. 

The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled “Caring for the Commons: Using Psychological Ownership to Enhance Stewardship Behavior for Public Goods” and is authored by Joann Peck, Colleen Kirk, Andrea Luangrath, and Suzanne Shu.

Maintaining the natural environment is a pressing issue. The intentional care of public goods, such as publicly owned parks, waterways, drinking water, and air quality, has become increasingly difficult. [Read more…] about Simple, no-cost ways to help the public care for common resources

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  • To protect nature's benefits, focus on people
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    To protect nature's benefits, focus on peopleTo calculate the true value of a forest, we need to know how people benefit from it, according to new research published in Nature Sustainability. A healthy forest holds a treasure trove of benefits for people – it can filter water for downstream communities, supply timber for building, and provide a…
    Tags: people, uncategorized, features, life
  • Catholic gynecologists can face moral dilemmas in issues of family planning
    36
    Catholic gynecologists can face moral dilemmas in issues of family planningA study of Catholic obstetrician-gynecologists shows that many face moral dilemmas when dealing with issues of family planning and abortion due to their religious faith, according researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. The study, published this week in JAMA Network Open, revealed that some Catholic Ob/Gyn practitioners lean…
    Tags: study, people, features, life
  • Why some friends make you feel more supported than others
    33
    Why some friends make you feel more supported than othersIt's good to have friends and family to back you up when you need it – but it's even better if your supporters are close with each other too, a new set of studies suggests. Researchers found that people perceived they had more support from a group of friends or…
    Tags: people, study, features, life
  • Disposable surgical masks best for being heard clearly when speaking, study finds
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    Disposable surgical masks best for being heard clearly when speaking, study findsResearcher Ryan Corey recently heard from a friend who teaches at a school where some of the students have hearing loss. The friend wanted to know if he had any ideas to help her communicate with these students while wearing a mask to slow the spread of Covid-19. Corey, who…
    Tags: study, life, uncategorized

Smart devices to schedule electricity use may prevent blackouts

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Power plants generate electricity and send it into power lines that distribute energy to nodes, or sites, where it can be used. But if the electricity load is more than the system’s capacity, transmission can fail, leading to a cascade of failures throughout the electric grid.

This domino effect was responsible for the largest blackout in US history in 2003, which left 55 million Americans and Canadians without power at an estimated cost of $6 billion.

An even larger blackout in 2015 affected 57 million people in Italy. Blackouts cause ripple effects throughout the economies they affect, and they can be dangerous for people depending on electronics in hospitals. [Read more…] about Smart devices to schedule electricity use may prevent blackouts

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  • New storage battery more efficient and heat-resistant
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    New storage battery more efficient and heat-resistantAt the beginning of 2020, for the first time ever, renewable energy was able to cover more than half of the electricity consumed in Germany. But the more important renewable energy sources become, the more urgent is the need to store the electricity produced in this way. Green energy could…
    Tags: energy, electricity, news, technology

Physical distancing policies ‘not enough to protect lower-income people’

by

A new Boston University School of Public Health study of the first four months of America’s coronavirus epidemic, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, shows that physical distancing (also called “social distancing”) policies had little effect on lower income people still needing to leave their homes to go to work – but does show them staying home when they could.

“If lower-income people were simply ignoring the trend towards physical distancing, we would have expected them to continue going to places like supermarkets, liquor stores, and parks at the same rates as before. Instead, their visits dropped at almost the same rates as the very highest-income group,” says study lead author Dr Jonathan Jay, assistant professor of community health sciences at BUSPH.

“This indicates that lower income people were just as aware and motivated as higher-income people to protect themselves from COVID-19, but simply couldn’t stay home as much because they needed to go to work,” he says. [Read more…] about Physical distancing policies ‘not enough to protect lower-income people’

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  • ECDC and WHO call for improved HIV testing in Europe
    41
    ECDC and WHO call for improved HIV testing in EuropeThe number of people living with undiagnosed HIV is increasing in the WHO European Region. According to data published today by ECDC and the WHO/Europe, more than 136 000 people were newly diagnosed in 2019 – roughly 20% of these diagnoses were in the EU/EAA and 80% in the eastern…
    Tags: people, news, health, uncategorized
  • Stretching more effective than walking to lower high blood pressure: USask study
    36
    Stretching more effective than walking to lower high blood pressure: USask studyA new University of Saskatchewan (USask) study has found that stretching is superior to brisk walking for reducing blood pressure in people with high blood pressure or who are at risk of developing elevated blood pressure levels. Walking has long been the prescription of choice for physicians trying to help…
    Tags: study, people, news, health
  • Is sitting always bad for your mind? A new study suggests maybe not
    35
    Is sitting always bad for your mind? A new study suggests maybe notIt's generally accepted health advice that adults of all ages should sit less, move more, and engage in regular exercise to feel better and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. However, when it comes to the brain and cognition, a new study of older adults from Colorado State University suggests…
    Tags: physical, study, health, people, news
  • One small alcoholic drink a day is linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation
    31
    One small alcoholic drink a day is linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillationA study of nearly 108,000 people has found that people who regularly drink a modest amount of alcohol are at increased risk of atrial fibrillation, a condition where the heart beats in an abnormal rhythm. The study, published today (Wednesday) in the European Heart Journal, found that, compared to drinking no…
    Tags: study, people, news, health
  • Obesity is not only the individual's responsibility
    30
    Obesity is not only the individual's responsibilityResearch based on 5,425 citizens’ responses to a questionnaire survey has illuminated that obesity causes are linked to various factors in addition to the individual's current socioeconomic circumstances, including childhood experiences, particularly those of abuse. The study was carried out by Project Professor Tamori Yoshikazu (Division of Creative Health Promotion)…
    Tags: study, news, health, uncategorized