Health, features and articles | Educational Science

Jul 31, 2010

Why Don't Fad Diets Work?

The bevy of diets available to consumers is overwhelming from Slim-Fast to the acai berry diet, there always seems to be a new diet hitting the market. But, as many people struggling to lose weight already know, dieters that follow fad diets are rarely successful. Even when a diet leads...

Jul 31, 2010

Why Do Women Have Breasts?

In the primate world, plump breasts last only as long as breastfeeding doesexcept in humans. Women are busty all the time, even after menopause. According to some scientists, the trait is an evolutionary trick for snagging men and signals a woman's ability to feed her children. But no one can...

Jul 31, 2010

Can You Really Laugh Until You Cry?

We laugh in joy and cry over pain, right? Well, it turns out that it's not so black-and-white. Although not fully understood, we can laugh until we cry. One explanation for this is that both laughing and crying happen during times of high emotional arousal, University of Maryland at Baltimore...

Jul 31, 2010

Why Do People Often Drown Together?

A spate of recent drowning incidents has highlighted the fact that many people do not know the correct way to try to help a drowning victim. All too often, upon seeing a drowning person in distress, people try to help and end up drowning themselves, said B. Chris Brewster, president...

Jul 31, 2010

What Are False Positives and False Negatives?

While many of today's medical tests are accurate, false negative or positives do occur. What causes these erroneous results? A false negative is a test result that indicates a person does not have a disease or condition when the person actually does have it, according to the National Institute of...

Jul 31, 2010

Bottled vs. Brewed: Study Reveals Healthiest Teas

Labels on bottled tea beverages are typically plastered with declarations of their rich antioxidant content. But a new study suggests, if you're looking for high doses of healthful antioxidants, you might be better off brewing your tea at home. Many of the popular beverages included in the study contain fewer...

Jul 31, 2010

Can the Growing Obesity Problem Be Curbed?

Despite a decade of programs, messages, guilt trips and warnings, Americans are getting even fatter. The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention reported this month that 26.7 percent of adults over the age of 18 are obese, compared with 19.8 percent in 2000. The alarming rate of growth is in...

Jul 31, 2010

What's Black Lung?

Aside from collapses and other hazards that all miners face, coal miners also have to worry about developing black lung, a deadly but preventable disease caused by the inhalation of coal dust. In severe cases, black lung is characterized by inflammation and scarring of the lungs, which often permanently damages...

Jun 30, 2010

What's the Most Common STD?

With more than 600 million cases worldwide, including 20 million in the United States, human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The virus is most prevalent among young adults. In a...

Jun 30, 2010

'Invisible Gorilla' Test Shows How Little We Notice

A dumbfounding study roughly a decade ago that many now find hard to believe revealed that if people are asked to focus on a video of other people passing basketballs, about half of watchers missed a person in a gorilla suit walking in and out of the scene thumping its...

Jun 30, 2010

The Mysterious Health Benefits of Chocolate

Chocolate has been credited with everything from reducing stress to helping to decrease the risk of heart disease. But do these claims hold a nugget of truth? Over the past several years, studies have steadily uncovered the numerous health benefits of chocolate. Most recently, it was found that people who...

Jun 30, 2010

What's Hyperthermia?

Hyperthermia is an abnormally high body temperature caused by a failure of the body's normal heat-regulating mechanisms, according to the National Institutes of Health. When the heat coming from the environment exceeds the body's ability to dissipate that heat, hyperthermia results. The temperature outside , along with a person's general...

Jun 30, 2010

How Much Alcohol Is in My Drink?

A glass of wine might seem more civilized than a no-name can of beer, but when it comes to acting uncivilized from boozing too much, wine will likely get you there quicker. In terms of alcohol content, the rule of thumb is that 12 ounces of beer is about equivalent...

May 31, 2010

How Do Vaccines Work?

Vaccines are like a training course for the immune system. They prepare the body to fight disease without exposing it to disease symptoms. When foreign invaders such as bacteria or viruses enter the body, immune cells called lymphocytes respond by producing antibodies, which are protein molecules. These antibodies fight the...

May 31, 2010

Sexsomnia: 'Sex While Sleeping' Condition Studied

As sleeping disorders go, this may not be the worst one. Sexsomnia patients report having initiated sex while sleeping. Now scientists have provided a hint at the prevalence of this sleep sex. Sexsomnia was reported by 7.6 percent of patients at a sleep disorders center, researchers report today. Starting sex...