Health, features and articles | Educational Science

Oct 31, 2014

Salt Sensor Helps People Improve Diet

CHICAGO — A small device that detects the amount of salt in food could help people with heart disease lower the amount of salt in their diet to improve their heart health, a new study shows. The patients in the study who used the device reduced their daily salt intake...

Oct 31, 2014

Too Many Jockeys Die Racing Horses (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published on The Conversation. The publication contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Horse racing claimed the lives of three jockeys recently – two in Australia and one in the United States – and some prominent industry professionals have openly claimed that...

Oct 31, 2014

'InsideTracker' Review: Can a Commercial Blood Test Make You Healthier?

InsideTracker is a service that analyzes your blood for various biomarkers — from sugar and cholesterol levels to liver enzymes — and tells you how you are faring in terms of health and fitness. The service does not intend to find disease, so users with an off-the-chart blood sugar level...

Oct 31, 2014

Is Farmed Salmon Good for You?

Eating salmon and other oily fish has been recommended as a way of boosting omega-3 fatty acids, and potentially lowering the risk of heart disease. But now, some farmed salmon have lower levels of this healthful oil because of their diet, and it's not clear whether these less- nutritious fish...

Oct 31, 2014

Why Dried Whiskey Under Microscope Looks Like Art

Dried whiskey at the bottom of a glass produces stunning images that closely resemble fine art paintings, shows new research that also helps explain how the patterns form. The effect results from both the chemical composition of whiskey as well as fluid dynamics. The presentation “Painting Pictures with Whiskey,” explaining...

Oct 31, 2014

Have a Cold? Don't Ask Your Doctor for Antibiotics

This article was originally published on The Conversation. The publication contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Antibiotic resistance is a major threat to public health. Resistance makes it harder for physicians to treat infections and can increase the chance patients will die from an infection....

Oct 31, 2014

Juice Cleanses: Separating Fact from Fiction

With nutritious ingredients and good-for-you health claims, juice cleanses and liquid detox diets have received plenty of buzz. The craze has caught on among celebrities who see doing a cleanse as a way to lose weight quickly and eliminate toxins from their bodies, giving them a fresh start. But many...

Sep 30, 2014

Free Birth Control Implants Slash Teen Pregnancy Rates

Providing teens with free contraception dramatically reduces their chances of unintended pregnancy, a new study shows. On average, nearly 16 percent of sexually experienced female teens will get pregnant in a given year, but fewer than 4 percent of the teens who received free contraception did in the new study,...

Sep 30, 2014

'Reverse Puberty' to Ruptured Spleens: Odd Snakebite Reactions

Snakebites are scary to most people, but in a small number of cases, they can also cause really unusual and severe symptoms. From a ruptured spleen to reverse puberty, rare effects of venomous snakebites have been reported by researchers over the years. There are currently more than 3,000 species of...

Sep 30, 2014

First Baby Is Born to Woman with Womb Transplant

A woman in Sweden gave birth in September after receiving a womb transplant in 2013, her doctors reported today (Oct. 3). The 36-year-old woman was born without a uterus because of a genetic condition, but had healthy ovaries. The doctors had fertilized the woman's eggs via IVF, and had frozen...

Sep 30, 2014

Watch for Fake Ebola Cures Online, FDA Warns

There is no approved treatment for patients infected with the Ebola virus, but that hasn't stopped online dealers from offering products they claim will prevent the virus or treat people who have the infection. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers today (Aug. 14) that products claiming to...

Sep 30, 2014

Cancer Patients Finally Get the ER They Deserve (Op-Ed)

Dr. Thomas Terndrup, chairman of emergency medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. You'll probably need emergency care at some point in your life, and while no one likes going to the emergency department, for cancer patients,...

Sep 30, 2014

Ebola Q&A: Why Virus Is a Bigger Threat to Health Care Workers

Now that two of the 100 health care workers who treated an Ebola patient in Dallas have the potentially deadly infection, health officials are trying to figure out exactly how the individuals became infected, and what is needed to prevent future infections. Ebola is not a very contagious virus in...

Sep 30, 2014

CDC Updates Its Ebola Guidelines for Health Care Workers

To better protect health care workers against the risk of contracting Ebola, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends that workers undergo rigorous training in putting on and taking off personal protection equipment, according to new guidelines announced this evening (Oct. 20). The CDC also recommended that workers...

Sep 30, 2014

PMS: Symptoms and Treatment

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) refers to a variety of symptoms that women experience in the second half of a menstrual cycle, before a new cycle begins. Symptoms vary among women and range from physical, such as bloating and pain, to mental, such as mood swings, anxiety and difficulty focusing. More than...