Health & Wellness

Stuck in the Single Life? Class Could Be a Factor

Staff / Truthdig Jan 25, 2007 Read around the cliches about single women and cats etc. and find in this NYT story an interesting window into how shifting social values and socioeconomic stratification contribute to a marriage "happiness gap" for many Americans without college educations. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Why Danes Are So Happy

Staff / Truthdig Jan 23, 2007 Multiple studies have suggested that Danes are the happiest people on the planet, but an article in the medical journal bmj.com goes one step further and attempts to understand why. Most likely reason they're so satisfied: low expectations. (h/t boingboing.net) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Misguided Pursuit of Happiness

Staff / Truthdig Jan 16, 2007 In this TED conference speech, Harvard super-psychologist Dan Gilbert explains why we humans are so notoriously bad at predicting what will make us happy. Fascinating stuff. Also: The TED page has a wealth of other great talks. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Anti-Obesity Gum

Staff / Truthdig Jan 16, 2007 British scientists are developing a chewing gum that could help to regulate the appetites of obesity sufferers. Although the research is promising, the first infomercials are years away. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Cancer-Fighting Chickens of Edinburgh

Staff / Truthdig Jan 15, 2007 The same research lab that cloned Dolly the sheep has found a way to produce cancer-fighting proteins in genetically modified chicken eggs. Although practical treatments could be years off, the process promises to reduce the cost and complexity of generating cancer medicine. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Franken-Heifers Immune to Mad Cow

Staff / Truthdig Jan 3, 2007 Using a combination of genetic engineering and cloning, scientists from the U.S. and Japan have successfully eliminated the protein that causes mad cow disease. So far the cows in the lab have proven immune to the illness, which shreds its victims' brains, driving them mad. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Cloned Food to Go Unmarked

Staff / Truthdig Dec 28, 2006 The Food and Drug Administration is set to approve food products derived from cloned animals and their offspring. Though eating beef from a cloned cow may seem incredibly creepy, the FDA has decided the manufactured twin is just as safe as the original animal, and requires no special identification once in the food supply. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

No Cancer Risk From Cell Phones

Staff / Truthdig Dec 17, 2006 Researchers from the Danish Institute of Cancer Epidemiology have found that cell phone use does not increase the risk of cancer. The study looked at more than 420,000 cell users, some 56,000 of whom had used a mobile phone for more than 10 years. (h/t: Engadget Mobile) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Circumcision Reduces AIDS Risk

Staff / Truthdig Dec 14, 2006 According to officials from the National Institutes of Health, circumcision reduces the risk in men of contracting HIV through heterosexual sex by roughly 50%. The announcement was based on several recent studies conducted in Africa. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

U.S. Medical Refugees Flee to India

Staff / Truthdig Dec 12, 2006 An increasing number of the 46 million Americans without health insurance have begun fleeing to places as far away as India to get lifesaving medical treatments. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

New York City Bans Trans Fats

Staff / Truthdig Dec 6, 2006 New York City's Board of Health has backed Mayor Bloomberg's campaign to eliminate artificial trans fats from eateries, setting an initial deadline of July 1, 2007. Artificial trans fats are thought by health professionals to be a leading cause of heart disease. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Paul Cummins: Cheap Children

Paul Cummins / Truthdig Dec 6, 2006 Despite our planet's vast resources, we condemn over 20,000 children a day to miserable, preventable deaths. The escape from this tragedy begins with a fresh perspective on education. Dig deeper