General Health

After working in the garden or taking a walk in the woods, it’s a good common practice to check your body for ticks; but it’s not just Lyme disease you have to worry about anymore. Experts are warning that the Powassan virus, a tick-borne virus that can cause dangerous inflammation in the brain, may be transmitted even faster than Lyme. [1]
Powassan is still considered a rare disease; but a recent study of ticks in Maine, as well as a few widely-reported cases of human infection, suggest that the virus may becoming more common.

Scientists have detected a disturbing form of antibiotic-resistance on U.S. farms in recent months, but it’s not the type they anticipated, and they don’t know how it wound up there.

The simple decision to toss back a handful of peanuts a few times a week in place of other junk food snacks could go a long way to help people fight the battle of the bulge and could prevent childhood obesity, researchers say.
Peanuts are packed with vitamins and nutrients that make the tiny legumes one of the healthiest foods around. Look at the nutritional punch you get from just a 1/4 cup:

Resveratrol – a substance found in red wine, peanuts, and berries – may reduce artery stiffness in people with Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study presented in early May at the American Heart Association’s 2017 Scientific Sessions in Minneapolis. [1]
The study’s senior author, Dr. Naomi M. Hamburg, of the Boston University School of Medicine, said:

In the fight against antibiotic resistance, it’s all hands on deck. The clock is ticking and superbugs are spreading, but drug companies are reluctant to create new antibiotics because they’re not money-makers. Researchers may have found a way around that problem by modifying already-existing antibiotics to make them “blow up” deadly superbugs.

Smartphones and tablets are a good way to keep young children quiet and entertained, but a recent study suggests that babies and toddlers allowed too much screen time may go on to develop speech delays.
Study principal investigator Dr. Catherine Birken, a staff pediatrician and scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, says:

Doctors, researchers, and health officials have been telling the public to cut back on soda consumption for years, and it appears that people have been listening. Soda no longer tops the list of Americans’ favorite beverages; it has been replaced by bottled water.

A new study shows that women who live in heavily polluted areas may be more likely to have dense breasts, which is a known risk factor for breast cancer. [1]

A new study published in the journal Pediatrics suggests that drinking one serving a day of 100% fruit juice is linked to a slight weight gain in children age 6 or younger, but no weight gain in children age 7 or older. [1]

Let’s just admit it: If all GPS devices suddenly stopped working, there would be a lot of lost and stranded people on the road. Today, adults may have learned how to read a map, but most kids haven’t the foggiest idea of how to accomplish this task. Researchers are pointing out that without putting this skill to use, we’re starving parts of our brain from much-needed exercise.