Zika is spreading its wings and flying far beyond Latin America. With international travel so prevalent nowadays, it would clearly only be a matter of time before the virus took root all over the world. Singapore is the latest country to experience outbreaks of Zika, with reports confirming that 150 people have been infected with the virus. [1]
Last week, it was reported that there were 28 confirmed cases of Hepatitis A linked to smoothies from a Virginia branch of the chain Tropical Smoothie cafe. The Hepatitis A has been linked to the frozen strawberries that the chain used in their smoothies. [1]
The contaminated berries were sourced from Egypt and pulled from the 500 smoothie franchises as soon as it was suspected that they could be the root of the problem. Although this was done at the beginning of August, it can take up to 50 days from contamination to the person showing symptoms.
Five-year-old William Evertz Jr. spent several months saving up his allowance to hopefully purchase a Power Wheels police car. But in the end, he decided to use the money he made doing odd chores around the house to give back to police officers in his local South New Jersey community. [1]
The little boy was inspired after seeing a YouTube video in which someone helped homeless people, and he decided he could put his money to better use than his coveted police car.
Whether raw milk is safe to drink has been a controversial issue for many years, particularly in countries with more nanny-state tendencies. However, a study published in early 2015 showed that babies given raw cow’s milk instead of ultra-high temperature (UHT) processed formula actually had a reduced risk of common infections, such as colds and ear infections.
Five-year-old Katelyn Vincik was born without a fully formed left arm. The young girl, whom her parents describe as “very determined,” had been waiting for a functional prosthetic arm for quite a long time, after trying a cosmetic one that just wasn’t a good fit for her. [1]
And while her parents insist that Katelyn’s arm has never held her back, they were still fed up with waiting for a prosthetic arm and decided to seek help in an unlikely place: a local public library.
Mikey Brannigan of Team USA may have autism, but that hasn’t stopped him from setting a record during the Paralympic qualifiers.
During the qualifiers, the 19-year-old Brannigan finished 7th in the mile run with a time of 3:57.58, shaving 5 seconds off of his previous personal best record. But it wasn’t only himself that he beat: he became the first runner with a T20 paralympic classification (also known as an intellectual disability with an IQ under 75) to break the 4 minute mile. He is currently a favorite to snag the gold medal in his division. [1]
A 30-year-old named Jessika Baldwin decided to skip out on a traditional bachelorette party, and instead use her special day as a moment to give back to her community. Instead of pampering herself and her best friends, she decided to create a day for the women of a local Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania homeless shelter.
Baldwin says of her motivation to offer a treat to others instead of herself:
Both legal and illegal drugs are polluting streams in and around at least 1 major U.S. city, a new study reveals. This includes amphetamines, which are biologically active and highly addictive. [1]
The pollution comes at a high cost, ecologically. Areas in some streams have high enough concentrations of amphetamines to alter the bottom of the aquatic food chain.
Study author Sylvia Lee said:
Scientists have identified a gene that may explain why some people have undeniable coffee cravings and hit the coffee pot multitudinous times a day. [1]
For the study, researchers looked at a population of people in villages in Italy, and conducted a genome-wide association study in which they examined markers in DNA and identified a gene called PDSS2 that could play a role in caffeine metabolism.
If a food product contains small amounts of glyphosate (an herbicide chemical), can it still be considered “100% natural?” Fed-up consumers are saying no to false advertising, and now multiple lawsuits have been filed against Nature Valley for exactly that.
