If you think birth control is a modern development, you will be surprised to learn that the first forms of birth control date back to about 3,000 B.C. when condoms were made from fish bladders, linen sheaths and animal intestines. Then about 500 years ago, the linen sheaths were soaked in a chemical solution (the
How often have you heard cancer victims say that the cure is worse than the cancer? Most cancers require invasive surgery and/or radiation and/or chemotherapy. Cancer surgery alone not only can remove the cancer, but it often leaves nasty scars and the person weakened for months. The radiation and chemotherapy often makes a cancer patient
Eye doctors may someday use “smart” contact lenses to track patients’ eye health, early research suggests. A team of scientists in South Korea has packed incredibly small electronic circuitry, batteries and antennae into a soft contact lens. The goal: to monitor eyes for signs of vision trouble or help deliver medicinal eye treatments. In what’s
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new method of inserting ear tubes into children, a potential game-changer for the more than half-million children who receive tubes in their ears annually. The new device, the Tubes Under Local Anesthesia system (Tula) allows doctors to place ear tubes using local anesthesia in their office, which
There’s a reason why mindfulness is currently one of the biggest buzzwords in the wellness community. Recent research has shown that mindful meditation can help you stay sharp and focused later in life, enable you to better regulate your emotions, decrease your stress levels, and improve your sleep cycle. One recent study even found that just 10 minutes
Psilocybin, the main psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms, has taken a step towards becoming a licensed treatment for depression, with the completion of the psychedelic chemical’s first controlled clinical study. Psychiatrists at King’s College London on Wednesday released the results of their phase-1 clinical trial to assess the safety of psilocybin at the annual meeting
“Genetics just got personal.” So boasted the website of 23andMe in 2008, just after launching its DNA testing service. As we entered this decade, a small cohort of companies — 23andMe, its Silicon Valley neighbor Navigenics, and Icelandic competitor deCODE Genetics — were selling a future of personalized medicine: Patients would hold the keys to
I’ve written a lot about Alzheimer’s over the past few years, but you need to be reminded of some basic statistics about Alzheimer’s: An estimated 5.8 million Americans today live with Alzheimer’s, a disease that robs memories before taking lives. Alzheimer’s begins to develop in the brain 20-30 years before diagnosis. 2/3 of those
HIV, more properly known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is the virus that causes AIDS – Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Basically, it means that one’s immune system is so weakened that they are susceptible to many normally non-fatal diseases which could be fatal for a person with AIDS. According to the CDC: In 2017, 38,739 people
Recently, we reported that this year’s flu season was getting off to a slow start, especially compared to last year’s flu season. We also reported that this year’s flu vaccine would be more effective than last year’s vaccine, which should result in fewer cases of the flu, fewer hospitalizations and fewer deaths. It seems our
