Science in Personal and Social Perspectives - Personal and community health

  • Garbage, lipstick and flat-screens
    Garbage, lipstick and flat-screens

    Sick of stats on unemployment, the GDP or stock market? Then meet the alternative economic indicators. Some are sensible, some are zany, and some are even backed by real data. Other “indicators” are misleading, even downright dangerous.


    Thursday, January 12th, 2012
  • Holiday blue? NOT!
    Holiday blue? NOT!

    Sick of the scare stories about holiday stress? Over-eating, over-this, over-that? What’s the upside of holidays, in terms of ritual and getting together with family and friends? What’s more conducive to happiness: giving or receiving?


    Thursday, December 15th, 2011
  • Brains: Don't mess with stress
    Brain under threat

    In just a moment, our brains can go from calm, deliberate and focused, to alert, agitated and aroused. New neural networks get activated during the transition. Now a study of the fight-or flight-response fingers a common hormone in triggering the brainwide changes.


    Thursday, November 24th, 2011
  • Feeding 7+ billion
    Feeding 7+ billion

    The green revolution fed billions, but population keeps rising, water is short and the climate is changing. How will Africans feed themselves despite poor soil and widespread poverty? Could small projects that fit the environment and culture make farmers an engine of prosperity and a big source of food?


    Thursday, November 10th, 2011
  • A Story of the Bacterium and the Fly
    A Story of the Bacterium and the Fly

    Bacteria can help or harm their hosts. Now we hear how one genus of bacteria can multiply fly reproduction. In this symbiosis, both parties benefit. This bacterium also alters insect immunity, and could lead to new tactics for killing horrific parasites.


    Thursday, October 20th, 2011
  • Short of meds…
    Short of meds…

    When hospitals run out of anesthetics, antibiotics and cancer drugs, should we blame or thank the “gray-market”?


    Thursday, October 13th, 2011
  • Flu vaccine
    Flu vaccine

    Synopsis: Each year, as influenza season approaches, medical authorities must scramble to predict which strains of flu will be most important, and then to grow enough vaccine to inoculate the population. Why does this take so much time, and what are some alternative strategies that might speed the process? Find the article: Flu vaccine shortage [...]


    Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
  • The psychological price of job loss
    The psychological price of job loss

    With the jobless rate still above 8%, what happens to depression, anxiety, brooding? Is job loss worse if you have more education? Could long-term job loss shorten your life?


    Thursday, September 15th, 2011
  • Ultra-endurance athletics
    Ultra-endurance athletics

    Swimmer Diana Nyad failed to reach Florida, but ultra sports are soaring. Why would anybody bike 500 miles across the desert – or run 135? What are the rigors of training, the satisfaction of finishing, the dangers of competing? Could people be the ultimate endurance animals?


    Thursday, August 18th, 2011
  • Spinal cord injury
    Spinal cord injury

    A combined nerve-graft and enzyme treatment restored breathing to 9 of 11 rats. The bacterial enzyme dissolves a molecule that separates tissues and prevents growth of nerves and blood vessels. Could this lead to the treatment that finally breaks the logjam in spinal-cord repair?


    Thursday, July 14th, 2011


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