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Category: Health

September is National Honey Month

As sunflowers put on a show for us this month, it’s also important to pay homage to another black and yellow marvel of nature: bees.

September is National Honey Month, a time in which we honor the byproduct of the five-eyed, six-legged, insects that have soared through our skies at 20mph for the last 30 million years.

Bee pollination adds approximately 14 billion dollars to improved crop yield and quality annually in the United States, according to NASA. And while we all know the “BEES ARE DYING,” which will inevitably wreak havoc on agricultural output, did you know that honey may have played a critical role in human evolution?

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How Many Calories Are Burned Playing Basketball?

Thump! Thump! Thump! Your heart beats in synchrony with the basketball as you dribble down the court. You swiftly shift gears into a pure state of flow as your eyes lock with the net. After the game, your body is a whirlwind of excitement, relief, and exhaustion.

A game of basketball is truly a full-body workout; you’re running, dribbling, shooting; your heart rate increases; and it takes a whole lot of concentration (let’s not forget, your brain accounts for 20 percent of all calories consumed by the body), too.

So, just how energy-intensive is a game of basketball? Experts at Dunk or Three slam-dunked it down to a science and have the answer.

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An Abbreviated History of Neuroscience

Ah, neuroscience, the study of the squishy, slimy, three-pound computer that rests between our ears. Although the brain is the most complex organ in the body (or as a Trends in Cognitive Sciences Journal review aptly put it, “one of the most complex multicellular structures in biology”), neuroscience itself is only a mere 55 years old.

That’s right — the study of the brain, this omnipotent, protein and fat blob of soft tissue, is probably much younger than your grandparents.

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How Online Counseling Can Help You Manage Quarantine Mood Swings

Summer’s over but the coronavirus pandemic appears to have no end in sight. Case numbers are still on the rise, schools change their plans for reopening every other day, social injustice continues to take more victims, and 10.2 percent of Americans remain unemployed.

Oh, let’s not forget to mention there’s an incredibly important presidential election looming over our nation, too.

Needless to say, 2020 has left us in a global fugue, confined to our homes and a prisoner of our minds, using moods like chalk to tally down the days spent in quarantine. After all, the varying emotions seem to be the only way to tell the days apart anymore.

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In Search of the Best DNA Test

DNA sequencing, a once distant, sci-fi fantasy that took over 20,000 CPU hours just 21 years ago has found its way into our hearts and homes through at-home DNA test kits.

But with so many different companies offering DNA tests that range from ancestry to health analysis — all of which, are available at highly-competitive prices — how does one determine which one is “the best?”

Fortunately, experts at The DNA Tests have stepped up to the plate to answer everything you’ve been curious about.

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Why Did Some Dinosaurs Have Cancer?

Cancer, one of the leading causes of death worldwide, appears to have afflicted the ferocious beasts the roamed the Earth with our prehistoric ancestors.

Earlier this month, research published in The Lancet Oncology Journal diagnosed a dinosaur with bone cancer. And this isn’t the first time researchers have made such a diagnosis based on dinosaur fossils.

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AI Joins the Fight Against COVID-19

Last week, the National Institutes of Health announced that AI technology is underway to aid physicians across the United States in the global war against COVID-19.

Recently, we spoke to NIBIB/NIH Director of Research Sciences Krishna Kandarpa, M.D., P.h.D. via email to learn more about the development of this technology and how it could impact the future of radiology.

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Inactive Drug Additives May Have Unwarranted Effects

Inactive ingredients are a common staple of prescription medications. Often, they’re pretty harmless additives, like water, salt, or table sugar.

But some inactive ingredients may not be so inactive after all. A press release published by the National Institutes of Health yesterday says some inactive ingredients display biological activity, including “inflammation-related properties.”

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Are You Vegan? Are You Getting Enough Vitamin B-12?

Regardless of how long you’ve been vegan for, “How do you get protein?” is often one of the first things people ask you about your diet.

But when was the last time someone asked you, “How do you get vitamin B-12?” — I mean, you primarily sustain yourself off of fruits and vegetables, which are brimming with vitamins and minerals… You couldn’t possibly have a vitamin deficiency… Could you?

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