We need worms
You might think they are disgusting. But our war against intestinal worms has damaged our immune systems and mental health.
William Parker
Category: health – Page 327
As evidence grows that gut bacteria play roles in the development and persistence of food allergies, researchers begin to explore microbe-based interventions.
Taking the Climate for Granted
Posted in climatology, health
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) The Vermont Department of Health is reminding residents to avoid contact with toxic blue-green algae in Vermont waters.
It says warm weather creates ideal conditions for cyanobacteria to grow. Blooms can form on the surface and wash up on shorelines.
They’ve already been spotted in Mallets and Missisquoi bays in Lake Champlain. Officials say swimming or wading in water with cyanobacteria may cause skin rashes, diarrhea, a sore throat, stomach problems, or more serious health concerns. It says dogs are especially vulnerable to the toxic effects.
How do the communities of microbes living in our gastrointestinal systems affect our health? Carnegie’s Will Ludington was part of a team that helped answer this question.
For nearly a century, evolutionary biologists have probed how genes encode an individual’s chances for success—or fitness—in a specific environment.
In order to reveal a potential evolutionary trajectory biologists measure the interactions between genes to see which combinations are most fit. An organism that is evolving should take the most fit path. This concept is called a fitness landscape, and various mathematical techniques have been developed to describe it.
The ways in which the communities of bacteria living within our bodies influence our overall well-being are becoming better understood all the time, and with that better understanding comes potential new ways to intervene for better health outcomes. Adding to this is a new discovery by researchers in Melbourne, who have described how a healthy microbiome can boost the activity of killer immune cells that are vital to fighting off infections and cancer.
Vital-Radio can use vital sign information to enhance our health-awareness, answering questions like “Do my breathing and heart rates reflect a healthy lifestyle?”, “Does my child breathe normally during sleep?” or “Does my elderly parent experience irregular heartbeats?”
Fish are an important part of the ecosystem and the human diet. Unfortunately, overfishing has depleted many fish stocks, and the proposed solution — fish farming — is creating far more problems than it solves. Not only are fish farms polluting the aquatic environment and spreading disease to wild fish, farmed fish are also an inferior food source, in part by providing fewer healthy nutrients; and in part by containing more toxins, which readily accumulate in fat.
Farmed Salmon = Most Toxic Food in the World
Salmon is perhaps the most prominent example of how fish farming has led us astray. Food testing reveals farmed salmon is one of the most toxic foods in the world, having more in common with junk food than health food. Studies highlighting the seriousness of the problem include: