24 DEC 2013 by ideonexus
The Cost of Irrational Fears
Imagine the typical emotional reaction to seeing a spider: fear, ranging from minor trepidation to terror. But what is the likelihood of dying from a spider bite? Fewer than four people a year (on average) die from spider bites, establishing the expected risk of death by spider at lower than 1 in 100 million. This risk is so minuscule that it is actually counterproductive to worry about it: Millions of people die each year from stress-related illnesses. The startling implication is that the r...
1 Garrett Lisi explains how the stress caused by many of our fears of statistically-unlikely events is more likely to kill us.
21 JUL 2013 by ideonexus
People Who Take Supplements are Less Healthy
Antioxidation vs. oxidation has been billed as a contest between good and evil. The battle takes place in cellular organelles called mitochondria, where the body converts food to energy, a process that requires oxygen and so is called oxidation. One consequence of oxidation is the generation of electron scavengers called free radicals (evil). Free radicals can damage DNA, cell membranes, and the lining of arteries; not surprisingly, they've been linked to aging, cancer, and heart disease. To ... 1 
notes
notesPeople who eat lots of fruits and vegetables have lower incidence of cancer and other diseases, but people who take nutritional supplements meant containing high doses of the nutrients found in fruits in vegetables die at much higher rates.
26 OCT 2011 by ideonexus
Seven Steps to Achieve a 90% Chance of Living to 90 or 100
1. GET ACTIVE: Inactivity can shave almost four years off a person's expected lifespan. People who are physically inactive are twice as likely to be at risk for heart disease or stroke.
2. KNOW AND CONTROL CHOLESTEROL LEVELS: Almost 40 per cent of Canadian adults have high blood cholesterol, which can lead to the build up of fatty deposits in your arteries − increasing your risk for heart disease and stroke.
3. FOLLOW A HEALTHY DIET: Healthy eating is one of the most important things... 1 notes
notesIf people adhere to these seven habits, they dramatically increase the number of years they can live.
30 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Exercise Increases the Number of Mitochondria in Brain Ti...
Past experiments have shown persuasively that exercise spurs the birth of new mitochondria in muscle cells and improves the vigor of the existing organelles. This upsurge in mitochondria, in turn, has been linked not only to improvements in exercise endurance but to increased longevity in animals and reduced risk for obesity, diabetes and heart disease in people. It is a very potent cellular reaction.
[...]
Like muscles, many parts of the brain get a robust physiological workout during exer...A study on mice finds that exercise increases the production of mitochondria in brain tissue in addition to their production in muscle tissue (I dig the term "mitochondrial biogenesis" as describing the benefit).
01 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
A 1985 View of Science and Technology in Year 2000
The glib words of years past from our politicians are hollow
nightmares indeed when we are confronted with the staggering
realities of what has to be done. But the key is there--technology,
using it-and we hardly do now. The future may be unpredictable,
but we can make a few well-aimed guesses about what life will
be like in the year 2000. We’ll fly on supersonic transports, or
more likely hypersonic transports, for which the ground work (or
should I call it air work) has already been laid ...Folksonomies: futurism
Folksonomies: futurism
Prescient with the qualifier that these things will only happen if America puts emphasis on science and technology education.
08 JUN 2011 by ideonexus
A Flu Pandemic Reduces Quality of Life for Babies
Initially, Almond doubted that the intrauterine conditions provided by a pregnant woman, even one sick with a virulent strain of the flu, could exert any lasting influence on her offspring. “When I started looking at the influenza pandemic, I was skeptical of the fetal origins hypothesis. I didn’t think I’d find any long-term effects,” Almond says. “But the evidence was the opposite of what I expected.” Through an analysis of census data, Almond discovered that those individuals g...Folksonomies: pregnancy fetal development
Folksonomies: pregnancy fetal development
Children born during the flu pandemic grew up to have a poorer socioeconomic status than those born at other times.
04 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
The Waist-to-Hip Ratio
Why does the waist-to-hip ratio matter? Singh observes that a "gynoid" fat distribution—more fat on the hips, less on the torso—is necessary for the hormonal changes associated with female fertility. An "android" fat distribution-—fat on the belly, thin hips—is associated with the symptoms of male disabilities such as heart disease, even in women. But which is cause and which effect? It seems to me more likely that both the shape and the hormonal effects of it are sexually selected by...
1 Men are unconsciously directing the evolution of women.
