07 MAR 2015 by ideonexus
Using City Sewage to Survey a City's Microbiome
The team gathered samples over the course of a year from sewage treatment plants in 71 different cities in 31 states, chosen for their geographic spread and range of obesity rates. The leanest city sampled was Steamboat Springs, Colorado, with an obesity rate of 13.5 percent, while the heaviest was St. Joseph, Missouri, with a rate of 37.4 percent.
Bacteria from human waste make up just a small proportion of the bacteria found in sewage. But using DNA sequencing, the researchers could identi...Folksonomies: bacteria public health
Folksonomies: bacteria public health
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notes24 JUL 2013 by ideonexus
Iodization of Salt in 1924 Increased American IQs 15 Points
Iodine deficiency is the leading cause of preventable mental retardation in the world today. The condition, which was common in the developed world until the introduction of iodized salt in the 1920s, is connected to low iodine levels in the soil and water. We examine the impact of salt iodization on cognitive outcomes in the US by taking advantage of this natural geographic variation. Salt was iodized over a very short period of time beginning in 1924. We use military data collected during W...Folksonomies: public health social welfare
Folksonomies: public health social welfare
1 It dramatically reduced mental retardation, but temporarily increased death by hyperthyroid as iodine-depleted people overdosed.
24 JUL 2013 by ideonexus
Cost Benefits of Lead Cleanup
It's difficult to put firm numbers to the costs and benefits of lead abatement. But for a rough idea, let's start with the two biggest costs. Nevin estimates that there are perhaps 16 million pre-1960 houses with lead-painted windows, and replacing them all would cost something like $10 billion per year over 20 years. Soil cleanup in the hardest-hit urban neighborhoods is tougher to get a handle on, with estimates ranging from $2 to $36 per square foot. A rough extrapolation from Mielke's est...While it would cost tens of billions to clean up lead in the environment, it would generate a hundred billion in health benefits.
19 JAN 2013 by ideonexus
Vaccines as a Positive Externality
A science-based example of a positive externality is vaccinations. Vaccinations work based on the number of people in the population who are vaccinated. Once a certain threshold is reached, the disease can't spread effectively and is essentially eliminated. As long as enough people are vaccinated, others who choose not to be still get to enjoy that positive externality at no cost. These are what economists call freeloaders. Economists like the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have the... 1 notes
notesPeople who don't get vaccines benefit from those who do because of the lower rates of disease.
19 JAN 2013 by ideonexus
Why Cell Phone Radiation Does Not Cause Cancer
Physics explains why no links were found. The microwaves used in cell phone transmissions do not have enough energy to break the chemical bonds of DNA, which is how cell mutations occur and cause cancer. How do we know this? Light and other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, including microwaves, radio waves, infrared waves, and ultraviolet light waves, are all forms of radiation. A single unit of radiation is called a photon. A photon can be thought of either as a particle or as a wave. ... 1 notes
notesAn explanation of radiation, it's different wavelengths, and why microwave radiation cannot damage a cell because it cannot break molecular bonds.
18 JAN 2013 by ideonexus
The Journalist's Responsibility in Health Science Reporting
Given that published medical findings are, by the field’s own reckoning, more often wrong than right, a serious problem with health journalism is immediately apparent: A reporter who accurately reports findings is probably transmitting wrong findings. And because the media tend to pick the most exciting findings from journals to pass on to the public, they are in essence picking the worst of the worst. Health journalism, then, is largely based on a principle of survival of the wrongest. (Of... 1 notes
notesIf 2/3rds of research papers are wrong, then reporters are communicating bad and dangerous data to readers of their health news. Even worse, with conflicting research on different health issues, reporters are able to craft any thesis they like by cherry-picking for the journals.
