health

Guinea baboons

Endangered species’ poop could help fight diabetic foot ulcers

The Times reports on a University of Sheffield article describing research that they have done on using the poop of endangered animals to kill certain bacterial species including superbugs which are resistant to antibiotics and which cause diabetic foot ulcers. Apparently, diabetics can suffer from untreatable foot ulcers. This is not uncommon as The Times …

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Wood burner

An example of a cosy wood-burning stove causing asthma in a Times journalist

I can think of two problems with wood-burning stoves (a) human health problems and (b) climate change problems. And let’s be clear, wood-burning stoves look great. They make the home look cosy. It’s a real fire and the heat and the flickering glow is best described in a Danish word, “hygge”. I am thankful to …

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Societal problems in the UK leading to kids being 7 cms shorter than Dutch kids

British kids are 7 centimetres shorter than Dutch kids – lazy feeding of kids and cats

There is a shocking news story in The Times of June 21, 2023 which reports that five-year-olds in Britain are on average up to 7 cm shorter than their peers in other wealthy nations. Yes, young British kids are up to 7 cm shorter than Dutch children and I find that very worrying indeed. I …

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What is wrong with this picture?

Are you bloated too often? Stop drinking cow’s milk!

The picture below encouraged me to write this post. Also, the fact that I have first-hand experience of being bloated by cow’s milk because of lactose intolerance. I sense that most people don’t know if they are lactose intolerant. They might not have heard of it. They accept that they become bloated after eating and …

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Laughing gas abused by humans causing serious nerve damage

Laughing gas leaves humans with spinal cord damage but is safely used to sedate animals

For me, this is an interesting juxtaposition of how a gaseous chemical, nitrous oxide a.k.a. laughing gas can be used successfully on animals in veterinary clinics to sedate them safely but which is abused by humans to the point where it harms them seriously. It is an intersection between animals and humans with nitrous oxide …

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Theo Khelfoune Ferreras was left feeling anxious about the worsening climate crisis and took his life

Young man despondent about climate change takes his own life

It is believed that this is the first case of a person ending their life because of a despondency about climate change. The Telegraph reports that 19 year old Greenpeace activist, Theo Khelfoune Ferreras, a film student from Walthamstow, took his life because of the worsening climate crisis combined with the Covid pandemic and in …

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Hibernating bear

Hibernating bears don’t develop deep vein thromboses yet humans can develop one when flying economy class

The deep vein thrombosis does not trouble the hibernating bear. And yet, sometimes when humans take an economy class flight for a few hours they run the risk of developing a deep vein thrombosis. What is the difference between a bear and a human under the circumstances? Scientists it seems have the answer. Jon Gibbins, …

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Globally, the association between antibiotic consumption and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) between human and animals goes both ways.

Antimicrobial resistance in humans and animals occurs together

In a recent study, the scientists concluded that “globally, the association between antibiotic consumption and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) between human and animals goes both ways”. My understanding is that they mean that if humans consume too many antibiotics it works against them because the pathogens, the bacteria, become resistant to the antibiotics and they no …

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FSA hoodwinked by meat supplier employees

UK Food Standards Authority (FSA) allegedly systematically hoodwinked by UK meat supplier into passing inspections

This has been described as a “rotten meat scandal” in The Times, which could lead to Defra taking charge of the Food Standards Authority in the UK. An investigation by Farmer’s Weekly claimed that a UK meat supplier systematically fooled the FSA into passing inspections at its facilities. They did this for years. Allegedly they …

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Salmon is good for brain health. Image: MikeB

More omega-3 in one’s cells linked to a larger hippocampus

A recent study appears to confirm that fish is an excellent food for the middle-aged brain; the brain that needs to be constantly reinvigorated in order to put the brakes on that gradual slide towards inevitable dementia! I am being a little bit melodramatic, but this study suggests that eating fish, sardines and salmon which …

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Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Speciesism - 'them and us' | Cruelty - always shameful

Note: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified.