Articles by Katrina Pascual
Babies, Toddlers Who Rapidly Gain Weight May Have Higher Childhood Blood Pressure Risk
Rapid weight gain in infants and toddlers was linked to a greater risk of high blood pressure later during childhood. More health issues could follow in young adult years, including high cholesterol and high blood sugar.
McChocolate Potatoes: McDonalds To Serve Chocolate-Covered Fries In Japan
McDonald's has taken its fries game up a notch and will offer chocolate-drizzled McDonald’s fries called McChocolate Potatoes to its Japanese market starting Jan. 26. The limited-edition fries is only one of its many novelty menu items around the world.
Genes That Determine Height Influence Physical Attraction
Scientists found that physical attraction is influenced partly by genes that determine one’s height. So in the case of a tall guy hitting on a tall girl, genes could likely be held responsible as well.
Storks Stop Migrating As Human Trash Provides Winter Feeding Grounds
Some white storks in Europe are no longer making the trip to Africa and Asia and are instead feeding on discarded human food in landfills. These findings are yet another indicator of how human activities influence bird migration and animal behavior.
Mindfulness May Help Prevent Overeating In Kids With Obesity Risk
A new study recommends mindfulness for preventing unhealthy diet behaviors in children. Researchers sounded the alarm on the increasing and easy access to energy-dense food that make kids obese or overweight.
UK Green-Lights New Drug For Advanced Skin Cancer
UK's National Health Service - through the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence - has approved drug Opdivo for use in skin cancer. The drug from Bristol-Myers Squibb has been deemed as a potential key tool in the lineup of therapies against advanced skin cancer.
Tribal Chief Calls For Effort To Save Indigenous Languages From Extinction
Canadian tribal chief Edward John called for urgent action to revive indigenous languages, many of which are on the verge of extinction. A spoken language, according to the United Nations, is disappearing every two weeks or less.
Toxin From Algae Blooms May Cause Alzheimer's, Other Diseases
Exposure to neurotoxin BMAA linked to some algae blooms may up one’s risks of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. The findings stemmed from a study of the Chumorro villagers of Guam, who exhibited similar neurodegenerative symptoms in a mysterious illness.
Weekends Binges Just As Bad For Gut Health As Eating Junk Food Regularly: Study
Australian researchers showed that yo-yo dieting could likely be just as damaging for gut health as a consistently bad diet. Disrupting gut microbiota has been linked with gastrointestinal issues as well as obesity.
New Metal Glass Oxide Can Protect Living Cells From Ultraviolet Rays
Chinese scientists developed a method to create a transparent, glass-based material with the power and lifespan to absorb ultraviolet rays. The metal oxide-based special glass is expected to not break down under prolonged UV radiation exposure.
Ill Soldier Blames Army Not Issuing Sun Cream For His Skin Cancer
Lee Hall, who formerly served in the British Armed Forces, claimed that his skin cancer was caused by the Army not issuing sun cream. He was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma back in December 2014.
'Extinct' Tree Frog That Eats Own Eggs Rediscovered In India
Scientists rediscovered a unique tree frog in India previously thought to be extinct. The discovery also led researchers to reclassify the tree hole-breeding frogs as an entirely new genus.
US Safety Official Recommends Keeping Fire Extinguisher Handy When Using Hoverboards
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is recommending keeping a fire extinguisher nearby and implementing other safety measures when using hoverboards. The federal agency is currently investigating a number of hoverboard makers and setting safety standards.
Congress Subpoenas Martin Shkreli To Testify On Drug Price Increase
A House committee subpoenaed former drug CEO Martin Shkreli to attend a hearing on drug prices and testify on his former firm’s decision to increase a critical drug's price by over 5,000 percent. Whether Shkreli will appear remains to be seen.
US Military Wants To Link Human Brain To Computer Using Mind-Reading Implants
A new DARPA program dubbed Neural Engineering System Design seeks to develop an advanced interface to link the human brain to a computer. The implant is intended to connect to up to 1 million neurons in a region of the brain.
Squishy Robotic Fingers Collect Fragile Marine Creatures From Ocean Floor
Soft robotic grippers can now help researchers do their marine exploration without damaging fragile ocean-floor specimens. These robotic fingers are deemed a step ahead of rigid grippers that can destroy corals and other samples.
Nucleic Acid Strands Show Basics Of Computing Operations Inside Mammalian Cells
Using nucleic acid strands, scientists demonstrated basic computing operations inside living mammalian cells in the laboratory. The technology aims to create an artificial sensing system that can control cell behavior in the presence of toxic or cancer invasion.
Global Warming Can Turn Indian Ocean Into Ecological Desert, Say Scientists
Scientists warned that the Indian Ocean is an ecological desert in the making. It's not just because of overfishing, the pernicious effects of global warming extend to phytoplankton or fish food.
Irregular Heartbeat Poses Greater Health Risk To Women: Women With Atrial Fibrillation Likely To Have Heart Disease
Atrial fibrillation, the most common type of abnormal heart rhythm, was found as a greater risk factor for strokes, heart disease, and death in women than in men. The cause, however, remains unclear.
Rumpelstiltskin, Beauty And The Beast Date Back Thousands Of Year: Fairy Tales Older Than Bible, Greek Myths
Many renowned fairy tales predate the Bible, Greek and Roman mythology, and even modern European languages today, said a new study. Some of the oldest ones were traced back 6,000 years – likely told in ancient tongues long forgotten.
Do Not Eat Any Snow: Study Finds Snows Absorb Toxic Air Pollutants
Should you eat snow? Not really, even if it appears clean and pure - this is the warning of scientists from Canada who found out how the ice particles efficiently absorb the same toxic, carcinogenic chemicals coming from car exhaust.
Materialist Consumers With Poor Personal Relationships Use 'Servant' Brands To Gain Sense Of Power: Study
Materialists who link their happiness to possessions and tend to have poor human relationships consider products as servants. These are things over which they can find power and control that they may lack in real life, says a new study on consumer behavior.
Superbug Solution? Light-Activated Nanoparticles Kill More Than 90 Percent Of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
Quantum dots, or light-activated nanoparticles that are about 20,000 times smaller than human hair, successfully killed 92 percent of drug-resistant bacteria. Will they be man's next ally in the fight against antibiotic resistance?
Underwater Volcanoes Played Key Role In Ending Snowball Earth
What role did underwater volcanoes play during te Snowball Earth period 720 to 640 million years ago? Plenty, mainly helping catalyze the transition from icehouse to greenhouse and jumpstart animal life on the planet.
Shark As Big As 'Jaws' Spotted Off Australian Coast: What To Do If A Shark Attacks You
There are more shark sightings in Australia this season than in previous years. While shark attacks are incredibly rare, know what to do - follow these expert tips.
Faulty Gene Present In 32,500 UK Women Increases Ovarian Cancer Risk By Three-Fold
Around 32,000 women in the UK may unknowingly carry the BRIP1 gene mutation which increases their risk for ovarian cancer by three-fold. This underscores the importance of studying inheritable gene changes in cancer research.
Diet Can Make A Difference In Your Sleep: Foods That Insomnia Sufferers Should Eat
How does one achieve deep sleep? Diet is key - here are five food groups that establish the important link between diet and sleep, and help one get deep, restorative slumber.
Cosmic Particles May Unlock Mystery On How Pyramids In Egypt Were Built
Muon technology, one that involves cosmic particle accumulations, will help an international team of scientists solve the 4,500-year-old mystery of how the pyramids of Egypt were built. The team's findings will confirm or change current hypotheses on how these ancient wonders came to be.
NHS Hospitals To Have Sugar Tax To Tackle Obesity In UK
NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens confirmed plans to impose a sugar tax in UK hospitals. The move aims to put a strong tax system in place or to fully abolish added sugar in hospitals by year 2020.
Animals Possess Independent Working Memory Systems, Study Confirms
Rats are found to have two independent 'working memory' resources, a discovery that can greatly improve Alzheimer's disease research. The study proponents argue that targeting the right types of memory in research is highly crucial to treating the disease.
