Articles by Katrina Pascual
Drought Effects Harder On Farms In Developed Countries: Western Farmers To Take Cues From Poorer Nations?
Food production and agriculture in Western countries are predicted to be hit harder by droughts and extreme weather events due to climate change. Farmers from developed nations are then urged by experts to start adapting and thinking differently.
Glaucoma Patients Warned To Avoid Head-Down Yoga Poses And Push-Ups
Glaucoma patients may experience greater intraocular pressure when they perform various head-down yoga positions as well as push-ups and weightlifting. Experts are advising caution against these inverted positions when doing the ancient wellness exercise.
This Is The Perfect Way To Slice Pizza, According To Mathematicians
Previously, mathematicians came up with the monohedral disc tiling, a pizza slicing method that yields 12 identically shaped portions. Now Joel Haddley and Stephen Worsley tweaked the technique to come up with the perfect way to slice pizza.
Scientists Inch Closer To State Of Metallic Hydrogen
University of Edinburgh researchers have created phase V hydrogen, revealed through crushing Earth’s lightest element with extremely high pressure. This is deemed a step closer to finding the metallic hydrogen state, which was first proposed in the 1930s but remains elusive to scientists.
Gut Bacteria In Prehistoric Mummy Sheds Light On Evolution, Migration
Ötzi the iceman, a well-preserved prehistoric mummy found in 1991 by mountaineers in Italy, was found to have Helicobacter pylori bacteria in his stomach. The discovery lends clues into the evolution of the bacterial strain and its movement via human migration.
Statins May Cut Heart Risks Tied To Sleep Apnea
Statins or cholesterol-lowering drugs have been found to help cut a certain heart disease risk in sleep apnea patients. Some experts, however, said the findings may not be enough reason to grab a statin prescription right away.
Thousands Of Pink Plastic Bottles Wash Up On Cornwall Beaches And More Could Be On The Way
More than 2,000 bottles arrived at Poldhu Cove on the Lizard Peninsula last Sunday, prompting cleanup and disposal operations. Environmental groups warned of the potential environmental risks to marine animals and worsening plastic pollution in the oceans.
World-First Melanoma Research Aims To Develop Personalized Skin Cancer Treatment
A world-first personalized treatment will determine whether a melanoma patient is resistant to radiation therapy before undergoing it. This type of skin cancer is highly prevalent in the country among Queensland's youth.
Boron Nitride Nanotubes Hold Key To Fuel-Efficient Fighter Planes, Space Shuttles
Boron nitride nanotubes are believed to help produce better, more efficient fighter planes and space shuttles in the future. Researchers credit the outstanding strength of BNNT-epoxy interfaces for this possibility.
Expressing Emotions Can Alter Creativity Network Of Your Brain
A brain-scanning study on jazz pianists found that the workings of the brain's creativity network were substantially altered when one actively tries to express emotions. Musicians, for instance, tended to get into the zone when making happy music.
Cutting Sugar In Fizzy Drinks By 40 Percent May Prevent 300,000 Cases Of Diabetes
Reducing sugar in soft drinks by 40 percent over five years could prevent 1.5 million obesity and 300,000 diabetes cases in the UK. But not everyone agreed with cutting the sweet stuff in beverages -- and a soft drink tax similar to Mexico's.
Eli Lilly's Jardiance Diabetes Treatment Steals Market Share From Rival Drugs
Eli Lilly's new diabetes treatment Jardiance stole market share from its rivals. The increased market share of 25 percent of new U.S. patients was attributed to clinical trial data showing fewer deaths among type 2 diabetics by 32 percent.
FDA Strengthens Rules For Using Mesh Implants In Pelvic Surgeries
The FDA said pelvic mesh implants used for pelvic organ prolapse surgeries in women will now be classified as class III or high-risk devices. It also started to require a pre-market approval application from manufacturers showing the products' safety and effectiveness.
Is This A UFO Vanishing Into A Wormhole Portal? Mysterious Ball Of Light Filmed Above Canberra
A ball of light that lit up Canberra’s skies Sunday night during a storm once again stirred speculations of UFO sightings. Experts, however, were quick to say it was actually an unusual phenomenon known as ball lightning.
11-Year-Old Boy Youngest Person In UK To Have Mastectomy
Eleven-year-old Lewis Deakin became the first child who had mastectomy in the UK. It was performed as part of the treatment for his arteriovenous malformation, a rare disorder leading to benign tumor growth in his chest.
Successful Use Of Gene Editing Tool CRISPR In Live Mammals Spurs Hope For Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Cure
Duke University researchers have used CRISPR/CAS9 to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy in a mouse model. Hopes are high in potentially replicating this solution in human patients of the genetic disorder.
FDA Approval Of First-Of-A-Kind Drugs Highest In 19 Years
The FDA approved 45 drugs with never-before-sold ingredients in the U.S. last year, surpassing 2014’s total of 41 approved drugs. Rising prescription drug prices, R&D challenges, and the development of new cancer treatments are some crucial industry issues in 2016.
Cardiologist Says Days Of The Iconic Stethoscope Are Over
Is the stethoscope dead and already replaced by high-tech imaging and other heart tests? Experts highlighted the value of auscultation or listening to the body for signs of disease, which this iconic medical tool continues to promote.
Get Moving While You’re Young: Exercising Early In Life Promotes A Healthy Brain And Better Metabolism
Exercise early in life can positively affect good bacteria in the gut and promote healthier brain and metabolism in one’s lifetime. Researchers have probed the "plasticity" of over 100 trillion good bacteria in the human gut to optimize wellness.
Hubble Space Telescope Captures Merging Of Two Galaxies For The First Time
Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of galaxy NGC 6052, located in the constellation of Hercules about 230 million light years away. It is not a single galaxy, rather two galaxies in the process of merging.
High-Fat, Low Protein Diet Affects RNA Level Of Sperm
Two new mice studies demonstrated the different ways a man’s diet could affect his child's future health. Both high-fat and low-protein diets caused certain changes to RNAs in the sperm that may affect gene regulation in offspring.
CERN Scientists Study Feasibility Of 100 Tera-Electron-Volt Particle Accelerator
CERN scientists are currently exploring the feasibility of a 100 tera-electron-volt (TeV) particle accelerator, with a new cooling design scheme that could slash the cost of cooling future machines. The 100 TeV collider will produce seven times the energy per collision that of the Large Hadron Collider.
New Non-Invasive Imaging Method May Improve Breast Cancer Treatment
A new breast cancer screening method based on whole-body PET/CT imaging promises more accurate treatment and less need for invasive tissue sampling. The study was done on women with ongoing treatment for metastatic breast cancer.
El Niño In 2016 Could Be As Powerful as 1998's El Niño: Climate Event Could Set Off War, Disease And Food Shortage
Aid agencies warned against increasing threats of hunger, disease, and war in 2016, which is estimated to see the strongest El Niño phenomenon on record. Droughts, flooding and other effects are expected to exacerbate existing wars, food shortages, and diseases.
Many Airlines Fail To Offer Passengers Healthy Food: Survey
In a latest survey, Virgin America emerged as the airline offering the healthiest menu to its passengers. Which other U.S. airlines scored high on calorie count and nutritional information, and which ones provided the least healthy in-flight fare?
Fossil Hunters Flock To Jurassic Coast As Cliff Fall Exposes Hundreds Of Prehistoric Fossils
A huge land mass in the village of Charmouth collapsed into the sea and brought to the surface the fossils of now-extinct sea creatures. Fossil hunters, however, were warned not to risk their lives searching the unstable cliff.
Health Inspector Eats Lunch At Boston Chipotle Linked To Norovirus Outbreak To Prove Mexican Restaurant Is Clean
Boston health inspector William Christopher had lunch at Chipotle's Cleveland Circle restaurant after it reopened this week. The restaurant was linked to a norovirus outbreak that primarily affected Boston College students earlier this month.
Wearable Activity Trackers May Overestimate Your Sleep Time
Wearable devices like Fitbit and Jawbone are quickly becoming a permanent fixture in daily life. A systematic review, however, found that while wearable activity trackers are efficient in counting steps, they have a tendency to overestimate total sleep time.
Smartphone Data May Help Analyze Human Behavior, Boost Behavioral Studies
Smartphones can provide great insight into human behavior and potentially emulate randomized trials. Their powerful sensing capabilities can also provide data on users' depression symptoms.
Ultrasound As Effective As Mammography In Detecting Breast Cancer: Study
Ultrasounds were found to have breast cancer detection rates comparable to that of mammography and were even better at detecting node-negative invasive cancer. However, the procedure yielded more false positives than the standard breast cancer screening tool in the U.S.
