Articles by Katrina Pascual
Earth May Have Hairy Dark Matter, Study Suggests
A new study proposed that there are long filaments of dark matter – called 'hairs' – existing and sprouting from Earth. This invisible, mysterious dark matter is believed to make up about 27 percent of all matter and energy in the universe.
Breast-Feeding May Lower Type 2 Diabetes Risks For Some Women
Women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) who exclusively or mostly breast-fed for at least two months after giving birth and continued to do so afterwards slashed their chances of developing type 2 diabetes by half. GDM strikes in up to 9 percent of pregnant Americans.
New Fertility Test Gauges How Long Before Women Run Out Of Eggs
The new fertility test called 'What’s My Fertility' identifies hormonal changes and a genetic defect that makes females at risk for Premature Ovarian Aging. POA strikes one in 10 women and is mostly diagnosed at a later age.
Endangered White Rhino Dies At California Zoo: Three Remain In The World
The 41-year-old Nola was euthanized by San Diego Zoo Safari Park Sunday due to a losing health battle. The female northern white rhino was the last of her kind in captivity in the Western hemisphere.
Bacon, Sausage Sales Plummet After WHO Cancer Report
In the United Kingdom, supermarkets saw a £3 million (over $4 million) drop in the sales of bacon and sausages over the last two weeks. An analyst group said that the "scare" from the WHO report on processed meats results in an incremental drop of 10 percent in sales.
Buglife Charity Shares Extreme Close-Ups Of Bugs And Insects Living In Your House This Winter
UK conservation charity Buglife partnered with Sony in a photo series on 10 bugs and insects living in homes this winter. The extreme close-up images were captured by UK photographer Mikael Buck.
NASA Spacecraft Captures Images Showing A Day In Life Of Pluto And Its Largest Moon Charon
The Pluto flyby of the New Horizons spacecraft of NASA offered a new set of images of a day in the life of Pluto and its moon Charon. The images were taken on July 7 to 13 and provided an intimate look at parts of the two celestial bodies' surface.
NASA Tasks SpaceX To Carry Astronauts To International Space Station
NASA's Commercial Crew Program allows private firms SpaceX and Boeing to bring U.S. astronauts to and from the International Space Station. This is the second of four guaranteed NASA orders under the contract.
Eating 60 Grams Of Walnuts A Day Reduces Heart Disease Risk
Eating a handful of walnuts and other tree nuts was once again associated with reduced cardiovascular disease risk. Cardiovascular conditions cover a range of heart and blood vessel issues and are mostly related to atherosclerosis.
FDA Gives Approval To Novartis Drug Combo For Skin Cancer
Novartis announced last Friday that the FDA approved its combination drug for metastatic melanoma or advanced skin cancer. The regulatory nod for the combination therapy was based on two years of overall patient survival.
Too Many Friends On Facebook May Cause Depression In Teens: What Parents Can Do To Ease Social Media Stress
To help alleviate social media stress, parents are urged by experts to sign up for and participate in social networks that their teenagers are on. They should also encourage their kids to put their phones down from time to time.
Teeth Analysis Reveals Ancient Hobbit Humans Evolved From Larger Species
A study of the teeth of the Homo floresiensis showed there could be a bit of hobbits in humans today. Early modern humans might have interbred with Asian Homo erectus at a small scale, said researchers.
Kids Born To Women Smoking Cannabis During Pregnancy Excel In One Aspect Of Brain Development
Prenatal cannabis exposure benefitted global motion perception, a biomarker of visual neurodevelopment, in preschoolers. Alcohol intake during pregnancy and the subsequent exposure of the child, on the other hand, impaired this measure.
Happiest Couples Only Have Sex Once A Week: Study
Based on surveys covering over 30,000 Americans over a span of four decades, a study showed that happiness was no greater with sex more than once a week on average. This is despite common belief equating a higher frequency of sex with greater happiness.
Parasitic Worm Increases Fertility In Women: Study
Different species of parasitic intestinal worms could affect when the next pregnancy of a Tsimane woman would be. A nine-year study used hookworms and giant roundworms to discover how the infection could affect fertility.
Fossilized Forest Discovered In Norway Triggered Dramatic Climate Change 380 Million Years Ago
The fossil forest discovered in Norway is believed to partly cause the 15-fold drop in CO2 in the atmosphere during the late Devonian period. This was when the first big trees pulled CO2 out of the air via photosynthesis.
FDA Approves Easy-To-Use Nasal Spray Narcan As Treatment For Opioid Overdose
FDA approved Narcan (naloxone) nasal spray, a drug used for opioid overdose treatment previously approved only in injectable forms. This spray will be launched in January by Ireland-based Adapt Pharma.
New Gene Found In Animals, People In China Could Make Bacteria Resistant To All Antibiotics
The mcr-1gene makes bacteria extremely resistant to last-resort antibiotic polymyxins. It has been identified by scientists in people and pigs in China, which remains the world's biggest user and producer of polymyxin colistin for agriculture.
CMS Releases Final Bundled Payment Model For Hip, Knee Replacement Surgeries
Hospitals in 67 areas are required to take part in the final CMS' Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Payment Model. The final rule also moves toward telehealth services in hip and knee replacement procedures.
NASA Releases Carbon Map Showing The Countries That Pollute The World
The NASA carbon map focused on burning biomass and cities as two main carbon dioxide sources. For instance, as indicated by red and white hotspots over the region, central Africa is a source of huge biomass being burned potentially via forest fires.
Your Parenting Style May Affect Your Child's Obesity Risk
A Canadian study suggested that parenting and poverty are both crucial predictors of childhood obesity risk. The large nationwide study, however, was criticized for focusing on behaviors rather than the more pervasive impact of poverty on children's health.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Says He Is 100 Percent Cancer Free After Treatment
Diagnosed six months ago with aggressive stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the Maryland governor announced Monday that his illness is now in remission. Gov. Larry Hogan, a leading cancer patient advocate, will continue juggling state responsibilities and monitoring his health.
Stem Cell Discovery Could Lead To Effective Treatments For Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Scientists showed for the first time that muscle stem cells are directly affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This could lead to better treatment of the degenerative condition, which is currently managed through steroids and physical therapy.
WHO Warns Of Dangerously High Levels Of Antibiotic Resistance Worldwide: What Drives Surge Of Superbugs?
WHO has identified antibiotic resistance as a global health crisis, releasing the results of a survey that reflects people's poor understanding of the problem. Superbugs that had developed from drug resistance have been killing hundreds of thousands every year globally.
Protein Compass May Explain How Animals Detect Magnetic Fields And Find Their Way Home
Chinese scientists discovered tiny, protein-based biological compasses in fruit flies that also appear in pigeon, rat, whale, butterfly and human cells. They said these rod-like compasses make animals' magnetic sensing possible.
Facial Transplant Surgery Gives Firefighter Another Man’s Face
Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, a plastic surgeon at NYU's Langone Medical Center, performed a full facial transplant on former firefighter Patrick Hardison. The recipient will be on immunosuppressants for life and is in the process of starting over.
Child With Drug-Resistant TB Successfully Treated By Johns Hopkins Pediatricians
A child patient successfully treated at Johns Hopkins had XDR tuberculosis, a drug-resistant form. The case highlighted not just drug resistance but also difficulty in diagnosing the disease in kids.
Your Tweets Reveal A Lot About You, Study Finds
A new study investigated over 20 million tweets to dig into the psychological experiences of people over a two-week period. One insight into tweets and human psychology: people felt more negativity in the work week and more positivity on weekends.
Antibiotics Not To Be Used As Cold, Flu Treatment, Say Experts: Misuse Could Lead to Drug Resistance
An Australian nonprofit group warned against the dangerous notion that antibiotics can effectively cure colds and coughs. This is believed to fuel growing antibiotic resistance worldwide, which leads to at least 23,000 deaths every year in the U.S. alone.
Smartphones, Tablets And E-Readers Should Have Automatic 'Bed Mode' To Prevent Sleep Disruption, Experts Say
Researchers warned against new gadgets with bigger and brighter screens that have more blue light emissions and higher contrast levels. This type of light disrupts the production of sleep hormone melatonin.
