Health News

Articles in Health Affairs examine the toll of diabetes, both in the US and abroad

Date: Jan-19-2014
Poorer Americans: depleted food budgets can mean higher risk of hypoglycemia.For generations, economists have noted that low-income households spend much of their earnings as soon as their paychecks arrive. Since a large proportion of Americans are paid at the beginning of the month, many low-income households exhaust food budgets by month's end.Hilary K. Seligman of the University of California, San Francisco, and coauthors, postulated that this could influence health outcomes, such as heightened risk for low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) among people with diabetes.

Evaluating the expertise of humans and computer algorithms

Date: Jan-19-2014
How do we come to recognize expertise in another person and integrate new information with our prior assessments of that person's ability? The brain mechanisms underlying these sorts of evaluations - which are relevant to how we make decisions ranging from whom to hire, whom to marry, and whom to elect to Congress - are the subject of a new study by a team of neuroscientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Nicotine replacement in pregnancy linked to offspring obesity

Date: Jan-19-2014
It is widely known that smoking during pregnancy may cause harm to offspring. But new research from Western University in Canada suggests that women who use nicotine replacement therapy during pregnancy in an attempt to quit the habit may still be putting their child at risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome.The research team, led by Daniel Hardy of the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University, published the study findings online in the journal Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology.

Nicotine replacement in pregnancy linked to offspring obesity

Date: Jan-19-2014
It is widely known that smoking during pregnancy may cause harm to offspring. But new research from Western University in Canada suggests that women who use nicotine replacement therapy during pregnancy in an attempt to quit the habit may still be putting their child at risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome.The research team, led by Daniel Hardy of the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University, published the study findings online in the journal Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology.

Our brains 'tune' to activity like a radio

Date: Jan-19-2014
Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, have found that, to allow us to concentrate, we synchronize different regions of our brains in a process that the researchers describe as "roughly akin to tuning multiple walkie-talkies to the same frequency."Normally, people are able to filter out information from their senses that are not relevant to the immediate task at hand.

Finding pleasure in chores may boost self-control

Date: Jan-19-2014
Productivity can easily escape us after a tiring day at work. At times, it is easier to chill out in front of the TV and order a pizza, rather than go to the gym before cooking a healthy dinner. But new research suggests that if we can find pleasure in necessary tasks, our self-control can be boosted, regardless of how tired we feel.The team of researchers, including Michael Inzlicht, professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto Scarborough in Canada, published their findings in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

Our brains 'tune' to activity like a radio

Date: Jan-19-2014
Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, have found that, to allow us to concentrate, we synchronize different regions of our brains in a process that the researchers describe as "roughly akin to tuning multiple walkie-talkies to the same frequency."Normally, people are able to filter out information from their senses that are not relevant to the immediate task at hand.

Evaluating the expertise of humans and computer algorithms

Date: Jan-19-2014
How do we come to recognize expertise in another person and integrate new information with our prior assessments of that person's ability? The brain mechanisms underlying these sorts of evaluations - which are relevant to how we make decisions ranging from whom to hire, whom to marry, and whom to elect to Congress - are the subject of a new study by a team of neuroscientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Alarm fatigue alleviated by decreasing noise at Boston Medical Center

Date: Jan-19-2014
Boston Medical Center (BMC) successfully reduced audible alarms as a way to combat alarm fatigue and improve patient safety. The hospital, one of two in the country that spearheaded this issue, implemented a novel cost-effective approach during a six-week pilot program that resulted in a drastic drop in audible alarms. The successful approach has since been expanded to all BMC inpatient medical surgical units and is being touted as a model for other hospitals working to combat alarm fatigue .

Finding pleasure in chores may boost self-control

Date: Jan-19-2014
Productivity can easily escape us after a tiring day at work. At times, it is easier to chill out in front of the TV and order a pizza, rather than go to the gym before cooking a healthy dinner. But new research suggests that if we can find pleasure in necessary tasks, our self-control can be boosted, regardless of how tired we feel.The team of researchers, including Michael Inzlicht, professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto Scarborough in Canada, published their findings in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences.