Health

The topic has been reported on before, but National Public Radio health and science reporter Richard Knox did a terrific job Monday of outlining the lessons women — indeed, all health consumers — can learn from the marketing story behind the controv

After a small delay (explained in an editorial here), a long-awaited government-funded study on chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) was released Monday — much to the relief of many of the estimated 4 million or so Americans who have this little-understoo

Actors are smoking significantly less often on the silver screen these days, but more than half of all PG-13 rated movies still show people lighting up — a situation that encourages some young people to take up the habit, a new study reports.
The aut

A few years ago I wrote a short magazine article about ecopsychology, a relatively new field of academic study that melds psychology and ecology.

It was hard not to be stunned and fascinated by yesterday’s news accounts of a study that — according to many headlines, at least — suggests that “Namesake Disease May Not Have Killed Lou Gehrig” (Time).

When I first read in the British press last week about a London cardiologist’s proposal that statins — drugs used to lower the risk of heart disease — be freely offered along with ketchup and other condiments at McDonald’s and other fast-food restaur

Minnesota-based health media watchdog (and former University of Minnesota health journalism professor) Gary Schwitzer — with some help from Newsweek health and science editor Mary Carmichael — appears to have been responsible for the American Cancer

As you head out to your grocery store — or, better yet, your local farmer’s market — this weekend to replenish your stash of fresh fruits and veggies, keep in mind lists from the Environmental Working Group.

Winter may be far from our Minnesota minds during this sweltering week in August, but here’s a research finding that may cause a shiver or two: When the temperature drops on any particular day by 1 degree C (1.8 degrees F), the relative risk of hav

You’ve got to love the sheer audacity of processed food manufacturers. I mean, just how dumb do they think we consumers are? (OK.

Rely less on your bathroom scale and more on your tape measure.
A new study has found that having a too-big waistline is associated with an increased risk of premature death — no matter what weight category (normal, overweight or obese) your body m

I recently heard a report on National Public Radio (NPR) about how BP is handing out lucrative research contracts (more than $200 per hour) to prominent marine scientists at Texas A&M, Louisiana State University and elsewhere — as long as the re

In his Frontal Cortex blog yesterday, science writer Jonah Lehrer expounds on the ubiquitousness of cognitive dissonance in today’s Internet-connected world — why, in his words, “we seem to squander ever more oxygen on worthless conversations about O

In simplest terms, these are kids whose brains are configured in a way that makes them unable to remember faces.

Newsweek science columnist Sharon Begley has some rather discouraging news for summer vacationers.

A recently published Belgian study offers a bit of schadenfreude for everybody who’s struggling financially as we deal with the great recession:
Wealthy people, it seems, can’t savor everyday joys as much as the rest of us.
As the researchers themsel

Taking a calcium pill is part of the daily health regimen of millions of Americans age 40 and older, particularly women. For years, doctors (and advertisers) have told us that the supplement will ward off osteoporosis by keeping our bones dense.

Earlier this month, the European Union began requiring foods that contain certain synthetic dyes to carry a label that warns consumers that the food “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.” It’s not a ban, but the labels w