Researchers at Tohoku University have developed a new type of smart contact lenses that can prevent dry eyes. The self-moisturising system, which is described in the journal Advanced Materials Technologies, maintains a layer of fluid between the contact lens and the eye using a novel mechanism. Smart contact lenses are wearable devices that could accelerate vision...
The smell of cut grass, freshly baked bread, childhood memories, lost loved ones, Christmas. What happens when it’s all gone? A new study from the University of East Anglia reveals the huge range of emotional and practical impacts caused by a loss of smell. It finds that almost every aspect of life is disrupted –...
Lead researcher Lauren Bandy and her colleagues looked at the nutritional information of a range of soft drinks in the UK, including carbonated drinks, concentrates, 100% juice, juice drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and bottled water, and combined this with sales data from 2015-2018. There has been considerable pressure on industry to reduce the sugar...
Existing evidence suggests pornography may negatively affect some individuals, but it does not qualify as a public health crisis, and calling it one could cause harm. Researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) have written an editorial in the American Journal of Public Health special February issue arguing against the claim that pornography is...
When college students post about feelings of depression on Facebook, their friends are unlikely to encourage them to seek help, a small study suggests. In fact, in this study, none of the 33 participating students said their friends told them they should reach out to a mental health professional to discuss their problems. Instead, most...
A few years ago I visited Dar a Luz, the only free-standing birth center in New Mexico. It looks nothing like the towering urban hospitals I have spent my career working in. Nestled into a valley at the outskirts of Albuquerque, Dar a Luz is more like an earthy homestead. At the perimeter, a wood...
For many people, the start of a year is a time for new health resolutions – be it eat more vegetables, consume less sugar or drink more water. Keeping hydrated is essential for body functions such as temperature regulation, transporting nutrients and removing waste. Water even acts as a lubricant and shock absorber for joints....
Direct-to-consumer hormone-based “fertility testing” for women is viewed by consumers as both an alternative, empowering tool for family planning, and a confusing and misleading one, according to the results of a new study from Penn Medicine. Findings from the small, first-of-its-kind ethnographic study reinforce the need for consumer education around the purpose and accuracy of...
A small wildfire in San Diego County in 2017 resulted in a big uptick in children visiting the emergency room for breathing problems, according to new research published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. In “Increase in Pediatric Respiratory Visits Associated with Santa Ana Wind-driven Wildfire Smoke and PM2.5 levels in San Diego County,” Sydney...
Why do some children have more difficulties understanding others’ emotions or feeling sorry after misbehaving? Why do some act out in certain situations and behave in others? How should adults respond in these circumstances? For parents, such puzzles can seem unsolvable yet having insight into the inner workings of these situations becomes increasingly important when...
