Ebola virus fears strike Uganda's capital city
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On Saturday, Ugandan Ministry of Health officials and the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that 14 people had died from the Ebola virus. A spokesperson for the WHO told NPR that thirty-six people are confirmed to have recently had the disease.
Officials: Ebola sickens more than 20 in Uganda, 14 dead
Which airports are more likely to spread contagion?
While the infected have resided in Kibaale - a district west of the capitol - one of the patients traveled from the area to a Kampala hospital, where he later died. The densely-populated city has a population of 1.5 million, according to AFP. No one has contracted the virus yet in Kampala, but because one of the sick was in the city, there are fears they could have spread the virus. While precautions are being taken such as radio announcements and posters alerting people to take care, the fact that there are so many highly-trafficked markets and crowded slums in the area makes it challenging to get the word out.
Continue »Even fake grins may lower heart rate when stressed
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Researchers at the University of Kansas discovered that if people were told to hold a facial position similar to smiling - whether they knew they were supposed to be grinning or not - they had lower heart rates after a stressful situation.
"This is not going to cure you if you have chronic stress or a major life event like a tornado," Dr. Sarah Pressman, assistant professor of psychology and co-author of the study, told HealthPop. "But, it's almost impossible to be really angry or really stressed with this big smile on your face.... You can't help but reduce that negative effect."
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Michigan woman with flesh-eating bacteria dies
Facebook/Crystal Spencer
Thirty three-year-old Crystal Spencer died on July 29 in Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital in Commerce Township, Michigan, according to the Detroit Free Press. She passed away about one month after she had originally been admitted to the hospital for the disease, CBS Detroit reported.
Mich. woman battling flesh-eating bacteria, necrotizing fasciitis
The family is requesting an autopsy to determine why Spencer died. Jeff Spencer, Crystal's husband, told the Detroit Free Press through his lawyer that he believes that his deceased wife got necrotizing fasciitis after she went to Botsford Hospital in Farmington Hills in June to have a large boil on her thigh lanced. Two days later, she was receiving care at Huron Valley-Sinai for the flesh eating bacteria and had a four-hour procedure to remove what her husband described as a watermelon-size piece of flesh from her thigh.
"We have real concerns about - that she possibly got this infection - the procedure may not have been done appropriately that's the working assumption right now and we are seeking all the medical records to confirm whether that's true or not," Spencer's attorney Brian Benner told CBS Detroit.
Continue »Psychological abuse as harmful as physical for kids
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Spanking, physical punishment may raise risk for mental health woes in adult years
A clinical report from child abuse experts, published July 30 in Pediatrics, says that psychological abuse can be as damaging to a young child's physical, mental and emotional health as some forms of physical abuse. What's more, such abuse is often under-reported and hard to detect since there are no visible abrasions or bruises, the researchers said, making it potentially the most prevalent form of child abuse and neglect.
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Docs to perform complex penile reconstruction on teen
(Left To Right) Maria Luisa Chea, Director of IKF's Wonderfund, Roger Canelos, Luis Canelos, Dr. Christopher Salgado, Dr. Morad Askari and Dr. Rafael Gosalbez attend a press conference about the penis reconstruction surgery.
/ IKF's WonderfundLuis Canelos was 9 years old when a shotgun accidentally discharged and destroyed his penis and most of his testicles, according to a press release. Only part of his right testicle remains. The 16-year-old has had to urinate through a perineal urethra since the accident.
Two medical teams at the South Florida hospital plan to replace his penis with skin from his forearm and bone from a cadaver. The first surgery is scheduled for next month and is expected to take 24 hours, the Miami Herald reported.
"I cannot overemphasize how complex the operation is," Dr. Rafael Gosalbez, a pediatric urologist at Miami Children's Hospital, said to the Miami Herald. He and two other doctors will be leading the pro-bono procedure.
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Colorblind man can "hear" colors
Artist Neil Harbisson has a condition called achromatopsia, where he can only see things in shades of grey.
/ TEDArtist Neil Harbisson suffers from a visual condition called achromatopsia or total color blindness. Harbisson can only see things in shades of grey. So, he partnered with some computer scientists at the in 2003, who created an "electronic eye" for him.
The device - which Harbisson wears on his head - detects the color frequency of the item that is passed in front of it, turns it into a sound frequency and passes the information to a chip installed at the back of Harbisson's head. He then is able to hear the color through bone conduction, or sound waves that are created as they pass through the bones of the skull to the inner ear.
"I've been hearing color for eight years since 2004 so I find it completely normal to hear color all the time," he explained during his TED Talk in June. "At the start, I had to memorize the names you give for each color, so I had to memorize the notes, but after some time this information became a perception. I didn't have to think about the notes, and after some time this perception became a feeling."
Now, the artist can go to an art gallery - which he compared to listening to a concert - and hear the paintings. He also enjoys walking in supermarkets, which he likened to going to a nightclub.
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Which airports are most likely to spread contagion?
A passenger goes through the security checkpoint at John F. Kennedy (JFK) airport, August 27, 2003 in New York City.
/ Stephen Chernin/Getty ImagesHigh-trafficked airports JFK Airport in New York and Los Angeles International Airport top the list at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, but the airport coming in third sees far fewer passengers passing through: Honolulu International Airport. The Hawaii-based airport, however, ranked high on the list because it's a prime layover location for flights between the U.S. and Asia, making it a stepping stone for contagions. The airport also often connects flights to larger airports and has a lot of long-range destinations.
The study was published in PLoS on July 19.
Continue »Buckyballs CEO: Gov't complaint is "un-American"
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Gov't complaint halts Buckyballs sales, citing injury risks
3-year-old swallows 37 Buckyball magnets, survives
"Obviously the bureaucrats see danger everywhere, and those responsible people - like our company who have vigorously promoted safety and appropriate use of our products - gets put out of business by an unfair and arbitrary process," Craig Zucker, Founder and CEO of Maxfield and Oberton, which manufactures Buckyballs and Buckycubes, said in a statement. "I don't understand how and why they did this without following their own rules before allowing us to make our case. It almost seems like they simply wanted to put our products and industry out of business."
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Sleeping with TV on may lead to depression
According to the Ohio State University study, hamsters who spent their nights exposed to dim lights - measured as five times brighter than a full moon and about the same light you'd get in urban cities at night or from having a TV on in a dark room - had more signs of depression.
"The results we found in hamsters are consistent with what we know about depression in humans," Tracy Bedrosian, lead author of the study and doctoral student in neuroscience at Ohio State University, said in the press release.
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What makes a person a psychopath?
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Chicago clinical psychologist Daniela Schreier told CBSNews.com that prior to Holmes' court appearance, some people thought he was a psychopath who used violence to make his mark on the world. However, after seeing him in court, she believes he may instead be suffering from a psychotic breakdown that happened as recently as this spring. Meanwhile, Marissa Randazzo, former chief research psychologist for the U.S. Secret Service and an expert in mass shootings, told Good Morning America that Holmes' previous behavior didn't suggest he was a psychopath or a sociopath.
The court of public opinion following the tragedy also included many voices judging Holmes to be a psychopath. These people may be right - but probably not for the reasons that they think. The psychopath label has been used so much, it has become a broad term that's real meaning has been lost among everyday citizens.
"It's like a 'nervous breakdown,'" Dr. Michael First, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University, told CBSNews.com. "It's all these words that people use with no precise meaning."
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Anticipated Alzheimer's drug fails to show benefits
Scans of brains of Alzheimer's patients
/ CBSPfizer announced today that patients in a phase III trial who took bapineuzumab, a therapy that was being tested for treating mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease, did not show any changes in cognitive or daily functional performance compared to those who took a placebo. The 1,100 subjects in this particular study were carriers of ApoE4, a gene which scientists believe raises a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's and is thought to worsen symptoms.
Results from key Alzheimer's studies could decide future of treatment
About 25 to 30 percent of the Alzheimer's population has the gene, and it is present in 40 percent of late-onset cases, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Can YouTube help treat vertigo?
Part of the Epley Maneuver as demonstrated in a video by the American Academy of Neurology.
/ YouTube/AANChannel(CBS News) Vertigo sufferers may have a promising new tool to help in their treatment: YouTube.
Researchers found that people who suffer from benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) - an inner ear disorder that can cause dizziness - can benefit from watching YouTube videos demonstrating a motion known as the Epley Maneuver.
BPPV is caused by loose calcium carbonate crystals that move in the sensing tubes of the inner ear. It is the most common cause of vertigo. Doing the Epley Maneuver moves the crystals from the sensing tubes to another inner chamber of the ear, where it will not cause the person to feel a spinning sensation.
Dr. Kevin A. Kerber, from University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, said in a press release that this type of vertigo can be treated "easily and quickly" with the Epley. "But too often the maneuver isn't used, and people are told to 'wait it out' or given drugs. We found that accurate video demonstrations of the maneuver that health care providers and people with vertigo can use are readily available on YouTube."
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Women with high-stress jobs face heart attack risk
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A new study shows that women who have high-stress jobs are 67 percent more likely to have a heart attack and 38 percent more likely to have any kind of cardiovascular event than women who have more low-stress jobs.
Stress more harmful to women's hearts, study finds
American women, young people are more stressed than their counterparts, study shows
Anxiety causes women's brains to work harder than men's
"Elevated job strain, a form of psychological stress, has long term cardiovascular health effects in women and could suggest the need for health care providers to incorporate assessment of and identification of useful interventions that minimize the effects of job strain," Dr. Michelle A. Albert, of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School,wrote in the study.
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"Brushy" song teaches importance of oral health
(CBS News) Sure, you may know how to "dougie," but do you know how to brushy?
A new song called "Teach Me How to Brushy" - set to the tune of Cali Swag District's "Teach Me How to Dougie" - is attempting to teach young kids how to take care of their teeth in a fun way. The PSA was created by the Oregon Dental Association.
"We wanted to create a fun, interactive tool parents can use to get their kids excited about good dental habits," Oregon Dental Association president-elect Dr. Jill Price, one of the stars of the video, said in a statement to ABC News. "The mouth is a major health center in the body; unhealthy mouths can lead to diabetes, heart issues, and worse. But rather than lecture parents and expect that lecture to reach their kids, we wanted to create a hub for good facts that families will actually want to check out."
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US whooping cough cases rising at epidemic rate
Victor Zamora, right, gets his Tdap shot from pediatric nurse practitioner Jenny Lu, right, in Tustin, Calif., in this photo taken on Aug. 18, 2011.
/ AP/Jae C. HongCalling the increase in the number of infected across age groups "substantial," Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said on a conference call that many states are seeing higher than normal cases of the illness. To date, 18,000 cases have been reported to the CDC in 2012, more than twice as many as the same time last year. Nine infants have already died.
"When we have these waves occurring we look at trends and try to understand how we can best reduce impact of disease," she explained.
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