Do you remember the days when you would be washing your hands in a public bathroom and you would either reach for some paper towel or, if they were out, do the old jean dry? Then one day, behold! The push button hand dryer arrived, but not to much aplomb; the soft stream of warm...

Whether you have actually watched the show or not, you’ve probably at least heard of the TLC show My 600 Pound Life. This reality TV series follows the lives of people with extreme obesity: Their backstory and how they got to where they are, their daily lives, and their struggles to do simple tasks such as bathing,...

Cayenne pepper has many health benefits. It is a member of the chili pepper family, and it is a spice that can be used for both cooking and as an ingredient in your favorite dishes. Cayenne pepper (Capsicum annuum) is commonly used as a seasoning or in foods that are served with a kick and...

Scientists from the University of British Columbia have discovered pieces of a lost continent underneath Baffin Island, Nunavut, believed to have been buried more than 150 million years ago [1]. Nunavut is a large, remote and sparsely populated territory in northern Canada. The territory has been of particular interest for gem-mining companies seeking to study...

In North America, it can sometimes feel like there’s some kind of dollar store on every block. Whether it’s a Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Family Dollar, or otherwise – they’re everywhere. Beyond the environmental issues of buying cheap, throwaway goods, new research shows that many items in dollar stores are full of potentially toxic chemicals....

Eating heavy meals can trigger heart attacks. An older but relevant study published by the American Heart Association found that people who eat a large meal after their main meal have a higher risk of having a heart attack than those who do not eat a large second meal. The researchers concluded that eating too...

Let’s be honest: Women were not given an easy lot in life. Often before we’re even teenagers we have to learn to cope with painful periods, accompanied by massive changes in the structure and function of our bodies. We sacrifice our bodies and temporarily our careers to have a child, spend years dealing with wildly...

There are countless examples of opulence and luxury demand doing significant harm to the natural world, but few are more absurd and heartbreaking than the poaching of Tibet’s rare antelopes for scarves. Tibetan antelopes considered near threatened and are being quickly wiped out due to the demand for a $20,000 luxury scarf called a shahtoosh...

More than 12 million children in the United States live in “food insecure” homes. That phrase may sound mild, but it means that those households don’t have enough food for every family member to lead a healthy life. While this doesn’t always mean that there is nothing to eat, it can mean that children are...

When you’ve got a nagging headache or your neck hurts after a wonky night’s sleep, what’s the first thing you do? For many of us, it’s to go to the medicine cabinet for something such as an ibuprofen. Unfortunately, this might not be our best choice. Anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids, commonly used to alleviate pain,...

Junk food has long been associated with various health problems, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. But does it also cause cancer? The recent death of Morgan Spurlock, the maker of “Super Size Me,” from an undisclosed type of cancer at the age of 53 has raised concerns about the potential link between junk food...

The film “Oppenheimer” has brought widespread attention to the creation of the world’s first atomic bomb. It involved a team of researchers and scientists called the Manhattan Project during World War II. But after the war, the U.S. scientists used a leftover spherical piece of plutonium to figure out “the tipping point” that would lead...