Armadillos have never been among the cuddly creatures routinely included in petting zoos, but on Wednesday federal researchers offered a compelling reason to avoid contact with the armored animals altogether: They are a source of leprosy infections in humans.
Be careful around armadillos!
NASA Receives European Commitment To Continue Space StationWASHINGTON -- The Multilateral Coordination Board (MCB) for the International Space Station partner agencies met Wednesday, April 27, to discuss increased efforts to use the station as a test-bed for exploration. The MCB also congratulated the European Space Agency (ESA) on its recent decision to continue station operations to at least 2020.
More than half of Americans live in areas where the air contains unhealthy levels of pollution, according to a report released Wednesday by the American Lung Association.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Easter is a holiday usually associated with bunny rabbits, but if you're not careful, it could bring out the rattlesnakes.
As temperatures climb, rattlesnake season is upon us and the Arizona Herpetological Society wants to prevent bites.
The AHS warns that hiding Easter eggs behind flower pots, under pool toys, and in brush can be dangerous.
Here is an interesting article for desert dwellers.
Men with ring fingers longer than their index fingers are more likely to be considered attractive by women, a Swiss study claimed Wednesday.
Researchers at the University of Geneva said that the level of men's facial attractiveness to women is linked to the so-called digit ratio, with a longer ring finger than index finger indicating higher exposure to testosterone in the womb.
How many men out there have short ring fingers?
The first update in nearly 30 years to US guidelines for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease expands the definition to include patients with earlier stage symptoms and recognizes the condition as being on a continuum rather than just end-stage dementia, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Here is an article about diagnosing Alzheimer's disease.
New motherhood apparently takes a toll on a woman’s health. Young mothers of small children exercise less than other women their age and don’t eat as well, according to a new report.
Are newer mothers exhibiting poor health habits?
Everyone knows the old saying, "If you snooze, you lose."
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital's Sleep and Chronobiology lab are ready to give that old idiom an update: "If you don't snooze, you lose."
If you don't snooze, you may lose.
PHOENIX - Doctors at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix restore a man's vision after removing a brain tumor the size of a golf ball -- and they did the entire surgery through his nose!
"I felt very blessed and lucky," says Ed Bull, who woke up 5 months ago with a splitting headache and trouble seeing. "It was very blurry I was seeing double and not seeing very well."
Tumors on the pituitary gland are more common than one would think.
Parents have more to be worried about than the traditional drugs nowadays. As chemists get more and more inventive, kids are finding alternative ways to get high.
K2 or Spice will soon be illegal. The herbal incense gives users who smoke it a high similar to smoking pot.
But there is another product that gives kids a meth-like high -- and it's legal and easy to obtain.
This never seems to end... what will they think of next?
MELBOURNE, Australia - A court has allowed a 10-year-old boy to become the youngest Australian to have sex-change therapy, the Sunday Herald Sun reported.
The boy, known as Jamie, has lived as a girl for two years, dressing in feminine clothes, using the girls' bathroom at school and "presenting as a very attractive young girl with long, blonde hair," the court heard.
This sounds crazy to me. I am not so sure I can condone this.
PHOENIX - Arizona's medical marijuana program hit a milestone Thursday as patients started turning in applications for the drug to help treat cancer and other diseases.
By the end of the day, 65 applications had been processed and 44 of them were approved.
I guess medical marijuana has arrived in Arizona.
Ever feel like somebody’s watching you? Good because they are. Without proper protection, your internet usage habits are left out in the open; vulnerable to anyone to exploit.
Do you ever wonder who is tracking you while on the internet? This article will answer some questions.
Almost anyone who’s been pregnant remembers the profound link that can develop between a mother-to-be and her unborn child. You feel that life inside you, both physically independent and braided with your own.
How strong is the bond between an expectant mother and her unborn child?
This irresistible soup is inspired by a Southeast Asian dish traditionally made with Thai jasmine rice.
This soup looks and sounds tasty!
PHOENIX - A local hospital says they've seen an increase in child abuse cases since the economy tanked. Medical experts blame stressed parents, overworked social workers, and budget cuts to CPS.
Child abuse caused by the recession and stressed parents- check it out.
Astronaut Fred Haise was a long way from home when he became sick with an infection caused by an opportunistic pathogen known as Pseudomonas aeruginosa while aboard the Apollo 13 mission to the moon in 1970.Now, more than four decades later, this same bacterium is central to an important discovery by scientists using human spaceflight research to unlock the mysteries of how disease-causing agents work and can be controlled.
Space exploration is helping us to better understand how disease-causing agents work.
YUMA, Ariz. (AP) — Federal authorities in Arizona say they've arrested a Salvadoran immigrant who's a known member of a violent gang and has an extensive criminal record.
Border Patrol agents near the California border town of Andrade about 12 miles from Yuma say they found Gabriel Cabrera-Garcia wandering in the area Saturday. They say he was arrested for entering the U.S. illegally
This POS has a violent criminal record, including first-degree murder, and he is found wandering FREELY in the desert near Yuma. One has to ask: "Why is this guy not in prison, or dead? MS-13 is one of the most violent gangs known to civilized man!
PHOENIX (AP) — A leukemia patient's death probably could have been avoided if Arizona hadn't suspended Medicaid coverage for some transplants for six months, a transplant doctor says.
Dr. Jeffrey Schriber said 31-year-old James Johnson of Phoenix likely could have obtained a bone-marrow transplant within weeks late last fall were it not for the coverage cutoff that began Oct. 1 under a state budget cut approved earlier last year.
This is a sad story about Politics and Medicaid coverage, or better said, lack of coverage in Arizona. Thank you Madame Governor Brewer!
Poison Frog Skin Toxins and Their Use in Hunting and Warfare
Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. Central and South American frogs of the family Dendrobatidae secrete virulent skin toxins (histrionicotoxins, batrachotoxins and others) when disturbed. Many people believe that the toxins of many species of Poison Frogs, known also as “Poison Arrow Frogs” and “Dart Poison Frogs”, were once used to coat darts and arrows used in hunting and warfare. Actually, this is not the case – but the actual facts are no less interesting.
Great article about poisonous frogs!
Retail therapy does more than soothe the soul — it could also be a sign of long life for elderly people, according to a new study.
Shopping more often may prolong your life!
LOS ANGELES -- Pia Toscano, the "American Idol" contestant whose elimination Thursday night shocked and angered fans, celebrities and even the show's judges, has landed a record deal, Us Weekly reported Saturday.
This is good news!
A meteorite discovered in Antarctica in 1969 has just divulged a modern secret: a new mineral, now called Wassonite.
The new mineral found in the 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite was tiny — less than one-hundredth as wide as a human hair. Still, that was enough to excite the researchers who announced the discovery Tuesday.
Scientists have discovered a "new" mineral!
Mark your calendars for an impressive and upcoming flyby of an asteroid that’s one of the larger potentially perilous space rocks in the heavens – in terms of smacking the Earth in the future.
It’s the case of asteroid 2005 YU55, a round mini-world that is about 1,300 feet in diameter. In early November, this asteroid will approach Earth within a scant 0.85 lunar distances.
Save the date and mark your calendars for an important event in early November, 2011.
At least 217 people, mostly young children, have been sickened by salmonella spread by pet African dwarf water frogs, government health officials said.
A single California breeder of the frogs has been identified as the source of infections caused by Salmonella Typhimurium confirmed in 41 states since April 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday. Investigators visited the breeder in March and confirmed the presence of salmonella in the environment; tests are continuing to see if it matches the outbreak strain.
Here is something to be aware of and watch out for!
Biodiversity doesn�t feed people, but GM crops do
During a United Nations meeting in Bali to discuss a treaty on plant genetics, La Via Campesina, which according to an article in The Atlantic, is said to be an international farmers’ movement comprised of 150 organizations in 70 countries, decided not to waste time addressing real agricultural problems like the rising cost of food, starvation in underdeveloped nations and the poor crop yields in certain areas. Instead, the group decided that “real” peace of mind can only be achieved when biodiversity is protected, which includes further restrictions and bans on the use of genetically-modified (GM) seeds
Here is an informative article.
READFIELD, Maine -- A 10-year-old boy who earned a spot in a national penmanship contest despite being born without hands is in a league of his own, contest organizers say.
I really admire this kid. So many people complain about how difficult everything is for them to deal with.
Amazing Pictures of a Bobcat on a Cactus
April 07, 2011Thu, 07 Apr 2011 14:18:34 GMT
Nature enthusiast captures unique scene
Have you ever seen a bobcat on top of a saguaro cactus?
If you've been thinking of getting away from it all for a little peace, you may be surprised that a tropical paradise might not be the oasis to escape to.
In the first ever ranking of the most peaceful states, Maine came out as the number one state to find peace, USA Today reported.
It is not much of a surprise that Maine ranks as the number one state to find peace.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- After years of being the black sheep of the medical profession, family medicine is becoming more attractive to med students. The reason -- health reform.
Every year in March, medical school students are matched up with a training program in a specialty they want to pursue.
Family medicine residency applications have increased after many years of decline.
NEW ORLEANS - The nighttime twitching of restless legs syndrome may be more than an annoyance: New research suggests that in some people, it could be a sign of hidden heart problems.
If you or someone you know has restless leg syndrome, then this article is for you.
MESA, Ariz. - It's the wave of the future: a military helmet that allows soldiers to survive being shot in the head by high-powered rifles.
"When we found out that a strain of material was capable of sustaining rifle fire, then I started to move in the integration portion of putting it into a ballistic system," said John Bourque, the inventor of the helmet.
This is some great news for our law enforcement and military personnel.
A first-grade teacher in Paterson, N.J., was suspended on Thursday after she posted on her Facebook page that she felt like a warden overseeing future criminals, district officials said.
Some people seem to think they can say anything they want on Facebook, even if it is hurtful to others, because that is their right. What do you think?
For several years, Tom Theobald, a beekeeper in Boulder, Colo., has been trying to check out his suspicions that a relatively new class of pesticides has been interfering with the normal breeding and development of his stock.
Are some new pesticides interfering with the normal breeding and development of bees?
HONESDALE, Pa. — Even as a girl, Dr. Kate Dewar seemed destined to inherit the small-town medical practice of her grandfather and father. At 4, she could explain how to insert a pulmonary catheter. At 12, she could suture a gash. And when she entered medical school, she and her father talked eagerly about practicing together.
New doctors, fresh from residency, are choosing specialties such as emergency medicine, because of fewer work hours and desire to be home more with their families.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Like it or not, many restaurant diners will soon know more about what they are eating under menu labeling requirements proposed by the Food and Drug Administration.
The requirements will force chain restaurants with 20 or more locations, along with bakeries, grocery stores, convenience stores and coffee chains, to clearly post the amount of calories in each item on menus, both in restaurants and drive-through lanes. The new rules will also apply to vending machines where calorie information isn't already visible on the package.
We may be seeing calorie counts on menus by 2012.
