Arrested for Epilepsy

Roughly 3 million Americans live with epilepsy. And a surprising number of them go to jail for it.

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Extremely rare, some people can TASTE with their ears

"A rarer few, said Julia Simner, a cognitive neuropsychologist at the University of Edinburgh, involuntarily “taste” words when they hear them. In a study, “The Taste of Words on the Tip of the Tongue,” published in the journal Nature today, Dr. Simner reported finding only 10 such people in Europe and the United States."

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New data from NIH lab confirms protocol to reverse type 1 diabetes in mice

New data published in the Nov. 24 issue of Science provide further support for a protocol to reverse type 1 diabetes in mice and new evidence that adult precursor cells from the spleen can contribute to the regeneration of beta cells.

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Cranberries benefits

Cranberries are among the top foods with proven health benefits, according to Amy Howell, a researcher at Rutgers University.


Cranberries are full of antioxidants, which protects cells from damage by unstable molecules called free radicals.

The
National Institutes of Health is funding research on the cranberry's effects on heart disease, yeast infections and other conditions, and other researchers are investigating its potential against cancer, stroke and viral infections.

So far, research has found:

• Drinking cranberry juice can block urinary infections by binding to bacteria so they can't adhere to cell walls. While women often drink unsweetened cranberry juice to treat an infection, there's no hard evidence that works.

• A compound Howell discovered in cranberries, proanthocyanidine, prevents plaque formation on teeth; mouthwashes containing it are being developed to prevent periodontal disease.

• In some people, regular cranberry juice consumption for months can kill the H. pylori bacteria, which can cause stomach cancer and ulcers.

Preliminary research also shows:

• Drinking cranberry juice daily may increase levels of HDL, or good cholesterol and reduce levels of LDL, or bad cholesterol.

• Cranberries may prevent tumors from growing rapidly or starting in the first place.

• Extracts of chemicals in cranberries prevent breast cancer cells from multiplying in a test tube; whether that would work in women is unknown.

Heart Valves Created From Stem Cells

Scientists for the first time have grown human heart valves using stem cells from the fluid that cushions babies in the womb, offering an approach that may be used to repair defective hearts.The idea is to create new valves in the laboratory while a pregnancy progresses and have them ready to implant in a baby with heart defects after it is born...

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Natural-born Painkiller Found in Human Saliva

Saliva from humans has yielded a natural painkiller up to six times more powerful than morphine, researchers say.

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Contact lenses that check blood sugar

A scientist in Baltimore has developed a contact lens that can provide diabetics with a non-invasive way to monitor blood sugar. Instead of using blood, Dr. Chris Geddes of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute has produced contact lenses that change color in response to the glucose level in the wearer's tears.

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What smoking really costs

According to TobaccoFreeKids.org, the average price for a pack of cigarettes in the United States is $4.35. That means that a person who smokes one pack of cigarettes per day spends roughly $1,600 per year on smokes. That
’s a lot of money to be spending on anything, let alone on something that’s so bad for you.

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Top Warning Signs of Diabetes

High glucose levels in Type I are due to a lack of insulin because the insulin producing cells have been destroyed. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body's cells become resistant to insulin that is being produced. Either way, your cells aren't getting the glucose that they need, and your body lets you know by giving you these signs and symptoms.

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7 Pains You Should Never Ignore

Most of the time, it's good that the little Vince Lombardi sitting on our shoulder tells us to shut up and play through the pain, otherwise we'd never get anything done. On the other hand, there are a few instances in which we can actually talk ourselves out of existence. These common aches could very well be nothing. Or something far, far worse.

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A Trip to the Dentist May Look Like a Scene from Star Wars

The next time you go to the dentist you may be facing a "plasma needle" rather that a drill.

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Why Do We Have an Adam's Apple?

Contrary to popular belief, both males and females have Adam's apples, a chunk of bony cartilage that's wrapped around the larynx. In grown men they just stick out a lot more because of their larger voice boxes—also the reason why dudes speak in deeper tones.

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Docs worry about kids buzzed on energy drinks

More than 500 new energy drinks launched worldwide this year, and coffee fans are probably too old to understand why.

Energy drinks aren’t merely popular with young people. They attract fan mail on their own MySpace pages. They spawn urban legends. They get reviewed by bloggers. And they taste like carbonated cough syrup.

Vying for the dollars of teenagers with promises of weight loss, increased endurance and legal highs, the new products join top-sellers Red Bull, Monster and Rockstar to make up a $3.4 billion-a-year industry that grew by 80 percent last year...more

7-Eleven stores pull Cocaine energy drink

Convenience-store operator 7-Eleven Inc. is telling franchises to pull a high-caffeine drink from its shelves because of the product's name: Cocaine.

The company acted after getting complaints from parents of teens, who are a big part of the drink's target audience.

"Our merchandising team believes the product's name promotes an image which we didn't want to be associated with," said Margaret Chabris, a spokeswoman for 7-Eleven...more