Gleanings of the Week Ending September 6, 2014
/The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.
Training your brain to prefer healthy foods - Research on people that participated in a weight loss program. It appears that the program changes what foods are tempting to people (based on MRI analysis)…toward healthier diet. Of course, even if this is true there is an uphill battle with all the media pushing food that is not healthy (low nutritional value). Has our culture (the media, social interactions, vending machines, etc.) been training our brains to eat poorly?
Who Should Rule These Scottish Islands? - The intricacies of politics in Orkney….desiring greater autonomy.
Growing mushrooms in diapers - Mexican scientists are designing technology (and running small scale proof-of-concept trials) to degrade disposable diapers. Mexico is the third largest consumer of disposable diapers globally but worldwide there must be a huge number of diapers going to landfills. They will not be a simple to recycle as glass or plastic jugs or milk cartons….but anything that is still a major component going to landfills needs to be considered for re-processing rather than burying. Making it economically feasible is a challenge.
Why Doesn’t Honey Spoil? – The Chemistry of Honey - An infographic and article. It’s antibiotic properties are due to its low water content and pH….details in the article.
Brown marmorated stink bug biology, management options - It seems like there are a few of them around all the time now and sometimes there is a marked increase in their numbers…even inside the house. The full article is available from here.
Humiliation tops list of mistreatment toward med students - It is not just med students….this happens to other grad students too. There is a significant amount of institutional hazing of students if they choose to continue beyond their undergraduate studies in academia.
Exposure of pregnant women to certain phenols may disrupt growth of boys during fetal development and first years of life - Scary result. Are OB/GYNs educating their patients about these results? There are still some products with parabens and triclosan which could be avoided. Even though more research needs to be done, most women would err on the side of caution during their pregnancy and after the child is born too…if they were provided the information.
Housing America’s Older Adults - From the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University and AARP Foundation. The housing needs of the US population are changing faster than the available housing can change.
Top 10 Solar Energy States per Capita (US) - The full report (downloadable via a link at the bottom of this article) has data for other states. The top 10 have a lot higher
Exceptionally well preserved insect fossils from the Rhône Valley found - An aquatic bug that would have thrived in brackish water.
