Lab Notes: Rare Hantavirus Claims a Victim; Fruit Juice
Less Nutritious Than Fresh Fruit

post from CalorieLab - Health News & Information Blog on 18 August 2012 04:06:23 AM. © CalorieLab - Health News & Information Blog

On our Lab Notes page CalorieLab’s editors select and rank the day’s essential health news items in real time. Readers can suggest, vote and comment on items. Below are brief summaries of this past week’s (August 11, 2012 through August 18, 2012) Lab Notes items. To see today’s items, visit Lab Notes.

1. Rare Hantavirus Claims a Victim

Rare hantavirus claims one victim, sickens another.

2. Fruit Juice Less Nutritious Than Fresh Fruit

Research finds that fruit juice is not the nutritional equal of fresh fruit in a balanced diet, with apples, oranges and bananas all delivering more fiber and fewer calories with greater hunger-satisfaction as fresh fruit than in juice form.

3. People Choose Dogs Similar to Themselves

Gentle or aggressive? Your dog may be an indicator of your personality traits, say researchers.

4. Smoking in Early Pregnancy Ups Asthma Risk

Pregnant women who smoke during their first trimester up their child?s risk of developing asthma in later life.

5. Brain Changes Make Elderly Fall for Scams

A new study shows that believing in misleading advertising, even after it is obvious that it is dishonest, may be due to deterioration of a part of the brain that controls planning and impulse control may explain why this happens so often to the elderly.

6. Baby Boomers Should Get Tested for Hep C

All baby boomers should get tested for hepatitis C, says the Centers for Disease Control.

7. ?Yo-Yo? Dieters Aren?t Doomed to Overweight

Overweight persons with a history of yo-yo dieting — losing and regaining weight in a pattern called “weight cycling” — don?t suffer metabolic or hormonal changes, and can still lose weight long-term as easily as those whose weight hasn?t fluctuated.

8. Kids Drinking Artificially Sweetened Drinks

The number of kids drinking beverages with artificial sweeteners has doubled in the last 10 years, find suggests.

9. How Old Is Your Brain?

Don?t look your age? Scientists say your brain does.

10. It’s Shark Week, but Other Animals Are Scary

Discovery channel is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Shark Week, but TreeHugger reminds us that you’re more likely to be killed by plenty of other creatures besides sharks.

11. Higher BPA Levels Linked with Heart Disease

Higher levels of bisphenol A (BPA) in the urine could indicate a higher risk for narrowing of coronary arteries, finds a recent study.

12. Researchers Find a Cure for Snoring

A cure for snoring and sleep apnea? Scientists in Berlin think they?ve found the answer.

13. Codeine Deadly for Some Children

Three deaths and a near fatal adverse reaction to codeine highlight the potential dangers in giving it to children, particularly in those who have a genetic mutation that causes them to rapidly break it down into morphine and leading to an overdose.

14. Meditation Can Reduce Loneliness in Elderly

A simple meditation program can reduce loneliness in older adults and significantly reduce expression of inflammatory genes, suggest researchers at UCLA.

15. Get Refund for Disney, Marvel Kid’s Vitamins

The FTC called NBTY on their false and unproven marketing claims, and parents who purchased Disney or Marvel children’s vitamins can now receive a refund.

16. Just Created: Chocolate with Half the Fat

Chemists created a new chocolate formula using small droplets of fruit juice for a chocolate with the same good taste, but half the fat.

17. 4M Bumbo Baby Seats Recalled

Four million Bumbo baby seats are being recalled after reports of infant skull fractures.

18. Blood Type May Determine Heart Disease Risk

Your blood type may determine your risk of future heart disease, say researchers at Harvard.

19. Texas Quints Born in Five Minutes

A Texas couple welcomed the arrival of quintuplets this week. The babies, who had a team of 50 medical pros to assist with the birth and after care, were born in five minutes.

20. Treat Babies? Strawberry Birthmarks Early

Infantile hemangiomas, commonly referred to as strawberry birthmarks, that may cause complications are best treated shortly after birth.

21. FDA Approves Flu Vaccine for 2012/2013

The FDA has approved the new vaccine for the upcoming flu season.

22. Nike Greatness Ad Features Overweight Kid

The new Nike ad, with tagline “Find Your Greatness,” features a 12-year-old boy who weighs 200 pounds.

23. Exercise in Midlife Protects Heart

It’s never too late to start exercising, say researchers who found that exercise in midlife helps to protect the heart.

24. Japan Nuclear Disaster Mutated Butterflies

The local ecosystem in Japan has changed following 2011?s Fukushima nuclear disaster, say scientists who point to mutated butterflies as evidence.

25. Eating Egg Yolks Accelerates Atherosclerosis

Egg yolk consumption is associated with a higher risk of coronary artery disease, finds a new study.

26. Obesity Paradox: Fat Diabetics Live Longer

Among adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, the death rate for those who are overweight or obese is 1.5 percent per year, compared to 2.8 percent for those of normal weight. But extra weight is risky, not protective, researchers caution.

27. Paul Ryan, Very Fit VP Pick, Likes P90X

Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the running mate chose the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, is a former personal trainer who practices the body-sculpting program known as P90X.

28. Junk Food Laws Help Control Weight for Kids

Children put on fewer pounds from fifth grade through eighth grade when they resided in states that have consistent and strong laws against junk food in schools, finds a new study.

29. Spider Takes Up Residence in Woman?s Ear

A woman in China with an itchy ear consulted doctors who found a spider residing in her ear canal.

30. Parents Eat More Saturated Fat

Parents consume more saturated fat compared with people who don’t have kids, finds a new study that focused on the first seven years of a new parent’s life.