New candy eats ‘bad’ bacteria in the mouth, benefitting teeth

The most common strain of this “bad” bacteria is called Mutans streptococci. However, the researchers say that in previous studies with rats, another bacteria called Lactobacillus paracasei has been shown to reduce levels of the cavity-causing bacteria, decreasing the number of cavities in the rodents.

The team, led by Christine Lang, believe that by binding with M. streptococci, the L. paracasei bacteria prevent this bad bacteria from reattaching to the teeth, causing it to get washed away by saliva.

Candy ‘significantly lowered’ bad oral bacteria levels

In a pilot trial involving 60 subjects, Lang and her team tested whether their sugar-free candy, which contained heat-killed samples of L. paracasei DSMZ16671, reduced levels of bad oral bacteria.

One-third of the subjects ate candies with 1 mg of L. paracasei, while another third ate candies with twice this amount (2 mg). The final third served as a control group and ate candies that were similar in taste but that contained no bacteria.

In total, all subjects ate five candies during the 1.5-day study. They were not allowed to perform any oral hygiene activities during this time, and they were also not allowed to consume coffee, tea, wine or probiotic foods.

Results showed that nearly 75% of the participants who ate candies with the good bacteria had “significantly lower” levels of Mutans streptococci in their saliva than before, compared with the control group.

Source: Medical News Today

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New Hampshire Hospital Worker Gets 39 Years in Hepatitis Case

A traveling medical technician was sentenced Monday to 39 years in prison for stealing painkillers and infecting dozens of patients in four states with hepatitis C through tainted syringes.

David Kwiatkowski, 34, was a cardiac technologist in 18 hospitals in seven states before being hired at New Hampshire’s Exeter Hospital in 2011. He had moved from job to job despite being fired at least four times over allegations of drug use and theft. Since his arrest last year, 46 people have been diagnosed with the same strain of hepatitis C he carries.

Kwiatkowski admitted stealing painkillers and replacing them with saline-filled syringes tainted with his blood. He pleaded guilty in August to 16 federal drug charges.

He apologized Monday, saying he was very sorry what he done.

Prosecutors had pushed for a 40-year prison sentence, saying he created a “national public health crisis,” put a significant number of people at risk and caused substantial physical and emotional harm to a large number of victims.

Source: Time

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International Day of People with Disability: Let’s Celebrate ability

The International Day of People with Disability is observed to celebrate people across the world who are living with any kind of disability. 

According to estimates, almost one billion in the world suffer from some or the other kind of disability. 

In India, the situation is even grimmer where the problem of accessibility and inclusion of disabled persons into the mainstream of society remains a big challenge. Also the problem of unemployment for the disabled, physical abuse and inequality aggravates the situation further.

But let’s not lose hope and try to promote a more accessible world for the disabled people where they live without any stigma and thrive on their abilities.

Source: Zee news

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Study shows how brain forms memories

Scientists have discovered how memories are stored in specific brain cells. The new study also pinpoints how these incidents are recalled.

Using a video game in which people navigate through a virtual town delivering objects to specific locations, a team of neuro scientists from the University of Pennsylvania and Freiburg University has discovered how brain cells that encode spatial information form “geotags” for specific memories, and are activated immediately before those memories are recalled.

Their work showed how spatial information is incorporated into memories, and why remembering an experience can quickly bring other events to mind that happened in the same place, reports the Science Daily.

“These findings provide the first direct neural evidence for the idea that the human memory system tags memories with information about where and when they were formed, and that the act of recall involves the reinstatement of these tags,” said Michael Kahana, professor of psychology in Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences.

Source: Daijiworld

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Skipping meals can lead to weight gain, diabetes

Are you skipping your meals as part of a quick fix diet plan to lose weight? You are in for trouble. 

Because skipping meals does more bad than good to your body. Not only is your body deprived of essential nutrients but this also drastically affects the metabolism leading to weight gain and diabetes.

Most people tend to skip breakfast for instant weight loss. 

But in their desperate attempt they send their metabolism for a toss. Metabolism is the simple process of breaking your food into smaller, usable parts that helps you stay active through the day.  When you skip meals your metabolism has nothing to do. As a result your metabolism is unable to break down portions that you eat later in the day, and the food gets stored as fat leading to weight gain.

Skipping meals also drastically affects blood sugar levels. During metabolism some part of this food that you eat is stored as fat, while other parts enter the bloodstream as sugar, to provide you with energy throughout the day. Not eating at regular intervals can drastically lower your blood sugar levels making you susceptible to developing diabetes later in life.

So eat at the right times, eat healthy and exercise to stay fit.

Source: Zee News

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Norma Spear: a tragic case of neglect and dehydration

71-year-old from Birmingham died after becoming dehydrated, losing 35lb in five weeks despite being under the supervision of care workers.

When Carol Clay dropped her mother off at the Druids Meadow residential home on the outskirts of Birmingham it was only meant to be a six-week stay.

Norma Spear, a lifelong Brummie approaching her 71st birthday, was increasingly falling while alone at home due to worsening arthritis. After one particularly nasty fall put her in hospital, it was agreed that Norma should move temporarily into a home in September 2010 while her house underwent refurbishment.

Norma, a fiercely independent woman, was against the idea. “She liked her own way and she liked routine,” says Carol, 53, who was Norma’s only child. “She got very frightened of medical people.”

Before arthritis set in Norma would often help out elderly friends who lived close by, pruning flowers in the garden and keeping them company over mugs of tea. Even when her joints began to stiffen she preferred not to be seen in public in a wheelchair, opting for a Zimmer frame instead.

“That’s me done then, isn’t it?” Norma joked with her daughter when told of the plan to move into care. Three years on, the words have lost their humor.

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Source: Healcon

Oldest woman in Europe` reveals diet secrets

Emma Morano, who is the oldest woman in Europe and fifth-oldest person in the world at 114, has shed light on her diet secrets.

According to La Stampa, Morano believes that eating a raw egg every day has helped her live so long, News.com.au reported.

Morano, who was born in 1899, said that for breakfast she eats biscuits with milk or water and during the day she eats two eggs, one raw and one cooked, just like the doctor recommended when she was 20 years old.

For lunch she’ll eat pasta and minced meat then for dinner, she’ll have just a glass of milk, Morano said.

Morano, who goes to bed before 7pm every night and wakes up before 6am, has also credited her sleeping pattern in her longevity.

Source: sify

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