HINDMAN, KY. — The heritage of handcrafted stringed instruments runs deep in this tiny Appalachian village (pop. 770) stretched along the banks of Troublesome Creek. The community has been known as the homeplace of the mountain dulcimer ever since a revered maker, James Edward (“Uncle Ed”) Thomas, pushed a cartload of angelic-sounding dulcimers up and…
The term vasovagal syncope describes fainting that occurs in response to a sudden drop in heart rate or blood pressure. The resulting lack of blood and oxygen to the brain is what causes a person to pass out. Doctors sometimes refer to vasovagal syncope (VVS) as neurocardiogenic syncope or reflex syncope. This condition typically occurs…
The accusations in a new lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson sound familiar: The consumer goods giant knew for decades that its baby powder and other talc-based products were contaminated with carcinogenic asbestos, but continued to market the items. What makes this case different is that it was brought by a state. Hector Balderas, the attorney…
Lower abdominal pain is pain that occurs below a person’s belly button. Bloating refers to a feeling of pressure or fullness in the abdomen, or a visibly distended abdomen. Sometimes, these symptoms occur together. Though occasional lower abdominal pain and bloating are common, a person should speak to their doctor if it becomes a regular…
Linda Poskanzer was having a tough time in her late 60s. “I was not doing well emotionally,” she recalled. “Physically, I didn’t have any stamina. I was sleeping a lot. I wasn’t getting to work.” A therapist in Hackensack, N.J., Ms. Poskanzer was severely overweight and grew short of breath after walking even short distances.…
On a recent Tuesday, the cafeteria at KairosPDX charter school in Portland, Ore., was buzzing as students lined up to taste two freshly made butternut squash recipes. On one side of the table was roasted butternut squash. On the other side, a creamy butternut squash soup. “This one is the best,” said Mari, a fifth…
My father was married twice before I was born, once to a woman I met much later and once to my mother. When he asked me to speak in August at the reception of his third wedding, I believed it something I was incapable of doing: What could a son say about marriage to a…
Both species, humans and chimpanzees, can be extremely territorial, and territorial disputes between groups can turn violent, with individuals killing each other. In humans, such between-group competition can escalate to war and devastating loss of human life. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology studied wild Western chimpanzees to find out whether territorial…
The world scientific community is waging a difficult and prolonged war on cancer. New research in the field of immunogenic cell death can extend the area of drugs application and ensure patients’ protection from relapse after therapy. Cancer treatment is not just the removal of the tumor cells from the body, and chemotherapy. The doctors’…
One in every 15,000 children is affected by Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a complex, genetic endocrine condition caused by a disorder of chromosome 15. It’s non-inheritable, meaning the condition isn’t passed down from a family member. Among the regular side effects like growth hormone deficiency, hypothyroidism, delayed puberty, behavioral problems and learning difficulties, but hyperphagia is…