60-Second Health

By Scientific AmericanScience

60-Second Health episodes

August 30, 2014 Talking to Strangers Makes You Happy
People who had to strike up conversations on a subway later reported feeling happier than those who didn’t. Christie Nicholson reports.
3 min
August 26, 2014 Graying Parent Care Falls to Daughters, Not Sons
Sisters spend double the time caring for parents as their brothers. Dina Fine Maron reports
3 min
August 24, 2014 People Think Experiences Bring Happiness, Still Opt for Things
Survey subjects rated life experiences as making them happier and as a better use of money than buying objects. But they actually spent their cash on material goods, whose value is more easily quantifiable. Erika Beras reports
3 min
August 20, 2014 Tweets Identify Food Poisoning Outbreaks
In Chicago monitoring Twitter for reports of food poisoning led to 133 restaurant inspections for health violations, with 21 establishments shut down. Dina Fine Maron reports

3 min
August 16, 2014 Childhood Stress Decreases Size of Brain Regions
Children who experience neglect, abuse and/or poverty can have smaller amygdalas and hippocampuses, brain regions involved in emotion and memory, compared with kids raised in nurturing environments. Christie Nicholson reports

3 min
August 12, 2014 Poor Diabetics Suffer More Amputations
Patients in low-income zip codes were up to 10 times more likely to lose a leg or foot than diabetic patients in more affluent zip codes. Dina Fine Maron reports
3 min
August 12, 2014 Even Monkeys Believe In Hot Streaks
Monkeys trained to play fixed video games made moves indicating that they expected certain patterns to occur. Erika Beras reports
3 min
July 31, 2014 Heat Fells More Distance Runners Than Do Hearts
An analysis of 130,000 runners in events during a seven-year span revealed that competitors were 10 times more likely to experience heat stroke than serious cardiac problems. Dina Fine Maron reports
3 min
July 28, 2014 Brain State Bread Crumbs Lead Way Back to Consciousness
Researchers studying anesthetized rats discovered a handful of activity patterns that may mark the path to consciousness after anesthesia. Karen Hopkin reports

3 min
July 24, 2014 Prescription Refill Appearance Change Puts Patients off Meds
When refilled prescriptions for post–heart attack care resulted in the same medication looking different in shape or color, patients were significantly more likely to stop taking their meds. Dina Fine Maron reports

3 min