Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/wBNR4ratKno

Up to 90% of cosmetics contain the nastiest superbugs on the planet.  A British study just published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology cultured skin foundation blender sponges, mascara, and lip gloss finding grossly unhygienic conditions.

These contaminated products contain Staph aureus, E. Coli, and Citrobacter freundii that can trigger skin infections, eye disease, and even blood-borne sepsis.  The worse offenders seem to be the beauty blender sponges that are reused over and over again without cleaning despite having been dropped on the floor.

If you’re fighting embarrassing skin breakouts, do a deep dive into your make-up bag and consider replacing your products.  To maintain freshness, buy the smallest containers.

A. Bashir, P. Lambert. Microbiological study of used cosmetic products: highlighting possible impact on consumer health. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 2019; DOI: 10.1111/jam.14479

#Cosmetics #bacteria #beautyblender #mascara #lipgloss

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/wBNR4ratKno

Up to 90% of cosmetics contain the nastiest superbugs on the planet.  A British study just published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology cultured skin foundation blender sponges, mascara, and lip gloss finding grossly unhygienic conditions.

These contaminated products contain Staph aureus, E. Coli, and Citrobacter freundii that can trigger skin infections, eye disease, and even blood-borne sepsis.  The worse offenders seem to be the beauty blender sponges that are reused over and over again without cleaning despite having been dropped on the floor.

If you’re fighting embarrassing skin breakouts, do a deep dive into your make-up bag and consider replacing your products.  To maintain freshness, buy the smallest containers.

A. Bashir, P. Lambert. Microbiological study of used cosmetic products: highlighting possible impact on consumer health. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 2019; DOI: 10.1111/jam.14479

#Cosmetics #bacteria #beautyblender #mascara #lipgloss

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/ofG8jUtS6HU

Rising temperatures increase the deadly toxin arsenic in rice.  A University of Washington study due to be presented this week to the American Geophysical Union measured the presence of arsenic in rice grown at a variety of temperatures that simulate expected conditions over the remainder of this 21st century.

As growing temps increase from the 77˚F though 82, 87, and 91, the levels of arsenic in the rice plants and edible grains rise significantly.  Why? More soil arsenic leaches into the water feeding the rice paddies.

Toxic rice can be a risk for us even now and brown rice contains more arsenic than non-enriched white rice.  It’s a particular risk for those on gluten-free diets.

University of Washington. "Warmer temperatures will increase arsenic levels in rice." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 4 December 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/12/191204152827.html

https://www.glutenfreewatchdog.org/news/arsenic-and-mercury-in-rice-new-research-from-dartmouth-college/ 

#Rice #arsenic #globalwarming

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/ofG8jUtS6HU

Rising temperatures increase the deadly toxin arsenic in rice.  A University of Washington study due to be presented this week to the American Geophysical Union measured the presence of arsenic in rice grown at a variety of temperatures that simulate expected conditions over the remainder of this 21st century.

As growing temps increase from the 77˚F though 82, 87, and 91, the levels of arsenic in the rice plants and edible grains rise significantly.  Why? More soil arsenic leaches into the water feeding the rice paddies.

Toxic rice can be a risk for us even now and brown rice contains more arsenic than non-enriched white rice.  It’s a particular risk for those on gluten-free diets.

University of Washington. "Warmer temperatures will increase arsenic levels in rice." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 4 December 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/12/191204152827.html

https://www.glutenfreewatchdog.org/news/arsenic-and-mercury-in-rice-new-research-from-dartmouth-college/ 

#Rice #arsenic #globalwarming

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/vKr2eAmy9C0

The next unsettling dream you experience is likely exercising your brain to counteract potential disasters during your waking life.  This the conclusion of collaborative Swiss-Wisconsin study of some 107 subjects whose dreams were analyzed via journaling and whose brain activities were quantitated by electroencephalograms and MRI imaging.

Those experiencing the most fears in their dreams tended to show less activation of their brain fear centers including the insula, amygdala, and cingulate cortex.  This would translate into an enhanced ability to handle frightening and challenging situations in real life.

So embrace your dreams.  If you awaken with bad vibes, know that the images in your sleeping mind have a powerful, beneficial effect on your conscious intellect.

Virginie Sterpenich, Lampros Perogamvros, Giulio Tononi, Sophie Schwartz. Fear in dreams and in wakefulness: Evidence for day/night affective homeostasis. Human Brain Mapping, 2019; DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24843

#dreams #fear

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/vKr2eAmy9C0

The next unsettling dream you experience is likely exercising your brain to counteract potential disasters during your waking life.  This the conclusion of collaborative Swiss-Wisconsin study of some 107 subjects whose dreams were analyzed via journaling and whose brain activities were quantitated by electroencephalograms and MRI imaging.

Those experiencing the most fears in their dreams tended to show less activation of their brain fear centers including the insula, amygdala, and cingulate cortex.  This would translate into an enhanced ability to handle frightening and challenging situations in real life.

So embrace your dreams.  If you awaken with bad vibes, know that the images in your sleeping mind have a powerful, beneficial effect on your conscious intellect.

Virginie Sterpenich, Lampros Perogamvros, Giulio Tononi, Sophie Schwartz. Fear in dreams and in wakefulness: Evidence for day/night affective homeostasis. Human Brain Mapping, 2019; DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24843

#dreams #fear

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/XIwudYNkhHs

Sporadic over-consumption of alcohol during adolescent years leads to epigenetic alterations in the cells of brain tissue, and that modification forever damages later emotional stability.  Experiments proving this phenomenon from the University of Illinois-Chicago were just published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

Using an adolescent rat model, the scientists showed that repeated, intense exposures to alcohol early in life led to overt anxiety later in the animals’ lifespans.  Neuroanatomic studies revealed that the binge drinking led to a significant reduction of a protein ARC in the amygdala.  This missing protein was associated with a 40% reduction in critical neuronal connections.  

Worse yet, stopping drinking failed to correct the deficit.

The amygdala is the coordinating center for our emotions, and wiring problems in this zone will create emotional shortfalls including anxiety and depression.  This can lead to a closed loop and a downward spiral where the effects of early alcohol misuse can then lead to frank alcoholism later in life.

Evan J. Kyzar, Huaibo Zhang, Subhash C. Pandey. Adolescent Alcohol Exposure Epigenetically Suppresses Amygdala Arc Enhancer RNA Expression to Confer Adult Anxiety Susceptibility. Biological Psychiatry, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.12.021

#bingeing #alcoholism #adolescence #emotion #depression #anxiety

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/mo3bu81XTS0

If you’re struggling with balance problems due to an accident, an injury, or advancing age, that VR headset laying around the house or on the store shelf may just be the key to your recovery.  Balance specialists and physiotherapists at Sweden’s Lund University now report their results using a virtual reality environment to help subjects train their balance systems. 

Patients with chronic balance system issues often begin to rely almost exclusively on visual input to stabilize their stance.   By repeatedly practicing stabilizing themselves on a postural stability platform while immersed in a VR roller coaster ride, the 20 experimental subjects were able to deploy the non-visual balance sensors in their muscles, joints, and ears to better reach a state of balance equilibration.  

The average number of near fall events diminished 10-fold after 5 VR rides by the female subjects.  The males experienced fewer fall events overall but enjoyed a similar pattern of improvement.

The researchers speculate that VR technology could play a key role in the rehabilitation of both head injury and stroke victims.

Per-Anders Fransson, Mitesh Patel, Hanna Jensen, Michèle Lundberg, Fredrik Tjernström, Måns Magnusson, Eva Ekvall Hansson. Postural instability in an immersive Virtual Reality adapts with repetition and includes directional and gender specific effects. Scientific Reports, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39104-6

#VR #virtualreality #vestibularsystem #dizzy #balance

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/XIwudYNkhHs

Sporadic over-consumption of alcohol during adolescent years leads to epigenetic alterations in the cells of brain tissue, and that modification forever damages later emotional stability.  Experiments proving this phenomenon from the University of Illinois-Chicago were just published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

Using an adolescent rat model, the scientists showed that repeated, intense exposures to alcohol early in life led to overt anxiety later in the animals’ lifespans.  Neuroanatomic studies revealed that the binge drinking led to a significant reduction of a protein ARC in the amygdala.  This missing protein was associated with a 40% reduction in critical neuronal connections.  

Worse yet, stopping drinking failed to correct the deficit.

The amygdala is the coordinating center for our emotions, and wiring problems in this zone will create emotional shortfalls including anxiety and depression.  This can lead to a closed loop and a downward spiral where the effects of early alcohol misuse can then lead to frank alcoholism later in life.

Evan J. Kyzar, Huaibo Zhang, Subhash C. Pandey. Adolescent Alcohol Exposure Epigenetically Suppresses Amygdala Arc Enhancer RNA Expression to Confer Adult Anxiety Susceptibility. Biological Psychiatry, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.12.021

#bingeing #alcoholism #adolescence #emotion #depression #anxiety

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/mo3bu81XTS0

If you’re struggling with balance problems due to an accident, an injury, or advancing age, that VR headset laying around the house or on the store shelf may just be the key to your recovery.  Balance specialists and physiotherapists at Sweden’s Lund University now report their results using a virtual reality environment to help subjects train their balance systems. 

Patients with chronic balance system issues often begin to rely almost exclusively on visual input to stabilize their stance.   By repeatedly practicing stabilizing themselves on a postural stability platform while immersed in a VR roller coaster ride, the 20 experimental subjects were able to deploy the non-visual balance sensors in their muscles, joints, and ears to better reach a state of balance equilibration.  

The average number of near fall events diminished 10-fold after 5 VR rides by the female subjects.  The males experienced fewer fall events overall but enjoyed a similar pattern of improvement.

The researchers speculate that VR technology could play a key role in the rehabilitation of both head injury and stroke victims.

Per-Anders Fransson, Mitesh Patel, Hanna Jensen, Michèle Lundberg, Fredrik Tjernström, Måns Magnusson, Eva Ekvall Hansson. Postural instability in an immersive Virtual Reality adapts with repetition and includes directional and gender specific effects. Scientific Reports, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39104-6

#VR #virtualreality #vestibularsystem #dizzy #balance