Shaken baby syndrome is a traumatic brain injury resulting from forcefully shaking a baby, and is fatal in a quarter of reported cases. In this week’s episode, we talk about the symptoms of this syndrome, the science behind these symptoms and ways you can prevent it.

Disclaimer: This episode contains sensitive content related to infant harm, death, or dying.

TLDR: Just DON’T shake your baby!

Links:

https://www.nuh.com.sg/Health-Information/Diseases-Conditions/Pages/Shaken-Baby-Syndrome.aspx

https://www-tandfonline-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/doi/full/10.3109/15513815.2014.999394#top-content-scroll

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/13779-shaken-baby-syndrome

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instagram.com/thelabdoctors

twitter.com/thelabdoctors

Credit for theme music: Fresh Time by Roa https://soundcloud.com/roa_music1031

Email: [email protected]

Can excessive mosquito bites be explained away with the age-old “your blood is too sweet”? Listen along to hear how researchers tackled the question of mosquito attraction and what they found. Specifically, what distinguishes a low attractor from a high attractor, and whether we can do anything about it.

TLDR: High (mosquito) attractors were found to have scent profiles that comprised higher levels of specific carboxylic acids

Links:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2022.09.034

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/10/221027124001.htm

Socials:

instagram.com/thelabdoctors

twitter.com/thelabdoctors

Credit for theme music: Fresh Time by Roa https://soundcloud.com/roa_music1031

Email: [email protected]

Swimming in open waters may sound exhilarating, but swimmers should be prepared as 79% of all drownings occur in open water. Listen along as we go through the six stages of drowning, interspersed with tips from the show Bondi Rescue, as well as post-immersion syndrome or dry/secondary drowning.

TLDR: Some signs of people drowning include shorter swim stroke length, more frequent swim strokes, facing inland, and raised hands. If you were close to downing or inhaled water, monitor your symptoms and seek medical attention if necessary

Disclaimer: This episode contains sensitive content related to death or dying.

Links:

https://www.youtube.com/@BondiRescue

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00258172211053127

https://www.parkwayeast.com.sg/healthplus/article/post-drowning-complications-children

Socials:

instagram.com/thelabdoctors

twitter.com/thelabdoctors

Credit for theme music: Fresh Time by Roa https://soundcloud.com/roa_music1031

Email: [email protected]

Do you believe COVID brain fog is real, or something that people are saying to justify their bad memory? Researchers from Stanford University investigated the effect of mild COVID on the brain and how this may affect cognitive function. Join us as we go through these neurological changes and give you some tips on how to counter COVID brain fog.

TLDR: Mild COVID infection caused inflammation in the brain that resulted in cognitive dysfunction, without the virus infecting brain cells directly.

Links:

https://www.healthline.com/health/covid-brain-fog

https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2022/06/brain-fog-covid-chemo-brain.html

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(22)00713-9

Socials:

instagram.com/thelabdoctors

twitter.com/thelabdoctors

Credit for theme music: Fresh Time by Roa https://soundcloud.com/roa_music1031

Email: [email protected]

Are microrobots the future of biomedicine? Engineers at UCSD have developed microrobots, from algae cells, to swim around the lungs and deliver antibiotics directly to bacteria in the lungs. Join us this week as we bring you through how they developed these microrobots and the mice model that they used to demonstrate its value in treating ventilator-associated pneumonia.

TLDR: Nanoengineers have developed microrobots (from algae) to deliver antibiotics within the lungs to eliminate pneumonia-causing bacteria in mice

Links:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/09/220922124405.htm

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-022-01360-9

Socials:

instagram.com/thelabdoctors

twitter.com/thelabdoctors

Credit for theme music: Fresh Time by Roa https://soundcloud.com/roa_music1031

Email: [email protected]

What is the deal with ASMR videos? This week, we bring you through the world of ASMR triggered by audio stimuli and more! The tingling sensation that some people reportedly feel is associated with certain physiological and neurological changes, and may have positive effects on our wellbeing.

TLDR: ASMR (or “autonomous sensory meridian response”) is the tingling sensation that people may experience when exposed to certain audio or visual stimuli, or even close contact from a person.

Links:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4iuzz2sGPXyDdKyxNuMSX3

https://www.healthline.com/health/autonomous-sensory-meridian-response

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0196645

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6209833/

Socials:

instagram.com/thelabdoctors

twitter.com/thelabdoctors

Credit for theme music: Fresh Time by Roa https://soundcloud.com/roa_music1031

Email: [email protected]

Have you ever had a nasty sore throat accompanied by fever, headaches, and difficulty swallowing? It could have been tonsillitis, which may be induced by bacteria or viruses. This week, we go through the signs and symptoms of different types of tonsillitis as well as the lesser-known tonsilloliths or tonsil stones, specifically what they are, how they develop, and how to treat them.

TLDR: Distinguishing the cause of tonsillitis (e.g. bacteria vs virus) is important to ensure that you get the necessary and appropriate treatment for your condition.

Links:

https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/picture-of-the-tonsils

https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-to-do-about-cryptic-tonsils-1191883

https://www.everydayhealth.com/tonsillitis/symptoms/

https://www.healthline.com/health/tonsillitis

Socials:

instagram.com/thelabdoctors

twitter.com/thelabdoctors

Credit for theme music: Fresh Time by Roa https://soundcloud.com/roa_music1031

Email: [email protected]

The European Society of Cardiology states that drinking 3-4 cups of coffee a day is moderately beneficial in preventing heart diseases, should we trust them? This week, we take you through the recent observational studies in Europe that studied whether the intake of various types of coffee was beneficial for heart health. Listen until the end for coffee’s less desirable side effects and varying caffeine tolerance amongst individuals.

TLDR: Recent observational studies in Europe have reported that coffee consumption reduced the risk of heart diseases and all-cause mortality

Links:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/09/220926200838.htm

https://academic.oup.com/eurjpc/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurjpc/zwac189/6704995#373347590

Socials:

instagram.com/thelabdoctors

twitter.com/thelabdoctors

Credit for theme music: Fresh Time by Roa https://soundcloud.com/roa_music1031

Email: [email protected]

Are you a teeth grinder, or the person suffering through someone else’s teeth grinding? Either way, this episode on bruxism (which covers teeth grinding and clenching, awake or during sleep) may be helpful! We give you the lowdown on bruxism, from factors linked to grinding or clenching, why you should care, what you can do about it, and when you should consider seeking professional help.

TLDR: Teeth grinding or clenching has been linked to increased stress, misaligned bite, smoking, caffeine, and alcohol

Links:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/190180

https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-stop-grinding-teeth

https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2021/12/taking-teeth-grinding-clenching

Socials:

instagram.com/thelabdoctors

twitter.com/thelabdoctors

Credit for theme music: Fresh Time by Roa https://soundcloud.com/roa_music1031

Email: [email protected]

Acupuncture, which has roots in traditional Chinese medicine, involves the insertion of thin needles through your skin at specific points in the body to treat certain conditions. Join us this week as we discuss how it works, the scientific evidence for some of the benefits associated with acupuncture, and whether we would use acupuncture to treat our ailments.

TLDR: Acupuncture triggers specific points on the skin with needles to treat certain conditions and has been shown relieve pain and improve circulation

Links:

https://www.healthline.com/health/acupuncture-how-does-it-work-scientifically

https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/0003-4819-136-5-200203050-00010?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532287/

Socials:

instagram.com/thelabdoctors

twitter.com/thelabdoctors

Credit for theme music: Fresh Time by Roa https://soundcloud.com/roa_music1031

Email: [email protected]