What's That Rash?

These days, our mobile phones are rarely far away. Whether it’s in your hand, your pocket, or under your pillow at night.

Mobiles do emit radiation in order to connect to phone towers, which enables us to stay in contact with people and the internet.

But is that radiation doing us harm?

Norman and Tegan talk through the facts – what we do know, don’t know and suspect about our tech companions.

What's That Rash? is coming to YouTube! Keep an eye out for the video version of this episode on ABC Science. 

References:

• National Cancer Institute - Cell Phones and Cancer Risk
• Mobile phone use and incidence of brain tumour histological types, grading or anatomical location: a population-based ecological study
• Has the incidence of brain cancer risen in Australia since the introduction of mobile phones 29 years ago?
• 5G: the new generation of the mobile phone network and health

Why are people with arthritis being told to stop eating potatoes, tomatoes and egg plants?

Vegetables in the nightshade family have been under scrutiny for decades, but the fad of cutting them out of our diets has seen a recent resurgence.

Norman and Tegan investigate where all this shade comes from, and whether there's any evidence to support it.

References:

• Deadly Nightshade: A Botanical Biography
• Flavonoids, alkaloids and saponins: are these plant-derived compounds an alternative to the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis? A literature review
• Risk assessment of glycoalkaloids in feed and food, in particular in potatoes and potato-derived products
• α-Solanine attenuates chondrocyte pyroptosis to improve osteoarthritis via suppressing NF-κB pathway
• Antioxidants in Potatoes: A Functional View on One of the Major Food Crops Worldwide

We've been searching for a fountain of youth for millennia. How can we not only live longer, but live healthier for longer?

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is the latest anti-ageing candidate under the microscope.

Norman and Tegan explain what it is, and whether supplements promising to boost NAD actually do what's advertised on the bottle.

References:

• NAD+ metabolism and its roles in cellular processes during ageing
• NAD+ in Brain Aging and Neurodegenerative Disorders
• What is really known about the effects of nicotinamide riboside supplementation in humans
• Dietary Supplementation With NAD+-Boosting Compounds in Humans: Current Knowledge and Future Directions
• The use of a systems approach to increase NAD+ in human participants
• Specific ablation of Nampt in adult neural stem cells recapitulates their functional defects during aging

Vampires and werewolves and zombies, oh my! Where did all these monsters come from?

Undiagnosed medical conditions might have fuelled the mythology behind some of these creatures.

Norman and Tegan delve into why vampires drink blood, why werewolves howl at the full moon and how a hex might have its intended effect.

References:

• ABC's FrankenScience: Can Vampires Get Syphilis? and Witchcraft or Just a Placebo?
• All in the Mind: What's behind a paranormal experience?
• Porphyria and Vampirism—A Myth, Sensationalized
• Moon and Health: Myth or Reality?
• The undead in culture and science
• Reversibility of apoptosis in cancer cells
• Medical practice and placebo response: an inseparable bond?

It’s hay fever season, and as you sniffle away next to an air purifier, you might be wondering why we haven’t cured such a common ailment.

Allergic rhinitis, as it’s scientifically known, has plagued people for generations. It's thought up to 24 per cent of Australians suffer from it.

Norman and Tegan run through what hay fever is, how we identified it and what can be done to treat it. 

References:

• Allergic Rhinitis: A Review
• O Rose thou art sick… history of allergic rhinitis
• I’m considering allergen immunotherapy for my hay fever. What do I need to know?
• Ingestion of honey improves the symptoms of allergic rhinitis: evidence from a randomized placebo-controlled trial
• The Potential use of Honey as a Remedy for Allergic Diseases: A Mini Review
• Can you adapt to allergies or does the dog have to go?

Many of us are disconnected from nature – we live in cities, work in offices, exercise indoors.

There is a hypothesis that our disconnection from the earth itself – the ground – is causing a range of illnesses.

But the people selling this hypothesis are also trying to sell you a range of expensive products.

Norman and Tegan debunk a pseudoscience that has been gaining traction.

References:

• Electrical Grounding Improves Vagal Tone in Preterm Infants
• Associations between Nature Exposure and Health: A Review of the Evidence

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavour enhancer that often gets a bad wrap.

You might know someone who swears it makes them sick, or you yourself might steer clear of foods unless they have that 'no added MSG' label.

Norman and Tegan explain why the bad PR around MSG has more to do with shonky research and misconceptions than the ingredient itself.

References:

• MSG in food - Food Standards Australia and New Zealand
• A review of the alleged health hazards of monosodium glutamate
• Monosodium glutamate sensitivity in asthma
• Chinese-Restaurant Syndrome - New England Journal of Medicine

If you've found yourself in a particular corner of health and wellness TikTok, chances are you've heard all about cortisol.

Influencers might be urging you to massage your face, stuff your mouth full of dates and even supplement your diet with sea moss.

Norman and Tegan explain why some of that MIGHT make you healthier, but not in the way that you think. 

References

• Forgotten episodes of the birth of cortisone
• The effects of exercise intensity on the cortisol response to a subsequent acute psychosocial stressor
• Signalling cognition: the gut microbiota and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis

If you've ever complained about a bad night's sleep, you might've been urged to take melatonin. 

It's a hormone our bodies naturally produce, and also a supplement that many claim can cure insomnia and leave you better rested. 

But Norman and Tegan tuck into all the reasons we shouldn't be taking melatonin lightly. 

References

• What do we really know about the safety and efficacy of melatonin for sleep disorders?
• Is melatonin safe for children?
• Quantity of Melatonin and CBD in Melatonin Gummies Sold in the US
• Clinical trial on the effect of regular tea drinking on iron accumulation in genetic haemochromatosis

Iron deficiency is incredibly common, especially in menstruating women.

But this mineral is vital. Our bodies use iron to make haemoglobin, which carries oxygen to our cells.

Norman and Tegan take us through what it means to have adequate iron levels, and what it takes.

References

• A Review of Nutrients and Compounds, Which Promote or Inhibit Intestinal Iron Absorption
• Intermittent iron supplementation for reducing anaemia and its associated impairments in adolescent and adult menstruating women
• The yersiniabactin transport system is critical for the pathogenesis of bubonic and pneumonic plague