health

Is the new HPV vaccine for you?

Imagine this scenario: A woman goes to her university health center for her regular gynecological checkup, which includes a Pap smear, a routine test for cervical cell changes that could lead to cancer. She is shocked to find out that she's infected with a viral sexually transmitted infection called HPV or human papillomavirus. She's overwhelmed with various emotions -- confusion, anger, embarrassment. Questions seem to swirl in her mind and tumble out of her mouth. What does this mean? How did I get it? Who gave it to me? What do I do now? Is there a cure?

NASA decides to try Friday shuttle launch; will not replace troublesome electrical component

Caught in a scheduling squeeze, NASA decided to try to launch space shuttle Atlantis Friday without replacing a troublesome electrical component.

Protesters want Pluto as planet

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Size doesn't matter. That was the message as friends and colleagues of the late Clyde Tombaugh, the astronomer who discovered Pluto, gathered on the New Mexico State University campus to protest the International Astronomical Union's recent decision to strip Pluto of its status as a planet.

S is for success

What is the most important behavior for college student success? The word starts with an "S." You might guess studying, and you would be partially correct. However, there is something as important that must occur before studying, reading and review and that word also starts with an "S" -- SLEEP. How much sleep do students need? Most sleep experts agree that between seven and nine hours is optimal or the natural amount of sleep it takes to wake feeling refreshed and staying alert throughout the day. Many students say that they never experience this. How important is sleep to student life?

In case of emergency

Last month the FDA approved emergency contraceptives for over-the-counter sales. Health officials contend that the decision will not affect sexual behavior in the United States; opponents fear that Plan B will promote irresponsibility and enable more unethical conduct.

New planet definition demotes Pluto to dwarf

This isn't your daddy's solar system anymore, says astronomy professor Constantine Deliyannis.

Scientists create alcohol from ethanol

AMES, Iowa-- Now that ethanol has become common in gas tanks, two Iowa State University professors are working to get it into martini glasses.

Environmentalists push for students learning outdoors

INDIANAPOLIS -- Les Caudill's students used to study weather by lying in the grass and watching the clouds. "It's hard to do that now," said Caudill, a 19-year veteran who teaches seventh grade in Pendleton, Ind. "I have to justify that it fits in with state standards." Some Indiana teachers say state education standards leave too little time for students to study the shapes of leaves or take samples of water from creeks.

Narcolepsy wake-up drug, modafinil might help fight cocaine addiction

WASHINGTON -- The hottest topic in cocaine addiction is another drug, a medicine already sold to wake up narcoleptics. Hundreds of cocaine users are testing whether that legal pill, called modafinil, could help them kick the addiction, and there's early evidence that it might. In addition to blunting cocaine's notorious cravings, modafinil might also counter the damage that cocaine wreaks on users' brain circuits, damage that in turn fuels the cycle of addiction.

IU researchers participate in exhibit that maps progress, history of science

Maps are tools that help people understand, learn and in rare cases reveal the location of buried treasure. Maps are usually restricted to physical places, but researchers at the IU School of Library and Information Science, as well as other institutions, have used them to chart the vast terrain of science. Twenty-two maps from different researchers are currently showcased at the New York Public Library. The exhibit, titled "Places & Spaces: Mapping Science" and featuring work by IU researchers and students, will remain on display until Aug. 31. Innovative illumination techniques were used to construct maps, diagrams and globes that offer both visual and intellectual simulation.

Vital vitamins?

Quick-fix multi-vitamin supplements have become a growing health trend among Americans. As the health-concious so nciety is growing, so are vitamin sales. Consumers scarf down $7 billion worth of vitamins, according to the Wall Street Journal. Seventy percent of Americans pay homage to the health store gods and swear by their vitamin routines. As vitamins become more popular, it is important for users to get all the facts to make smart choices.

RELIEF

State waterways too polluted to fish, swim

INDIANAPOLIS -- Nearly 1,600 streams and lakes in Indiana are unsafe to fish or swim in because of pollution ranging from animal waste to chemicals, a state report concludes. The report classifies 30 percent, or more than 9,500 miles, of the state's 31,844 miles of streams, and 93 of its 1,504 lakes, as too polluted for swimming, fishing or both because of pollutants such as bacteria, fertilizer, chemicals, mercury and sediment.

Heart disease main killer in 3rd world

BEIJING -- Each year cardiovascular disease kills 13 million people in developing countries, almost triple the number who die from AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined, researchers said Wednesday. Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, heart failure and stroke, is the world's biggest killer, and it often strikes people in their prime working years of 35 to 64, experts said during a four-day health conference. In China, deaths from cardiovascular disease have skyrocketed alongside the country's rapid economic development, making it the No. 1 killer, fueled by smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, said Dr. Runlin Gao, a cardiologist at Fu Wai Hospital.

Schools push for required PE

FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- At Moore Elementary School, fourth-grader Michael Turri looks forward to 30 minutes of jump-rope at the start of the day. "It really gets my brain going," the 10-year-old said. "You need to do this stuff to get through life." That's one of the approaches this suburban Nashville school takes to thwart a growing childhood obesity problem. Students at Moore are required to take PE every day.

NASA to crash space probe into moon to search for water

LOS ANGELES -- NASA plans to crash a space probe into the moon in 2009, producing a collision so violent it will be visible on Earth through a telescope, the space agency said Monday. The moon crash, part of a larger mission that includes a lunar orbiter, is a quest for ice. Water is the key ingredient for supporting future human outposts on the moon, a goal of the Bush administration.

IU to hold annual Relay for Life charity event

On Saturday, the IU community will play host to its third annual Relay for Life. The event will start at noon at the Billy Hayes Track on North Fee Lane. In the past two years, the IU community has raised more than $140,000, and last year IU ranked as the third largest fund raising university for the American Cancer Society (ACS). "This is an incredible success considering how difficult it is to gain student involvement," said Cynthia Morse, event development coordinator of the IU event. "We hope to raise $80,000 in net income this year."

Research finds possible link between cancer and industrial areas

IU researchers might have stumbled upon an incentive to move away from the city. Representatives from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs discovered a correlation between certain types of cancer and industrial areas, specifically those most exposed to volatile organic compounds, or pollutants known as VOCs, which are found in gasoline, solvents and paint. While the determination of a correlation does not necessarily signal a causation relationship, Michael Boeglin, who worked on the study with SPEA associate professor Diane Henshel and former graduate student Denise Wessels, said the results do show a need for more attention to the matter. "More researchers in basic toxicology need to devote more resources to investigating the fundamental link between VOCs in the air and some of the cancers that people don't normally associate with them," said Boeglin, who currently works in the Region 7 office for the Environmental Protection Agency. Specifically, the researchers found cancers to the brain, thyroid, nervous system, skin and endocrine system to be more prevalent in counties in Indiana that are exposed more to VOCs, usually industrial areas. Boeglin said these kinds of cancers are not usually thought to be linked to air-borne pollutants.

Belly dancing provides alternative exercise

Freshmen Sarah Boukarih and Amy Haag chat outside the Multi-Sport 3 room of the Student Recreational Sports Center, glancing at the door next to them every couple of minutes. Boukarih and Haag are the first of 12 women to arrive to the Middle Eastern Belly Dance Sampler. "I'm from the Middle East and my mom used to teach me to dance when I was younger so I thought I'd check the class out," Boukarih said. The sampler is one of the alternative fitness classes the SRSC offers. "This class is something different," said senior Eileen Folmer, one of the Middle Eastern Dance instructors. "(It is) definitely different from the recreational services Recreational Sports offers."

Kirkwood Observatory to reopen

The Kirkwood Observatory will open to the public for a free viewing of the night sky from 8 to 10:30 p.m Wednesday. If the weather prohibits clear skies, a rain date has been set for March 29 with the same hours. Caty Pilachowski, chair of the IU Department of Astronomy, said in a press release the opening could not take place at a better time because Saturn will be visible. "Saturn is particularly interesting because it is bright and the rings are easily visible," she said. "People can easily make the connection between what they see in pictures and Saturn in real life."