health

Routine check key to stopping cancer

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Feb. 21,2006 12:34 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- No one ever checked whether Leslie Bather's breast cancer was spreading to her brain, until the day tumors caused three frightening seizures. MRI scans can help spot when cancer in another part of the body sends seedlings into the brain, but few patients get routine checks. Neurology specialists say it's time to change that: More patients are surviving initial tumors long enough for their brains to be at risk, as treatments get better at battling cancer below the neck yet fail to protect the brain. And improved technology is making it easier and safer to treat those new brain tumors -- if they're caught early.

Candy makers cater to health

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Feb. 21,2006 12:33 a.m.

ALBANY, Ga. -- It's every chocolate lover's wish that their favorite indulgence could somehow be healthy for them. Now, chocolate makers claim they have granted that wish. Mars Inc., maker of Milky Way, Snickers and M&M's candies, plans to launch a new line of products made with a dark chocolate the company claims has health benefits nationwide next month. Called CocoaVia, the products are made with a kind of dark chocolate high in flavanols, an antioxidant found in cocoa beans that is thought to have a blood-thinning effect similar to aspirin and might even lower blood pressure. The snacks also are enriched with vitamins and injected with cholesterol-lowering plant sterols from soy.

Views on mono usually incorrect

By Leah Crocker · Tuesday, Feb. 14,2006 12:57 a.m.

Headache, tiredness, fever, sore throat; the list goes on and on. Mononucleosis is one of the most common illnesses on college campuses nationwide, and IU is no exception, according to an information pamphlet provided by the IU Health Center. During all seasons of the year hundreds of students go into the Health Center complaining of a variety of symptoms from decreased appetite to general exhaustion, said Health Center nurse practitioner Karlyn Doty. A blood test can tell those students if they have contracted the virus commonly known as "mono."

love: the toughest science

By Hannah Schroder · Tuesday, Feb. 14,2006 12:55 a.m.

Why do you love me? It's a question feared by boyfriends and girlfriends alike. When asked this question by your significant other, do you go with your gut response of "I just do," or search for a better answer then rattle off a list of generic qualities such as "your perfect smile" or "how you take care of me when I'm sick"? Turns out, it might be best to risk criticism for your lack of a "real" answer and go with your gut on this one. The answer really isn't that simple.

Students donate plasma to earn extra money, aid those in need

By Teri Rosenbaum · Tuesday, Feb. 7,2006 12:47 a.m.

If students could get paid for sitting in a cozy chair, listening to music and doing homework for an hour or two, they would, right? BioLife Plasma Services in Bloomington is a center devoted entirely to plasma donation. It offers donors $20 for one donation in a seven-day period, and $30 for the second donation in that period. There is a limit of two donations per week, with at least one day in between each of those visits. There must be at least 48 hours between donations, but the body replaces plasma removed during the donation process quickly, according to the BioLife Web site. "The reason why they're willing to pay so much for (plasma) is because there's so much of a human need for it," said Omar Faiz, the manager of BioLife. "It's vital for life for some people."

Free testing to be offered for AIDS Awareness Week

By Fatimah Scott · Tuesday, Feb. 7,2006 12:46 a.m.

AIDS Awareness Week 2006 began yesterday, sponsored by the IU Health Center, Bloomington Hospital Positive Link and the IU Student Global AIDS Campaign (IUSGAC). The groups look to provide educational programs to IU students about HIV and AIDS. Information, condoms and red ribbons will be available at the Indiana Memorial Union until Feb. 14. Tuesday, free and anonymous HIV screening tests will be available in the Dogwood Room of the IMU from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Anne Reese, director of Health & Wellness Education at the IU Health Center, said "the free screening during AIDS Awareness Week is intended to raise awareness and provide information (to students) about (HIV) testing." The free testing is an "advance rapid testing," an oral swab test that provides students with results in 20 minutes.

Student copes with rare disease

By Megan George · Tuesday, Jan. 31,2006 12:38 a.m.

The Food and Drug Administration recently passed a law that requires food labels to list ingredients made from proteins of the eight major foods that cause allergic reactions. These foods include milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans, wheat, tree nuts, soybeans and peanuts.

IU researchers find fish oil lessens asthma symptoms

By Fatimah Scott · Tuesday, Jan. 31,2006 12:37 a.m.

If asthmatic patients suffering from exercised-induced asthma (EIA) could treat their condition without the use of traditional asthma medications, they could avoid the potential side effects posed by them.

When stress is too tough to handle ... UNWIND with a good massage

By Audrie Garrison · Tuesday, Jan. 31,2006 12:35 a.m.

When the stress of college becomes too much to bear, the IU Health Center offers a chemical-free way to relax, even if it is just for fifteen minutes. The Health Center employs licensed masseuses available on appointment. "For most people, it improves mood and promotes relaxation, which is good for stress management," said Anne Reese, director of Health and Wellness Education at the Health Center.

Snake befriends hamster dinner

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Jan. 24,2006 12:31 a.m.

TOKYO -- For one snake, dinner became an unexpected roommate. Zookeepers at Tokyo's Mutsugoro Okoku zoo were stunned to find that a 3.5-inch dwarf hamster they had offered as a tasty meal to their four-foot rat snake instead became friends. "I've never seen anything like it," said keeper Kazuya Yamamoto.

Critics say FBI safeguards not enough anymore

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Jan. 24,2006 12:30 a.m.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Critics question whether safeguards put in place a quarter-century ago following FBI wiretapping misconduct are strong enough to prevent abuse in the 21st century. Others fear the information superhighway is turning out to be a fast path to mass surveillance. What makes the White House surveillance program, acknowledged after The New York Times disclosed it in December, a cause of such concern is that it skirts existing laws and employs techniques resembling a wide-mouthed vacuum before the fine-toothed combs can be wielded. It's being performed by the ultra-secret National Security Agency, which is believed to have the most advanced information vacuuming technology available.

Antibiotic may be linked to liver problems

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Jan. 24,2006 12:30 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Researchers reported Friday three cases of severe liver problems, including one death, in patients at a North Carolina hospital after they began taking a novel antibiotic. Federal regulators said they were reviewing an unknown number of U.S. cases involving the drug, telithromycin, and were consulting with their counterparts overseas. One patient at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C., died after taking telithromycin, which is marketed as Ketek, researchers at the hospital said. Another required and received a liver transplant, while the third recovered from drug-induced hepatitis after treatment with Ketek was stopped. The severity of the cases warranted the researchers alerting doctors to what they called a "possible link with telithromycin," said Dr. John Hanson, who works in the liver transplant center at Carolinas Medical Center.

Epilepsy foundation elects professor

By Matt Cunningham · Tuesday, Jan. 24,2006 12:29 a.m.

The National Epilepsy Foundation elected Janice M. Buelow, Ph.D. to their national advisory board Dec. 13 in Washington D.C. Buelow is an assistant professor in IU's School of Nursing and an expert on the impact of epilepsy on children. She currently teaches in the Department of Adult Health. Buelow called the invitation to join the group a great honor. "Being involved with the national organization allows me to work with other professionals to improve the quality of life of persons with epilepsy on a national level," Buelow said.

Graduate discovers Internet weakness

By Michael Zennie · Tuesday, Jan. 17,2006 11:20 a.m.

It took Sid Stamm less than 12 hours to code www.verybigad.com. By all appearances, Stamm's page was exactly the same as the Web site for Carlton Draught which millions visit to watch the company's beer commercial. Visitors to Stamm's page were asked to accept the same security message and the site played the same beer commercial as the original. But, there was one key difference. Stamm's Web site had a gaping security flaw which could have allowed him to corrupt any system that played the video.

NASA set to launch spacecraft to Pluto

By Mike Schneider · Tuesday, Jan. 17,2006 1:03 a.m.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- An unmanned NASA spacecraft the size of a piano is set to lift off Tuesday on a nine-year journey to Pluto, the last unexplored planet in the solar system. Scientists hope to learn more about the icy planet and its large moon, Charon, as well as two other, recently discovered moons in orbit around Pluto. The $700 million New Horizons mission also will study the surrounding Kuiper Belt, the mysterious zone of the solar system that is believed to hold thousands of comets and other icy objects. It could hold clues to how the planets were formed.

Turn it down

By Alyson Brodsy and Audrie Garrison · Tuesday, Jan. 17,2006 1:02 a.m.

With the introduction and popularization of iPods, "earbud" headphones are being used more and more. IU hearing experts say that although earbuds may not have a direct impact on hearing loss, students should take extra caution when listening with them. Earbud headphones are small and inserted into the ear, rather than placed over them. Nancy Barlow, clinical assistant professor for the IU Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences and director of the IU hearing clinic, said these headphones sometimes indirectly cause more hearing damage because they allow outside noise to enter the ear, causing listeners to turn their music up louder.

Brains featured in new calendar

By Alyson Brodsy · Friday, Dec. 16,2005 1:39 p.m.

URBANA, Ill. -- The brains of 12 University of Illinois men and women are the stars of a new calendar set to hit campus bookstore shelves this fall. The 2006 calendar, called "Big Brains," will feature artistically enhanced brain scans of campus administrators, faculty, staff and students.

Is there a middle road?

By Alyson Brodsy and Katie O'Keefe · Friday, Dec. 16,2005 1:38 p.m.

Bisexuality. It's an ambiguous label. Its meaning is highly debated among critics in both straight and gay communities. Some have called bisexuality a transition phase between being straight and gay. Others say it is simply an indication of a person's sexual confusion. And then there is the phrase coined by some members of the homosexual population: "You are either gay, straight or lying."

Mars orbit closest to Earth since 2003

By David A. Nosko · Friday, Dec. 16,2005 1:15 p.m.

Beginning last weekend and continuing through the rest of the week, Mars and Earth are aligned with the sun and the two planets are separated by a mere 43 million miles -- the closest they've been since August 2003 when they were 35 million miles apart. Mars is Earth's closest neighbor, even though a gap of more than 140 million miles usuallly separates the two planets' oval-shaped orbits within the solar system.

Grant to further breast cancer research at IU

By Kristin Huett · Friday, Dec. 16,2005 1:13 p.m.

Breast cancer in females has a higher death rate than lung cancer, but researchers at IU are working to change that. With the help of outside funding, a post-doctoral fellow at the IU School of Medicine is currently in the process of studying a novel set of cancer drugs that would target the area of primary growth of the breast cancer tumor within the human bone.