/oss/taxonomy/term/1688/all en /oss/article/student-contributors-environment/botanical-sexism-really-blame-increased-pollen-allergies-urban-cities <p>The story starts with horticultural epidemiologist Thomas Ogren. His <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/guest-blog/botanical-sexism-cultivates-home-grown-allergies/">major citation is that of the 1949</a> USDA Yearbook of Agriculture where it was recommended that “when used for street plantings, only male trees should be selected, to avoid the nuisance from the seed”. He claims this led to a major skew toward planting male trees in urban cities in the following years in attempts to reduce the work needed to pick up the petals, berries, and fruits produced by female trees.</p> Thu, 12 Sep 2024 18:25:36 +0000 Daniela Padres 10077 at /oss /oss/article/quackery/100-success-rate-cure-asthma-sounds-bit-fishy <p>Asthma is a terrible affliction, often triggered by allergies. Sufferers will do almost anything to avoid the suffocating feeling it causes. Even swallowing fish! Yet, that is exactly what almost fifty thousand people did earlier this month, and have done for the last 100 years, during “Mrigasira Karthi”, an annual event that takes place in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad put on by the Bathini Goud family in preparation for allergy season.</p> Thu, 22 Jun 2017 01:10:59 +0000 Cassandra Lee, OSS Intern 2555 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-health-history-news/would-osler-stand-his-famous-quote-today <div> <p style="text-align:justify"> </p> </div> Sat, 28 Jun 2014 14:04:02 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2162 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-environment-food-health-news/streptomycin-and-blueberries <p>A story is blazing around the blogosphere about a ten year old girl having an anaphylactic reaction to a blueberry pie. Physicians supposedly traced the reaction to streptomycin used as a pesticide on the blueberries. The account is spreading like wildfire with warnings about how an “antibiotic reside in food may cause severe allergies.” The reference is to a paper in the September issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, a reputable publication. But there is a problem. The September issue is not yet out. So how do we know about the case?</p> Fri, 05 Sep 2014 01:13:32 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2193 at /oss