/oss/taxonomy/term/2069/all en /oss/article/medical-health-and-nutrition-you-asked/vitamin-d-puzzle <p>Walk into any pharmacy or health food store and you will see shelves filled with vitamin D supplements. Then stroll over to a bookstore and you will find all sort of books touting the wonders of the vitamin. Next, search PubMed for articles about vitamin D. There will be thousands, with different conclusions about what constitutes adequate blood levels and how these are to be achieved. Where will that leave you? Confused, I suspect. </p> Wed, 24 Jan 2024 19:27:07 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9815 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking/feeling-blue-about-evidence-blue-blocking-glasses <p>In 2016, numerous headlines fed the flames of blue light panic. A <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/06/17/selfies-can-age-the-skin-and-cause-wrinkles-warn-dermatologists/"><i>Telegraph </i>article by the publication’s science editor</a> claimed that taking selfies is aging our skin and that doctors can even tell which hand a person holds their phone when taking a portrait of themselves by noticing which side of their face is the most damaged.</p> <p>The reason for this premature aging? The blue light from our phone and that burst of illumination from the flash.</p> Fri, 01 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9615 at /oss /oss/article/environment-general-science/splendid-rays-and-skin-vancer <p>Helios, the sun god in Greek mythology, rode a chariot across the sky, east to west, sunrise to sundown, year round, as dusk bestows silvery moonlight accompanied by stars that extend to infinity followed by dawn that welcomes renewing sunlight.</p> <p>The sun is not always reflected as gentle and rosy. The sun can get stupendously stormy and frightfully tempestuous. The phenomenon, none less, is called “solar storm”.</p> Tue, 29 Mar 2022 18:47:23 +0000 Nancy Liu-Sullivan, PhD 9069 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19/right-chemistry-coronavirus-and-sunlight <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-elbfzws83pu" width="640" height="390" title="Dr. Joe Schwarcz on coronavirus and sunlight" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/eLBfZWS83PU?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-elbfzws83pu&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Dr. Joe Schwarcz on coronavirus and sunlight" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of Dr. Joe Schwarcz on coronavirus and sunlight</iframe> </div> </p> Mon, 04 May 2020 20:12:35 +0000 OSS 8234 at /oss /oss/article/environment-general-science-you-asked/why-sky-blue-or-better-yet-why-ocean-blue <p>The sky is blue due to a phenomenon called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayleigh_scattering">Raleigh scattering</a>. This scattering refers to the scattering of electromagnetic radiation (of which light is a form) by particles of a much smaller wavelength. Sunlight is scattered by the particles of the atmosphere, and what comes through down to earth is called diffuse sky radiation, and though only about 1/3rd of light is scattered, the smallest wavelengths of light tend to scatter easier.</p> Fri, 31 Jan 2020 19:08:37 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 8097 at /oss /oss/article/cancer-environment-health/hazard-and-risk <p>If you watched the news, read newspapers or surfed the web recently you will have been inundated with pictures of bacon and headlines describing it as carcinogenic. That’s because the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified processed meats as being carcinogenic, placing them in the same category as tobacco smoke, asbestos, oral contraceptives, alcohol, sunshine, X-rays, polluted air, and inhaled sand. However, it is critical to understand that the classification is based on hazard as opposed to risk.</p> Fri, 27 Nov 2015 01:19:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2296 at /oss /oss/article/environment-health/catching-some-rays-could-help-your-heart <p>Life comes down to a struggle between risk and benefit. Although not always consciously, we evaluate our diet, our cosmetics, our medications, household chemicals and activity levels on the basis of whether they are good or bad for us. Mention sun exposure, and the conflict comes down to the “bad,” namely skin cancer, and the “good,” usually ascribed to the enhanced production of vitamin D. Skin cancer is bad, but why is vitamin D good? For one, it is required for the proper absorption of calcium and a lack can lead to soft bones, in extreme cases to the characteristic bow legs of rickets.</p> Sat, 26 Sep 2015 10:23:44 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2287 at /oss