/oss/taxonomy/term/2407/all en /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/food-thought-literally <p>What exactly should we eat? You would think that after literally thousands and thousands of studies that have been published on every aspect of nutrition, we would have an answer to that question. Actually, we do. Maybe not “exactly,” given that there is such a diversity of nutritional studies, some of which can be classified as good, some as bad, and most as mediocre. Nevertheless, with a bit of scientific sleuthing the chaff can be separated from the wheat.</p> Wed, 02 Mar 2022 22:39:30 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9041 at /oss /oss/article/history/juggle-balls-not-numbers <p>We see a great deal of juggling of numbers these days. Various agendas are pushed by manipulating COVID vaccination effectiveness rates, the supposed successes of treatments with hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin and even number of hospitalizations. Sometimes the twisting of numbers is deliberate but sometimes it just the result of a lack of mental dexterity. Could such dexterity be improved by some actual juggling? Let’s take a look.</p> Fri, 14 Jan 2022 20:30:03 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8982 at /oss /oss/article/health/zeroing-cause-multiple-chemical-sensitivity <p>Sometimes, science doesn’t give you the answer you wanted. You may be certain you know what is causing a mysterious phenomenon, but a well-done scientific experiment denies you that satisfaction and points you in an unexpected direction. Reality can be stranger than hypotheses.</p> Sat, 25 Sep 2021 08:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8864 at /oss /oss/article/pseudoscience-history/you-should-have-your-head-examined <p>In the 18th century, Viennese physician Franz-Joseph Gall claimed that personality and intelligence were determined by the shape of the brain, which in turn was reflected by the shape of the skull. Examining the hills and valleys of the cranium supposedly gave clues about character traits and intellectual function. Murderers, for example, featured a particular type of skull protrusion, which differed from the bumps on the head in the intellectually gifted.</p> Wed, 30 Jun 2021 22:27:11 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8772 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-student-contributors-health/giving-worried-sick-whole-new-meaning <p>Everybody experiences stress differently, from the circumstances that cause it, to the ways that we cope with it. What doesn’t differ is that we all experience it, one way or another. There are a multitude of reasons why we get stressed: academic deadlines, social pressures and work-related responsibilities.</p> Fri, 09 Apr 2021 19:44:07 +0000 Cat Wang 8694 at /oss /oss/article/health/dentists-and-suicide-look-numbers <p>While a career in dentistry can be very rewarding, it has been characterized as being highly stressful. Though occupation alone is not generally considered a major predictor, the notion that dentists have the highest rate of suicide among professions has persisted in the general population for nearly a century. While the possibility does exist that chronic work-related stress plays a significant role, is there any truth to this long-held assumption?</p> Mon, 10 Aug 2020 22:48:28 +0000 Mark Grossman BSc, DDS, Contributor 8359 at /oss /oss/article/health/heart-attacks-and-depression <p>A little-known fact in the field of cardiology is that the depression rate among patients after a heart attack is quite high. Rates of major depressive disorder have varied between 15% and 25% in cardiac patients and depression has been shown to be a significant <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/408863">predictor of mortality</a>. So, on the one hand, treating depression in cardiac patients should be an obvious proposition.</p> Tue, 03 Mar 2020 19:16:58 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8164 at /oss /oss/article/health-technology/cell-phones-teens-and-mental-health <hr /> <p>This article was first published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-cell-phones-teens-and-mental-health">The Montreal Gazette.</a></p> Tue, 15 Oct 2019 16:15:30 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 7961 at /oss /oss/article/health-videos/cracked-science-26-psychedelic-renaissance <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-dlydmbxadoo" width="640" height="390" title="The Psychedelic Renaissance (CS26)" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/dlYDMbxAdoo?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-dlydmbxadoo&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="The Psychedelic Renaissance (CS26)" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of The Psychedelic Renaissance (CS26)</iframe> </div> </p> Thu, 31 Jan 2019 17:11:13 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 7566 at /oss /oss/article/health/how-do-veterinarians-die <p><span>I wouldn’t blame you for thinking something along the lines of “just like everyone else,” but I’m here to tell you otherwise.</span></p> <p><span>Being a veterinarian is a lot like being a human doctor. Besides the fact that both professions practice medicine, albeit on different subjects, they both require top grades and many years of school. They usually necessitate one to go into debt, to work long hours, to have extreme empathy and to be on call for days at a time.</span></p> Mon, 06 Aug 2018 14:20:37 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7218 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/its-not-only-cats-get-hairballs-people-can-too <p><span>Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair… </span></p> <p><span>If you’ve ever had long hair you know how it can collect just about everywhere, so I can’t help but wonder how Rapunzel kept her locks from sticking to the shower wall and getting in her coffee. One thing’s for sure though, she didn’t eat it. If she did, she’d probably be pretty </span><a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=oVMTDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA150&dq=Rapunzel+syndrome&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Rapunzel%20syndrome&f=false">sick</a>.</p> Mon, 14 May 2018 18:42:12 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7088 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/you-think-what-you-eat <p>When we think of the human mind we tend to picture the wrinkly pink organ which resides in our skull: it’s intricate cavities responsible for bringing about all the amazing things that we can think and do. But it turns out another organ is also involved in constructing our mental existence, however this one we tend to just associate with a toilet. The gut, or gastrointestinal tract, is the long digestive tube which runs from mouth to anus, and just might be the most underrated body organ.</p> Wed, 01 Nov 2017 21:53:31 +0000 Cassandra Lee, OSS Intern 6806 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-health-general-science/why-do-we-yawn-when-we-exercise <p>Am I the only one who tries to ‘swallow my head’ as my Nana used to say while exercising? For a while, I thought so! But a Google search told me I'm not alone. Many people suffer from constant yawning when they are physically active. So why do we yawn when we exercise? Well, why do we yawn at all?</p> Thu, 17 Aug 2017 15:53:55 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2603 at /oss /oss/article/history-quackery/history-hysteria <p>Today, when we say someone is hysterical, we mean that they are frenzied, frantic, or out of control. Until 1980, however, hysteria was a formally studied psychological disorder that could be found in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Before its classification as a mental disorder, hysteria was considered a physical ailment, first described medically in 1880 by Jean-Martin Charcot. Even before this, hysteria was thoroughly described in ancient Egyptian and Greek societies. So what was hysteria? How did it just go away?</p> Mon, 31 Jul 2017 15:15:22 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2585 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-history/7-was-originally-antidepressant <p><span>When 7 Up was originally placed on the market (In 1929), it was named Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda- a much less catchy, though more descriptive name. The ‘lithiated’ in the name came from the soda’s ingredient lithium citrate, a compound used to treat patients with mental health problems like bipolar disorder, depression or mania. </span></p> Sat, 17 Jun 2017 16:08:49 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2550 at /oss