/oss/taxonomy/term/2744/all en /oss/article/medical-did-you-know/dont-blame-teething-most-infant-illnesses <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in</em> <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/facts-and-fiction-of-physiological-phenomena-kids-edition/"><em>The Skeptical Inquirer.</em></a></p> <hr /> <p>Teething has been held responsible for everything from fevers to colic, but there’s no reason to believe the protrusion of teeth causes anything worse than mild discomfort, and there’s danger in misdiagnosis.</p> Fri, 12 Jan 2024 11:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9794 at /oss /oss/article/medical-student-contributors-history/fighting-fire-fire-how-nobel-prize-winning-scientists-used-malaria-cure-syphilis <p>The history of science is full of disproved experiments, revised textbooks, and rewritten hypotheses. Even Nobel prize-winning research, which is often viewed as the best work science has to offer, can fall by the wayside. One example is the 1927 Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded to <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1927/wagner-jauregg/biographical/">Julius Wagner-Jauregg</a> for treating syphilis by infecting patients with malaria.</p> Fri, 22 Sep 2023 23:42:54 +0000 Maya McKeown, B.Sc. 9651 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-you-asked/no-need-avoid-dairy-when-youre-sick <hr /> <p> <em>This article was first published in</em> <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-fact-and-fiction-of-physiological-phenomena-volume-i/" target="_blank" title="‌"><em>The Skeptical Inquirer.</em></a></p> Fri, 18 Aug 2023 16:00:52 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9601 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/i-felt-sick-after-getting-vaccine-why <p>Many years ago, I received the flu shot for the very first time and, later that day, I began to feel sick. Fatigue, body temperature on the rise and a general unease made me think I actually had the flu. “Why get a flu shot if it’s going to give you the flu?” I thought at the time and skipped that shot for a few years before being convinced to get it again.</p> Fri, 09 Apr 2021 19:15:21 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8693 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/virus-every-season <p>We have all heard the claim, passed down the generations, that you catch a cold by being exposed to cold weather. That’s what I used to believe when I was younger. Then I graduated to the explanation that respiratory tract infections, like the cold and the flu, peak in the winter months because we spend so much more time indoors. Close contact favours viral transmission, you see. But the reality is<a href="https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1007327"> a lot more complex</a> than these simplistic accounts, which break down when we contemplate their logic.</p> Fri, 24 Jul 2020 15:45:09 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8345 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health-general-science/your-forehead-good-enough-fever-check <p>Your forehead is about to get a lot of action. Is it greasy? You may want to wipe that sweat off. In the age of COVID, our forehead will become the target of fever spot checks. Thermal cameras and non-contact infrared thermometers will get deployed in an effort to prevent people with a fever from entering into an area where they may infect others. The only question is, do these temperature-sensing technologies actually work?</p> Fri, 05 Jun 2020 13:33:41 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8276 at /oss /oss/article/health-nutrition-quackery/cissus-quadrangularis-fever-fighting-pain-preventing-diabetes-defeating-supplement <p><em>Cissus quadrangularis</em> is a plant which belongs in the grape family, has red berries, and green or yellow flowers. <em>Cissus quadrangularis</em> is also the name slapped across a lot of supplements that claim to support ‘<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JE0NVOY?psc=1">optimal joint health</a>’, ‘<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00COPTQVI?psc=1">promote healthy bone structure</a>’, and support ‘<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002SG7MZ0?psc=1">healthy weight management</a>’.</p> Mon, 14 Aug 2017 14:21:57 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2597 at /oss