/oss/taxonomy/term/320/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/medical/no-eating-honey-wont-help-your-seasonal-allergies <hr /> <p><em>This article was originally posted in the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/christopher-labos-no-eating-honey-wont-help-your-seasonal-allergies">Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> <hr /> <p>Apparently, if you search the internet, you will find articles saying that eating honey will help treat your seasonal allergies. It won’t. Honey can do many things, but it can’t do that.</p> Fri, 21 Apr 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 9483 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/edible-insect-revolution-not-those-shellfish-allergies <p>Even if it might gross us out now, experts predict that edible insects will play a significant role in our future diets. Not only are these bugs rich in protein and nutrients, but they can also be farmed more sustainably. For example, farmed crickets have a water footprint roughly <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/3/1801">1/3</a> the size of beef cattle, require <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/3/1801">50-90%</a> less land, and emit <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/3/1801">100 times</a> less greenhouse gas during the farming process.</p> Fri, 10 Feb 2023 11:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9380 at /oss /oss/article/health-history/kiss-death-almost <p>An Italian lady showed up at a clinic complaining of generalized itching and swelling of her lips about 30 minutes after making love with her husband. The reaction disappeared after treatment with cetirizine (Reactine). Tests showed that she had no food allergies. Doctors finally traced the symptoms to kissing her husband during lovemaking! Actually, the problem wasn't the kissing, one would assume that this activity occurred on numerous occasions without triggering the symptoms. This time though the husband had taken an antibiotic, bacampicillin, about two hours earlier.</p> Wed, 04 Aug 2021 20:11:04 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8797 at /oss /oss/article/student-contributors-general-science/can-tresemme-take-you-bad-hair-day-no-hair-day <p>In November 2020, a <a href="https://archive.is/y6kp2">class-action lawsuit</a> was filed against Unilever for the sale of TRESemmé shampoos that were said to contain hazardous ingredients. Word spread quickly as a viral <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tresemme-shampoo-lawsuit/">Facebook post</a> circulated in which a woman claimed that TRESemmé hair products caused her to lose hair by the “brush full” and suffer from scalp irritation. Many other unhappy customers came forward online to share their nightmares using these products.</p> Thu, 04 Feb 2021 22:23:56 +0000 Cat Wang 8608 at /oss /oss/article/health/kiss-and-tell <p>An Italian lady showed up at a clinic complaining of generalized itching and swelling of her lips about 30 minutes after making love with her husband. The reaction resolved after treatment with cetirizine (Reactine), an antihistamine. Tests showed an absence of food allergies but a clue emerged when doctors learned that her husband had been recently diagnosed with gingivitis.</p> Fri, 04 Dec 2020 16:15:49 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8519 at /oss /oss/article/health-nutrition-environment/respect-dandelions <p>Spring has sprung, and with it has come many dandelion plants poking their yellow flowers through blades of grass. Perhaps surprisingly, there’s much more to these plants beyond being pesky weeds.</p> Fri, 26 Jun 2020 20:47:04 +0000 Caitlin Bard, OSS Intern 8315 at /oss /oss/article/health-general-science/there-more-microbes-viruses <p>We have been inundated with discussions of viruses but there are other types of microbes out there as well. Fungi, algae, protozoa and of course, bacteria. The latter are not only out there, but inside us as well. We share our body with bacteria. They live in our mouth, on our skin and mostly in our digestive tract. There are up to a thousand different varieties, and their total number, some 100 trillion, is many times greater than the total number of human cells in the body. Luckily, bacterial cells are much smaller than human cells.</p> Tue, 23 Jun 2020 19:49:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8309 at /oss /oss/article/history/under-microscope-rose-petals <p>Nowadays roses are mostly used for Bachelorette ceremonies and hipster lattes, but once upon a time roses, and their fruit, rose hips, were widely used as medicines.<br /> Diarrhodon is the name given to herbal treatments containing roses, and there are lots of them, said to treat everything from liver problems to heart problems to digestion issues. Traditional Chinese medicine made use of the China rose for regulating menstruation, pain relief, thyroid problems and diarrhea.<br /></p> Mon, 06 May 2019 17:58:23 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7746 at /oss /oss/article/environment/under-microscope-pollen <p>Grains of pollen actually produce the male gametes (sperm cells) of flowering plants. They become dehydrated to better allow themselves to be carried on by wind, water and animals to other plants where they land in the gynoecium, the innermost part of a flower that contains the ovaries. After rehydrating itself, a pollen grain forms a pollen tube, through which it transfers sperm cells into the ovaries of the flower, completing the pollination process.</p> Mon, 11 Mar 2019 15:17:19 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7642 at /oss /oss/article/health-technology/can-allerpet-solve-your-pet-allergies <p>Want to cuddle cats but can’t stand the coughing? Want to romp with Rover but avoid the red eyes? Allerpet markets itself as the product for you! Sadly, though, it doesn’t work.</p> Thu, 07 Feb 2019 16:47:21 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7577 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-health/you-can-catch-salmonella-your-pet-lizards-frogs-turtles-and-hedgehogs <p>Eleven people across eight states were infected with the bacteria <i>Salmonella t</i><em>yphimurium</em>. The cause? <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/01/26/dont-kiss-or-snuggle-hedgehogs-because-salmonella-risk-cdc-warns/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.3150d23febe3">Their pet hedgehogs</a>.</p> <p>An infection with salmonella is called salmonellosis and causes fevers, diarrhea, cramps and vomiting. Most humans are exposed when they eat contaminated food, but exposure to infected animal droppings can also cause infection.</p> Fri, 08 Feb 2019 17:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc 7578 at /oss /oss/article/videos/right-chemistry-truth-about-spirulina <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-tsehruycx4y" width="640" height="390" title="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: The truth about spirulina" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/tSEHRUyCX4Y?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-tsehruycx4y&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: The truth about spirulina" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of Dr. Joe Schwarcz: The truth about spirulina</iframe> </div> </p> Fri, 09 Nov 2018 19:39:13 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7447 at /oss /oss/article/quackery/skeptics-vacation-hell-quite-relaxing-nonetheless <p>Being a skeptic has downsides. Try going to a spa and relaxing.</p> <p>A few summers ago, I needed to unwind and temporarily disconnect from the virtual world, so I decided to treat myself to a three-day stay at a spa resort outside the city. I told myself, "I am not going there to work. I will not take notes. I will ignore the woo and relax."</p> Tue, 21 Aug 2018 15:58:50 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 7314 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/your-allergies-are-getting-worse-because-climate-change <p>If you feel like your recent periods of coughing, sneezing and shaking your fists at the trees for producing so much pollen are getting longer, you’re probably right.</p> Thu, 10 May 2018 17:48:44 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7068 at /oss