/oss/taxonomy/term/787/all en /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking/vampire-facials-body-evidence-anemic <hr /> <p><em>This article was originally posted in the</em> <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-vampire-facials-body-of-evidence-is-anemic"><em>Montreal Gazette.</em></a></p> Fri, 05 Jan 2024 11:00:00 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 9775 at /oss /oss/article/medical-history/dead-cow-moldy-hay-and-drug-discovery <p>There are roughly 20,000 prescription medicines approved for use around the world and in developed countries two thirds of the population takes one or more of them. Then there are all the non-prescription drugs and the various supplements that claim to have some sort of therapeutic effect that vastly outnumber prescription drugs. Obviously, drug development is a gigantic business, which is understandable given that health matters more than anything else in life and drugs promise to help with a wide range of ailments.</p> Thu, 31 Aug 2023 17:11:53 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9614 at /oss /oss/article/history/powder-sympathy <p>Four hundred years ago Belgian physician Johann Baptist Van Helmont was persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church for promoting the use of the “Powder of Sympathy” that was supposed to treat wounds by applying it to a dressing that had previously covered the wound. The exact nature of the substance varied, but iron or copper sulfate seem to have been common ingredients. This folly was first proposed by physician and scoundrel Sir Kenelm Digby, but Van Helmont bought into the idea. Somehow the effect of the powder on the bloody dressing was to be communicated to the blood still in the body.</p> Fri, 25 Feb 2022 18:33:41 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9037 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-critical-thinking-health/exaggerated-villainy-epstein-barr-virus <p>What causes a disease? We saw this important medical question get raised during the pandemic. Some people refused to accept that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was causing COVID-19 because<a href="/oss/article/covid-19-pseudoscience/psychiatrist-who-calmly-denies-reality"> </a><a href="/oss/article/covid-19-pseudoscience/psychiatrist-who-calmly-denies-reality">it failed to meet antiquated criteria for proving a microorganism causes an infectious disease</a>.</p> Fri, 16 Jul 2021 21:50:32 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8786 at /oss /oss/article/health-general-science/squashing-some-mosquito-myths <p>Guests at the Cypress Cove Nudist Resort in Florida routinely emerge from the swimming pool and walk over to a nearby row of citrosa plants.  They proceed to shake the shrubbery and then rub their hands on their thighs.  No, this is not some sort of bizarre nudist ritual, it is just preparation for a spell of bite-free frolicking in the sun.  The citrosa plants produce two compounds, citronella and citral, which are claimed to have mosquito repellent properties! </p> Fri, 09 Jul 2021 19:04:50 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8783 at /oss /oss/article/history/bloody-mess <p>Take some corn syrup, water, flour, red food dye and blue food dye. Blend these ingredients together in the right ratio and you’ll have a great batch of fake blood! It won’t be of any good for transfusions, but when it comes to movies, it makes for a very effective substitute for the real thing. By no means is this the only recipe that is used. Over the years special effects experts have developed numerous variants but the most common base is some sort of syrup composed of a combination of simple carbohydrates.</p> Fri, 04 Jun 2021 20:17:50 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8754 at /oss /oss/article/health/do-we-actually-need-eat-more-calories-when-menstruating <hr /> <p>This article was first published in <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/do-we-actually-need-to-eat-more-calories-when-menstruating/">The Skeptical Inquirer</a></p> <hr /> <p>Shark week, moon time, the crimson tide, a visit from Auntie Flo: whatever you call it menstruation is the roughly monthly interval during which the uterus sheds its lining. For the uterus owner, it is not generally a super fun time; cramping, bloating, headaches, and fatigue are just a few of the symptoms associated with “that time of the month.”</p> Fri, 07 May 2021 22:25:17 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 8725 at /oss /oss/article/health/once-lifetime-gamble-private-cord-blood-banks <p>I remember when the idea of having your body frozen and preserved after death, a procedure called “cryonics,” was trending. Now, there is a new low-temperature preservation technique that gambles on future science to prove itself useful: cord blood banking by private companies.</p> Thu, 29 Apr 2021 16:37:57 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8715 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/covid-science-express-therapeutic-blood-transfusions-and-tuberculosis-vaccine-protection <p>A weekly explanation of the emerging science behind COVID-19 and its infectious agent, SARS-CoV-2.</p> <p><b>Blood from people who have recovered from COVID-19 could theoretically help those struggling with the infection</b></p> <p>Our blood might become an even hotter commodity than usual if an extensive clinical trial that is about to begin delivers a positive answer. The trial hinges on a promising, all-natural substance: our antibodies.</p> Fri, 10 Apr 2020 15:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8213 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-health/theres-condition-can-cause-human-blood-turn-green <p>If you have clear blood you may be a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachiopod#Taxonomy">brachiopod</a>, if you have blue blood you may be an <a href="/oss/article/did-you-know/snails-spiders-and-octupi-all-have-blue-blood">octopus</a> (or just a rich human), but if you have green blood you may have sulfhemoglobinemia.</p> Fri, 22 Nov 2019 15:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 8000 at /oss /oss/article/health/fasting-blood-tests-are-becoming-less-routine <hr /> <p>This article was first published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-fasting-blood-tests-are-becoming-less-routine">The Montreal Gazette.</a></p> <hr /> <p>For many years, people usually did their routine blood tests on an empty stomach. Inevitably, this caused a major congestion in the hospital every morning as people lined up at the blood testing centre in a queue that would spiral around corners and down hallways as people waited, sometimes for hours, to get tested.</p> Fri, 06 Sep 2019 18:45:43 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 7901 at /oss /oss/article/health-nutrition-you-asked/whats-difference-between-regular-salt-and-kosher-salt <p>Kosher salt should really be called “koshering salt” because it is used to draw blood out of meat based on the biblical reference that consuming blood should be avoided. It is not blessed by a rabbi nor is it healthier than any other salt. The only difference is that it is composed of large irregular shaped flakes which, after slathering it on a piece of meat to draw out the blood, can be easily washed off.</p> Fri, 17 May 2019 18:47:03 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7769 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-general-science/your-pet-cat-may-be-bit-more-dangerous-you-think <p>Cat scratch disease (CSD) is an infection resulting from a scratch or bite of a cat (or, in rarer cases, dogs or other animals). It is not the same thing as Cat Scratch Fever, an album by Ted Nugent, although CSD can cause a fever, as well as swollen lymph nodes, lethargy, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4184768/">neuroretinitis</a> and headaches.<br /> <br /></p> Fri, 17 May 2019 16:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7768 at /oss /oss/article/health/users-guide-understanding-your-cardiologist <p>When talking about heart disease, you often hear several different terms being bandied about and very often no one actually explains what they mean. So here is a quick cheat sheet to help you understand.</p> <p><u>What exactly is the difference between arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis?</u></p> Thu, 02 May 2019 19:52:45 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 7744 at /oss /oss/article/health/under-microscope-blood <p><img height="2693" width="2694" style="width: 600px; height: 600px;" class="file-original " src="/oss/files/oss/img_1617.jpg" alt="" /></p> Mon, 25 Mar 2019 19:31:36 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7665 at /oss