CAR SEAT BUGS
A new study from Leasing Options UK shows that almost half of parents rarely clean their child car seats. The organisation swabbed the various parts of the interiors of cars to see what germs lie hidden from our eyes. The steering wheels, hand brakes, gear sticks and centre consoles/radios swabbed all registered at between 10-20 LOD (Level of Detection) for bacteria. However, the child’s car seat registered a massive 3,000 LOD! The main bacteria found on the child’s car seat was ‘faecal streptococci’, which can cause bacterial pneumonia, ear infections and bacterial meningitis, which can be prevented simply by washing the seat regularly. www.wellbeingnews.co.uk
LIVE LONGER
Along with an apple a day to keep the doctor away, a cup of tea, some broccoli, a handful of blueberries and an orange will help you live longer. The combination of these foods provides a high daily dose of flavonoids, which are naturally-occurring compounds that protect against heart disease and cancer, therefore lowering a person’s overall risk of death. Researchers from Edith Cowan University in Australia analysed the diets of more than 53,000 people over 23 years and found a lower risk of death in all who ate flavonoid-rich foods, but the protective effect appeared to be strongest for those at high risk of chronic diseases due to cigarette smoking and drinking more than two standard alcoholic drinks a day. www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
A DISTURBING LINK
New research reveals that rates of cancer are higher among females with pronounced symptoms of apnoea. The data came from the European Sleep Apnoea Database (ESADA), which has medical and visit records on adults registered at 33 centres across Europe. Sleep apnoea causes disturbed, fragmented sleep and leads to an insufficiency of oxygen. The combination of low oxygen and sleep disruption can give rise to high blood pressure, heart disease, memory problems, and mood disturbance. The results of the study suggest that the risk of cancer is two to three times higher in females with severe symptoms of sleep apnoea. www.medicalnewstoday.com
TO FLUORIDE OR NOT TO FLUORIDE?
The addition of fluoride to public drinking water in the West is deemed a harmless way to prevent tooth decay. But now early research has brought up the possibility that fluoride could affect IQ levels in children exposed to the chemical in-utero. Researchers studied 512 children in Canada to find that those who were exposed to higher levels of fluoride before birth had significantly lower IQ scores between ages three and four. It concluded that fluoride ingestion during pregnancy should be reduced while additional research is conducted. www.healthline.com
TWO PROBLEMS ONE STONE
Plastic bottles have been turned into the sockets for prosthetic limbs by university experts at De Montfort University, UK. The engineer behind the technique hopes it could reduce the cost of the sockets, which join artificial limbs to the body, from BD2,500 to BD5. Plastic bottles were ground down to makes polyester yarns, that were heated and moulded to create a solid, lightweight material which is moulded into prosthetic sockets. Two prosthetic sockets, tailor-made in Leicester for each user, were tested at a rehabilitation charity in India, and the two amputees who tried out the products in Jaipur were “really impressed”.
www.bbc.com
