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Showing posts from October, 2019

Sooner Is Usually Better for Gallbladder Surgery

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Doctors may typically hold off on operating until gallbladder inflammation has gone down and antibiotics have started working on an infection. But the study found that waiting more than 72 hours for surgery led to a higher rate of complications and longer hospital stays. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/320UG3h Doctors may typically hold off on operating until gallbladder inflammation has gone down and antibiotics have started working on an infection. But the study found that waiting more than 72 hours for surgery led to a higher rate of complications and longer hospital stays.

'I Wish I Had Known Sooner': Alex Trebek Issues PSA on Pancreatic Cancer

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Alex Trebek is turning his battle with pancreatic cancer into advocacy, partnering with the World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition to issue a public service announcement (PSA) aimed at heightening awareness of the killer disease. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/326Gi9Q Alex Trebek is turning his battle with pancreatic cancer into advocacy, partnering with the World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition to issue a public service announcement (PSA) aimed at heightening awareness of the killer disease.

Could Tissue-Sealing Tape One Day Replace Stitches?

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Tests with rats and pig tissues showed that the tape can tightly seal tissues, such as the lungs and intestines, within 5 seconds, according to the study published Oct. 30 in the journal Nature. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2PwfGfX Tests with rats and pig tissues showed that the tape can tightly seal tissues, such as the lungs and intestines, within 5 seconds, according to the study published Oct. 30 in the journal Nature.

Can Psychedelic Ayahuasca Help With Depression?

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Some people are trying the psychedelic tea to heal depression, addiction, and PTSD as researchers study whether it has potential health ben from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2NsjGvl Some people are trying the psychedelic tea to heal depression, addiction, and PTSD as researchers study whether it has potential health ben

Orders Changed After Calorie Counts Added to Menus

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Customers ate slightly fewer calories after a fast-food chain started including calories on its menus, but the impact weakened over time, researchers found. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2Nodqog Customers ate slightly fewer calories after a fast-food chain started including calories on its menus, but the impact weakened over time, researchers found.

11 of the Biggest Lies That Made History

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The Black Sox baseball players At the 1919 World Series , eight Chicago White Sox baseball players intentionally lost against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for a gambling bribe of $100,000 (nearly $1.5 million today). People grew suspicious when the White Sox athletes started to play uncharacteristically bad in the best-of-nine championship Series. A grand jury investigated the scandalous allegations when the crooked players, dubbed the Black Sox for their shady sports conduct, were indicted on nine counts of conspiracy. “I don’t know why I did it,” pitcher Eddie Cicotte told the grand jury. “I needed the money. I had the wife and kids.” But the court’s records documenting their confessions mysteriously vanished, which acquitted the “Black Sox” athletes of all charges with nothing more than a permanent ban from playing Major League Baseball. Even more well-known “facts” that made history are wrong, including these 18 history lessons your teacher lied to you about .  The post 11 of

This Artist Painted the Burned Home of a Wildfire Victim—And Transformed a Community

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It was America’s deadliest wildfire in at least 100 years and the most destructive in California history. The Camp Fire started at 6:33 a.m. on November 8, 2018, touched off by faulty electrical transmission lines in the town of Paradise. It burned for 17 days and consumed 153,336 acres north of Sacramento. In all, the fire caused $16.5 billion in damage, destroying nearly 19,000 buildings, leaving 50,000 homeless, and killing 85. The beauty of this beautifully named place was gone. Shane Grammer grew up 15 miles away in Chico, and he followed the news of the fire’s deadly path from Los Angeles, where the 47-year-old father of three works as a creative director for Disney’s theme parks. Grammer still has friends in the Paradise area. When his childhood buddy Shane Edwards posted pictures of his white chimney—the only part of his house to survive—Grammer felt helpless. And then he had an idea. “I’ve got to paint that chimney,” he told Inside Edition. “I’m not trying to say anything. I

What It Feels Like to Be Caught Inside a California Wildfire

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Death blew east on a savage wind, driving flames over foothills and across a river, spitting glowing embers and scrubbing the earth bare. It was coming for Don Andrews. The firestorm shook the ground and roared as loud as a passing train. The windows on Andrews’s bulldozer shattered, flinging glass into his face. The blue-green shards were everywhere: on the floor, inside his helmet, in his skin and eyes. He was alone and blinded. I’m not going to survive this, he thought. Andrews, 60, wasn’t supposed to be this close to the edge. He’d been hired that day, July 26, 2018, by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) to work with two other bulldozer drivers to carve a thick ring of dirt around a subdivision of homes near the city of Redding. It was a fairly routine assignment—the containment lines were three dozer blades wide and designed to halt the advance of the wildfire, which was still miles away. What Andrews didn’t know was that the Carr Fire—to that

Why Magicians Have the Most Rewarding Job in the World

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I became a magician by accident. When I was nine years old, I learned how to make a coin disappear. I’d read The Lord of the Rings and ventured into the adult section of the library to search for a book of spells—nine being that curious age at which you’re old enough to work through more than 1,200 pages of arcane fantasy literature but young enough to still hold out hope that you might find a book of real, actual magic in the library. The book I found instead taught basic sleight-of-hand technique, and I dedicated the next months to practice. At first the magic wasn’t any good. At first it wasn’t even magic; it was just a trick—a bad trick. I spent hours each day in the bathroom running through the secret moves in front of the mirror. I dropped the coin over and over, a thousand times in a day, and after two weeks of this my mom got a carpet sample from the hardware store and placed it under the mirror to muffle the sound of the coin falling again and again. I had heard my dad wor

What It Feels Like to Have a Wildfire Burn Over You, Straight from a Firefighter

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  America’s deadliest wildfire in recent years started off as a small brush fire, ignited by a lightning strike. It occurred on June 28, 2013, outside of Yarnell, Arizona, population 543. Within hours, it grew from a manageable fire into a raging, unpredictable inferno, trapping a team known as the Granite Mountain Hotshots, 19 men and women trained to fight forest fires. As the blaze changed direction with unexpected ferocity, the crew members had one chance for survival: lying facedown on the ground, covering themselves with thin aluminum fire shelters, and letting the fire burn over them. Some made it into their shelters, but it didn’t matter; the speed and intensity of the fire were too much, and all 19 were killed. Fire shelters are a last resort. They’re made of an outer layer of aluminum foil, backed by a silica weave that reflects heat. When deployed, they are shaped like large cocoons, in part to trap breathable air inside. If you have to use one, chances are you’re already

Juul Shipped Tainted Products, Lawsuit Alleges

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Nearly one million tainted nicotine pods were knowingly distributed by e-cigarette maker Juul Labs, a former company finance executive claims in a lawsuit. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/34dxro8 Nearly one million tainted nicotine pods were knowingly distributed by e-cigarette maker Juul Labs, a former company finance executive claims in a lawsuit.

Test Given at 8 May Predict Brain Health in Old Age

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If you were good with words and puzzles at age 8, you're likely to fare well on tests of mental acuity at age 70, too. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2qafata If you were good with words and puzzles at age 8, you're likely to fare well on tests of mental acuity at age 70, too.

Tainted Fecal Transplant Killed One Patient

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Two patients who received fecal transplants suffered infections from drug-resistant E. coli, and one of them died from their infection. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/34iS3vu Two patients who received fecal transplants suffered infections from drug-resistant E. coli, and one of them died from their infection.

Juul Shipped Tainted Products, Lawsuit Alleges

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Nearly one million tainted nicotine pods were knowingly distributed by e-cigarette maker Juul Labs, a former company finance executive claims in a lawsuit. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/36mah0U Nearly one million tainted nicotine pods were knowingly distributed by e-cigarette maker Juul Labs, a former company finance executive claims in a lawsuit.

Blinc Mascara Is The Best Waterproof Mascara You Can Buy To Avoid Flaking and Smudging

Lab Worker Infected With Smallpox-Related Virus

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Investigators say the worker had been briefed on the risks of working with the virus and was offered a vaccine to prevent it, but she declined to get it. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2q73eIE Investigators say the worker had been briefed on the risks of working with the virus and was offered a vaccine to prevent it, but she declined to get it.

6 Popular Apple Varieties Are Being Recalled Over Potential Listeria Contamination—Here’s What You Should Know

No Asbestos Found in New Tests of Baby Powder: J&J

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No asbestos was detected in 15 new tests of the same bottle of Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder previously found to contain asbestos by the FDA, the company said Tuesday. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2N1pa0Z No asbestos was detected in 15 new tests of the same bottle of Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder previously found to contain asbestos by the FDA, the company said Tuesday.

Groups Urge Ban of Mint, Menthol E-Cig Flavors

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The Trump administration must include mint and menthol in any plan to halt sales of flavored e-cigarette products, more than 50 health and advocacy groups said Tuesday. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/34jtNtb The Trump administration must include mint and menthol in any plan to halt sales of flavored e-cigarette products, more than 50 health and advocacy groups said Tuesday.

This Is the Longest Non-Stop Airplane Flight in the World

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Some people enjoy air travel more than others, but it’s safe to say that no one looks forward to extra-long flights. A person can only tolerate so much time in a cramped cabin 35,000 feet above the ground. No matter how long or short your flight is, make sure you know these 12 tips for staying comfortable on a plane . For passengers flying from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to Sydney, Australia, that travel time couldn’t be any longer. Qantas’s flight from New York to Sydney, the first-ever non-stop flight to cover that distance, lasts an anxiety-inducing 19 hours and 16 minutes. And what is that distance, exactly? More than 10,000 miles: 10,066, to be exact. As of press date, there’s no return flight, but Qantas is planning to test out flights from London to Sydney and from other Australian cities, like Melbourne and Brisbane, to New York and London in the coming months. On the inaugural flight in October 2019, the plane left at 9:00 Friday night New York t

What Only Insiders Know About Disney World’s Halloween Celebrations

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Have a magical Halloween If you’re looking for a celebration that’s more delightful than frightful, the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World hosts Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party each fall. It is typically held from mid-August to the first day or two of November. During this time, the entire park is decked out for the season. Spectacular fireworks light up the sky with themed shows each night, stage shows celebrate classic Disney villains, decadent treats are available and trick-or-treating stations are rife. Classic and new rides are open with special Halloween twists. If you’re thinking about joining the fun, consider these lesser-known facts about Disney’s fun Halloween festivities. Halloween fun is only one of the reasons fall is the best time to visit Disney. The post What Only Insiders Know About Disney World’s Halloween Celebrations appeared first on Reader's Digest . from Reader's Digest https://ift.tt/2PqVb4e

Animal Cruelty Could Soon Become a Federal Crime—But Why Are Puppy Mills Still Allowed?

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What is the PACT Act? In a time when it seems Republicans and Democrats can rarely agree on anything, a new bill that the U.S. House of Representatives passed unanimously on October 22 has the rare distinction of gaining support from both sides of the aisle. The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act aims to strengthen a previous law passed in 2010 . But does the bill go far enough in its effort to protect animals? Find out 15 weird laws pertaining to dogs you didn’t know existed across America. The post Animal Cruelty Could Soon Become a Federal Crime—But Why Are Puppy Mills Still Allowed? appeared first on Reader's Digest . from Reader's Digest https://ift.tt/2PBw7HX

Plaque on Your Teeth Can Create Gum Disease, Plaque in Your Arteries Can Kill You

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Dental plaque is very different from plaque in the arteries When people think of ‘plaque’, they often think of the soft, sticky substance that builds up on teeth which can cause cavities and gum disease. [i] However, there is another kind of plaque found in the arteries, which is made up of fat, cholesterol and other substances found in the blood. [ii] While dental plaque is bad enough, plaque in the arteries can lead to serious problems or kill you. [iii] Gorgev /Shutterstock Plaque in the arteries accumulates over time and is called atherosclerosis, more commonly referred to as heart disease.iii Arteries are the blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to your heart and other parts of your body, including the brain. Over time, plaque in the arteries hardens and narrows your arteries. Plaque can also break free and travel to the brain where it can block blood flow and cause a stroke. Plaque can also cause a heart attack or other adverse and potentially debilitating cardiovasc

What Freedom Means to Me—From a Man Who Wrote the Book on Fanaticism

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Editor’s Note: Reader’s Digest is partnering with WeThePurple.org to republish articles from our archives that dramatize and revive patriotic enthusiasm about democracy and its core values. This piece from September 1976 celebrates one of the unifying ideas of the freedoms enshrined in our constitution and laws: the right to pursue happiness as one sees fit. By the self-taught moral philosopher Eric Hoffer, this short essay notes that even as our culture changes and evolves, our core values have endured. For the common man, America is still the best country, where he feels most at home. It is the last chance and the last stop. If he can’t make it here, he won’t make it any­where. I have been poor most of my life, and in my years as a mi­gratory worker I was often but a step ahead of hunger. Yet it nev­er occurred to me that there could be a country where I would be more at ease, more at home. This certitude was not implanted in me by family or school. I never at­tended school, be­ca

Journalist Who Witnessed Nazi Horrors Firsthand Said It Could Happen Here

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Editor’s Note: Reader’s Digest is partnering with WeThePurple.org to republish articles from our archives that dramatize and revive patriotic enthusiasm about democracy and its core values. Written in 1945 just after the war this essay is a reminder that hatred left unchecked could destroy a civilization. There is not a person in Europe today who will admit ever having been a Nazi at heart. Industrialists, merchants, crafts­men and shopkeepers all explain that they hated Nazi policies but had to go along to save themselves from torture, imprisonment—or loss of business. Laborers and farmers simply shrug their shoulders and say they did not understand. Throughout Germany the refrain is the same: “We did as we were told.” There is no record of any Nazi’s proudly proclaiming his faith, as heroic men have done since time began, going to their death gladly to stand by the eternal imponderable values of life and thus inspire other generations unto eternity. All the time I was lis