Worldcrunch
GENEVA — If the term “fast-track surgery” conjures a fast-food restaurant in your mind, then some explanation is in order. The term refers to a protocol that can reduce hospital stays by 30% to 50%, without any higher risk of readmission than ordinary surgery. In a study published last June in the British Journal of […]
Yogi Bear on the cutting edge of obesity research? Dr. Kevin Corbit, a scientist for the pharmaceutical giant Amgen, is convinced that by studying the behavior of the brown bear — an animal that can weigh up to 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) and consume up to 58,000 calories daily — we can understand a lot […]
CAIRO — After being unemployed for three years, 26-year-old Emad Hassan was offered a job at a local bank on the condition that he take a blood test. It was then that he discovered he had been infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), which can cause liver disease and eventually hepatocellular carcinoma — better […]
In southeastern Congo, where a malaria outbreak is killing young children, some believe the disease has mystical origins and turn to higher powers rather than doctors.
SHANGHAI — Recently, two Shanghai hospitals have held special training courses for their doctors. One invited a Taekwondo coach to teach the physicians self-defense skills, while the other featured a local police expert in crisis negotiation to brief them about violence prevention. The Chinese public of course understands what this is all about. Just two […]
Chinese business leaders have everything, except for their health.
A young American entrepreneur has created what appears to be a successful add-water-and-mix food he thinks could have many helpful applications around the globe. Others aren’t so sure.
MBANDAKA — Don’t tell Mfutu Etawale Ratis he’s a magician or a witch doctor. The self-proclaimed traditional practitioner says he can cure mental illness. And in this northwestern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where modern treatments are often missing, Ratis is one of the only people trying to help patients with mental disorders. […]
SAO PAULO — A Brazilian version of Ronald McDonald, the famous clown mascot, has taken to visiting nursery schools, kindergartens and primary schools. The well-known face of the fast food chain has been performing shows for young children and even babies, at both public and private schools. But not everyone is so amused. A growing […]
Public smoking bans, written warnings, shocking images on cigarette packets: Deterrent measures grow worldwide, though consumption in developing countries continues to rise.
First, ovens that already know a dish’s cooking parameters? Now, miniature computers that you can swallow like pills? After the Internet of Things, here comes the Internet of Bodies.
Every since a private insurance system was launched in Rwanda, its citizens regularly cross the Burundi border to get better, cheaper care.
Universal health care in Cuba has led to one of the lowest infant morality rates in the world. But as doctors flee to work abroad, the ones remaining complain of difficult working conditions.
In Germany, eight university hospitals have opened outpatient sports psychiatry facilities to treat depression for the “over-worked-out.”
BURZACO – Carrot leaves are poking through the soil, the lettuces are green and leafy, and the spring onions are standing tall: these vegetables are being nurured at secondary school No. 56 in Burzaco, 25 kilometers south of Buenos Aires. And as the vegetables have put down roots, classroom violence has been on a sharp […]
MAIL & GUARDIAN (South Africa), SKY NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch JOHANNESBURG – The world is celebrating a very special Mandela Day on Thursday, as the ailing Apartheid icon spends his 95th birthday in a Pretoria hospital, slowly recovering from a recurring lung infection. “Madiba Nelson Mandela’s nickname remains in hospital in Pretoria but his doctors have […]
“Here you have a stevia, that’s for diabetes,” says Téodora, a sun-weathered snippet of a woman of around 50, proudly beginning a tour of her medicinal plant nursery. She points out the Paraguayan lemongrass, for nerves; and a plant with little purple flowers, called “forever alive”, which is excellent for the heart.” All told, her […]
SOUTHERN URBAN DAILY, CNTV (China) Worldcrunch SHENZHEN – Magical elixir for those suffering? Status symbol for China’s super rich? Or just plain…CREEPY!? The Southern Urban Daily was the first to report on the growing popularity among wealthy Chinese for drinking human milk. “Human milk is the best of tonics, it’s even better than bird’s nest […]
Forty years after government killings here sparked the militant anti-Apartheid movement, the ailing grandfather of modern South Africa is a reminder not to return to the past.
Edged out for a time by greasy, imported food, traditional meals are staging a comeback in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Known as sisa, this Greek methamphetamine-based concoction is spreading across the streets of Athens — the latest sign of the side effects of the economic crisis plaguing Greece.
BENI – For many years in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the military was the main seller of liquor imported from Uganda. But now soldiers have changed sides, and are now fighting those who try to import liquor into Congo. In order to reduce the trafficking and consumption of banned liquors […]
The procedure is gaining popularity amongst young men who believe, erroneously, that it eliminates any risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.
BERLIN – The shock came in his first year of training. His employer – the BMW motorcycle factory in Berlin-Spandau – asked Johann Gundel to don a strange suit: the “age suit,” with weights in it. Gundel could hardly move in the suit. His joints stiffened, and every step was an effort. Gundel, blond, slim […]
Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, closed the annual World Health Assembly this week May 27 sounding alarm about a new SARS-like virus circulating primarily in Saudi Arabia. “My greatest concern right now is the novel coronavirus,” Chan warned the representatives of two hundred nations gathered in Geneva. “We do not know […]
DIE WELT (Germany), NATURE COMMUNICATIONS (UK) Worldcrunch BONN – The equivalent of pressing a button that activates your body’s fat-burning mechanism…and watch the pounds disappear. It sounds like advertising hype, but researchers at the University of Bonn and their colleagues at Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices believe it may be revolutionize the […]
School life can be pretty merciless. Kids have an astonishing repertoire of nasty things they inflict on other kids. But what factors play a role in which kids are the victims and which the perpetrators? Why do some wind up on the receiving end of the nastiness, and others become the ones meting it out? […]
ADNKRONOS, LA STAMPA (Italy), BIOSCIENCE TECHNOLOGY (USA) Worldcrunch MILAN – Great news for coffee junkies worldwide from the place where it’s brewed to perfection: Italian researchers say even three or four cups of espresso a day is actually good for you. A study at Mario Negri Pharmacological Institute in Milan showed the daily cup or […]
BERLIN – The traffic on this German road moves along in a neat pattern, changed only when a car makes a right. When it does, Markus Behrendt turns to look out the window. He may only have seen the turning car – a change in pattern – out of the corner of his eye, but […]
PARIS – The combination of the Arab Spring and the economic crisis in southern Europe has led to a quiet panic spreading in hospitals across the Mediterranean Basin. “With the disorganization of medical services, the number of infections resisting most known antibiotics has literally exploded,” says professor Patrice Nordmann, chief of the bacteriology-virology-parasitology department at […]
XINHUA (China), BBC NEWS (UK), BLOOMBERG, REUTERS Worldcrunch SHANGHAI – Chinese authorities slaughtered more than 20,000 birds and closed a poultry market in Shanghai on Friday, due to the new H7N9 bird flu outbreak that has already killed six people over the past week. State news agency Xinhua said the Huhuai market for live birds […]
It may also turn you into a hypochondriac.
IRISH EXAMINER, IRISH INDEPENDENT, IRISH TIMES (Ireland) Worldcrunch DUBLIN – A teen charity funded by the government-backed Irish Health Board has come under scrutiny after publishing tips on how young people can explore having a ménage à trois. Irish Member of Parliament Michelle Mulherin has accused the state-funded organization SpunOut of publishing inappropriate content, including […]
LA CAPITAL, LA GACETA, LA NACION, LA RAZON (Argentina) Worldcrunch SANTA FE – The Argentinian province of Sante Fe will be handing out a million Viagra tablets – free of charge – but only after Easter is over, according to La Gaceta. “They’ll be available but of course there will be necessary controls so that […]
The South American root has been shown to boost energy for athletes, increase fertility for women, and enhance a man’s sex drive.
Can you guess what demographic smells the worst?
SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG (Germany) Worldcrunch BERLIN – What better way to help educate kids on healthy eating than with some Big-Mac-And-Large-Fries-sponsored lessons!? This special sauce comes courtesy of a German non-profit, that has called on McDonald’s to be one of the sponsors for a new government-sanctioned program to provide nutrition education in schools, writes Süddeutsche Zeitung. […]
PARIS – The horsemeat lasagna scandal has reignited the debate on “junk” food. However, it can be very difficult to sort out the good and the bad… Some key recommendations from Dr. Laurent Chevalier, a prominent French nutritionist: 1 – Favor organic products. They are less contaminated by chemicals – especially pesticides and hormones – […]
-Essay- MUNICH – The day comes in life when you realize you don’t really need a car anymore, you can take the train, or bus. The problem is: you may not want to. It’s not as if retirement comes as a surprise, a sudden unexpected stroke of fate. We get a long time, many, many […]
ROTTERDAM – Governments are well aware of the danger, but consumers have no idea. One out of five freight containers arriving in European ports has been fumigated with extremely dangerous, carcinogenic or neurotoxic gases. It is a vast phenomenon: one million containers filled with imported goods arrive in Europe by ship every week. These toxic […]