Tag Archives: health

What is atrial fibrillation, and why is your watch telling you about it?

By Paul | Published September 27, 2018

John Timmer at ARS: Your heart has four chambers, two atria and two ventricles. The atria are smaller chambers at the top of the heart, and their contraction fills the larger ventricles with blood. The ventricles then provide the powerful push that sends the blood either to the lungs to pick up oxygen or out […]

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Why We Need to Take Pet Loss Seriously

By Paul | Published June 13, 2018

Guy Winch writing at Scientific American: Losing a beloved pet is often an emotionally devastating experience. Yet, as a society, we do not recognize how painful pet loss can be and how much it can impair our emotional and physical health. Symptoms of acute grief after the loss of a pet can last from one […]

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Why Your Health Insurer Doesn’t Care About Your Big Bills

By Paul | Published May 29, 2018

Marshall Allen, writing at ProPublica The United States spends more per person on health care than any other country. A lot more. As a country, by many measures, we are not getting our money’s worth. […] Experts frequently blame this on the high prices charged by doctors and hospitals. But less scrutinized is the role […]

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Obama’s Secret to Surviving the White House Years: Books

By Paul | Published January 16, 2017

Books: they’re like TV for smart people.

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Can science stop the looming banana extinction?

By Paul | Published October 25, 2016

The banana is the world’s most popular fruit crop, with over 100 million metric tons produced annually in over 130 tropical and subtropical countries. Edible bananas are the result of a genetic accident in nature that created the seedless fruit we enjoy today. Virtually all the bananas sold across the Western world belong to the […]

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California governor signs controversial right-to-die bill

By Paul | Published October 6, 2016

Physician-assisted suicide will become legal in California under a bill signed into law today by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, making it the fifth state in the nation to give terminally ill patients a legal right to die. As hard as it may be to believe in today’s ultra-political culture, my Mom–who was an RN–told me […]

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Want to live longer? Pick up a book…

By Paul | Published August 29, 2016

It turns out all those hours I spend reading my Facebook feed won’t extend my life. It has to be books. The study, The Guardian reports, “looked at the reading patterns of 3,635 people who were 50 or older. On average, book readers were found to live for almost two years longer than non-readers.” And […]

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Are drug companies overcharging?

By Paul | Published August 25, 2016

How much profit should drug companies make? The question might seem a little abstract, something that belongs in a business journal. But it’s one that is increasingly affecting all of us. That was abundantly clear in the wake of the latest price hike controversy to hit the headlines. I’m not an “anti-big pharma” type, but […]

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Ohio Senate Puts End to ‘Heartbeat’ Abortion Bill

By Paul | Published November 27, 2012

Associated Press: COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The leader of the Ohio Senate put a stop Tuesday to a bill that would have imposed the most stringent restriction on abortions in the nation. The chamber doesn’t plan to vote on the so-called “heartbeat bill” before the end of the legislative session next month, Republican Senate President […]

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Essential Rules of Gunfighting Everyone Should Know

By Paul | Published September 11, 2012

(You may someday have to apply one or more of these…) 1) Bring a gun; when possible, bring at least two guns, all of your friends that have guns and FOUR TIMES the ammunition you think you could ever need. 2) Guns have only two enemies: rust and inexperience. a) Practice. Practice reloading one-handed and […]

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