Walk through an average South African hospital, and you’ll see crowded waiting rooms full of unstable patients. Meet the diverse patients hailing from the largest cities and the smallest villages. Admire the nurses who work tirelessly to provide care despite staffing shortages and crumbling hospital infrastructure. Drive ten minutes through the city and arrive at […]
Journeying through healthcare inequality in South Africa Read More »
Shots are never fun. Many people experience anxiety right up until the needle pierces their skin. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the fear of needles prevents people from getting life-saving vaccinations each day. However, advancement in vaccine delivery technology is making it possible to receive these vaccinations without a needle. Transdermal
Living is hard. The sensitivity of human health to a variety of factors often makes it easy for the body to deteriorate in the face of threats. Unfortunately, individuals do not just have their diet and exercise to worry about when it comes to maintaining their health. They must also consider the crimes committed in
When your body chooses violence because of your community Read More »
Punching, kicking, throwing — not just daytime activities anymore. For some sleepers, these actions accompany their dream states. When a sleeper reflects what they are doing in their dream in real-time, despite being asleep, it’s referred to as “acting out dreams” or REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD). So instead of punching an attacker, they might
When dreams become nightmares: How acting out dreams can predict brain disease Read More »
We are often reminded of basic health mantras to decrease your risk of getting cancer such as wearing sunscreen, avoiding smoking, and being wary of carcinogens. It might surprise you to hear that increasing your caffeine intake might be added to the list. The concepts for this idea emerged in the early 2000s, when Michail
A look at a Northeastern professor’s contribution to cancer immunotherapy Read More »
Inconspicuously, house keys and the location of home dissipates from memory. Progressing further along, even the familiar faces of loved ones fade out of recollection. The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. This neurodegenerative disorder primarily affects the cognitive functioning responsible for retrieving, storing,
Exposure to air pollution, even at low levels, increases risk of Alzheimer’s Read More »
After waking up from surgery, we tend to focus on if it was successful, if there is any pain, or if we embarrassed ourselves in front of the doctors. We rarely ask questions about the anesthesia used to put us under. Common surgeries and procedures ranging from root canals to childbirth use forms of anesthesia
Bite the bullet or face the fog? Read More »
The only place that prioritizes its department of defense more than the United States is the human body. We have a comprehensive immune system with two lines of protection: barriers and fighters. Within this second line of defense, antibodies act as soldiers that circle through the bloodstream marking foreign invaders for destruction. Specifically, the immune
Support our troops: The drugs harnessing the immune system to fight disease Read More »
The human body is a host to almost 300 species of parasitic worms, tracing back from our early ancestors and domesticated animals. By the end of the Ice Age, about 11,500 years ago, humans had inhabited most of the world, allowing for rapid transmission of parasites as humans developed trading routes and settlements. In today’s
Parasite cleanse hoax Read More »