Is obesity contagious? What about smoking and drug use? Is it possible to unconsciously pick up the bad habits and health problems of your friends? First introduced in 2007, this idea has sparked a debate among researchers and doctors that is still heating up.

A controversial study led by researchers from Harvard and the University of California, San Diego, concluded that behaviors such as overeating and cigarette smoking could be contagious within close social networks. The researchers came to this conclusion by analyzing data from the Framingham Heart Study, a long-running, detailed survey that examined over 12,000 participants. The Framingham Study included information about body weight and drug use habits, and also indicated which subjects were friends or family members. Thanks to this unique feature, researchers were able to take a look at rates of obesity and other health risks among friend groups.

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If you read my Saturday posts, you know that I love me some non-fiction, specifically from the science section. Yes, it sounds super nerdy, but let me tell you, the science section houses some of the most interesting and relevant books in all the bookstore. Another one to add to that list is “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot.

If you’ve never heard of Henrietta Lacks, you’re not alone. However, some of you may have heard of HeLa cells. HeLa cells are used in scientific research and have been part of almost every medical breakthrough since the ’50s. And they’re immortal. I’m getting ahead of myself, though.

So what is the connection between Henrietta – a poor, black woman from Baltimore – and the trillions of HeLa cells in the world? You won’t believe it, but every single one of those trillions of cells are HERS. Even the name HeLa comes from her name: HEnrietta LAcks. And even more miraculous is the fact that you’re probably more familiar with Henrietta than you think. Odds are, one of the vaccines you’ve received in your life was created from her cells or maybe even contained her cells. Mind-blowing.

In 1951, Henrietta visited John Hopkins complaining of a “knot” in her stomach. She was eventually diagnosed with cervical cancer and treated in the fashion of the day: tubes of radium were sewn onto and in her. However, before beginning the treatment, a doctor took a sample of her tumor and shipped it off to George Gey. Gey had been trying to create immortal cells for years. Up until this point, cells died within a few days in a culture and scientific progress was at somewhat of a standstill. But when Gey cultured Henrietta’s cells, he noticed that the cells weren’t dying – in fact, they were multiplying. The culture grew so quickly that he had to move it to another jar! Gey was fascinated by this immortal cell line. He sent samples to any scientist who asked and eventually HeLa cells were turned into a BILLION-dollar industry. Read More »

"Whew! Thank God I took those 5 shots last night."

In the words of Betsy from ABC Family’s Greek, “I don’t go to the gym five days a week for my health!” Could it be the drinking, Betsy?

According to a recently published study in the September/October issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, those who are more likely to drink are also more likely to drag themselves to the gym (hungover or otherwise). Lead author Michael French, Ph. D says that “Alcohol users not only exercised more than abstainers, but the differential actually increased with more drinking.”

I knew drinking was good for my health! Take that, mom!

And it only gets better. The study showed that the more that women drank, the more time they spent exercising each week, on average. Light drinkers apparently exercised for 5.7 more minutes per week, moderate drinkers 10.1 minutes, and heavy drinkers (college students?) 19.9 minutes more per week. Yup, the study showed that women who drink were 10.1% more likely to engage in vigorous exercise (both in and out of the bedroom. Heyoooo). Read More »

Scientists these days must be bored out of their minds, because many of the health studies that have been cropping up lately are painfully uninteresting. The results are so obvious that they might as well skip the experiment and just use their common sense. These “duh” stories really make you question the direction in which science is headed. Don’t these scientists have more important (and more shocking) discoveries to make?

Obese Americans Spend Far More on Health Care
The New York Times
According to a recent study, obese Americans spend 42% more on health care than Americans of normal weight. Although this is a serious issue, did we really need a formal study to tell us this? Who needs one to see that obesity (and the many health problems that result from it) is costly?

As Speed Limits Rise, So Do Death Tolls
The New York Times
A study of highway fatality rates has found that road deaths increased 3% after 1995, following the federal government’s repeal of the 55 mile-per-hour speed limit. Higher speed limits = more highway fatalities? I never would’ve imagined that. Read More »

Gentlemen, take a deep breath. You might not be too happy about the latest news from the science world.

Scientists have, for the first time, successfully created human sperm from stem cells. No, the sperm don’t have the face of Woody Allen and his awkward sense of humor; they have all the characteristics of naturally produced sperm, from the head to the tail. Although “functional tests” have yet to be conducted to see if sperm generated from stem cells can fertilize an egg (shot-not on being the testee! Tee hee…), the new breakthrough has been causing quite a stir – and some anxiety for the male population.

The sperm will be used to study male infertility, but there exists an underlying worry about the viability of “petri dish” babies and the possibility that men will no longer be necessary for human reproduction. While researchers involved in the study are quickly dismissing those ideas in something of a damage control media blitz, this development certainly opens the door to consideration. Read More »

As a female film/TV major, I’ve been noticing lately that although we’ve come a long way for women’s rights, there are still some of us who have to fight sexism on a daily basis just because of what we chose to study in college. Even though almost 60% of college students today are women, there are still many majors that are dominated by the boys.

And my major, film and television, is one of them.

I decided to major in film and TV because I want to work in that industry one day (duh). I have always dreamed of being a screenwriter, producer, or, my ultimate goal, a movie director. When I tell people I that they look at me in shock. “Are there female directors??”

Uh, thanks, dude.
OF COURSE THERE ARE!

When I’m not in the male-dominated classroom, I work (with only 2 other women) for a show on a local TV station. The rest of the staff makes jokes about women constantly, and while it’s all in good fun and I know they’re good guys, I’m getting a bit sick of it. They never listen to me or the other two girls, and we’re kind of ignored when it comes to creative content. The only time they do listen to the women on staff is when it is coming from the size 4, blonde girl I work with. And that only upsets me even more.  Read More »

This morning I ripped my tights, missed my train, got sneezed on, and forgot my wallet, which inevitably forced me to put my bagel back and face the day hungry, grumpy and in constant fear of the next gift from this bad day.

Oh and did I mention that this was all before 9 am?

Great start the the weekend right? I guess this technically makes me a pessimistic, glass half empty, gray lining kind of gal. Unfortunately, I just learned this also means I will not live as long as my happy, shiny counterpart – the optimist.

Figures.

Don’t believe me? Check out the report in Time where 100,000 women over the age of 50 were asked to respond to a questionnaire that measured optimism. Participants were asked if they agreed with statements like, “In uncertain times, I expect the worst” (put a check next to the “agreed” column please). Eight years later, researchers studied the women’s death rates and found that those who were found to be optimistic were 14 times more likely to be alive than pessimists.

Ok, so maybe my outlook on life is killing me, but it’s hard not to expect the worst in these troubled economic times. Who knows where we’ll be or what we can expect tomorrow? And don’t even get me started on the world ending in 2012. Read More »

When it comes to sex, we are wayyyy too picky. Compared to the rest of the animal kingdom, humans have the most criteria for choosing a mate by far. Think about it – our selection process goes much further than “Wow, you’ve got some pretty colorful tail feathers there. Wanna screw?”

What is it that makes us consider so many characteristics of one person before deciding to have any sort of sexual relations with them? And why do those characteristics even matter? Now I ain’t no scientist, but I thought I’d give it my best shot and try to decipher this most peculiar of selection processes.

The Looks: First and foremost, you want your “mate” to be attractive. That one’s a given – nobody wants to hook up with somebody they find repulsive (unless alcohol is impairing their judgment, of course). Even animals look for companions that have characteristics they want to pass on to their young. But in a day in age where most of us don’t want to think about, let alone have, our own babies, why should looks even matter? Bragging rights, perhaps? Read More »

A new scientific study has been published that can’t be ignored. Basically all of our suspicions about men have been scientifically proven. I won’t even have to be witty or clever about it, I will just simply quote the article.

“Researchers used brain scans to show that when straight men looked at pictures of women in bikinis, areas of the brain that normally light up in anticipation of using tools, like spanners and screwdrivers, were activated.”

Ah! According to Men’s brains, woman = screwdriver. They think of us on the same level as a hammer or a wrench. Great, right? But wait; it get’s so much better!

“Scans of some of the men found that a part of the brain associated with empathy for other peoples’ emotions and wishes shut down after looking at the pictures.”

So here’s how it works: Man sees woman in bikini. Man thinks “Mmmm….tooools.” The human part of Man’s brain literally shuts off. Yay!

Thus women understand 85% of their interactions with heterosexual males. But wait…it actually gets EVEN BETTER. Read More »

[Every week, CC and John bring you some of the weirdest, funniest, saddest things he hears on his college campus. Join the Overheard revolution!

Leave your own overheard convos in the comments.]

“This isn’t science! This is just a worm with a staple in it!”

“No, no. I don’t think I’d want to sleep with any of those directors. They all look like this one guy I worked with once.”

“Rachel – when I saw you out there, I could see why Dave likes you. No, wait – you’re Allison, Rachel’s the girl I’m dating.”

“Jesus christ! I was a turtle in high school!”

“A turtle is like a c**t.”

“All-male Vagina Monologues.”

“Vagina Monologues in funny voices!”

“Munchkin Vagina Monologues!”

Girl (into her cell phone): “I know, I totally thought the cab would be free if we made out in the back.”

“I’m… I’m sorry. Everything’s gone so wrong, I never meant for this to happen – we drank all the beers.” Read More »