Health News

Book Review: A New Chapter in the Quest for a Longer Life

Humans may be unique among animals in our ability to understand and anticipate death, and ever since we evolved into this awareness, we’ve struggled to accept it. We espouse religious beliefs about reincarnation or the everlasting immortal soul, we attempt to live on through offspring and legacy, and, of course, since antiquity, we have searched for eternal life.

woman patient lying down
Hospitals, Infectious Disease, Microbiology, Surgery, University of Washington

Infections after surgery are more likely due to bacteria already on your skin than from microbes in the hospital − UW researchers find

Research comparing bacteria in the microbiome – those colonizing our noses, skin and other areas of the body – with the bacteria that cause pneumonia, diarrhea, bloodstream infections and surgical site infections shows that the bacteria living innocuously on our own bodies when we’re healthy are most often responsible for these bad infections when we’re sick.

Cancer, Colon Cancer, Gastroenterology, Microbiology, Oncology

Scientists Link a Single Type of Bacteria to Colorectal Cancer

“It sounds scary, but this is good information to have,” said Susan Bullman, Ph.D., of Fred Hutch Cancer Center, who co-led the study. “Microbes are manipulatable—you can target them. So [as] we see that this microbe is getting to tumors and may be contributing actively to disease progression, we can harness that information and think about how to prevent that.”

Drugs, Mental Health

Psychedelics could make mental health worse in people with a personality disorder

Various personality disorders might respond differently to psychedelics. For instance, people with histrionic personality disorder (excessive attention-seeking and emotional overreaction) or borderline personality disorder (emotional instability, intense relationships and fear of abandonment) might feel worse or more unstable. And those with schizotypal personality disorder (social anxiety, odd beliefs and eccentric behaviour) could become more paranoid. People with narcissistic personality disorder (excessive self-importance, lack of empathy, and need for admiration) may struggle with the self-reflective nature of psychedelics because they often have a hard time handling criticism.