No glowing red nose required: Real reindeer don’t need Rudolph’s help to find the Arctic food they love most, new research shows. If you’re a reindeer, your go-to favorite food is a humble moss-like lichen called Cladonia rangiferina, explained researchers at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. Trouble is, in the darkness of a northern winter spotting the lichen can be really tough. Luckily, the eyes of countless generations of reindeer have evolved to see light on the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum. C. rangiferina does not reflect UV light; it instead absorbs it, the researchers pointed out. Reindeer eyes have evolved to pick up on that. “Reindeer are so cool, but many people think about them only at Christmas,” study first author and anthropology professor Nathaniel Dominy said in a Dartmouth news release. “Now is a good time to alert people to their extraordinary visual system.” To the human eye, C. rangiferina appears to disappear into the landscape, especially in hours ruled by darkness. However, working with researchers from St. Andrews University in Scotland, Dominy helped discover that the lichen absorbs UV light. This means that, to the reindeer’s eye, C. rangiferina stands out easily amid other Arctic mosses, lichens and grasses. The lichen appears as darker patches against a light background. “If you can put yourself in their hooves looking at this white landscape, you would…  read on >  read on >

Screens are everywhere — on desks, in laps, on the wall — and eye strain is a temporary but uncomfortable condition that comes with overuse. Folks spending too much time with screens can develop dry eyes, blurry vision, tearing or watering eyes, or a headache, warns the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). That’s because humans tend to blink less while staring at these devices, the AAO says. People normally blink around 15 times per minute, but this blink rate can be cut in half while staring at screens, the academy says. To reduce eye strain, the AAO recommends taking frequent breaks along the lines of the “20-20-20” rule. Every 20 minutes, look away from your screen and instead look at an object 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. This gives your eyes a chance to reset. People can also: Use artificial tears to lubricate eyes when they feel dry. Sit arm’s length from your screen and adjust its height so you’re looking slightly downward at it. Apply a matte screen filter to reduce glare from glass screens. Adjust brightness and contrast of your screen, and dim lighting near the screen. Wear eyeglasses rather than contact lenses when working on a computer or tablet for longer periods. The AAO notes that blue light from computers have not been shown to increase risk of eye…  read on >  read on >

Using a weight-loss medication to help you shed pounds gradually appears to help extend life for people with arthritis of the hips or knees, a new study finds. However, folks with arthritis who dropped pounds very quickly showed no benefit in terms of survival, and even a slight uptick in their risk for heart disease, a team of American and Chinese researchers found. The study’s take-home message: “Gradual weight loss by anti-obesity medications may improve the overall wellness of overweight or obesity patients with knee or hip osteoarthritis,” concluded a team led by Jie Wei of Central South University in Changsha, China. The findings were published recently in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatology. Obesity can exacerbate arthritis in the joints, and is a known risk factor for an early death. In the new study, Wi’s group tracked outcomes for over 6,500 British people, aged 40 or older, who were overweight or obese and also had knee or hip arthritis. Some took weight-loss drugs to help them shed excess pounds. Wei’s team tracked their outcomes for various health conditions and death over a five-year period. The data was collected between 2000 and March of 2022 — before the advent of blockbuster weight-loss medications such as Wegovy and Zepbound. Instead, patients were taking drugs such as orlistat (Alli), sibutramine and rimonabant (Zimulti) to help them get slimmer.…  read on >  read on >

Even Valentine’s Day apparently doesn’t trump the start of a brand new year when it comes to getting frisky. Sales of the morning-after pill surged across the U.S. after New Year 2022, new research shows. Nearly 41,000 extra pills were sold in the following week, a period linked to increased risks of unprotected sex.  Sales of emergency contraception also rose after other holidays such as Valentine’s and Independence Day but not as much, a team led by Brandon Wagner of Texas Tech University report in the Christmas issue of the BMJ. While the annual New Year’s sale spike might seem funny,  Wagner’s team points out in a journal news release that “it  is indicative of unmet contraceptive need that calls for further attention” amid tightened restrictions on abortions in many U.S. states. The increased sexual activity associated with New Year’s is less likely to be protected due to increased drinking, they point out. New Year’s Eve has also been linked to increased rates of sexual assault and limited access to other forms of birth control because clinics, medical offices and shops close early or altogether. For the new study, researchers analyzed retail scan data for levonorgestrel, an over-the-counter medication available without age restrictions.  While effective when taken within as many 96, and possibly 120, after unprotected sex, it’s more likely to work the sooner it…  read on >  read on >

Dozens of over-the-counter lubricating eyedrops and artificial tears faced recall in 2023, due to contamination and unsafe manufacturing practices. “This year, we’ve seen an especially large number of recalls in ophthalmologic products,” said Gary Novack, a clinical professor with the UC Davis Health Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences in Davis, Calif. People who regularly use eye drops to fend off dry eyes or help with contact lenses should be aware of these recalls, and take steps to protect themselves, Novack said. “Now that the public health emergency phase of the pandemic is over, the FDA is doing more inspections and they are finding a number of issues at manufacturing plants,” Novack explained in a university news release. The recalls began in February with three brands taken off shelves, including one linked to serious infections, vision loss and four deaths, Novack said. “It’s very rare to get infections from eye drops. However, what we learned this year is that it can happen,” Novack said. “It’s serious not only for potentially losing vision, but in some rare cases patients developed systemic infections and died.” Additional recalls followed in August, October and November, leaving consumers confused about whether any over-the-counter eye drops are safe to use. Products like eye drops are particularly tricky to manufacture because they need to be sterile and germ-free, and they must be…  read on >  read on >

Doctors who overprescribe antibiotics are often blamed for medication-resistant illnesses, but new research points to another potential culprit: air pollution. Controlling air pollution could reduce antibiotic resistance, greatly reducing deaths and economic costs, according to a new in-depth global analysis were published Aug. 7 in The Lancet Planetary Health.. “Antibiotic resistance and air pollution are each in their own right among the greatest threats to global health,” said lead author Hong Chen, a professor at Zhejiang University in China. “Until now, we didn’t have a clear picture of the possible links between the two, but this work suggests the benefits of controlling air pollution could be twofold: Not only will it reduce the harmful effects of poor air quality, it could also play a major role in combatting the rise and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria,” Chen said in a journal news release. Some potential pathways include hospitals, farms and sewage-treatment facilities that emit and spread antibiotic-resistant particles through the air and across distances, the study found. Evidence suggests air pollution contributes to the spread of this antibiotic-resistant bacteria, according to the study. Sources of air pollution called PM2.5 include industrial processes, road transportation and domestic coal and wood burning. About 7.3 billion people globally are directly exposed to unsafe average annual PM2.5 levels. About 80% of those people live in low- and middle-income countries, the…  read on >  read on >

The first step in treating vertigo is understanding its cause. Many conditions can trigger vertigo an expert says. Middle ear fluid, dislodged crystals in the inner ear, Meniere’s disease, vestibular neuritis and vestibular migraine all can cause vertigo, according to Dr. Mina Le. She is an otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon with Mountainside Medical Group in New Jersey. “If your vertigo is from middle ear fluid, you likely have trouble hearing and it may sound like you’re underwater,” Le said in a news release from Hackensack Meridian Health. “You may have pain or pressure in the affected ear,” she continued. “The problem commonly begins after a head cold. A physician can look at your eardrum to confirm this diagnosis. You will get antibiotics if it’s an acute infection, and decongestants and nasal balloon therapy if it’s chronic.” Short bouts of dizziness may be due to benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). “If your vertigo only lasts for a few seconds at a time, and if it is brought on by turning your head or rolling over in bed, you most likely have BPPV, in which the crystals in your inner ear are dislodged,” Le said. “A physician can confirm this diagnosis with a Dix-Hallpike test.” If you have BPPV, you will be treated with a method called the Epley maneuver, in which the head is turned from…  read on >  read on >

Dandruff becomes more common in the cold winter months, when the chilly air and dry heat causes a person’s scalp to flake and itch. But while it might be an annoying and unattractive condition, dandruff doesn’t mean you are an unclean person, the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) says. “It is a common misconception that dandruff is caused by poor hygiene,” Dr. Mona Sadeghpour, a board-certified dermatologist in Pittsburgh, Pa. and Lone Tree, Colo., said in an academy news release. “Causes range from oily skin to hair care habits, along with some medical conditions.” Luckily, there are a number of effective treatments available for dandruff, the AAD says. Many folks can treat mild dandruff at home by regularly washing their hair, experts say. Folks with a more persistent case of dandruff might turn to a shampoo specially formulated to treat the condition. Effective dandruff shampoos should contain at least one of these ingredients, the AAD says: Zinc pyrithione, salicylic acid, sulfur, selenium sulfide, ketoconazole, or coal tar. If one shampoo doesn’t work, you should try alternating between shampoos containing different active ingredients, the AAD recommends. Some dandruff shampoos need to sit on your scalp for about 5 to 10 minutes before rinsing, the AAD says. Check the instructions on the bottle. People also can better treat dandruff by shampooing according to their hair type. For…  read on >  read on >