Timex may take a licking and keep on ticking, and now the company that manufactures and markets innovative timepieces has offered the results of a new study that look at people’s workout habits. What is notable about this study is that while there is the perception that most Americans don’t get exercise, according to this Timex/Sodahead.com survey 73 percent of respondents are working out at least once a week. Moreover 29 percent spend between 30 minutes and one hour on their physical activities. Continue reading Timex/Sodahead Survey on America Work Out Habits
Tag: Research
Shoes Leave Carbon Footprint!
While we always encourage walking when possible, according to an MIT study a typical pair running shoes actually generates 30 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, which is equivalent to keeping a 100-watt bulb lit for one week!
The study noted, “The researchers found that more than two-thirds of a running shoe’s carbon impact can come from manufacturing processes, with a smaller percentage arising from acquiring or extracting raw materials. This breakdown is expected for more complex products such as electronics, where the energy that goes into manufacturing fine, integrated circuits can outweigh the energy expended in processing raw materials. But for ‘less-advanced’ products — particularly those that don’t require electronic components — the opposite is often the case.”
The Good Sun
While many people fear the rays of the sun – which can lead to skin cancer and other nasty stuff, new research suggests that there is much good that comes to exposure to the sun. Not only does it provide a dose of vitamin D, but researchers at the University of Edinburgh have found that exposure to the sun can increase the release of a compound called nitric oxide into the blood vessels. This compound can help lower blood pressure, and thus reduce the risks of heart disease and stroke.
While skin cancer is still a concern, the study noted that deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke are 60 to 100 times higher in northern Europe than those from skin cancers. Moreover Vitamin D can also help lower the risk of heart disease so perhaps a little tan can improve one’s health.
[Via Medical News Today: Sun Exposure Benefits May Outweigh Risks Say Scientists]
Reflecting on Bioterrorism Threats
Researchers have found that retro reflector technology could be used in detecting bioterrorism threats and diagnosing everyday infectious diseases. Scientists from the University of Texas and Sandia National Laboratories are developing an ultrasensitive, all-in-one device that utilizes retroreflectors to rapidly tell first-responders exactly which disease-causing microbe has been deployed in a bioterrorism attack.
These microfabricated retroreflectors were given a biochemical surface capable of detecting pathogens, effectively making them a lab-on-a-chip. These feature minute channels that can process small amounts of blood or other fluids, whereby a sample fluid containing bacteria could cause parts of the reflectors to go dark, thus signaling a positive test, whereas if the fluid sample was free of the bacteria or disease-causing virus, the reflectors would shine brightly.
This gives us something to reflect on.
Helmet Study to Include Hockey and Baseball
Much has been made about concussions and football helmets, but now the Virginia Tech – Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences is looking to expand its ground-breaking research to include hockey, baseball, softball and lacrosse. The five year plan will look to rate helmets worn in those sports and determine the ability the helmets have to lessen the likelihood of a concussion resulting from head impact.
The ratings for the helmets will begin with hockey in the fall of this year, followed by youth football in 2015, and then baseball, softball and lacrosse in 2016.
[Via Product Design & Development: Sports Concussion-Risk Studies to Include Hockey and Baseball]
Weekend Reading List (12.01.12): Air Out There, Good Eats, Effects of Exercise, Interval Efforts
Air Out There
Via Men’s Fitness: Does Outdoor Training Make You Dumb?
A new study looks at the effects of air pollution on mental ability. Continue reading Weekend Reading List (12.01.12): Air Out There, Good Eats, Effects of Exercise, Interval Efforts
Study Snow Sports Need Brain Bucket
It is all too easy to think of soft fluffy snow, something that isn’t so bad to land on while skiing or snowboarding. But a new Johns Hopkins-led study, which was supported by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the American College of Surgeons’ C. James Carrico Fellowship for the Study of Trauma and Critical Care, has founded that the use of helmets by skiers and snowboarders decreases the risk and severity of head injuries. It can also save lives.
More importantly, the findings also debunk long-held beliefs by some that the use of helmets could in fact give wearers a so-called false sense of security, or even promote dangerous behavior that might increase injuries.
“There really is a great case to be made for wearing helmets,” says Adil H. Haider, M.D., M.P.H., an associate professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the leader of the study published in the November issue of the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. “By increasing awareness and giving people scientific proof, we hope behavior changes will follow.” Continue reading Study Snow Sports Need Brain Bucket
U.S. Naval Academy Researchers Look to Improve Brain Buckets
The military has often created new technology that trickles down to everyday products, and now researchers at the U.S. Naval Academy may have paved the wave towards making a more robust helmet. However, this isn’t a military helmet, although there is no reason why their research couldn’t help soldiers on the battlefield, but rather a football helmet.
Physicist Murrary Korman and student Duncan Miller reportedly developed a simple experimental model to study helmet-to-helmet collisions – the types that happen regularly during a football game. The pair were able to get a pair of helmets from the football program and then created a ring of plastic that was just a 16th of an inch and six inches in diameter (about the size of an average skull) to place inside. Continue reading U.S. Naval Academy Researchers Look to Improve Brain Buckets
Study Finds Custom Mouthpiece Aids Post-Workout Recovery
Many athletes participating in contact sports wear mouthguards to prevent injury. Some researchers are finding that a custom mouthpiece might also aid recovery after a strenuous workout. Researchers from the Department of Health, Exercise and Sport Science at The Citadel and from the Department of Health and Human Performance from the College of Charleston, both in Charleston, South Carolina, conducted research on the recovery benefits of wearing a mouthpiece. Continue reading Study Finds Custom Mouthpiece Aids Post-Workout Recovery
American Military Looks at More Padding in Helmets
ast week FoxNews.com noted that the researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Labs have been testing the current issue helmet, the MICH, which is used by the U.S. military. It was noted that just a quarter-inch, or even an eighth of an inch of additional padding would helmet greatly reduce the force to the skull when there is an impact to the helmet. The findings suggest this could be as great as a 24-percent reduction.
The researchers also looked to the helmets used by professional football players, as concussions are a big concern amongst the players. It was noted that a thicker foam system is used by the NFL players’ helmets than the spongier pads used in combat helmets, and that the NFL’s helmet padding worked better. Continue reading American Military Looks at More Padding in Helmets
Study: Marathon Runs Cause Temporary Heart Damage
A new study conducted by Dr. Eric Larose, a cardiologist at the University Institute of Cardiology in Quebec, finds the stress of running a marathon causes heart damage, though temporarily. A runner himself, Dr. Larose determined to study whether damage occurs during a long distance run such as a marathon, and whether that damage weighs on future heart health. Continue reading Study: Marathon Runs Cause Temporary Heart Damage