Radio Health Journal
Each week, Radio Health Journal breaks down important news in medicine, science and technology with the help of world-renowned experts. Our three weekly segments will help guide you to a happier, healthier life – with some fun facts to share at dinner parties. Can magic mushrooms cure your depression? Have we outrun natural selection?
Hosted by Elizabeth Westfield, Greg Johnson and Maayan Voss de Bettancourt and produced by Kristen Farrah and Amirah Zaveri. New shows posted each Sunday by 5 a.m. EST. Subscribe, listen, and rate. If you’re looking for older episodes, you can find our entire segment catalog on our website radiohealthjournal.org. Also, check out the latest on Facebook and Instagram @radiohealthjournal and on X @RadioHealthJrnl.
826
Medical Notes: Week of March 1, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of March 1, 2020, including: A study showing that a molecular switch governing chronic inflammation can be turned off. Then, a study shows that few of us are taking advantage of the great outdoors. And...
1 min
827
Genes And High Cholesterol
More than 100 million Americans have high cholesterol, a major risk factor for heart disease. Most people think of their diets as the main cause, but genetics also play a role in both good and bad ways. A noted expert discusses how scientists are...
16 min
828
Medical Notes: Week of February 23, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of February 23, 2020, including: A study that finds water chlorination may also be unsafe. Then, children have a much higher risk of becoming obese if a home is cross-generational and grandparents are...
1 min
829
Big Data In Medicine (2020)
Big data is changing the world, but it’s been slow in coming to healthcare. An expert in healthcare IT explains how that’s changing and what it could mean to treatment.
12 min
830
Medical Child Abuse
Parents who have a mental illness known as factitious disorder may fake or induce illness in their children to get attention, sometimes taking kids to hundreds of medical visits and deceiving doctors into performing numerous procedures and surgeries....
14 min
831
Coronavirus: What Does It Mean To Us?
Coronavirus has sickened tens of thousands in China and killed hundreds, but few cases have reached the US. Experts explain exactly what this Coronavirus is and the relative danger it poses compared to more familiar diseases such as influenza.
9 min
832
Medical Notes: Week of February 16, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of February 16, 2020, including: Studies showing physical activity helps prevent obesity virtually from birth. Then, low doses of lithium may show promise in treating dementia. Also, about half of...
1 min
833
A Moral Question: Dementia, Spouses, And “Close...
Spouses of Alzheimer’s disease patients often struggle with depression while caregiving and are desperate for support. Some have started new relationships while their loved one is still alive but no longer recognizes them. Acceptance of such...
13 min
834
Needle Phobia (2020)
Untold millions of people are afraid of needles. Most manage by looking the other way when they’re facing an injection, but many may avoid the doctor as a result of their fear. The problem is increasingly dangerous for the rising number of people...
10 min
835
Medical Notes: Week of February 9, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of February 9, 2020, including: The gap between black and white uninsured rates has dropped by more than four percent. Plus, a new study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine shows that only two...
1 min
836
Germs, Double-Dipping And The Five-Second Rule
Super Bowl party snacks are prime territory for contamination via cross contamination and being dropped on the floor. A scientist who has studied both phenomena discusses the truth (or lack of truth) in two old myths.
11 min
837
Music And Medicine
Pre-medical students have typically majored in science, but some medical schools are finding that liberal arts and even music majors with no science background can do well. Some admissions officers and doctors believe they may even have advantages,...
15 min
838
Medical Notes: Week of February 2, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of February 2, 2020, including: A vaccine against dementia could be in human trials within a couple of years. Computers are taking over a lot of functions… and reading mammograms may someday be one of...
1 min
839
Working While Sick
Surveys show the vast majority of employees go to work when they’re sick, risking fellow workers and slowing their own healing. Experts discuss the maladjusted workplace culture that promotes this, how to know when you really should stay home, and...
13 min
840
Medical Notes: Week of January 26, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of January 26, 2020, including: A new report from the American Cancer Society finds that in 2017, the overall cancer death rate dropped more than two percent. Then, a new experimental technique using a...
1 min
841
ADHD and Sleep Disorders (2020)
New research shows that most people with ADHD have a disordered body clock, prompting disturbed sleep, sleep deprivation, and a worsening of ADHD symptoms. Experts discuss how fixing the body clock could lessen the impact of both ADHD and physical...
17 min
842
Smoldering Concussions
Doctors are realizing that concussions can smolder in the brain for years with symptoms that are missed, making diagnosis at the time of occurrence all the more important. Yet a new study shows that protocols affecting the most vulnerable—young...
12 min
843
Crushing Medical Debt
Nearly a quarter of us owe past due medical debt, and hospitals are moving more aggressively to collect. The rise is the result of a tradeoff--Americans have avoided higher health insurance premiums only to be jeopardized by extremely high deductibles...
18 min
844
Medical Notes: Week of January 19, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of January 19, 2020, including: Late-stage age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, is the leading cause of vision loss among older people. Then, long term effects of being born as a result of in vitro...
1 min
845
Medical Notes: Week of January 12, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of January 12, 2020, including: Teenagers are vaping marijuana at rapidly rising rates. Then, a report on concussions and why they can produce lifelong effects. Then, another study confirming the...
2 min
846
Hand Washing And Handshake Bans
Some hospital units have set up handshake bans because too few healthcare workers wash hands well enough to keep from spreading germs. The general public is even worse at washing hands, which has caused spread of serious disease. Some experts say...
17 min
847
"Broken Heart Syndrome" (2020)
When a person suffers a severe emotional shock, they may suffer what looks like a heart attack but is actually what doctors call “stress cardiomyopathy.” Most patients recover but the condition can be fatal, confirming that it is possible to die...
13 min
848
Avoiding Mistakes In Dealing With Aging
As loved ones age, tough decisions need to be made on finances, housing, and other concerns, and these decisions need to be made far earlier than they typically are. This is especially true if a person does not have family to act as support and caregiver.
18 min
849
Telling Lies—Who Does It And Why
Lies aren’t always bad. Often, they’re told to be polite, and compassionate people are most likely to tell whoppers. But as the stakes of lies rise, honesty trumps kindness. Yet few people are ever able to distinguish when they’re being told...
12 min
850
Medical Notes: Week of January 5, 2020
A look at the top medical headlines for the week of January 5, 2020, including two experimental drugs that show promise in women with certain types of breast cancer. Then, the Federal Communications Commission has started the process to create a...
1 min