Some quirky things that have caught my eye on a Sunday.
8,500
That’s the new step goal, apparently. Not the mystery 10,000. A recent study in Europe of 4,000 patients looked at two groups, with and without steps, and found that 8,454 steps led to an average 4.39% weight loss, or 4 kg (8.8 lb). Not a big deal, but it helps. Setting a step goal can increase awareness of your current eating habits, and taking more steps can lead to better circulation. more flexibility, and an improved mental attitude.
Nocebo Effect
Speaking of attitude, our minds can affect our health, for better or worse. A UK woman pranked her husband with a case of beer. Several bottles in, she “discovered” an online recall notice warning of contamination. He immediately felt very ill.
There have been a number of studies of this effect. In one, 40 asthmatic adults breathed in water vapour from an inhaler. They were told that it contained an irritant. Nineteen went on to feel wheezy. Twelve had a full-blown asthma attack.
If you get reactions after a vaccine shot, it may not be the shot. Twelve separate trials looked at 45,000 people, and a large number of those who received a placebo shot had adverse side effects. They estimate that this nocebo effect accounts for 76% of all common adverse reactions.
The article looks into many more cases, as does the author’s publication, “This Book May Cause Side Effects”.
Cottage Cleaning Infections
The Hantavirus currently in the news is a strain found only in South America and is the only type to spread from human to human. But here in Canada, we can catch a virus carried by deer mice and develop the same pulmonary symptoms.
When you open the cottage this spring, or clean out that garden shed, be careful. Open doors and windows to ventilate. Wear a mask. And spritz any feces you see with a mild detergent or bleach solution before wielding your broom.
Self-destructing Plastic
Scientists in China have created a plastic that includes two types of living, but dormant bacteria. When activated, one of them cuts long polymer chains into smaller pieces, and the other chews these from the ends until they are just small molecules—not into microplastic particles, as other methods do.
So far, they have used only a relatively easy-to-degrade polymer, and activation requires a warm nutrient broth, but it’s still an interesting step.