Monday, November 5, 2007

Today's Health|Science: super telescopes, fears of aging, West Nile's move west, hearing research

Within the next decade or so, a new generation of Earth- and space-based telescopes should be probing the farthest, faintest regions of the heavens, putting sharp focus on the formation of the first stars and galaxies.

Faced with the prospect of getting older, Germans worry most about losing their memory or their mental alertness. The Dutch fear gaining weight, and Thais worry about fading eyesight. Americans, by contrast, don't agree on just one major worry - they spread their top concern among loss of energy, trouble caring for themselves, memory loss, and weight gain. And Egyptians face the oncoming years with aplomb, reporting relatively few concerns.

West Nile virus has established a firm foothold in an arc of states stretching from Minnesota through the Dakotas, Colorado, and out to California. Of the 3,195 human cases reported nationally this year, nearly 85 percent were recorded west of the Mississippi River.

Brad Buran (left) lost his hearing when he was 14 months old, after meningitis damaged the hair cells of his cochlea. He's now a doctoral candidate in the Harvard-MIT Division of Life Sciences and Technology -- not because he wants to cure himself but because he has found deep fascination in the one organ that has failed him.

Also, when should you see a registered dietitian and what is a pulse oximeter?

Posted by Elizabeth Cooney at 07:04 AM

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