Tag: health

Health News

Mexico Puts A Tax On Sugary Soft Drinks

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The people of Mexico drink more soft drinks than people in any other country in the world.

Last fall, the government of Mexico made a decision to increase the taxes on soft drinks with sugar.

They said that soft drinks help to create health problems like obesity and diabetes. That tax is starting now.

In the past, Mexico has done other things to reduce sugar and fat in schools, like removing unhealthy foods from vending machines.

But some people say this kind of tax to make people healthier doesn’t work.

In 2011 another country, Denmark, put a tax on fatty foods for the same reason: to improve people’s health. But they removed it a year later because it caused more problems than it solved.

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Entertainment News

Neil Young Speaks Out Against “Oil Sands” In CBC Radio Interview

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Neil Young is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is internationally famous.

He has been called “one of the most important figures in rock music.”

In 2009, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Young is an activist and many of his songs are political.

Now, Young is doing a four-city tour of Canada to protest what he feels is massive damage to the environment being done in the oil sands in Alberta.

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Health Science

Student Doctor Finds Real, Life-Threatening Illness In “Patient-Actor”

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A student doctor recently saved the life of an unusual patient, in a very unusual way.

Ryan Jones, a medical student at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, was practicing diagnosing illnesses.

As part of his training, he and other student doctors had to diagnose an actor who was playing the part of an ill patient.

The actor would act out symptoms of an illness he pretended to have, and the medical student had to figure out what the illness was.

Of course, the actors didn’t really have any illness—they were just pretending.

Except, in the case of Jim Malloy, he really did have the illness and didn’t know it.

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Lighter News

Fun Quiz: 2013 In Review (Part II)

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How much do you remember about the news that happened in 2013? Our fun 2013 quiz continues.

The answers to the quiz can be found by clicking on the TKN article beside each question.

16) What is a Bitcoin?

17) In April 2014, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health was worried about the large number of overweight people in the city so he put out a news release saying he wants restaurants to add something to their menus. What does he want added?

18) In May 2013, Chris Hadfield went home. Where was he coming from?

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Lighter

Door Knobs A Thing Of The Past?

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Think of some of the things that used to be very popular, but which practically don’t exist anymore. Like vinyl records. Or fax machines. Or… door knobs?

Door knobs may become a thing of the past, with door levers taking their place.

That’s because Vancouver, a large city in British Columbia, recently changed its building code to say that new buildings will be built with levers instead of knobs.

The city’s building code is changing to levers because they are easier to open. People with arthritis, for instance, often find door knobs difficult.

Using levers will make doors as accessible to as many people as possible.

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Kids News

Adorable Batkid Cleans Up Gotham City (San Francisco)

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The good people of San Francisco, California can sleep a little more soundly.

Last Friday, their city was been made safer by a very special superhero.

Batman and a special Batkid spent the day patrolling the streets and battling crime.

Batkid’s real identity (ssssh, don’t tell anyone!) is five-year-old Miles.

Miles has been winning his own battle, ever since he was just one year old—against a disease called leukemia, which is a form of cancer.

Miles’s leukemia is in “remission,” which means that he is doing very well now. In fact, he started kindergarten this year.

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Environment Science

Pollution Shuts Down Chinese City

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The air pollution was so bad in Harbin, in China, on October 21 that the city was forced to close roads and schools, and to cancel hundreds of flights from its airport.

News reports said the smog (a mixture of smoke and fog) was so thick that people couldn’t see more than 10 or 20 metres in front of them.

According to unofficial reports, people could not even see the person standing next to them.

The city’s website said: “You can’t see your own fingers in front of you.”

Residents said there was a “burning” smell in the air.

Many people covered their noses and mouths with scarves or masks.

The pollution was blamed on several factors.

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Lighter

Regular Exercise Can Help Prevent Depression: U Of T Study

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Just 20 minutes of walking a day can help people improve their mental health.

That’s according to researcher George Mammen, at the University of Toronto (U of T).

He recently co-authored a study of more than 26 years’ worth of research reports.

He says the reports show that someone who is physically active is less likely to become depressed later in their life.

Most scientists agree that regular exercise is important for people’s physical health. It can help prevent diseases like stroke, heart disease and cancer.

And previous studies have shown that exercise can help to treat depression.

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News Science

Students Win Prize For Making ‘Power Flour’ from Insects

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A team of business students from McGill University in Montreal have won $1-million for developing a nutritious, low-cost food made from insects.

Their new “power flour” will help feed poor people around the world.

Every year, the Hult Prize Foundation holds a contest for college and university students. They challenge the students to find ways to help solve social or environmental problems by developing new products or new businesses.

The prize was awarded on September 23 in New York City by former U.S. president Bill Clinton. Clinton chose the theme of world hunger for this year’s contest.

Ahmad Ashkar, the founder of the Hult Prize, said almost a billion people go hungry every day.

The winning team, which calls itself Aspire Food Group, developed a plan for adding dried and ground-up insects to flour to make it more nutritious.

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Science

Scientists Discover Cause Of Irish Potato Famine

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It’s well known that in the 1840s, Ireland suffered from a disaster known as the Irish potato famine.

“Famine” means a “shortage of food.”

More than a quarter of the population of Ireland died or left the country from 1845 to 1852 because of the famine.

For much of the country at the time, potatoes were the main source of food.

The famine had a big effect on Ireland; for one thing, its population is not yet back to pre-famine levels.

The famine happened because the country’s potatoes caught a disease.

At the time, no one knew what the disease was or how to cure it.

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