Health News:Tarheel Q salmonella outbreak: 1 dead, 280 illnesses ♦ Stress hormone reduces heroin craving ♦ Marked improvement in health, health care for Medicare patients

Tarheel Q salmonella outbreak: 1 dead, 280 illnesses As of July 8, the Salmonella outbreak connected with the Tarheel Q restaurant in Lexington, NC has been designated as over with at least 280 people sickened, according to a July 28 count. One person died. The designation was announced after two incubation periods (six days for most Salmonella cases) had passed without new illnesses

Marked improvement in health, health care for Medicare patients In a 15-year study of older Medicare patients, researchers saw an estimated 20 percent drop in mortality, about 30 percent fewer hospitalizations, and 40 percent reduction in deaths after hospitalization.

Two new tests may make diagnosing and monitoring diabetes easier and more affordable Two new potential methods for diagnosing and monitoring diabetes in its standard and gestational forms. These findings may lead to easier, timelier, and more affordable ways of identifying and treating this chronic disease

Hormones influence unethical behavior Hormones play a two-part role in encouraging and reinforcing cheating and other unethical behavior, according to new research. With cheating scandals a persistent threat on college campuses and financial fraud costing businesses more than $3.7 trillion annually, researchers looked to the reproductive hormone testosterone and the stress hormone cortisol.

Stress hormone reduces heroin craving Every addiction is characterized by a strong desire for a certain addictive substance, be it nicotine, alcohol or other drug. Researchers recently conducted a study on heroin addiction and demonstrated that the stress hormone cortisol can reduce addictive cravings.

Food Research: Herbal supplement may successfully treat glaucoma ♦ Environmental exposure to hormones used in animal agriculture ♦ Eat dark chocolate to beat the midday slump

Substantial benefits for health, environment through realistic changes to UK diets Making a series of relatively minor and realistic changes to UK diets would not only reduce UK diet-related greenhouse gas emissions by nearly a fifth, but could also extend average life expectancy by eight months.

Herbal supplement may successfully treat glaucoma Scientists have found that baicalein significantly lowers eye pressure and may act as an all-natural treatment for glaucoma

Antioxidant effects of coffee by-products 500 times greater than vitamin C The coffee industry has a significant impact on the environment, producing more than 2 billion tons of coffee by-products annually. Coffee silverskin (the epidermis of the coffee bean) is usually removed during processing, after the beans have been dried, while the coffee grounds are normally directly discarded.

Eat dark chocolate to beat the midday slump? An EEG study shows chocolate can increase brain characteristics of attention and significantly affect blood pressure levels. Historically, chocolate has been recognized as a vasodilator, meaning that it widens blood vessels and lowers blood pressure in the long run, but chocolate also contains some powerful stimulants. Researchers wanted to investigate if people who consume chocolate would see an immediate stimulant effect.

Environmental exposure to hormones used in animal agriculture greater than expected Research by environmental scientists finds that potentially harmful growth-promoting hormones used in beef production are expected to persist in the environment at higher concentrations and for longer durations than previously thought