healthbriefs


Cranberries’ Red Power W


hile the properties of cranberries for warding off urinary tract infections


have been well documented, research- ers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) are now reporting a surprise finding that expands the red berries’ healing char- acteristics. They discovered that cranberry juice cocktail evidently helps block a strain of the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus from bringing on staph infections, which can range from minor skin rashes to seri- ous bloodstream problems. One particular


strain, Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), is a growing public health concern because it doesn’t respond to most antibiotics. To cause an infection, bacteria must first adhere to host tissue, and then


gather in colonies to form a biofilm. In their study, the scientists found that in participants who had recently consumed cranberry juice, the ability of bacteria such as E. coli and S. aureus to form biofilms was significantly decreased, thus reducing the chance of contracting a urinary or staph infection. “We saw essen- tially no biofilm in the staph samples,” reports Terri Camesano, a WPI professor of chemical engineering.


Kindness is Contagious Pass it On T


he best gift of all can be as simple as an act of kindness, generosity and cooperation. Even better, we hope that our good acts may spread. Now, a study published in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides the first laboratory evidence that kind behavior is indeed conta- gious and that it spreads from person to person. In short, the


researchers found that when just a few people benefit from kindness, they pay it forward by helping others who were not originally involved. This cascade of co- operation can influence many known and unknown participants in a broadening social network.


Here’s how researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and Harvard University illustrated the principle: When one person gave money to help others in a public-goods game where people had the opportunity to cooper- ate, the recipients were more likely to give away their own money to other people in subsequent games.


This type of behavior created a domino effect, in which one person’s gen- erosity spread first to three people, then to nine and then to others in subsequent waves of the experiment. Better yet, the effect of being part of such a kindness circle persists, observes James Fowler, associate professor at UCSD, who co-led the study, observing, “You don’t go back to being your old selfish self.”


natural awakenings December 2010 21


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72