Foodborne illnesses, often referred to as “food poisoning,” are on the rise in the United States. Since 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found the most significant increases in infections caused by bacteria Campylobacter and Vibrio.

Infections caused by Campylobacter, associated with poultry produce, raw milk and contaminated water, increased by 14 percent between 2006 and 2012. Vibrio infectionsm linked to raw shellfish, rose 43 percent. While Campylobacter causes diarrhea, stomach pain and fever, Vibrio can cause serious, life-threatening infections.  The CDC had seen decreasing infections caused by E.coli, though rates of infection went back up in 2012.

The CDC recommends that people should take caution when handling raw meats and poultry, and to ensure that all foods are thoroughly cooked before eating.  Also you should avoid consuming unpasteurized milk or soft cheeses.  People with weakened immune systems and pregnant women should avoid raw or partially cooked seafood.

NEXT: The skinny on baseball food (infographic)

Sourced from: Medical News Today, Rates Of Foodborne Illness Cases On The Rise

So it appears that air pollution can damage to more than your lungs**.** According to new research from the West-German Heart Center in Essen, Germany, people who are exposed to fine particle matter air pollution – a specific type of pollution associated with traffic – for a prolonged period of time are at an increased risk of developing atherosclerosis.

The study included a total of 4,814 participants, and the researchers used data from the German Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study to calculate who lived closest to areas with high traffic, exposure to pollutants and how much noise was produced by traffic in their respective areas.  The test concluded that increased proximity to major roads was associated with an increased level of aortic calcification, a condition which narrows the opening of the aortic valve, reducing blood flow and can be an early indicator of heart disease.  The degree of calcification increased by 20.7 percent as particle volume increased by 2.4 micrometers, and increased by 10 percent for every 100 meters a person was closer to heavy traffic.

All air pollutants were associated with increased risk of heart attack, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and particulate matter.

NEXT: Foodborne illness cases on the rise

Sourced from: Medical News Today, Exposure To Traffic Pollution Increases Risk Of Heart Disease

A new study with college roommates found that if one of them is vulnerable to depression, the other could begin to develop a similar way of viewing events.

Other studies have shown that people who respond negatively to stressful life events, interpreting them as the result of factors they can’t change and as a reflection of their own deficiency, are more vulnerable to depression. This “cognitive vulnerability” is such a potent risk factor for depression that it can be used to predict which individuals are likely to experience a depressive episode in the future. And now researchers at the University of Notre Dame say this kind of thinking can “rub off” on roommates.

The study involved 103 randomly assigned pairs of college roommates, all of whom had just started their freshman year. One month into college, the students filled out a survey that measured cognitive vulnerability and depressive symptoms, and again took the survey three and six months later.  The results indicated that those who roomed with a student with a high level of cognitive vulnerability were likely to “catch” that type of thinking, while those who were paired with someone with more positive thoughts experienced lowered levels of cognitive vulnerability.  The contagion effect was apparent in the follow ups as well.

Cognitive vulnerability is a risk factor of depression. Students who showed an increase in cognitive vulnerability in the first three months of college were twice as likely to experience depressive symptoms by the six-month follow up.

NEXT: Traffic pollution increases risk of heart disease

Sourced from: Science Daily, Risk Factor for Depression Can Be ‘Contagious’

Yes, fame can be fun and glamorous, but it can also shorten your life, particularly if you’re a famous performer or athlete. That’s the conclusion of new research from St. Vincent’s Hospital, Clinical School, at the University of New South Wales in Sydney and the University of Queensland in Brisbane (Australia).

The researchers analyzed 1,000 obituaries published in The New York Times, focusing on the gender, age, occupation and cause of death. They then sorted the results into four categories: sports players and performers; non-performing creative people (such as writers, visual artists or composers); political, business and military people; and academic, religious and professional occupations.  The results showed that sports players, performers and those non-performing creative occupations were more likely to die younger, while longer lives were associated with military, business and political jobs.  Athletes and performers lived to be 77.4 years and 77.1 years, respectively, while people in the military, business and political sectors lived to be 84.7, 83.3 and 82.1 years old, respectively.

Early death among the famous was most often associated with accidents, infection and organ-specific cancer.  Seven percent of performers died of lung cancer as opposed to 1.4 percent among professionals, likely a product of chronic smoking.

NEXT: April 15, 1923: Insulin goes mainstream

Sourced from: Medical News Today, Famous Athletes And Performers Tend To Have Shorter Lives

By using a complex mathematical model to determine when brain cells are primed for learning, neuroscientists at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston say they have successfully reversed memory loss in sea snails.

The researchers simulated a brain disorder in a cell culture using sensory cells from the sea snails. By blocking proteins associated with memory, they were able to create a loss of long-term memory.  The scientists then initiated a series of “training sessions,” with the timing identified by the mathematical model. The impaired neuron connections returned to near-normal levels after five such sessions, according to the study published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Though the sea snail has a simple nervous system, its brain cells have properties similar to humans and other more advanced species.  The study was designed to serve more as a proof of principle, but holds promise for research in fighting the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

NEXT: Fame leads to shorter life

Sourced from: Science Daily, Scientists Reverse Memory Loss in Animal Brain Cells

Okay, this may seem obvious, but people are happier when they’re having more sex.  So concludes a study from the University of Colorado at Boulder, which also found that people are even happier if they think they’re having sex more frequently than their friends.

The research analyzed results from the General Social Survey, which asked participants about happiness and sexual frequency, concluding that higher sexual activity was associated with greater levels of happiness.  The study used a sample of 15,386 people, and those who had sex at least two to three times a month were happier than those who had had no sex during the previous 12 months.  The results indicated that people who had sex once a week were 44 percent more likely to be happier than those who had not been intimate in the past year; those who had sex two to three times a week were 55 percent more likely to be happier.

In addition to one’s own sexual activity, the researchers found that people who were having sex two to three times a month were 14 percent less likely to report a higher level of happiness if they believed their peers were doing it every week.

NEXT: The skinny on baseball food (infographic)

Sourced from: Medical News Today, People Are Happier When They Are Having More Sex Than Their Peers