KALW News - Health, Science and Environment

Cannabis News Roundup: Book Review: “Drugs - without the hot air”

KALW News — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 19:37:18 +0000

David Nutt is the former chair of the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). He might still have that post if not for the horses.

In a rational (and non-political) examination of harmful activities, he noted that around ten people die each year in the United Kingdom while riding horses. And there are more than a hundred traffic accidents involving horses annually, some also resulting in death. In the US, Nutt says, there are “approximately 11,500 cases of traumatic head injury each year due to riding.”

Health, Science and Environment

Marijuana and psychedelic drugs gain medical validity

KALW News — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:38:06 +0000

Post-surgery cancer patients and psychiatric patients could benefit from controlled use of marijuana and psychedelics, according to separate studies.

Health, Science and Environment

Reducing nurses' stress pays off for Kaiser patients

KALW News — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 01:13:55 +0000

Technology has done great things for medicine: Machines can help keep hearts beating and lungs breathing. Electronic medical records help doctors keep track of their patients’ treatment and prevent mistakes. But all that technology needs a lot of monitoring – and that can be frustrating for nurses who want to be tending people, not machines.

To combat this problem, healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente is implementing a new program to help nurses relax a bit, and shift their focus back to what’s really important. KALW’S Christopher Connelly has more on what they’re doing.

Health, Science and Environment

Trees take root in the Tenderloin

KALW News — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 01:36:11 +0000

The Tenderloin is not exactly known as a tender place to live. It’s the densest neighborhood in San Francisco – home to roughly 30,000 people. That’s about 750 people per square block, and many are low-income immigrants and families living in tall apartment buildings, homeless shelters, or single room occupancy hotels. Some – with nowhere else to go – live right on the street.

Health, Science and Environment

The history of green space in San Francisco

KALW News — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 01:32:52 +0000

The tiny Tenderloin National Forest is much loved – and some would argue, even needed – as a respite from the dense concrete jungle of the Tenderloin neighborhood. So if access to parks, greenery, and open spaces make such a profound difference for people living in cities, then who decides where, how, and when they’re placed? Why, for example, did the Tenderloin never get a spacious park back when it was first being built? And how did our greener neighborhoods get so lucky?

Health, Science and Environment

The psychology of what makes teens thankful

KALW News — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 01:06:29 +0000

By Rayana Godfrey

Teenagers often feel misunderstood. It’s a hard time of life – somewhere between childhood and adulthood, not quite one or the other – with a future that is at once uncertain, exciting, and overwhelming. It’s no wonder that they can seem ungrateful for what’s going on in the present – and that’s something researchers have found repeatedly. Youth Radio’s Rayana Godfrey decided to take that presumption on in this report on the science of.

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Health, Science and Environment

The scars inside: An Iraqi refugee opens up about PTSD

KALW News — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:12:13 +0000

Over the past decade, California has resettled more Middle Eastern refugees than any other state in the country. In Northern California, Santa Clara County in the South Bay is a resettlement hub for Middle Eastern refugees – more than 1,300 moved there since 2006. About one out of three of those refugees are from Iraq. And most have seen or suffered through violence related to the war.

Health, Science and Environment

A different approach to therapy for refugees

KALW News — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:48:19 +0000

Many Middle Eastern refugees are Iraqis who have fled war-related violence. But in the past decade, the largest number of refugees have actually come from Iran.

More than 15,000 Iranians have moved to California just since 2006. Though their country isn’t currently at war, many Iranians suffer religious and political persecution. And they face many of the same social and cultural taboos about seeking mental healthcare as Iraqi refugees.

Reporter Shuka Kalantari tells us how one woman has overcome those barriers – and how others might do the same.

Health, Science and Environment

Off the Grid: Homegrown waste management

KALW News — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:23:24 +0000

Compared with the rest of the nation, the Bay Area is an easy place to go green – many restaurants will give you take-out with biodegradable containers and silverware, trash cans have a section for recyclables, and San Francisco, along with other Bay Area cities, even offers compost collection

But there’s on arena of eco-consciousness that some people – even in the Bay Area – often choose to ignore: the toilet.

Health, Science and Environment

DIY: How to recycle water in your home

KALW News — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:47:59 +0000

Think about the parts of your home where you can conserve water: there’s the shower, the sink, the toilet, and if you’ve got them, maybe a dishwasher or washing machine. You can reduce the amount of water you use, but what about reusing it? KALW’s Thea Chroman decided to learn how to reuse water spent on cleaning herself – and stuff – in a segment called D.I.Y.

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Health, Science and Environment