Category: Science and Health

A recent conversation with a colleague moved quickly from disposable cutlery and plates to appliances. While we still love our 23-year-old washing machine and dryer, things are not built to last the way that they used to. Nope, she said, “now things are built to last one month past the expiration date of the warranty.” […]

Undergoing chemotherapy before surgery can improve colon cancer patients’ chances of the cancer not coming back, according to the results of a recent clinical trial.  The trial showed that colon cancer patients receiving chemotherapy before rather than after the surgery, saw a decrease of 28% in the chance of cancer returning within 2 years.  The […]

The ultraviolet (UV) nail-polish drying devices used to “cure” gel manicures may pose more of a public health concern than previously thought. Researchers at the University of California at San Diego studied these UV-light emitting devices and found that their use leads to cell death and cancer-causing mutations in human cells.  The devices are a […]

While around the world, blistering cold snowstorms have been raging for weeks and especially in the last few days, winter has finally roused itself and arrived in Israel. For some people, the cold season means feeling pain as the body can experience more than just frozen fingers, but an actual allergic reaction to the freezing […]

It’s Saturday morning, and your family is hungry. Thankfully, the deli down the street is within walking distance — it’s hard to miss, as the front patio is littered with coin-operated kiddie rides and a queue of hungry patrons. As you walk in, jugs of 50 cent candy line the path to the stand, where […]

Can anything minimize the serious polarization among groups in countries like Israel and the US? With the global escalation in conflicts among population groups, acts of violence by residents of cities and the increasing participation of youth in civil conflicts, there appears to be an urgent need to develop science-based methods to mitigate hatred and […]

Bad breath is so embarrassing for those who suffer from it, but there are several solutions out there. One major factor is the food you eat.  A new study found that eating yogurt and other fermented foods could banish bad breath. Researchers in China say that probiotic bacteria in yogurt, sourdough bread and miso soup […]

Researchers have for years tried to discover what determines “resilience to stress,” a term describing the ability to adapt to difficult situations and to overcome adversity. Is it acquired through experience, or is there a tendency to easily recover from stress possibly ingrained in us from a very early age or even from birth? A […]

I have an ambivalent relationship with mirrors. Looking at my image in one brings up emotions about how I look, so sometimes I avoid them. But a mirror image also can feel like a window, a portal into some other place. So it fascinates me that in Jewish folklore, mirrors are typically treated as portals […]

We have spent a lot of time in this tractate discussing all the ways that a man can dissolve the vows of his wives and daughters. Today, we shift gears to discuss situations where he cannot. According to Numbers 30:10, “every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, with which she has bound her soul, […]