News Room

Chemicals Banned From Toys Lurk in School Supplies
- Home & Family
- August 31, 2012
"While phthalates have been banned in children's toys, similar safeguards don't yet exist to keep them out of lunchboxes, backpacks and other children's school supplies," Mike Schade of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, which released the report Sunday, said in a statement. Phthalates have been linked to chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes, and
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Fifth-Grader’s Petition Prompts Jamba Juice to Ditch Styrofoam
- Environmental Well-Being
- August 31, 2012
10-year-old Mia Hansen was visiting a Jamba Juice when she noticed the abundance of Styrofoam cups doled out with every drink order. She started a petition on Change.org saying "Styrofoam takes so long to break down into the Earth. In the ocean, several animals think that this product is food, so when they go to
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Managing Emotions in the Workplace: Do Positive and Negative Attitudes Drive Performance?
- Financial & Workplace Well-Being
- August 31, 2012
Employees' moods, emotions, and overall dispositions have an impact on job performance, decision making, creativity, turnover, teamwork, negotiations and leadership. Sigal Barsade, a Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania management professor who studies the influence of emotions on the workplace, explains, "Positive people cognitively process more efficiently and more appropriately. If you're in a
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The Power of a Grandmother’s Heart
- Making a Positive Difference
- August 31, 2012
Diane Latiker, 54, took it upon herself to start a nonprofit community in her Chicago South Side living room for kids living amidst rampant gang violence. The program, Kids Off The Block, has grown since 2003 to become a successful mentoring site and a safe haven for Chicago's youth, serving 300 children last year. Latiker,
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Changing Our Tune on Exercise
- Health & Healing
- August 31, 2012
Desperate to find ways to get people to exercise, psychologists and researchers believe they've found a new approach that will be more effective than the promise of future health benefits has been for most people. Jane Brody points to experts who now recommend marketing physical exercise like you would a consumer product: "portray physical activity
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Train Your Brain to Be Positive, and Feel Happier Every Day: It Only Sounds Corny
- Lifestyle & Relationships
- August 29, 2012
Research indicates people who adopt an attitude of "self compassion," especially during challenging times, are healthier. Whether one's difficulties are small or large, Duke University professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Mark Leary, points to the importance of "treating yourself like a kind friend. When bad things happen to a friend, you wouldn't yell at him."
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Anesthesia in young kids may carry developmental risks
- Home & Family
- August 22, 2012
Recent studies have suggested that anesthetic drugs may increase the risk of developmental delay issues or learning disabilities (such as ADHD) later in life for children under the age of 3– but only in kids who have been exposed to the drugs multiple times. This new research sheds light on the mysterious effects of anesthesia, but it
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Far more could be done to stop the deadly bacteria C. diff
- Health & Healing
- August 22, 2012
Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, is a potentially fatal infection that ravages the intestines. The bacteria preys on people in hospitals, nursing homes and other medical facilities. A USA TODAY investigation showed that C. diff is far more prevalent than federal reports suggest. The bacteria is linked in hospital records to more than 30,000 deaths
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Delayed Development: 20-Somethings Blame the Brain
- Lifestyle & Relationships
- August 22, 2012
As it turns out, the brain, once thought to be fully grown after puberty, is still evolving into its adult shape well into a person's third decade. Biologists, psychologists and sociologists are increasingly seeing the years between 18 to 25 as a distinct phase of human development, worthy of much more study. Dr. Jeffrey J.
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Remembering Phyllis Diller
- Entertainment, Books & Humor
- August 22, 2012
Beloved, influential comedian Phyllis Diller has died at the age of 95. Diller once said, wisely, of the incredible cackle for which she was known, "If everyone laughed that way, they'd be healthier!" CBS Evening News, 8/20/2012
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Medical Radiation Soars, With Risks Often Overlooked
- Health & Healing
- August 22, 2012
The trick to using medical radiation appropriately, experts say, is to balance the potential risks against known benefits… but this is not done nearly enough. There's been an astronomical rise in recent years in the use of radiation for medical imaging, especially for CT scans, leading to unnecessary medical costs and an increased risk of
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Tivo’s fix for jobless veterans
- Making a Positive Difference
- August 21, 2012
Tivo has developed an innovative internship program that helps returning vets transition from military life to finding their niche in the workplace. Good for You, Tivo, for initiating an internship program that is truly making a positive difference in the lives of others! The Wall Street Journal, 8/16/2012
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Jobs program for people trapped in unemployment
- Financial & Workplace Well-Being
- August 15, 2012
There are nearly four million people facing long term unemployment in the U.S., struggling to find jobs. Joe Carbone is president of The Workplace, the state unemployment office in southwest Connecticut, which offers job training and placement help. Carbone is assisting over 14,000 people who have spent their last unemployment checks with nowhere to go.
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Surviving sepsis: New device speeds ID of dangerous bacteria
- Health & Healing
- August 15, 2012
A new device just approved by the Food and Drug Administration is the first to allow rapid identification of specific bacteria that cause sepsis. NBC News, 8/13/2012
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Should Teens Take A Relationship “Break-Up” Class?
- Lifestyle & Relationships
- August 10, 2012
Boston health officials are holding a "Break-Up Summit" for teens as part of a national program called "Start Strong," which is aimed at preventing dating violence. According to Nicole Daley, who heads Boston's Start Strong program, a bad relationship can lead to depression, low self-esteem, failing grades, unwanted pregnancy, and even physical confrontation. Chicago Now,
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