by Aaron La Borde
Throughout history, people have used plants to treat all types of ailments.
They used to chew the bark of the willow tree to relieve pain. This bark contained salicylate which is the forerunner of today’s A.S.A. Today, 40 per cent of our prescription drugs are obtained from plants or from compounds synthesized from plant sources. The Amazon jungle contains untapped sources of many new drugs just waiting to be found.
Headphone safety
It is very important your child is safe while listening to music on headphones or ear-buds. Hearing can be permanently damaged by constant exposure to loud music. If you are concerned, there are volume-limiting devices available to keep sound levels at a safe level. Usually if you can hear sound coming from your child’s earphones, it’s too loud.
Ingestible insulin
People with Type I diabetes have to inject insulin daily. For years, researchers have been trying to develop a form of insulin that can be taken orally. Insulin is degraded quickly by stomach acid but a new idea is surfacing which encapsulates the insulin in such a way that it won’t break down in stomach acid. This idea looks really promising and will be an exciting alternative to injections when released.
Glucose monitors
And speaking of diabetes, the first wearable glucose monitor has been OK’d by the FDA in the U.S. It measures glucose levels continuously via a small sensor inserted under the skin to measure the glucose in tissue fluid. The results are transmitted to a small monitoring device so the user can get an instant picture of glucose levels before problems occur. The technology could be coming to Canada soon.