Those ingenious pain-killing patches that have been marketed to people who suffer from chronic pain are apparently much more dangerous than we all thought. Several newspapers have reported that the government is investigating 120 deaths among users of patches that emit the painkiller fentanyl and warning patients to be sure […]

In honor of that big crazy bicycle race over in France, and with the expectation that every reader has a little bit of Lance Armstrong in them, the Boston Globe has put together a web page with 13 great bike rides, all within an hour or so of town. This […]

A curious reader asks the Boston Globe: Is there any medical reason to spend big bucks on sunglasses, or do cheap sunglasses work just as well as expensive sunglasses?  The answer: Save your money; there are two things to consider when buying sunglasses: UVA and UVB protection, and comfort.  Dr. […]

Jetlag makes us tired, but unable to sleep. It makes us disoriented, even though we know exactly where we are. It makes us irritable about things that should not irritate us. How does it work? The answer, apparently, has something to do with the suprachiasmatic nucleus–but you knew that.  The […]

The old adage about having our cake and eating it too is looking increasingly unlikely, as scientists learn more about the relationship of diet and longevity.  Put succinctly, more calories=shorter life;  fewer calories=longer life. This video, The Science of Aging, is presented on Boston.com by New England Cable News. It […]

First of all, if you’re an exercise physiologist, it’s not sand. It’s particulate matter. And the reason that running on it is so damn hard is that every time you attempt to push off it, it gives way, requiring runners to exert approximately 1.6 times the energy that would be […]

OK, it’s not this year’s Tour de France, but it is the Tour de France, and it is Lance Armstrong, and it is an amazing up close and personal look at the athlete, the race, and the surprising clutch of friends and fans who travel halfway around the world to […]

Does exercise really stave off aging? Or is that just the wishful thinking of elderly fitness freaks?  This article in RedNova News quotes Dr Mike Stroud, the author of "Survival of the Fittest: Anatomy of Peak Physical Performance," and the man who accompanied Sir Ranulph Fiennes on each of his […]

It’s hard to tell if the recent spate of stories about the benefits of running with less supportive shoes, or with no shoes at all, is the result of a marketing campaign for Nike’s new “Free” running shoe, or if, as Nike would like us to believe, its running shoe […]

Does stretching before a game really prevent injury? If you’re watching the game on TV, definitely not. And if you’re playing the game, stretching also may do little to prevent injury. As this piece in the Boston Globe reports, a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention […]