by Stefania Revelli
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Mental workouts are proving essential to a well-balanced, whole-body fitness regimen. Brain games on Lumosity.com offer users a full, free cognitive workout in less than 10 minutes per day.
Designed by a team of neuroscience and cognitive psychologists from Stanford and UCSF, users can choose from several courses, [...]
by Rocio Zamora Arzola
WHAT’S HAPPENING
When it comes to clinical studies, Latinos typically stay away. Seeking participants for an Alzheimer’s study, Phoenix’s St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center found a ready-made group: El Grupo, composed of male Latino alumni from Phoenix Union High School.
The group of seniors meets monthly at a local restaurant, inviting speakers to [...]
by Nissa Hanna
WHAT’S HAPPENING
At Rite Aid, shopping has healthy benefits. The retailer is testing a rewards program that compensates consumers with free health screenings in addition to traditional discounts (BuffaloNews.com 11.3.09).
The “Wellness+” program lets shoppers earn points for their purchases to redeem for glucose or cholesterol readings. The screenings take place in local labs that [...]
by Stefania Revelli
WHAT’S HAPPENING
For BlueCross BlueShield of Florida, the line between healthcare and retail continues to get fuzzier; this fall, the company has rolled out healthcare gift cards (MyFoxOrlando.com 10.07.09).
Two different types of gift cards are available and can be picked up in Winn Dixie or CVS pharmacy stores. The $59 Blue Health Care card [...]
by Sarah Barker
WHAT’S HAPPENING
For those who fear deplaning with bugs they originally didn’t board with, global defense and aerospace company BAE Systems and Quest International have joined to develop a filtration system that removes viruses, bacteria and pollutants from cabin air (TimesOnline.co.uk 9.15.09).
AirManager, which can be retrofit to existing airline air conditioning systems, zaps particles [...]
by Sarah Barker
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Thanks to technology, immortality is surprisingly affordable and available. Swiss DNA Bank, located in an underground vault in Gstaad, offers swab-n-send DNA collection materials and access to a secure website to record audio, video and written life experiences, which will be stored indefinitely (Springwise.com 9.16.09).
Your essence is kept in bank-level security in [...]
by Stefania Revelli
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Parents-in-training can add baby clothing to the growing list of original, convenient fever-detecting products, which already include forehead thermometer strips and pacifiers.
Developed in the U.K. by inventor and father Chris Ebejer, Babyglow high-temperature sleep suits are a line of baby clothes that change color in response to a baby’s rising body temperature [...]
by Lisa Parks
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Minorities in Boston are being hit hard by swine flu. Blacks, one-quarter of the city’s residents, are 37% of the H1N1 cases. Latinos, 14% of the population, are more than one-third of the cases (NPR.org 8.19.09).
Social circumstances are contributing to the disproportionate effects. Because low-income parents can’t afford to stay home with [...]
by Stefania Revelli
It’s that time of year again. “First day back” Facebook, MySpace and Twitter statuses abound. Store aisles are overstocked with packs of No. 2 pencils, themed folders and colorful lists of suggested school supplies, like … disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizers? It’s not so surprising, considering that one in three people believe they [...]
by Charlotte Beal
Iconoculture recently published two trends, “The Recession 15″ and “We Are All Fat Now,” detailing the continued struggle with obesity as compounded by the Great Recession. Last week, a few fascinating pieces of data added color to the situation.
70% of consumers say healthful foods are more difficult to afford; 53% say they often [...]
by Becky Sun
The healthcare debate is raging — in Congress, on talk shows, among friends and online. Both sides are invoking other countries, either as models of exemplary care for all or markets where healthcare is rationed by an Orwellian government. Curious about reactions from actual residents in those countries, we reached out to Iconoculture’s [...]
by Stefania Revelli
WHAT’S HAPPENING
As cognitive health becomes increasingly top of mind for aging consumers, a group of recent studies has found that eating right and getting moderate exercise could play an important part of the prevention equation, barring any genetic predisposition (HealthyDayNews.com 7.14.09).
Four separate studies were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association in Vienna, Austria, in [...]
by Rocio Zamora Arzola
WHAT’S HAPPENING
A Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and the Pew Hispanic Center survey shows that while 65% of first-generation Latinos felt abortion should be illegal, only 43% of second-generation Latinos agreed (Reuters.com 7.14.09).
The Public Policy Institute of California also found that immigrant Latinos and U.S.-born Latinos express nearly opposite views [...]
by Abelardo de la Peña Jr.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
To help Latina moms keep their families healthy, Hyland’s, a leader in homeopathic medicines, is launching a bilingual online community with info on pregnancy, infant care, raising a family and healthy lifestyles.
Called Comienzos Saludables (Healthy Beginnings), the site includes community forums, photo galleries, blogs, personal profile pages, more than [...]
by Tory Davis
WHAT’S HAPPENING
The Un-Constipated Gourmet: Secrets to a Moveable Feast — 125 Recipes for the Regularity Challenged cookbook by Danielle Svetcov promises to help consumers poo sans lectures on exercise, low-fat eating or odd food pairings involving Metamucil. Instead, the book offers gourmet recipes (the author boldly compares her tome to The Joy of [...]
