Editor’s Picks: Chemo fog

Today’s news: Chemo fog | How we think | Workout pill? | Surgery via mouth | Allergy central

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Chemo fog

Chemotherapy Fog Is No Longer Ignored as Illusion (New York Times)

Once, women complaining of a constellation of symptoms after undergoing chemotherapy - including short-term memory loss, an inability to concentrate, difficulty retrieving words, trouble with multitasking and an overarching sense that they had lost their mental edge - were often sent home with a patronizing “There, there.”

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How we think

Hearts & Minds (Boston Globe)

Since Plato, scholars have drawn a clear distinction between thinking and feeling. Now science suggests that our emotions are what make thought possible.

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Workout pill?

‘Gym pill’ trips fat-burning gene (BBC)

US scientists have devised a drug that can switch on a gene to burn body fat, offering hope of an exercise pill. Mice given the drug burned off fat, even when they did not exercise, and were resistant to weight gain despite a high-fat diet. The ultimate use would be to treat people at risk of obesity-related diseases like diabetes, rather than offer a “no-work six-pack” pill.

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Surgery via mouth

Appendix-removal via the mouth leaves no scar (New Scientist)

Imagine surgery that could be performed without general anaesthetic, requires hardly any recovery time, and leaves you with no visible scars. The catch: it may also leave a very unpleasant taste in your mouth - along with part of your spleen, prostate or perhaps your gall bladder.

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Allergy central

Living with allergies (CNN)

Pollen, mold, peanuts or pets -- allergies can be triggered by a variety of things. But understanding your allergies is one step to preventing them.