A new study and book is challenging long-held myths that half of all marriages end in divorce and that the divorce rate in the church is the same or higher than outside the church.
The book outlines an eight-year study that shows despite summations and claims of media outlets, the divorce rate in America have never actually topped 50%. The study shows that according to 2009 U.S. Census Data, the percentage of women still married to their first spouse on average is 71 percent across all age groups. The number of those married to a second husband is 65 percent on average.
Researcher Shaunti Feldhahn says the total percentage of American women who have been divorced, including all marriages, is just 30.8%.
Feldhahn also notes that according to statistics, there are many women not married to their first spouse who lost a spouse to death and not divorce. Many reports do not make the distinction between a re-married woman being divorced versus widowed.
The study also showed the highest rates of divorce were in the age groups over 35, contradicting a societal myth that young couples are quickly marrying and divorcing. The largest percentage of divorces was in the 50 to 59 age group.
In the case of Christians, the study showed that couples who attend church on a regular basis have a significantly lower divorce rate than Christians who rarely attend church or non-Christians. A joint study between Feldhahn and Barna showed the divorce rate of people who attended church the previous week was 27% and as much as 50% lower than people who do not attend church.
A group of scientists are conducting a study under the sea in an attempt to better understand the nature of tsunamis.
Robert Ballard, the man who found the Titanic in 1985, is leading a deep-sea team examining the Kick’em Jenny volcano. The volcano is considered “active and dangerous” sitting about 6,000 feet below the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Grenada.
The volcano has been releasing hot and cold gasses since a 2003 event. Scientists say that based on the volcano’s pattern during the last century another eruption is likely to happen within the next 40 years with a significant tsunami.
The reason the volcano is being studied for tsunamis is that the one side of the volcano collapsed during the last eruption and the sliding of the earth caused a tsunami. The scientists believe that by tracking the results of any upcoming eruption by the undersea volcano, they will be able to detect movement of the land and thus predict size and strength of the tsunami.
The information could then be used to extrapolate tsunami chances and strength with other major underwater eruptions and create an advanced warning system.
Submarine volcanoes are also considered dangerous because they can suddenly erupt from underwater near shorelines and cause massive death and devastation from lava or the release of toxic gas.
The Centers for Disease Control has released a report that says children who are raised in the biological home of their mother and father have much less trauma than children in one-parent homes or in foster care.
The study looked at a variety of traumatic experiences including divorce, death of a parent, alcohol or drug problems or suffered racial discrimination.
The report shows that 70 percent of children raised in the home of their biological parents had no adverse family experiences compared to 21.7 percent of single parent homes and 18.7 of those raised by no biological parents.
The information from the National Survey of Children’s Health shows that of the children who experienced trauma, those in the homes of biological parents saw much less extremes.
In the case of drug or alcohol problems, only 4 percent of children with their mother and father saw that problem compared to 18.9 percent in single parent homes and 42.2 percent in foster care.
Scientists say that magma is slowing starting to build inside Washington’s Mount St. Helens.
However, the scientists say there is no indication of an impending eruption like the one that killed 57 people in 1980.
“The magma reservoir beneath Mount St. Helens has been slowly re-pressurizing since 2008,” the U.S. Geological Survey said in a Wednesday statement. “It is likely the re-pressurization is caused by the arrival of a small amount of additional magma 2 to 5 miles beneath the surface.”
The USGS said they will be working this summer with the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington to monitor ground deformation and seismic activity at the volcano. They will also measure gases and gravity field which can monitor subsurface magma.
Doctors have now been able to confirm that type 2 diabetes has a direct connection to the loss of brain matter.
Doctors have known for many years that diabetes has a negative impact on the brain but the study of patients using MRIs shows that long term diabetes has a direct correlation to the greatest loss of brain tissue.
“It’d been thought that most, if not all, of the effect of diabetes on the brain was due to vascular disease that diabetics gets and, therefore, stroke,” Dr. R. Nick Bryan of the University of Pennsylvania told Fox News. “We found in addition to that, there’s sort of diffuse loss of brain tissue, atrophy, we think may have a direct effect on the diabetes on the brain.”
A study of MRIs on patients close to 62 years of age with type 2 diabetes for at least 10 years showed the greatest reductions of the brain’s gray matter, where the neurons of the brain are located.
Researchers say that for people with diabetes, proper care is a priority to help delay the impact the disease will have on the vascular system and the brain.
A genetic disease has been cured in an adult animal for the first time in history.
Scientists at MIT have recorded using a procedure where they edit the DNA of a live adult animal to replace a defective gene that causes liver disease. The scientists say the procedure, known as Crispr, allows them to edit a single “letter” in the genetic alphabet.
“We basically showed you could use the Crispr system in an animal to cure a genetic disease, and the one we picked was a disease in the liver which is very similar to one found in humans,” said Professor Daniel Anderson.
The MIT team believes because the DNA is so similar, they should be able to begin testing of the Crispr protocol in humans within the next few years.
The process would have to be altered, however, to carry the mutations into the human body via harmless adeno-associated viruses.
Skin cancer patients may be able to have parts of their body reconstructed using cartilage grown from their very own tissue.
Swiss researchers reconstructed the noses of five skin cancer patients using laboratory-grown cartilage that was shaped to fit the patient’s individual noses. The scientists at the University of Basel were able to create the tissue using only a very small sample of the patients’ cartilage.
The technique is called “tissue engineering” and is aimed at facial surgery for skin cancer that causes large parts of the skin to be removed that had to be replaced with cartilage from other parts of the patient’s body. This caused other parts of the body to be deformed and also expose them to infection from additional surgeries.
“The same surgical procedure is continued, and the patient is allowed to breath normally,” Dr. Ivan Martin told FoxNews. “The outcome of the procedure was to determine safety and feasibility, which is measured in terms of adverse events and in terms of stability. In all the five cases, there were no adverse events, and the patients could breathe as well in both nostrils, indicating complete satisfaction.”
The scientists say a practical application of the process is still a long way off because of multiple government approvals that will be necessary.
A new wave of research is showing huge new benefits to coconut oil.
The oil, long known for its properties as a skin and hair moisturizer, is being shown to protect against proteins that contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.
The study on animals in laboratory settings is considered too preliminary to call coconut oil an official super food according to Dr. David Klufeld with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Dr. Glen Lawrence, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Long Island University, says that coconut oil has many positive properties in the lab. One study found that coconut oil’s fatty acids kill a wide range of viruses and bacteria. Dr. Lawrence said it’s unknown if the same process will happen in the body.
Dr. Lawrence also says that coconut oil contains “medium-chain fatty acids” which are easier to digest because the body burns them quickly which some research suggests is good for athletes.
Dr. Bruce Fife, a Colorado naturopathic doctor, says that the tests have been conducted on refined coconut oil so there’s no evidence that virgin oil is better so people can use the oil based on their preferred taste.
Officials in the U.K. have reported the first ever confirmed case of humans contracting tuberculosis from cats.
Public Health England reported that the two human cases are linked to nine cases of infection in cats. PHE reports that the two human patients have been responding well to treatment.
Veterinarians believe the cats likely contracted the disease from badgers or from rodents that had been inside badger setts.
“We’ve all become rather complacent because we haven’t been seeing TB for so many years but bovis is back with a little bit more significance,” Professor Danielle Gunn-Moore, a feline researcher, told the Daily Telegraph. “It’s important we don’t get blinkered and think it’s only badgers and cattle that get infected. This is a bacteria that is not very fussy about who it infects.”
PHE reports at least 39 people have been in close contact with the infected cats and are being monitored by health officials.
A mystery virus that is causing polio-like symptoms in children has spread to southern California.
Lucian Olivera, 2, is the latest child to be confirmed to have the illness. Lucian was 11 months old when he had an ear infection before suddenly being unable to stand or use his legs.
Stanford University confirmed on Friday it was the mysterious virus.
Now, doctors are trying to determine if the weakness in the child’s legs is permanent.
“Really, it’s unknown the severity of this for each individual. The thought is that it is permanent, but we don’t know all the things that will happen to every patient,” Dr. John Dingilian said.
Olivera is wearing a brace on his legs and his parents are preparing that he may never be able to walk on his own.
