Bob Barrett

In the wake of the mass shootings last month in a movie theater in Colorado, a lot of important questions are being asked.  Many are about guns and gun laws...valid questions that we will not address here.  No, we’re going to talk about another obvious topic in the discussion: mental health.  On today’s Health Show, is there are way to spot a psychopath?

We’ll also talk about the state of children’s hospitals in the US...and find out what vegetarians, who also eat meat, are being asked to try.

OK, here’s a statement that reeks with obvious-ness: Students with diabetes have special needs.  The American Diabetes Association is working to train teachers and staff around the country to help with those needs.  Today on The Best Of Our Knowledge, we’ll hear about the association’s Safe at School program.

We’ll also hear about the scientist who figured out how to study cell division, meet the music man of Durham, North Carolina who keeps band students going with teaching or playing a single note...and spend an academic minute inside your brain.

Just about every day you are faced with questions about what you eat.  Questions like: Is honey better for you than sugar? Is milk necessary for strong bones?  Are eggs bad for your heart?  And those are just the ones you ask before breakfast!  Now there’s a book that takes your food questions and does some research to find answers.  On today’s Health Show, we’ll talk to the author of “Coffee Is Good For You”.

We’ll also hear the story of an uninsured accident victim’s journey through the health care system...and how she turned it into a one woman show.

Talking about race is never easy.  Talking about inequality among racial groups, and things start getting awkward.  Putting all that into the context of schools and education...congratulations you’ve started an argument.  The fact is that there is educational inequality in the US for many reasons.  Today on The Best Of Our Knowledge, we’ll have a conversation about race, culture and inequality in two countries with difficult racial histories: the US and South Africa.

We’ll also spend an academic minute in a galaxy far, far away.

Surprising reports have been coming in over the past six months or so about people contracting disease from dirty or reused needles.  The surprising part is that these are not IV drug users...these people are medical and dental patients and the injections were from health care professionals.  On today’s Health Show, we’ll talk about the state of injection safety in the US.

We’ll also hear about a new HIV/AIDS drug that’s being touted as a way to prevent infection with the virus.  And we’ll find out which California city is becoming the Golden State’s pot capital.

Some parents dread the empty nest syndrome...that time in life when all their children have graduated school and moved off to make a life of their own.  Hey...some parents look forward to it!  One thing is certain...a whole lot of nests aren’t as empty as they thought.  Today on The Best Of Our Knowledge, we’ll college grads moving back in with the folks.

We’ll also spend some time with the new president of the University of Vermont...and spend an academic minute developing a social memory.

Stop me if you’ve heard about one: Tuberous Sclerosis.  Yup, I don’t see too many people holding up stop signs.  Only a few thousand people in the US are living with this condition, and they know all too well the complications and endless medical procedures it brings along.  On today’s Health Show, we’ll learn about Tuberous Sclerosis.

You learn from your mistakes.  That’s a little nugget of wisdom that’s been passed down through the years...and has the advantage of being true.  At least according to children’s author Barney Saltzberg. Today on The Best Of Our Knowledge, we’ll hear about Saltzberg’s book celebrating the well placed mistake: “Beautiful Oops”.

We’ll also celebrate the 65th anniversary of the best selling children’s books ever: The Little Golden Books.  And we’ll spend an Academic Minute with some young puzzlers.

Unintended consequences. That’s what seems to be happening to a number of morbidly obese patients who get bariatric surgery...and end up developing problems with alcohol abuse.  On today’s Health Show, we’ll talk to the lead author of a study on the topic and find out if there is any real relationship between weight loss surgery and alcohol use disorders.

We’ll also learn about a company called “A Place For Mom”...who help care givers around the country find the right place for an elder relative in need of special care.

This computer ‘question answering system” took the country by storm when it won on a popular game show.  What is Watson?  Today on The Best Of Our Knowledge, we’ll hear how clinical laboratories are converting this computer technology into Dr. Watson.

We’ll also hear how students with Autism are being given help to make their way independently through life.  Find out about the importance of music education in school...and spend an Academic Minute learning how a musician’s wife paved the way for his lasting musical legacy.