Bob Barrett

So, is there ever a time when a doctor might suggest that you get a little more salt in your diet?  It probably won’t come to that, but most salt sold in the US contains Iodine...and for women who are expecting, that’s important.  On today’s Health Show, a look at thyroid issue in pregnant women.

We’ll also meet the new head of a world famous research facility in the Adirondack Mountains...and hear the story of a man in China who took extreme measures to save his wife’s life...and got arrested.

If you developed a good relationship with a baby sitter or a pediatrician, would you arbitrarily end that relationship each year and find a new one?  Well, when you stop and think about it, that’s exactly what most schools with students and teachers.  Today on The Best Of Our Knowledge, we’ll talk to a veteran school teacher and administrator about his new book with a very self explanatory title: “Kids Need The Same Teacher For More Than One Year”.

We’ll also spend an Academic Minute learning if paying attention in class is really all that important in the long run.

Here are three words you’ll be hearing a lot in the future: dense breast tissue.  At least you’ll be hearing them a lot in the next 25 minutes or so. For years it’s been known that is it harder to detect cancer on a mammogram if a woman has dense, as opposed to fatty, breasts.  Now, a number of states have passed laws mandating that doctors inform women of the density of their breasts...and give them options for further detection.  

Almost nobody thinks getting a college education is bad.  The thing is, almost nobody can afford to pay the tuition without a little help.  That brings us to the 529 plans. Today on The Best Of Our Knowledge, we’ll learn about the college savings plans that help families save tax-free for college.

We’ll also get tips from the NIH for ways to start healthy habits throughout the school year...hear about a student in Myanmar who is trying to follow his passion for music... and spend an Academic Minute trying to direct traffic in the sky.

It’s widely known that October is breast cancer awareness month, and there are many programs are articles devoted to the topic of breast cancer treatment and detection all month long.  We did one last week...we’ll do another next week.  What you may not know is that September was prostate cancer awareness month.  On today’s Health Show, ok, we may be a little late...but we’ll learn more about this disease that kills thousands of men each year.

Over a century ago, a scientist set up one of the first microbiology labs in the United States.  Today, that lab is called the National Institutes of Health. Today on The Best Of Our Knowledge, we’ll learn the history of the NIH on it’s 125th birthday.

We’ll also listen in as students in Pennsylvania protest budget cuts to education...and we’ll talk to the author of a new children’s book with Goldilocks and three dinosaurs.

We’ll also spend an Academic Minute with some Neanderthals trying to act smart.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women aged 35 to 54.  I thought we’d start today’s program with that number, just to remind people that even though breast cancer awareness has grown and treatments have improved...it is still a deadly disease.  On today’s Health Show, we’ll talk to the author of the 5th edition of the Breast Cancer Survival Manual about how much has changed since the book was first published.

We’ll also head to the kitchen, when the Sneaky Chef will talk about her latest collection of speedy, healthy recipes.

From 1988 to 1993, Dania McKeller showed up on ABC TV each week as Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years.  After the show left the air, she found a new passion: math. Today on The Best Of Our Knowledge, we’ll hear from Dania about her forth math book for girls.

We’ll also meet a young man who composed, and published a crossword puzzle for the Sunday NY Times when he was only 17.

And we’ll spend an Academic Minute exploring an ancient Israeli mosaic floor.

When a condition affects about a third of the population, you’d think it would be getting a lot of attention.  But half the people in the US with  Hypertension, or high blood pressure, are not doing enough to control their pressure.  On today’s Health Show, we’ll learn more about the problem and find out what can, and should be done.

We’ll also hear from an artist who survived breast cancer...and wanted to do more to help than just wear a pink ribbon.  You’ll be surprised when you hear just what she IS wearing.

If you were to look around and find yourself among some flattened, rotating disks of cool dust and gas extending for tens to hundreds of astronomical units, then congratulations, you’ve entered the neighborhood of an irradiated proto-planetary disk.  Today on The Best Of Our Knowledge, our Astrobiology series continues with a guided tour of that star studded neighborhood..

We’ll also spend an Academic Minute directing traffic in that neighborhood.