Heartburn? Chew a gum after mealThe list of ideas for easing heartburn is long and filled with home remedies, many unproved. But one of the simplest, chewing gum, may be among the most effective. Heartburn results from digestive fluids’ travelling from stomach to esophagus in a process known as gastroesophageal reflux. When scientists set out to study whether this could be countered by chewing gum, they assumed the answer would be no. Instead they found that the saliva stimulated by chewing seemed to neutralise acid and help force fluids back to the stomach. Two studies, in 2005 and 2001, found that acid levels after meals were significantly lower when gum was chewed and that the beneficial effects of chewing gum on heartburn lasted up to three hours. Another option is antacid chewing gums. One study in 2002, by scientists at the nonprofit Oklahoma Foundation for Digestive Research, found that antacid chewing gum was more effective after a meal than chewable tablets.Laser printers may pose health risksEmissions from office laser printers can be as unhealthy as cigarette smoke, according to an Australian professor who is now calling for regulations to limit printer emissions. Office workers breathing easy since smoking was banned in public places in the United States and the United Kingdom have new reason to worry, according to research from the Queensland University of Technology’s Air Quality and Health Program, led by physics professor Lidia Morawska. The average printer releases toner particles that can get deep into the lungs and cause respiratory problems and cardiovascular trouble, according to Morawska’s team, part of the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, and specialists in atmospheric particles. The team tested 62 laser printer models—all relatively new—and found that 17 of them were “high emitters” of toner particles. Despite using similar technology, office photocopiers do not emit particles, the team found. Making necklaces to change lifestyles and preserve wildlifeIn a bid to help poachers lead greener lifestyles, conservation officials in Zambia have turned to a novel trend in jewellery-making—snarewear, in which snares once used for poaching are transformed into handmade necklaces, bracelets and other decorative items. More than 40,000 former poachers have joined a co-op called Community Markets for Conservation, or Comaco, which allows them to exchange snares for training in organic farming, beekeeping, gardening and carpentry, said Dr Dale Lewis of the Wildlife Conservation Society. The programme has collected more than 40,000 snares since 2002 and grossed more than $350,000 last year; the proceeds are shared by the former poachers and Comaco, Lewis said.
