A new app aims to tell you everything you want to know about bell peppers and other food. Photo by buzz.bishop
An award winning app may soon be the ticket to a healthier lifestyle, or at least healthier choices at the supermarket. The Augmented Living mobile app or AUG works by allowing users to scan the barcodes of grocery store items with a smartphone camera.
Scan a cucumber and you can find out how many beneficial vitamins it has on the display screen of your phone. Scan a parcel of salami to uncover how many calories it has. In addition to nutritional facts, the app can also provide data about pricing and even where the product was grown. Read More
Family photos and family discussions are both nice to have, but researchers say the latter can help fight disease. Photo by Jeff Howard
When the H1N1 virus struck schools in New York City last April, researchers studying the outbreak found that having a family discussion about how to avoid the disease significantly reduced the risk of an infected student passing swine flu along to a family member.
A recent study shows those findings, suggesting that ample preparation and education are the best tools to stave off an infection, especially during the early stages of flu season before vaccines are available. Learn more about the findings at the Science Blog.
Zinc is known for fighting colds, but it's ability to battle ear aches is less certain. Photo by Owlpacino
They’re the bane of many parents with young kids and so far middle-ear infections don’t have a proven effective fix outside of antibiotics. There has been speculation that the nutrient Zinc can help prevent and even ameliorate these infections, but recent research suggests it’s a remedy that doesn’t work any better than a placebo.
The study, available in the Cochrane Database, does indicate Zinc can help malnourished children battle ear infections, but for healthy children there’s no proof it makes a difference. Most infections clear up on their own, so for now parents will just have to wait out the pain, or look to antibiotics if the infection persists.
Saturday, 12:30 PM. The scene is a local burger hangout. The pleasant aroma of burgers and fries fills the air. I am sitting at a table with my kids and another family. A group of older middle school children are hanging out at the next table waiting for their food. Each one has a smartphone. Each one is texting furiously. None of them are talking, looking at each other or engaging in any way. My friend says to me “They are probably all texting each other” and I realize this is probably true.
As I continue with this article, critiquing our society’s obsession with electronic media and subsequent non-human interaction, I want you to know that I am no media saint myself. The kids watch too much TV, we have a Wii, they play computer games more than they should. I have an iPhone, which I look at during dinner at restaurants with my family. My kids see me check my e-mail first thing in the morning and frequently during the day. I am not a great role model, and am therefore as much to blame as anyone else in the growing concern regarding the effect that TV and new media obsession has on personal interactions. Read More
Chewing gum may not be at the top of your healthy product list, but Life 360’s green reviewer Steffany Boldrini says Glee Gum has everything you’d want in an environmentally friendly product. It uses no artificial sweeteners, donates one percent of its profits to environmental causes and sustainably harvests its materials.
Verve inc., which makes the gum, has been working in Guatemala since 1992 to make the all natural gum. It comes in six flavors and the company also sells a “make your own gum kit.” Glee Gum, Steffany says, is a great and tasty way to “take action” through a company that’s committed to being green.
For more reviews–as well as deals and discounts–on products like Glee Gum, visit Steffany’s website.
As part of a safety campaign, Transport for London ask viewers how perceptive they are. Watch the video and see if you pass the test. The answer might be a surprise.
Trend Micro is offering $10,000 to the person who makes the best short video about online safety. Photo by Johnny Vulkan
Next week the Federal Communication Commission will bring plans to congress with the goal of improving internet access and safety for kids throughout the US. Officials say the plan will address how to raise children’s digital literacy children and also how to keep them safe from online harassment, like cyberbullying.
The FCC, however, isn’t the only one gearing up for an internet safety challenge. Computer security provider Trend Micro has launched a contest with a $10,000 prize for the person who makes the best 2-minute (or shorter) film about online safety.
Topics include how to keep a good online reputation; how to steer clear of cyberbullying; how to thwart cybercriminals and how to ensure kids access age-appropriate content. The contest is open to anyone over 13 and the company says it’s not necessarily looking for amazing production values, just good stories.
The deadline for submissions is April 30. Read more about the contest at CNET and get the full details at Trend Micro’s website.
A special court ruled vaccines don't cause autism, but parents who brought the suit aren't convinced.
A special US Court ruled last week that vaccines are not responsible for causing autism in children. Parents who brought the suit to the Federal Claims court believed that vaccines possessing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, led to the condition in their children.
The court upheld the findings of the U.S. Institute of Medicine, which has repeatedly stated it has found no connection between children getting vaccinated and children developing autism.
I registered Eric for kindergarten again with a vague sense of déjà vu. Some of it was familiar (I still had the same folder with the paperwork from last year), but everything else seemed different. I felt much more relaxed and confident that Eric was going to be ready. And he would be starting kindergarten with an IEP — an Individual Education Program. Basically it meant that Eric had special needs and it was up to the school to meet those needs. He still needed to be reassessed to determine how much extra help he would receive.
I had mixed feelings about him qualifying for help. Of course I wanted him to get help. I just didn’t want him to need help. Read More
Canada is now ready for an emergency. Photo by Skyler Jokiel
Two years after being directed to create an “all hazards” emergency plan, Public Safety Canada hammered out the details of a scheme to respond to everything from cyber terrorism to train crashes to viral outbreaks.
The involved process took longer than officials hoped, and the public safety agency got a bit of a tongue lashing last year for their slow progress, but Canada believes it’s now prepared for any man-made or natural disaster that comes its way. You can find the article at the Canadian Free Press and ways to jumpstart your family emergency planning at the Life360 homepage.
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Saturday, 12:30 PM. The scene is a local burger hangout. The pleasant aroma of burgers and fries fills the air. I am sitting at a table with my kids and another family. A group of older middle school children are hanging out at the next table waiting for their food. Each one has a smartphone. Each one is texting furiously. None of them are talking, looking at each other or engaging in any way. My friend says to me “They are probably all texting each other” and I realize this is probably true. 
I registered Eric for kindergarten again with a vague sense of déjà vu. Some of it was familiar (I still had the same folder with the paperwork from last year), but everything else seemed different. I felt much more relaxed and confident that Eric was going to be ready. And he would be starting kindergarten with an IEP — an Individual Education Program. Basically it meant that Eric had special needs and it was up to the school to meet those needs. He still needed to be reassessed to determine how much extra help he would receive. 
