All Sauce from Weekly Sauce:

Humanity’s best protection against bird flu will be the development of effective vaccines, a new study says. The H5N1 avian flu has been raging through cattle and poultry in the United States, increasing fears that the virus will make the leap into humans and potentially cause another pandemic. Only two people to date are known…  read on >  read on >

A 4,000-year-old skull provides evidence that ancient Egyptians might have tried to treat cancer, a new study claims. Microscopic observation of the skull revealed 30 or so lesions scattered across its surface that are consistent with cancer, researchers report. They were stunned to also find cut marks around these lesions, probably made with a sharp…  read on >  read on >

Prior studies have suggested that binge eating disorder may not last long, but a more rigorous look at the illness finds that just isn’t so. “The big takeaway is that binge-eating disorder does improve with time, but for many people it lasts years,” said study first author Kristin Javaras, assistant psychologist in the Division of…  read on >  read on >

An experimental mRNA vaccine against the H5N1 avian flu is highly effective in preventing severe illness and death in lab animals, researchers report. The vaccine could help fight the H5N1 bird flu outbreaks now spreading in wild birds, poultry and cows in the United States, researchers said. Stopping those outbreaks is key to preventing the…  read on >  read on >

A small urban garden can contribute to your health, especially if the garden contains rich soil, a new study shows. A one-month indoor gardening period increased the bacterial diversity of participants’ skin and appeared to improve their response to inflammation, researchers found. Growing, harvesting and consuming food produced in an urban garden every day could…  read on >  read on >

Weighted blankets are trendy items, largely based on the idea that the pressure of a heavy blanket will help a person more easily slip into slumber. But they do little to help troubled children sleep better, a new study has found. There was no difference in sleep between weighted and normal blankets among a group…  read on >  read on >

Backyard chickens are causing outbreaks of salmonella across the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns. About 109 people in 29 states have gotten sick from salmonella after touching or caring for backyard poultry, the CDC said in a health advisory. Of those, 33 people have been hospitalized, the CDC said.…  read on >  read on >

Women who get an epidural during delivery appear to have a marked reduction in serious complications the first few weeks after giving birth, a new study shows. A painkilling epidural can reduce risk by 35% in women for complications like heart attack, heart failure, blood infection and hysterectomy that can occur as a result of…  read on >  read on >

“Ugh, I’m so busy these days I can barely think straight. It’s so crazy.” No doubt some friend or coworker (maybe even yourself) has moaned about how stressed and overworked they are. Sometimes its fully justified, but in many cases folks see it as “stress bragging,” or “busy bragging,” signaling how important and needed the…  read on >  read on >