Science is supposed to make people's lives better, right? From glow-in-the-dark diapers to computers that fit in one's pocket, the present day sometimes feels like a future dreamed by science-fiction writers.
But scientific research also dramatizes the law of unintended consequences, such as the increased chance that the late-night user of an iPhone will become obese.
Here are 10 buzzkills in science – studies sure to ruin your fun.
1. Sharing a bed with your dog or cat is a bad idea. (And no kissing!)
Sleeping with pets is a good way to get the plague, or MRSA, meningitis, hookworm, roundworm or another bacterial infection, according to a study published in February 2011 in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. The authors also report several pet owners contracted disease when their mouth or an open sore was lovingly licked by their animals.
One man whose dog slept under the covers with him and licked his hip-replacement wound came down with meningitis, and a 9-year-old boy whose flea-infested cat slept with him picked up the plague. The authors, a professor of veterinary medicine at the University of California, Davis, and a public health veterinarian for the California Department of Health, say keeping pets healthy through regular veterinary care can reduce the risk.
2. No snacking on raw cookie dough.
Raw cookie dough from the store seems so yummy and so safe: The eggs in commercial cookie dough are pasteurized, which kills Salmonella. Many people admit buying a tube with no plans to actually bake cookies, according to a study published in December 2011 in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
But a party-crashing study, which tracked the source of a large E. colioutbreak in 2009, ultimately blamed the flour in raw chocolate chip cookie dough for the infection. "Out of all the ingredients, raw flour is the only raw agricultural product that was in the cookie dough," study author Karen Neil, a medical epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said. Apparently, there's just no safe way to sneak a bite of cookie dough unless it's enrobed in ice cream.
3. Exercise won't help you lose weight.
And if you plan on baking that cookie dough and downing the delectable calories, you can always spend a few extra minutes later at the gym, right? Wrong. Two recent studies put a damper on the theory that exercise will help you lose weight. A person's basal metabolic rate, which determines how many calories get burned daily, will drop as you lose weight, even with daily exercise, the research showed. The conclusion: Eating less leads to faster and more weight loss than increasing exercise does. (Still, regular exercise is important for your overall health.)
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