Health

OGDEN — How many organisms are living on your body?

Most of the genes living on you are viral, fungal and microbial — and your body has more of those on it than human genes, says an evolutionary ecologist.

Rob Dunn, a biologist and writer in the Department of Biology at North Carolina State University, was the keynote speaker Thursday during the 68th annual Ogden Surgical Medical Society Conference at the Eccles Conference Center.

OGDEN — Marathon runner, author and 1972 U.S. Olympian Jeff Galloway spoke Wednesday morning to runners, race officials and spectators on the role of physical activity in boosting mental health.

The Zions Bank Ogden Marathon is Saturday.

Galloway, an Atlanta native, presented a synopsis of his book “Fit Kids-Smarter Kids,” in which he wrote of the ties between exercise and increased mental function.

“Exercise turns on circuits in the brain,” Galloway said at the “Marathon Week” kickoff breakfast at Weber State University. “With increased exercise, kids think better, feel better and are more able to achieve goals in their lives.”

OGDEN — Bob Quick has always loved riding bikes, and over the years he has amassed a collection of them in his garage. So when he had a massive heart attack in 2004, he wasn’t going to let it keep him off his bike.

As a matter of fact, it motivated the 53-year-old Roy man to attempt something difficult — riding his bike from coast to coast.

“I wasn’t going to let it slow me down. I want to show the people that saved my life that I am living and not just sitting on my couch,” he said.

Quick is dealing with advanced stages of coronary artery disease, a hereditary heart problem.

The Davis Chamber of Commerce is offering businesses a chance to learn how the Affordable Care Act will affect their taxes.

The sleep medication zolpidem, often prescribed as a generic drug for Ambien, is sending folks to the emergency room more than ever before.

A report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has reported a nearly 220 percent increase in emergency room visits. Those ER visits rose from 6,111 in 2005 to 19,487 in 2010. The increase was 274 percent for women and 144 percent for men.

LARAMIE, Wyo. — Natalie Meisler wasn't making any sense.

The veteran journalist was talking on the phone with Tim Harkins, the head of media relations for University of Wyoming athletics. They had chatted for several minutes before Meisler, who was penning a Mountain West football preview for Lindy's Magazine, asked him to hold.

OGDEN — Millions of brain connections and pathways involving thinking, behavior and physiological responses that exist exclusively to support alcoholic drinking have been developed by the time a person becomes an alcoholic.

The tendency to drink alcoholically is hardwired in the brain of an alcoholic, said Dr. Dennis Ahern, a psychologist with Intermountain Healthcare. Once those pathways are established, they do not go away, despite years of not drinking. They may become fairly inactive, but they do not disappear.

“Once activated, they work as they always did. If drinking alcohol has progressed to the point of meeting the criteria of addiction ... the alcoholic has a loaded gun in his head and any drinking or use of other drugs is the same as putting a finger on a hair trigger and moving it around,” Ahern said.