Celine Dion and her late husband. Wikimedia Commons New York, Jan 16 (EFE).- Just two days after Canadian singer Celine Dion lost her husband to cancer, her older brother Daniel died Saturday of the same disease. He was 59. Daniel Dion, one of the artist's 13 siblings, died Saturday in Montreal of the brain, tongue and throat cancer he had been fighting, TMZ online entertainment news report...

Although no Zika virus infections have been reported in Costa Rica as of mid-January, officials from the Ministry of Public Health (Spanish initials: MSP) are not taking any chances. According to a news report published yesterday by El Nuevo Diario, a national newspaper in Nicaragua, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) will hold a workshop on this dangerous virus on February 2nd and 4th...

By Carlos Heras La Paz, Jan 12 (EFE; additional context by The Costa Rica Star).- Agriculture, which accounts for about 15 percent of Bolivia's gross domestic product, is at the center of a controversy over genetically modified crops, with the government limiting the use of transgenic seeds to soybeans and farmers demanding expanded use to increase productivity. Bolivia restricts the use of ...

H1N1 vaccine will be available in Costa Rica in March 2016. Source: Wikimedia Commons San Jose, Jan 7 (EFE).- At least 14 people, including an expat woman from India, have died from the H1N1 flu virus since December in Costa Rica and 22 others remain hospitalized in serious condition, the Health Ministry said. Northern Costa Rica's San Carlos hospital had the highest number of fatalities, w...

That nearly incapacitating fear that many people experience when visiting their local dentist is not as prevalent when they engage in dental tourism, and British researchers are learning why this happens and how patients can overcome this phobia. Odontophobia is one of the many terms used to associate the unfounded fear of dental procedures. Longitudinal research studies conducted in the United...

Wikimedia Commons An experienced, 32-year old SCUBA diver from Spain passed away in Jaco Beach after Red Cross paramedics were unable to resuscitate him. According to a news report filed by Alexander Mendez of daily tabloid Diario Extra, Yordi Estarrol Pujol was an avid diver who had already spent a few days exploring choice diving sites off the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica. He had b...

Wikimedia Commons In the first study of its kind, a team of international scientists led by UT Southwestern Medical Center and UCLA researchers have identified a dozen inherited traits related to sleep, wake, and activity cycles that are associated with severe bipolar disorder. Researchers also were able to tie the traits to specific chromosomes, providing important clues to the genetic nat...

Wikimedia Commons By Carol Blair Vaughn Costa Rica is called by many “The Happiest Place on Earth”, including the Happy Planet Index which rated us #1 in 2015, and the U.N.’s World Happiness Report, which rated us #12. We came in behind Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, and The Netherlands – such cold places!! But is this ranking scientific, or just a tourist label from those wanting...

Asclepios retreat Located in El Cacao, province of Alajuela, the Asclepios Wellness & Healing Center will host a special detox program from January 20th until January 24th, 2016. This is a perfect program for those who wish to start the New Year with a clean and invigorated mindset. Asclepios detox is a holistic program to cleanse your body from the inside. The special diet is created t...

Source: Lindsay Lohan Instagram Hollywood actress and tabloid mainstay Lindsay Lohan will celebrate New Year's Eve in Costa Rica, specifically in the Guanacaste Gold Coast. According to various social media updates posted by the star of films such as Mean Girls, Freaky Friday, Chapter 27, and A Prairie Home Companion, she is currently staying at a luxury resort in Bahia Salinas. In a video ...

Pixabay Commons With the end of 2015 quickly approaching, people around the world are starting to think about their resolution for the New Year. Recent sociological research suggests that some of the most common New Year's resolutions include losing weight and giving up smoking, which happen to be two very positive and healthy promises. Alas, these resolutions are also the most commonly abando...

Flickr Commons A more competitive marketplace is expected for the weight control and fitness industry in Costa Rica in 2016, a country where the rate of obesity has increased gradually over the last few years. According to a new report by Fast Market Research, players in this industry will have to adjust to innovation in 2016. Integral dietary approaches that often start with detox techniqu...

Wikimedia Commons The end-of-the-year holidays in Costa Rica are great for relaxation, travel, entertainment, and spending quality time with the family, but these days are also associated with certain excesses related to meals and beverages, which means that people should pay greater attention to oral hygiene during the holidays. Aside from the traditional tamales, the holiday season in Cos...

Wikimedia Commons Things did not go his way for rock star Lenny Kravitz, a resident of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, who was recently ordered to shut down a free dental practice he established on Eleuthera Island for the benefit of the local population. According to a news report published by Caribbean newspaper The Eleutheran, Mr. Kravitz organized the free dental clinic through his Let...

A recent report by Research and Markets indicates that the global cosmetic dentistry market is set to grow at a rate of nearly 7 percent per year to become a $22.4 billion industry by the end of the decade. As one of the top dental tourism destinations in the Americas, Costa Rica is a significant contributor to this market. Cosmetic dentistry is marketed as a discipline that can produce beautiful...

Wikimedia Commons Bruxism is an involuntary and unconscious condition that prompts individuals to grind their teeth, usually while they are sleeping. There are four main symptoms ofbruxism: morning headaches, earaches and worn-down teeth. The American Dental Association (ADA) defines bruxism as a habit of forcefully clenching your teeth. The morning soreness and aches are caused by the ...

Wikimedia Commons If your teeth are cracked, decayed, fractured, or otherwise in bad shape, you may have considered extraction at one point. If you have made this decision or at least thought about it, you are certainly not alone; in the United Kingdom, 74 percent of adult patients have elected extraction at least once in their lives. Deciding against tooth extractions is the main driver of...

Yogi Aaron NEW YORK (PRWEB) December 16, 2015 - Yogi Aaron’s narrative is one of empowerment, imbued with a sense of adventure. Having built his name as the creator of Hot Nude Yoga, Aaron chronicles the life of a self-described “timid mother’s boy” into an assured, self-made yogi exemplifying metamorphosis. In “Autobiography of a Naked Yogi” (published by Balboa Press), Aaron shares how his p...

Dr. Mario Bonilla Within the dental tourism industry of Costa Rica, the New Smile Dental Group stands out as one of the pioneering and most successful clinics in our country. The New Smile Dental Group is unique in the sense that it operates in a way that fully supports the interests and well-being of dental tourists. Located about 11 miles away from the Juan Santamaria International Airpor...

The dental tourism experience in Costa Rica is characterized by affordable treatments performed by dedicated professionals who are keenly aware of each patient's situation and desired outcomes. Not all dental clinics in Costa Rica offer all the treatments sought by dental tourists; as a general rule, few patients fly down here for the sole purpose of getting a dental cleaning and polishing, alt...

Rio de Janeiro, Nov 28 (EFE; additional reporting by The Costa Rica Star).- The Zika virus, which has spread across a large part of Latin America, is the cause of abnormally small heads in newborn babies, a condition known as microcephaly, Brazil's Health Ministry confirmed Saturday. In Costa Rica, officials from the Ministry of Public Health are closely following the situation across Central A...

Source: Flickr Commons NEW BERN, NC (PRWEB) NOVEMBER 26, 2015 - “For decades, Americans have traveled from one city to another to receive specialized medical treatments or to see a specialist for a rare condition,” says Dr. John Zannis, a board-certified plastic surgeon who practices in New Bern, North Carolina. “More recently, consumers have learned that they can have medical procedures done in...

Wikimedia Commons One of the least talked-about secrets of dental tourism in Costa Rica revolves around technologies that were introduced to the field of dentistry in the late 20th century. Computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) are digital technologies applied to prosthodontics, a specialized branch of dentistry that deals with replacement of teeth and restoration of...

Source: WhoSay.com New York, Nov 17 (EFE).- Actor Charlie Sheen confirmed Tuesday that he has been a carrier of the HIV virus that causes AIDS and that he has been blackmailed by unidentified persons who threatened to sell his secret to the media. In an interview on NBC's "Today" show, Sheen said his disease began with a series of "crushing" headaches, adding that "I thought I had a brain t...

Source: Amazon.com SAN DIEGO (PRWEB) November 16, 2015 - Cleft lip and palate are birth defects that occur when a baby’s lip or mouth do not form properly during pregnancy. Author Maribel Moses is the Vice-President of the Smiles International Foundation, which helps children who suffer from this defect. Moses is an artist born and raised in Costa Rica. She has written her new children’s se...

Sex Shop in France. Wikimedia Commons Herbal Viagra is one of the most popular products sold in sex shops across Costa Rica these days. Male customers who take these products, which are sold over-the-counter to any adult, report that herbal Viagra is very effective insofar as resulting in long-lasting erections and pleasant feelings of excitement and euphoria. According to a recent report f...

FreeStockPhotos.biz A recent health data study published by a New York research firm estimates that a little more than one third of the adult population of the United States is obese, including 17 percent of youths and adolescents. The study was requested by public health officials in the Empire State, and the results will be used to for planning of future programs to control this health condi...

The legendary film director/producer duo of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer are often considered to be Hollywood royalty. Together, Howard and Grazer have made highly successful movies such as A Beautiful Mind, Rush and The Da Vinci Code, and their latest creation is of a scientific nature. The Age of Aging is a film that is broadcast as part of Breakthrough, a new National Geographic Channel serie...

Buenos Aires, Nov 12 (EFE).- The pregnancy of a 13-year-old girl who has already given birth once before is rocking Argentine society, given that - in addition - authorities are investigating whether her situation was brought about by being raped by her mother's partner, local media reported. The girl, whose name has not been made public, had been living with her 32-year-old mother, her stepfat...

Froozer SAN FRANCISCO, November 11, 2015 /3BL Media/ ­– Obesity and diabetes rates in the United States have hit an all-time high. More than two in three American adults are considered overweight today, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, a health research center. Children are no better off, reporting skyrocketing increases in new Type-2 diabetes cases; a condition pr...

"CharlieSheenMarch2009" by Angela George. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons A dental technician who claimed she was groped and attacked by a reportedly drug-addled Hollywood star has chosen to dismiss her civil lawsuit. A little over a year ago, Margarita Palestino filed a complaint against Carlos Estevez, better known as Charlie Sheen, for what she claimed was outrageous behav...

Wikimedia Commons Many dental tourists who plan medical vacations in Costa Rica ask if they should start taking antibiotics prior to their arrival. This question is mostly asked by patients from the United States and Canada, where dental health practitioners have been known to recommend antibiotics to a few categories of patients. The only rule of thumb in this regard is that antibiotics sh...

Managua, Nov 3 (EFE).- More than 50 divers removed 1.6 tons of solid waste, including tractor tires, from the bottom of San Juan del Sur Bay, one of the main attractions for tourists on Nicaragua's Pacific coast, clean-up organizers said. A total of 785 items were removed from the bay during the two-day clean-up operation, Dive Nicaragua, which organized the event for the second time, said. ...

Source: PokerStars Mexico City, Oct 31 (EFE).- Andres Moreno of Mexico, considered the most obese man in the world, has set out on the road back to health and at the same time has received some unexpected encouragement from Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, who sent him a signed team jersey. Moreno, 37, underwent surgery this week that will help him lose weight and eventually get ba...

Wikimedia Commons Madrid, Oct 28 (EFE).- An object can levitate or move without anything touching it using acoustic holograms created by experts from Britain's Bristol and Sussex universities led by Spaniard Asier Marzo, an article in the journal Nature Communications said. Marzo told EFE that the study proved that the hologram principle also applies to sound because "ultimately both light ...

Source: Wikimedia Commons San Juan, Oct 28 (EFE).- Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller sent her condolences Wednesday to the families of the 19 babies who died in outbreaks of bacterial infections at two hospitals in Jamaica. "I extend sincere sympathies to parents and other members of the families of those children who died. The Ministry of Health and the Minister will look at the present...

Many tourists who travel to Costa Rica in search of dental procedures may also suffer from hypertension, a fairly common condition characterized by blood pressure readings that exceed healthy levels. Although hypertension can be managed in most cases, severe cases may present a problem with regard to dental treatment.   The dental health professionals at the New Smile Dental Group, a pr...

By Carol Blair Vaughn Who’s Happy in Costa Rica? Forbes Magazine asked on November 13, 2014, “Want to Be Happy?  Move to Costa Rica.” Their conclusions were based on the results of a UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center Qualtrics Survey of 40,000 students from around the world in which Costa Rica emerged as – Numero Uno on the Happiness Index. So why do 50-60% of Americans who move to...

Source: New Smile Dental Group The majority of dental tourists who come to Costa Rica for treatments do so for the purpose of getting dental restorations. Although a few patients choose other procedures such as teeth whitenings, deep cleanings and oral surgery, dental restorations are the predominant treatments performed in Costa Rica in terms of dental tourism. “Dental restoration” is an u...

Rio de Janeiro, Oct 22 (EFE). - Brazilian researchers have identified a protein trace in coffee with pain and anxiety relieving properties similar to morphine's, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, or Embrapa, said. The substance's effects have already been tested on lab mice, Embrapa, considered the world's largest tropical agricultural research center, said. The discovery was ...