Tag Archives: Health
Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine Awarded
I almost literally grew up in the shadow of the Albany Medical Center. Many of my family members were at one time or another employed there, perhaps cleaning the floor while in high school or in a clerical position as a part time job, etc. I have been in and out of the emergency room there countless times (though hardly ever as the patient). Some of my favorite stories begin or end at AMC.Well, I never realized it before, but the Albany Medical College (part of the center) has a thing called the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research which is, according to many, up there with the Nobel Prize in importance. And just now, the prize was awarded to two women doing important research … Elizabeth Blackburn and Joan Steitz. Continue reading Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine Awarded
‘Sodans and Sconsinites, Sharpen your Quills!
Vaccine denialism and related issues is something that I took a great interest in many years ago with the publication of Laruie Garret’s “The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance
Ernest Madu
Dr. Ernest Madu runs the Heart Institute of the Caribbean in Kingston, Jamaica, where he proves that — with careful design, smart technical choices, and a true desire to serve — it’s possible to offer world-class healthcare in the developing world. Listen for some eye-opening statistics on heart disease, which is as ruthless a killer in poorer nations as in richer ones.
Trends in Inequality of Mortality in the U.S.
Inequality in mortality is the most poignant reminder of persistent, often multi-generational differences in socioeconomic status (SES). Poor people are more likely to get sick and die than rich people. As a society develops over time, one would hope that this disparity would be reduced, but in fact, it often increases. Recent research published in PLoS Medicine heralds this bad news.This study is fairly unique in that it examines life expectancy across counties, which are the smallest demographic unit for which the appropriate kind of data are collected. The study examines death rates by county in all US states and D.C. from 1961 to 1999. The data are broken down by sex and disease type.The following general patterns were noted: Continue reading Trends in Inequality of Mortality in the U.S.
Is this important new research, or is it”flu denialism”?
This is a press release pertaining to an article coming out next month in the American Journal of Public Health:
The widespread assumption that pandemic influenza is an exceptionally deadly form of seasonal, or nonpandemic, flu is hard to support, according to a new study in the May issue of the American Journal of Public Health.The study challenges common beliefs about the flu–in particular the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claim that “the hallmark of pandemic influenza is excess mortality.”
Continue reading Is this important new research, or is it”flu denialism”?
France Invents New Kind of Cheese: It’s People!!!!
Le Petit Singly, a French company, now produces cheese made from human breast milk. And it is not really new.Apparently they’ve been doing this for some time now.”Small Singly is the only cheese made from a woman’s breast milk, and has remained for a long time in the shadows of the more ordinary cheeses made of sheep, goat, or cow’s milk. … made with the expertise of master cheese maker Patrice Cosma … With a tint of hazel nut and a subtle caramelized colore, its softness and texture will undoubtedly allure you. This cheese was discovered in the 19th century, and follows grandmother’s traditional recipe. …” (very roughly translated)Order your cheese here.
Giardia: Protozoan of never ending wonders
… well, OK, maybe that is a slight exaggeration.You know about giardia. Giardia intestinalis. It causes a nasty gut infection, and you get it by drinking water pretty much anywhere in the US (potentially). It is very hard to get rid of.Giardia adapt to immune system attacks (of their host) in a way that passes that adaptation down to their offspring without genes. It is a Lamarkian process. Giardia have no mitochondria, yet many of the genes known to be in mitochondria in eukaryotes are found in the giardian nucleus. So, ancestral giardia probably had mitochondria, but all those genes got transferred over to the nucleus.The absence of mitochondria and the significant reduction of some other organelles has led people to, probably falsely, believe that giardia is some kind of intermediate between prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Again, this is probably a misinterpretation. Giardia, as a eukaryote which has lost specific organelles (yet still does just fine) would be in a sense “more evolved” than any eukaryote. Including, dear reader, you.And now, there is even a newer twist to the story. Continue reading Giardia: Protozoan of never ending wonders
The Dynamics of Human Body Weight Change
I don’t have time to really do this paper justice, but I wanted you to know about it. It’s at PLoS, and therefore you don’t have to be special to read it free.
Understanding the dynamics of human body weight change has important consequences for conditions such as obesity, starvation, and wasting syndromes. Changes of body weight are known to result from imbalances between the energy derived from food and the energy expended to maintain life and perform physical work. However, quantifying this relationship has proved difficult, in part because the body is composed of multiple components and weight change results from alterations of body composition (i.e., fat versus lean mass). Here, we show that mathematical modeling can provide a general description of how body weight will change over time by tracking the flux balances of the macronutrients fat, protein, and carbohydrates. For a fixed food intake rate and physical activity level, the body weight and composition will approach steady state. However, the steady state can correspond to a unique body weight or a continuum of body weights that are all consistent with the same food intake and energy expenditure rates. Interestingly, existing experimental data on human body weight dynamics cannot distinguish between these two possibilities. We propose experiments that could resolve this issue and use computer simulations to demonstrate how such experiments could be performed.
Chow CC, Hall KD (2008) The Dynamics of Human Body Weight Change. PLoS Comput Biol 4(3): e1000045. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000045
The Origin of Syphilis
Syphilis is first clearly seen in Europe in 1495, when it appeared as a plague (though it was not “the blague” … Yersinia pestis) among Charles VIII’s troops. When these troops went home shortly after the fall of Naples, they brought this disease with them, staring an epidemic. The level of mortality in Europe was truly devastating. Is it the case that syphilis was brought to Europe by Columbus and his men just prior to the plague-like outbreak of 1495? Continue reading The Origin of Syphilis
Berry Go Round #3
Welcome to Berry Go Round #3, the blog carnival deicated to all things botanical.The previous installment, Berry Go Round #2, is located here, at Further Thoughts. If you would like to submit an item to the next Berry Go Round, you may use this handy submission form. The Berry Go Round Home Page is here. Continue reading Berry Go Round #3
Today Britney Spears, Tomorrow Joe Schmo
A number of staff of a Los Angeles Hospital will likely lose their jobs for reading Britney Spears’ medical records.
Continue reading Today Britney Spears, Tomorrow Joe Schmo
Good news on Toxoplasmosis Treatment
Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan. It is very common in cats, but also known in humans. This is the disease people worry about when they have children and cats in the same house. Don’t let your child eat cat poop! Pregnant women should avoid this disease, as there are especially bad outcomes for the offspring.The good news is this: A new drug currently in testing phase for treating malaria is very effictrive against T. gondii. This new drug, a form of triazine, goes by the memorable name JPC-2067-B. Continue reading Good news on Toxoplasmosis Treatment
A Broken Pipeline: Unprecedented Funding NIH Stagnation Can Only Lead to Harm
There is a campaign to bring attention, of the public and of congress, to a five year long stagnation of NIH funding, which is being called a broken pipeline. NIH funding had been increased significantly prior to that, to address major shortfalls in funding for mostly medical research in key important issues. However, over the last five years, the dollar amount of funding has remained flat, not even keeping up with inflation, where it really should have increased further, even more than inflation. Continue reading A Broken Pipeline: Unprecedented Funding NIH Stagnation Can Only Lead to Harm
AP Biology Gene Therapy Expose
(Includes footage of a stuffed octopus)