I am not condoning heaving drinking, but apparently alcohol consumption helps you live longer, even after removing as many other variables such as socioeconomic status, level of physical activity, number of close friends, quality of social support etc. http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/08599201433200
Category: Medical
Back in December 2007, the main nuclear reactor that supplies the majority of the worlds supply of cobalt-60 and almost half of the world’s supply of Tech-99 had to be shut down. This create a shortage of diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine. Apparently the Canadian government saw this possibility and started creation of two new reactors as backups; however, these had to be essentially scraped due to a miscalculation of the power coefficient of reactivity (PCR.) A negative PCR means as the reaction increases, the design of the reactor is such that the reaction will slow down in a negative feedback loop. The only problem was when they started tests, it actually had a positive reaction, meaning it would continue to build unless other safety measures were enabled (inserting rods for example to slow the reaction.) Since the negative PCR was part of the safety spec, it was not allowed to continue.
It’s an interesting read: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527431.400-nuclear-safety-when-positive-is-negative.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news
What was I saying? Oh yes, apparently the idea that your brain uses gamma ways frequency to differentiate current experiences from past experiences. “They found that the hippocampus selectively tunes in to different frequencies of gamma waves coming from different brain areas. The lower gamma wave frequencies are used to transmit memories of past experiences, and the higher frequencies are used to convey what is happening where you are right now.”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120000140.htm
http://www.kurzweilai.net/news/frame.html?main=news_single.html?id%3D11439
Age related disease such as bone fragility, cardiovascular disease, and kidney and arterial calcification,may be a result of not enough vitamin K intake according to new scientific research. Eat your greens! http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917131554.htm
"Nearly one out of four households, including 18 percent of women, suffer from migraines and many patients are not only eager, but desperate to stop the pain," said ASPS Member Surgeon and study author Bahman Guyuron, MD, professor and chairman, department of plastic surgery, University Hospitals Case Medical Center. "In this study, we’ve shown that surgical treatment of migraine headaches is safe, effective, and that this reasonably short operation can have a colossal impact on the patients’ quality of life – all while eliminating signs of aging for some patients, too." http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090731085806.htm
This was published on NewScientist -http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn15016-humble-sticky-tape-emits-powerful-xrays.html
Apparently the risk of cancer is three times more likely if tanning beds are used frequently before the age of 30.
Apparently new research suggests factors such as the softness of a food can have a significant impact on the ability of the body to convert the stored energy. For example, two sets of rats fed the exact same calorie content, but one set was fed hard food, the other soft. The rats receiving the softer food were significantly overweight compared do the other group. Check out this fantastic read if you are watching what you eat:
“Scientists have identified a cardiac stem cell that gives rise to all of the major cell types in the human heart. The find opens the way to using patients’ own cells to heal their damaged hearts.” http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread478854/pg1
It’s still being investigated, but researches have found a way to increase the resolution of MRIs 1000-fold. The good news is the MRI scanners would be able to use this without hardware modifications. Read more here:http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/38423
SpuriousLogic sends in a link from Scientific American to a study by Swedish and US researchers that reaches the surprising conclusion that there may be a link between autism and vinyl floors
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/03/31/2127203&from=rss
Trials are expected in two years for a new natural group factor injection that reportedly prevented brain cell death and connections rose in density by 25%.. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16559-protein-reverses-alzheimers-brain-damage.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news
It amazes me that a standard is needed for a product consumed by the littlest of us, but apparently it’s necessary. Apparently one part in a million is safe enough; as was set by the FDA this month. This is a pull-back from the FDA’s initial standing:
“ The agency had left the impression of a zero tolerance on Oct. 3 when it stated: "FDA is currently unable to establish any level of melamine and melamine-related compounds in infant formula that does not raise public health concerns."
Melamine was traced to four infant deaths in China due to contamination, and two samples of US made infant formula were found to have traces below the new standard. Read more here:http://www.physorg.com/news147111214.html
It’s not often you see a clinical study with such impressive results. This is welcome news for 2.1 million folks in the United States alone. Read more here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080611135043.htm
A promising new cancer treatment that may one day replace radiation and chemotherapy is edging closer to human trials.
Kanzius RF therapy attaches microscopic nanoparticles to cancer cells and then “cooks” tumors inside the body with harmless radio waves.
Based on technology developed by Pennsylvania inventor John Kanzius, a retired radio and TV engineer, the treatment has proven 100 percent effective at killing cancer cells while leaving neighboring healthy cells unharmed. It is currently being tested at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
“I don’t want to give people false hope,” said Dr. Steve Curley, the professor leading the tests, “but this has the potential to treat a wide variety of cancers.”
http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2008/04/kanzius_therapy
It turns out a little Radon is good to keep lung cancer in check . 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080325122807.htm
A good read if you are feeling stressed out (who isn’t these days?) I especially like the idea to write down the stressors and assign a severity. You might just realize it’s not that big of a deal as you think. Read more here: http://www.rd.com/content/37-stress-management-tips/
In a Previous Article on Eating Healthy I talked about how I approach consuming less
calories while still eating the kinds of foods I like. I found a site that shows restaurant foods presented with the standard “Nutrition Facts” that are on food products in the US. Here is an example for a Steak n Shake bacon double cheese burger. Almost 1000 calories! hmm.. Guess I better skip the shake? Lookup what you like and think if it’s worth it. I don’t think skipping the bottom bun will help much with this sandwich.(updated link) http://www.calorie-count.com/ Just type in the food in the search box.
Technorati tags: calories eating healthy hamburger nutrition facts
I would have passed over this article, but the source is at least credible: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn12971-diet-may-influence-your-babys-gender.html
Lately I’ve been focusing more on my health than ever before. I’ve neglected to take care of my body and in the process gained a lot of weight, and had several other unhealthy habits. I quit smoking, started exercising, and I make better choices when I eat. I don’t diet, but am “in training” on how to live and eat better. I do what I always do: I arm myself with information. 
It comes down to making better choices.
I may not be able to avoid going to fast food to eat, as my kids love McDonalds. Apparently with all the advertising McDonalds does anything they put into their bags tastes better. I choose not to eat the french-fries. I’ll get a sandwich but I will throw away the bottom bun, cut the sandwich in two, and reassemble it – making a double hamburger out of a single – and using the other half for a bottom bun. It’s still not a veggie tray, but at least I saved 380 calories from the fries, and maybe another 60-80 from the bun. I drink tea or “treat” myself to a diet soda, saving another 210 calories. In 
total, I saved 650 calories – a whole meals worth! Do I do this every time? No, but the more I do the better my weight becomes. Instead of tracking calories or points I measure the result of my previous day’s choices by a morning weight check and I write it down. It’s a gauge for my choices. Is this the best way? Not if you want to diet / lose weight fast, but I think it’s a better long term solution, don’t you?
Along these lines, I ran across an article that describes some common “health” foods, and why they might not be all that healthy. For example: Granola Bars – although the whole oats are good, they are glued together with ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup, honey, and barley malt.
