A study conducted by Université de Montréal researchers on downstream and upstream water from the Montreal wastewater treatment plant has revealed the presence of chemotherapy products and certain hypertension and cholesterol medications.
Bezafibrate (cholesterol reducing medication), enalapril (hypertension medication), methotrexate and cyclophosphamide (two products used in the treatment of certain cancers) have all been detected in wastewater entering the Montreal treatment station. However, only bezafibrate and enalapril have been detected in the treated water leaving the wastewater treatment plant and in the surface water of the St. Lawrence River, where the treated wastewater is released.
This study was conducted due to the sharp rise in drug consumption over the past few years. In 1999, according to a study by IMS Health Global Services, world drug consumption amounted to $342 billion. In 2006 that figure doubled to $643 billion. A significant proportion of the drugs consumed are excreted by the human body in urine and end up in municipal wastewater. Chemotherapy products, such as methotrexate, are excreted by the body practically unchanged (80 to 90 percent in their initial form).
Health & Wellness
Tampa, Fla. - Brain damage commonly associated with boxers has been found in a sixth deceased former N.F.L. player age 50 or younger, further stoking the debate between many doctors and the league over the significance of such findings.
Doctors at Boston University's School of Medicine found a condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy in the brain of Tom McHale, an N.F.L. lineman from 1987 to 1995 who died in May at age 45. Known as C.T.E., the progressive condition results from repetitive head trauma and can bring on dementia in someone in their 40s or 50s.
Using techniques that can be administered only after a patient has died, doctors have now identified C.T.E. in all six N.F.L. veterans between the ages of 36 and 50 who have been tested for the condition, further evidencing the dangers of improperly treated brain trauma in football.
© Fred Fox/Tampa Tribune, via Associated Press
Tom McHale, an N.F.L. lineman from 1987 through 1995 died last May at age 45.
Tom McHale, an N.F.L. lineman from 1987 through 1995 died last May at age 45.
Doctors at Boston University's School of Medicine found a condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy in the brain of Tom McHale, an N.F.L. lineman from 1987 to 1995 who died in May at age 45. Known as C.T.E., the progressive condition results from repetitive head trauma and can bring on dementia in someone in their 40s or 50s.
Using techniques that can be administered only after a patient has died, doctors have now identified C.T.E. in all six N.F.L. veterans between the ages of 36 and 50 who have been tested for the condition, further evidencing the dangers of improperly treated brain trauma in football.
A January 19 episode of BBC One's Panorama, the world's longest running television documentary show, tackles the dismal state of health care in the United States, the lengths to which its estimated 45 million uninsured citizens will go to in pursuit of care, the pharmaceutical industry's rigged pricing against the American patient, and the insurance industry's efforts to deny care whenever possible.
The teaching of languages could be revolutionised following ground-breaking research by Victoria University, New Zealand, PhD graduate Paul Sulzberger. Dr Sulzberger has found that the best way to learn a language is through frequent exposure to its sound patterns--even if you haven't a clue what it all means.
"However crazy it might sound, just listening to the language, even though you don't understand it, is critical. A lot of language teachers may not accept that," he says.
"Our ability to learn new words is directly related to how often we have been exposed to the particular combinations of the sounds which make up the words. If you want to learn Spanish, for example, frequently listening to a Spanish language radio station on the internet will dramatically boost your ability to pick up the language and learn new words."
Dr Sulzberger's research challenges existing language learning theory. His main hypothesis is that simply listening to a new language sets up the structures in the brain required to learn the words.
"Neural tissue required to learn and understand a new language will develop automatically from simple exposure to the language - which is how babies learn their first language," Dr Sulzberger says.
He was prompted to undertake the research after spending seven years teaching Russian to New Zealand students and observing drop-out patterns.
"However crazy it might sound, just listening to the language, even though you don't understand it, is critical. A lot of language teachers may not accept that," he says.
"Our ability to learn new words is directly related to how often we have been exposed to the particular combinations of the sounds which make up the words. If you want to learn Spanish, for example, frequently listening to a Spanish language radio station on the internet will dramatically boost your ability to pick up the language and learn new words."
Dr Sulzberger's research challenges existing language learning theory. His main hypothesis is that simply listening to a new language sets up the structures in the brain required to learn the words.
"Neural tissue required to learn and understand a new language will develop automatically from simple exposure to the language - which is how babies learn their first language," Dr Sulzberger says.
He was prompted to undertake the research after spending seven years teaching Russian to New Zealand students and observing drop-out patterns.
Well, you won't be able to miss it because it's all over the news: another "study" published in Pediatrics proving that vaccines don't cause autism.
A component of DNA that can both stimulate and suppress the immune system, depending on the dosage, may hold hope for treating cancer and infection, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.
Low levels of CpG increase inflammation, part of the body's way of eliminating invaders. But high doses block inflammation by increasing expression of the enzyme indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase, or IDO, an immunosuppressor, the researchers say.
"The same therapy can have two different effects," says Rusty Johnson, a fifth-year M.D./Ph.D. student in the MCG Schools of Medicine and Graduate Studies. "It was assumed that giving this treatment at higher doses would cause more stimulation, but it has the opposite effect."
Low levels of CpG increase inflammation, part of the body's way of eliminating invaders. But high doses block inflammation by increasing expression of the enzyme indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase, or IDO, an immunosuppressor, the researchers say.
"The same therapy can have two different effects," says Rusty Johnson, a fifth-year M.D./Ph.D. student in the MCG Schools of Medicine and Graduate Studies. "It was assumed that giving this treatment at higher doses would cause more stimulation, but it has the opposite effect."
© Paul Bates, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Scanning electron microscope image of Ebola virions (spaghetti-like filaments) on the surface of a tetherin-expressing cell (center). The other three cells seen in this image (upper right and upper and lower left) do not have the filamentous virus on their surfaces.
Scanning electron microscope image of Ebola virions (spaghetti-like filaments) on the surface of a tetherin-expressing cell (center). The other three cells seen in this image (upper right and upper and lower left) do not have the filamentous virus on their surfaces.
"Tetherin represents a new class of cellular factors that possess a very different means of inhibiting viral replication," says study author Paul Bates, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "Tetherin is the first example of a protein that affects the virus replication cycle after the virus is fully made and prevents the virus from being able to go off and infect the next cell."
These findings appear online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
When a cell is infected with a virus like Ebola, which is deadly to 90 percent of people infected, the cell is pirated by the virus and turned into a production factory that makes massive quantities on new virions. These virions are then released from that cell to infect other cells and promote the spreading infection.
Twins study suggests that sociability, shyness might be hidden in DNA.
Tucked away in the twisted strands of DNA that make you human are genes that may determine whether you are sociable or shy.
A new study comparing the two types of twins shows that genetics might affect social behavior, and the scientists who made the discovery say they are closing in on some of those "personality" genes.
Tucked away in the twisted strands of DNA that make you human are genes that may determine whether you are sociable or shy.
A new study comparing the two types of twins shows that genetics might affect social behavior, and the scientists who made the discovery say they are closing in on some of those "personality" genes.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials say illnesses linked to tainted peanut butter products seem to be declining
The Georgia facility that produced the peanut butter and peanut paste involved in the nationwide salmonella outbreak has a history of health-inspection violations, according to a published report.
Meanwhile, U.S. health officials reported Monday that the outbreak, which has now sickened more than 500 people and possibly contributed to eight deaths, might be winding down, with the number of new cases declining during the last two weeks.
The health-inspection violations at the now-closed Blakely, Ga., plant, owned by Peanut Corp. of America, date back to 2006 and include dirty surfaces, grease residue, and gaps in warehouse doors that could allow rodents to gain entry to the plant, The New York Times reported.
The Georgia facility that produced the peanut butter and peanut paste involved in the nationwide salmonella outbreak has a history of health-inspection violations, according to a published report.
Meanwhile, U.S. health officials reported Monday that the outbreak, which has now sickened more than 500 people and possibly contributed to eight deaths, might be winding down, with the number of new cases declining during the last two weeks.
The health-inspection violations at the now-closed Blakely, Ga., plant, owned by Peanut Corp. of America, date back to 2006 and include dirty surfaces, grease residue, and gaps in warehouse doors that could allow rodents to gain entry to the plant, The New York Times reported.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have found a surprising link between brain iron levels and serotonin, a neurotransmitter involved in neuropsychiatric conditions ranging from autism to major depression.
Appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week, the study by Randy Blakely, Ph.D., and colleagues also demonstrates the utility of a powerful in silico approach for discovering novel traits linked to subtle genetic variation.
The serotonin transporter protein (SERT) regulates serotonin availability in the brain and periphery, and variations in human SERT have been linked to many neurobehavioral disorders - including alcoholism, depression, autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder. SERT is also a major target for medications like the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) used for treating depression.
Appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week, the study by Randy Blakely, Ph.D., and colleagues also demonstrates the utility of a powerful in silico approach for discovering novel traits linked to subtle genetic variation.
The serotonin transporter protein (SERT) regulates serotonin availability in the brain and periphery, and variations in human SERT have been linked to many neurobehavioral disorders - including alcoholism, depression, autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder. SERT is also a major target for medications like the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) used for treating depression.
