Health & WellnessS


Health

Common Virus Kills Five Infants, CDC Says


Associated Press
Thu, 22 May 2008 03:09 UTC
A common virus traditionally viewed as mild killed at least five U.S. infants last year, government health officials said Thursday.

The five deaths mark the first time an infection was found to be fatal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tens of thousands of children get the virus each year, but it seldom causes illness, and then usually mild cases. Young children, with immature immune systems, are at the greatest danger from the virus, called Coxsackievirus B1.
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Bulb

US: Sleeplessness Can Trigger Power Failure in Brain


The Money Times
Wed, 21 May 2008 23:51 UTC


Human brain
©Unknown

Lack of sleep can have a powerful impact on your brain, according to a new study in the United States. Making the brain go without sleep for even one night could result in instability that could actually make it liable to shutdowns.

According to researchers, the shutdowns were brief and at those points, the brain was in limbo apparently, between the sleep and wakeful states. Speaking on the subject, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine's David Dinges, the person behind the study, said, "It's as though it is both asleep and awake and they are switching between each other quite rapidly."
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Health

UK: Fruit smoothie boom could trigger tooth decay epidemic, warn dentists


Mail Online
Mon, 19 May 2008 23:41 UTC


smoothie
©Unknown
Smoothie boom: Could cause an epidemic of tooth decay, warn dentists

The goodness in fruit smoothies may be outweighed by the damage they do our teeth, say dentists.

The sugar and acid content of the drinks could cause an "erosion epidemic", they warn.

"Fruit smoothies are becoming increasingly popular and the fruit content can make them seem like a good idea," said Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Foundation.

"However, they contain very high levels of sugar and acid and so can do a lot of damage to the teeth.
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Health

Cell cancer-fighting trigger is found


United Press International
Fri, 16 May 2008 23:32 UTC
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - A Canadian scientist says he's found a way to trigger a protein that causes cells to fight cancer-causing agents, such as ultraviolet radiation.

University of Saskatchewan microbiology Professor Wei Xiao discovered how to trigger the protein combination called 9-1-1 in a finding that's been called a breakthrough in cancer research that could possibly lead to better cancer diagnosis through targeting defective genes.
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Syringe

West Nile Vaccine Breakthrough


Science Daily
Wed, 21 May 2008 21:59 UTC
University of Queensland researchers have made a giant leap forward in the race to develop a vaccine for the potentially debilitating West Nile virus.

Associate Professor Alex Khromykh, from UQ's School of Molecular & Microbial Sciences, and colleagues have found a way to generate immune response levels comparable to a live virus vaccine, which could also help suffers of other disease such as dengue fever and Japanese encephalitis.

"What this means is that our prototype vaccine has the potential to not only be safer but just as effective as live vaccines," Dr Khromykh said.
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Health

Bangladesh reports 1st human case of H5N1 bird flu


Associated Press
Thu, 22 May 2008 18:31 UTC
Bangladesh's Health Ministry says the nation's first human case of the H5N1 strain of bird flu has been detected.
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Red Flag

UK: MPs back creation of human-animal embryos

Mark Henderson and Francis Elliott
Times Online
Tue, 20 May 2008 16:49 UTC


embryos
©Unknown
The amendment to ban all admixed embryos was defeated by 336 votes to 176. The prohibition on true hybrids was defeated by 286 votes to 223

British scientists will be allowed to research devastating diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's using human-animal embryos, after the House of Commons rejected a ban yesterday.
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X

Vioxx and Ghostwriting Explained: (Recipe for Disaster)

Neil McLaughlin
NaturalNews
Fri, 16 May 2008 15:05 UTC
Blurring the line between best-selling novels and best-selling pharmaceutical drug ads, Merck Inc. disguised professional writers as Vioxx drug safety researchers.

As if their drugs were not scary enough, Merck brought in "ghostwriters" to sign off on research and pose as independent, primary authors on drug safety reports that amounted to nothing more than marketing propaganda. Though common in the pharmaceutical industry, this deceptive practice is normally difficult to prove.
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Pills

Pharmaceutical Drug Companies Killing Middle America Legally while Robbing You Blind


Better Body Journal
Sun, 18 May 2008 00:00 UTC
In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported(1) that drug overdoses killed 33,000 people that year. Roughly 10,000 people died in 1990 of the same causes. In 1999, it was 20,000 people. Are you seeing the trend? In 2005, drug deaths were second only car accidents (44,000 people killed) in the category of accidental deaths.

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Roses

Miracle fruit not right around the corner

Robert S. Wieder
CalorieLab
Thu, 15 May 2008 21:31 UTC
It looks like "miracle fruit" will be taking another lap around the Food Trends track. Miracle fruit, a.k.a. Synsepalum delcificum, pops up in the media every year or so as a possible "diet breakthrough." The fruit in question is a somewhat tart-tasting West African berry that has a remarkable effect on those who chew on one or two: for the following hour or so, it makes anything sour taste absolutely sweet, and many things that taste sweet taste even better.
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