Health & WellnessS


Bell

Fiona Godlee BMJ editor takes on corruption in science

Kelly Crow
CBC News
Tue, 19 Apr 2016 16:21 UTC
Science fraud
© CBCDr. Fiona Godlee, editor of BMJ, playfully demonstrates the hidden strings drug companies use to influence scientific research.
'Medicine and science are run by human beings, so there will always be crooks,' says journal editor

It's unusual to watch one of the world's most powerful editors in scientific publishing play with a marionette puppet.

But Dr. Fiona Godlee, editor of the BMJ, specializes in the unexpected.

The puppet she's holding is dressed as a doctor, complete with a stethoscope around its neck. Its strings represent the hidden hand of the pharmaceutical industry.

Comment: Fraud is growing more rampant in scientific studies:

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Attention

New research confirms cell phones cause brain cancer and children are more at risk

Amy Yensi
CBS Baltimore
Tue, 03 May 2016 21:05 UTC
Children with cellphones
© Reuters / Mike Segar
For years, we've heard of a possible link between cell phone use and cancer. Now, this week, researchers in Baltimore say the evidence is clear, and children are more at risk.

The studies link cell phones to a slew of health issues in children. That's why experts say parents and expecting mothers need to be extra careful.

Cell phones are a part of our every day lives and a cause for concern for researchers who see them as a health risk — especially for infants and children.

"The weight of the evidence is clear: cell phones do cause brain cancer," said Dr. Devras Davis, president, Environmental Health Trust.

Comment: The risks to health from cell phone radiation have been known for years, yet study results have been systematically blocked or ignored by industry advocates.

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Attention

New research finds links between candida albicans yeast infections and mental illness

Ian Johnston
The Independent
Wed, 04 May 2016 00:00 UTC
yeast infections mental illness
A new study has found a link between yeast infections and mental illness
A sexually transmitted yeast infection has been linked to schizophrenia in men and also appears to damage the memory of mentally ill women, according to new research.

The Candida albicans fungus is usually present in the human digestive tract, but if it grows to much it can cause burning, itching, thrush in infants, and a genital infection in adults.

The study found 26 per cent of 261 men with schizophrenia were producing immune-system antibodies designed to fight a Candida infection, compared to 14 per cent of those without the condition.

And, while there was no similar pattern in women, those with schizophrenia and the highest Candida antibody levels performed significantly worse in tests of their memory.

Professor Emily Severance, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, stressed while they had found a link between the yeast infection and mental illness, it was "far too early to single out Candida infection as a cause of mental illness or vice versa".

Comment: Yeast infections can result in many chronic illnesses and symptoms including allergies, chronic inflammation, joint problems, mood and brain disorders, digestive symptoms, and others. It is quite common, yet many people are not aware they have it, and conventional doctors often ignore the condition. It can be triggered by a number of things including diets high in carbohydrates, an impaired immune system, use of drugs such as antibiotics, birth control pills, estrogen, and steroids as well as psychological stress. For more information on the symptoms associated with fungal overgrowth and suggestions for treatment, see:

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Info

Did getting fat help us evolve? Our ancestors' ability to put on weight helped develop larger brains

Abigail Beall
Daily Mail
Wed, 04 May 2016 14:42 UTC
human brain
© phenomena.nationalgeographic.com
Most people would consider fat an unwanted part of their body.

But without our ability to store such tissue, our ancestors might not have developed such big brains compared to other primates, new research suggests.

The study shows storing fat helped boost our metabolism compared to other primates, which helped us develop our larger brains and ultimately separated us from our chimp cousins.

Professor Herman Pontzer from Hunter College, New York, and colleagues conducted the study by measuring the calorific intake of humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans.

The researcher group consisted of scientists from Ghana, Jamaica, Seychelles, South Africa, Switzerland and the US.

Comment: We became human BECAUSE we ate meat: Kleiber's law and how humans got their big brains
Meat eating made us human. The anthropological evidence strongly supports the idea that the addition of increasingly larger amounts of meat in the diet of our predecessors was essential in the evolution of the large human brain. Our large brains came at the metabolic expense of our guts, which shrank as our brains grew.

In April 1995 an article appeared in the journal Current Anthropology that was an intellectualtour de force and, in my view, an example of a perfect theoretical paper. "The Expensive-Tissue Hypothesis" (ETH) by Leslie Aiello and Peter Wheeler demonstrated by a brilliant thought experiment that our species didn't evolve to eat meat but evolved because it ate meat.


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Health

Improve your sleep by re-synchronizing your body to the natural cycles of light and dark

Dr. Mercola
Mercola.com
Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00 UTC
sleep
© thebridgemaker.com
Do you get the recommended eight hours of uninterrupted, restful sleep every night? Many don't, and in my experience, if you're not sleeping well, it's virtually impossible to stay healthy and emotionally balanced.

Over the long term, skimping on sleep can contribute to a whole host of chronic health problems, from obesity and diabetes to immune problems and an increased risk for cancer. Additionally, it raises your risk of accidents and occupational errors.

Prior to light bulbs, people slept an average of 10 hours a night. Nowadays, the average American gets less than seven hours of shut-eye. Why is that? As noted by Authority Nutrition:1
"It turns out that perhaps the single biggest contributor to our collective sleep problems is the use of artificial lighting and electronics at night. These devices emit light of a blue wavelength, which tricks our brains into thinking that it is daytime."
A related part of this problem is the fact that most people work indoors and fail to get sufficient exposure to full, bright, and natural sunlight during the day. This disconnect from the natural cycles of day and night can turn into a chronic problem where you're constantly struggling to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Fortunately the remedy is both simple and inexpensive, as all you have to do is modify your light environment to resynchronize your body to the natural cycles of light and dark.

Comment: For more information on the importance of quality sleep and techniques to overcome insomnia, see:

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Bacon n Eggs

Michael Pollan swears by cooking from scratch

Randy Hayes
Alternet
Tue, 26 Apr 2016 00:56 UTC
cooked
© Pete Foley/Shutterstock
The new book from the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma gives everyday people another practical way to help the earth and themselves.

In Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, Michael Pollan describes his personal journey of stepping away from processed and packaged foods toward cooking from scratch, and highlights the grievous consequences of industrial modernity in the daily arena of eating and drinking. Specialization, Pollan argues, "breeds helplessness, dependence, and ignorance and, eventually... undermines any sense of responsibility." Cooked persuasively illuminates how the industrial mindset fosters the domination of nature and distorts public governance, and offers, instead, justification and guidance for a healthier way of eating and a richer life.

Comment: More of 'Pollan's anecdotes' on cooking:

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Laptop

Screen time: Is two hours really too much for kids?

Joanne Orlando
medicalxpress.com
Wed, 04 May 2016 00:18 UTC
screen time
One of the most frustrating issues modern parents face is how to manage children's screen time.

Official guidelines say kids aged five to 18 years should spend no more than two hours a day using screens, and children under two years should not use a screen at all. But in a world dominated by tablets and mobile phones, these limits are proving to be virtually impossible to uphold.

A recent online poll of 18,000 children by ABC children's program Behind the News found that 56% of respondents exceed that two-hour daily limit.

A survey of 2,620 Australian children aged eight to 16 years had similar results. The study showed that 45% of eight-year-olds to 80% of 16-year-olds exceed the recommended less than two hours per day limit.

Comment: A thought-provoking experiment: What happens when children don't have the internet for a whole day?

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Dominoes

Sleep cycles determined by amount of salt in the brain


Science News Journal
Sun, 01 May 2016 00:00 UTC
salt brain
© sciencenewsjournal.comSalt Brain
Newly presented study discusses salt levels in the brain and how they play a very important role in whether a person is sleeping or awake at any given moment.

Professor Maiken Nedergaard from the Center for Basic and Translational Neuroscience at University of Copenhagen says this information could prove quite beneficial in the study of psychiatric diseases like schizophrenia, the confusion some people suffer from after receiving anesthesia and other health concerns related to a lack of sleep.

The amount of salt in our body changes depending on whether we are taking a nap or going about our day and for the first time, researchers are able to show these changes. The Copenhagen study shows that when salt levels are influenced within mice, their sleep-wake cycles can be manipulated. Professor Maiken Nedergaard calls this discovery revealing, adding a whole new component to the understanding of exactly how the brain works. This offers insight into how sleep is controlled and also what may cause patterns in sleep to change. This new information will help further the understanding of individuals who suffer from convulsions when they do not get a proper night's sleep, while others can miss sleep and continue to function for extended periods of time.

Neuromodulators are what play a large role in choosing when our body stays asleep and when it "decides" to wake up. Adrenaline is an example of a neuromodulator. Adrenaline, for example, has been shown to change the amount of salt located around neurons. The salt balance actually decides whether or not our sleep will be disrupted from say, a touch or a sound. When the body is awake, salt balances cause neurons to be very sensitive to all sorts of stimulations. During the nighttime salt levels change, making it much harder for neurons to be activated. The difference between activation and lack of activity makes a person either wake or remain relaxed.

Comment: See also:

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Black Magic

More corruption at the EPA: Industry-funded research determines if glyphosate causes cancer

Nadia Prupis
Common Dreams
Tue, 03 May 2016 18:45 UTC
Anztowa/flickr/cc
"Industry has been manipulating this process for years."
A since-deleted analysis posted the agency's website shows it is relying on unpublished reports from groups linked to biochem industry.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) used industry-funded research to conclude that the herbicide chemical glyphosate is not likely to cause cancer in humans—contradicting findings by the World Health Organization (WHO)—according to an analysis the EPA posted to, then swiftly removed from, its website on Friday.

Comment: Not really surprising when the following is considered: EPA favors industry when assessing chemical dangers
Under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, the EPA has 90 days to review any new chemical, and determine regulatory guidelines like safe levels of use. If the EPA does not set regulations within that time - and they often don't - companies are free to use and sell that chemical how they see fit.

EPA has only tested and published data on approximately 200 of the 83,000 chemicals in its inventory, according to a California Senate review from 2010. Concerns over health effects can lead the EPA to take a second look at certain chemicals, as is the case with Atrazine.


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Syringe

The Vaccine Dilemma: Unsafe at any dose

Richard Gale & Gary Null
Progressive Radio Network
Tue, 03 May 2016 16:51 UTC
vaccines
The CDC and advocates for mandatory vaccination consistently repeat a dangerous mantra that finds no warranted basis in medical science. This monolithic industry, now a massive network of private and government institutions, state senates, and supported by a compliant media, want us to believe that science has finally settled the debate over vaccine safety and efficacy. All the data is in, so we are told, and no further research and discussion is necessary because vaccines have been officially ruled to pose no neurological and immunological risk to infants, children, pregnant mothers, adults and the elderly. This official policy is founded upon flawed premises and a primitive understanding about the complexities of the human body and its multifaceted immunological system.

This argument's fallacy is actually quite simple. Valid science is never settled. The myth of "settled science," which is especially endemic to the biological and medical sciences that rely on private financial interests, is sheer propaganda. Valid science, on the other hand, constantly seeks new discoveries to acquire further knowledge and greater understanding. The pursuit to fully comprehend the complexity of our biological, immunological and physiological systems, therefore, is in perpetual infinite regress. Today's justifications for medical intervention, whether by drugs or vaccines, eventually become tomorrow's barbarities as science further penetrates the hidden functions and operations of the human organism. Hence valid medical research should elicit new questions and not settle upon incomplete facts that are then proselytized as universal truths.
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