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Hong Kong slaughters chickens after H5N1 bird flu virus found

Hong Kong health officials have slaughtered 2,700 chickens in a local market after five birds were found to be carrying the H5N1 bird flu virus.

Alarm Clock

New method to analyse sleep pattern

A new and "non-invasive" technique to identify a person's natural sleep pattern has been developed, university researchers have said.

Researchers from the School of Medicine at Swansea University tested the method at Cheltenham Science Festival to identify their natural pattern of wake and sleep - known as the circadian rhythm.

All that is required from the subject is a quick cheek-swab. Previously, blood samples were required to obtain the ribonucleic acid (RNA) needed for this type of research, the university said.

Evil Rays

Excessive mobile phone use affects sleep in teens

Teenagers who excessively use their cell phone are more prone to disrupted sleep, restlessness, stress and fatigue, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Monday at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

The study, authored by Gaby Badre, MD, PhD, of Sahlgren's Academy in Gothenburg, Sweden, focused on 21 healthy subjects, between 14-20 years of age, with regular working/studying hours and without sleep problems. The subjects were broken up into two groups: a control group (three men, seven women) and the experimental group (three men, eight women). The control group made less than five calls and/or sent five text messages a day, while the experimental group made more than 15 calls and/or sent 15 text messages a day. The subjects were then asked questions regarding their lifestyle and sleep habits.

Comment: The fact is that any mobile use (brief or excessive) effects the brain in quite an alarming way. Consider the following:

From Dumbing and Numbing Down: Mind Control by Cell Phone
Brainwaves change with a healthy person's conscious and unconscious mental activity and state of arousal. But scientists can do more with brainwaves than just listen in on the brain at work-they can selectively control brain function by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). This technique uses powerful pulses of electromagnetic radiation beamed into a person's brain to jam or excite particular brain circuits.[...]

Not only could the cell phone signals alter a person's behavior during the call, the effects of the disrupted brain-wave patterns continued long after the phone was switched off.

"The significance of the research," he explained, is that although the cell phone power is low, "electromagnetic radiation can nevertheless have an effect on mental behavior when transmitting at the proper frequency."



Life Preserver

Day the music died for Autistic children as funding for 'miracle-worker' is cut



Image
©Unknown
Music therapist Louise Kelly with a pupil at Scoil Iosagain in Buncrana, Co Donegal

A music therapist who worked "miracles" with autistic primary school children is to lose her job because the Department of Education has decided to stop funding the service.

'The day the music died' is now looming for the children, many with special needs, at Scoil Iosagain in Buncrana, Co Donegal.

Sixteen children with autism, in the large school of almost 700 pupils, attend daily sessions in the music therapy room, many on a one-to-one basis.

Light Sabers

Children with depressive, anxiety disorders have more sleep problems

For some children, sleep problems may result purely from poor sleep habits and inadequate sleep hygiene. However, for a small percentage of children, sleep problems might represent a pre-cursor or early symptom of a more serious emotional disorders, including anxiety and depression, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Monday at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

The study, authored by Flavia Giannotti, MD, of Center of Pediatric Sleep Disorders at the University of Rome La Sapienza in Italy, was conducted on 122 children between seven and 11 years of age, who had a major depressive disorder. All patients underwent a systematic psychiatric, cognitive and sleep evaluation. All children were medication-free. Depressed children, as well as those presenting a comorbid anxious disorder, entered the study, and their results were compared to those of 200 healthy peers.

Attention

Mysterious fatal strokes in 3 U.S states baffle docs

People in three southern U.S. states are facing a health threat no one can explain: an abnormally high risk of suffering a fatal stroke - even among tourists just visiting the region.

Residents and visitors alike in near-coastal areas of North and South Carolina and Georgia have a stroke risk at least 10 per cent higher than people in other U.S. states.

And when local people leave the area, even for a short trip, their risk of a fatal stroke drops.

X

Philippines: Manila hospital unit closed after 25 babies die: report

A Manila hospital has closed its neonatal intensive care unit and an investigation ordered after 25 babies died of a blood infection, it was reported Saturday.

Local authorities ordered the Ospital ng Makati to close the unit after 45 babies contacted neonatal sepsis last month.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer said the Department of Health had launched an investigation while the city's mayor, Jejomar Binay, has asked for a report on the deaths by Monday.

The unit was being sterilised on Saturday and number of women giving birth in the public hospital restricted.

Evil Rays

Don't pump up the volume

CANBERRA, June 10, 2008 (Reuters) - Next time you crank up the volume, beware: an Australian government report said young people risk developing permanent hearing problems if they go to noisy bars and listen to loud music through headphones.

woman wears headphones
©REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao
A woman wears headphones in Tokyo September 12, 2007.

Health

Vitamin D May Help Prevent Heart Attacks

An article published in the June 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine reports that men who have low levels of vitamin D are at a higher risk of heart attack (myocardial infarction).

It has been shown that deaths related to cardiovascular disease are more frequent in higher latitudes and during the winter months - when and where the sun rarely shines - and are less frequent at higher altitudes.

Health

Kidney Foundation Drops Fluoridation Support

Fluoride may damage bones of kidney patients

The National Kidney Foundation withdrew its support of water fluoridation citing the 2006 National Research Council (NRC) report indicating that kidney patients are more susceptible to fluoride's bone and teeth-damaging effects.

The kidney-impaired retain more fluoride and risk skeletal fluorosis (an arthritic-type bone disease), fractures and severe enamel fluorosis, which may increase the risk of dental decay, reports the NRC.