Health & WellnessS


Clock

Researchers Figure Out What Makes A Simple Biological Clock Tick

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Vanderbilt University has analyzed the simplest known biological clock and figured out what makes it tick. The results of their analysis are published in the March 27 issue of the journal Public Library of Science Biology.

Biological clocks are microscopic pacemakers. They are found in everything from pond scum to human beings and appear to help organize a dizzying array of biochemical processes. A traveler experiences jet lag when his or her internal clock becomes out of synch with the environment. Seasonal Affective Disorder, some types of depression, sleep disorders and problems adjusting to changes in work cycles all can occur when an individual's biological clock acts up. Recent studies have even found links between these molecular timepieces and cancer.

In 2005, a group of Japanese researchers surprised the scientific community by showing that the three proteins which make up the biological clock in blue green algae will establish a 24-hour cycle on their own when placed in a test tube with adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the chemical that powers biological reactions.

Magic Wand

New study in SLEEP finds that sleep disturbance increases spontaneous pain in women

Sleep continuity disturbance impairs endogenous pain-inhibitory function and increases spontaneous pain in women. This supports a possible pathophysiologic role of sleep disturbance in chronic pain, according to a study published in the April 1st issue of the journal SLEEP.

The study, conducted by Michael T. Smith, PhD, and colleagues at John's Hopkins University, focused on 32 healthy females, who were studied polysomnographically for seven nights. On the first two nights, the subjects slept undisturbed for eight hours. Then, the women were assigned to one of three groups: "Control", "Forced Awakening" (FA) and "Restricted Sleep Opportunity" (RSO). From nights three-to-five, the "Control" group continued to sleep undisturbed, while the "Forced Awakening" group underwent eight forced awakenings, one per hour, and the "Restricted Sleep Opportunity" group received partial sleep deprivation by delayed bedtime. On night six, both the FA and RSO groups underwent 36 hours of total sleep deprivation, followed by 11-hour recovery sleep.

In an assessment of the subjects' completion of twice-daily psychophysical assessments of mechanical pain thresholds and pain inhibition, it was discovered that the FA group demonstrated an increase in spontaneous pain, while neither the "Control" nor the RSO group showed changes in pain inhibition or spontaneous pain during partial sleep deprivation.

Health

Dengue Surging in Mexico, Latin America - 600 pct increase

MEXICO CITY - The deadly hemorrhagic form of dengue fever is increasing dramatically in Mexico, and experts predict a surge throughout Latin America fueled by climate change, migration and faltering mosquito eradication efforts.

Ambulance

Medical Meccas - crumbling domestic healthcare systems prompt medical tourism

Hospitals around the world are drawing new patients with topnotch doctors, high-tech equipment and low costs.

©Agnes Dherbeys
It's Not Just Doctors: Bumrungrad is redolent of a five-star hotel

Comment: This is an obscenely Western biased article - yet it points out a rather important issue. The ponerization of the U.S. has resulted in the systemic degradation of the quality of all industries and organizations, including health care - the influence of a ponerological system reaches every region of the affected country. The health care system in the U.S. is past a point of collapse - it is beyond the financial reach of most of its citizens and even for those who can afford it, it is riddled with incompetence and lack of empathy and compassion. Newsweek presents 'developing world' international health care as a viable option - very telling indeed.


Magic Wand

The formation of social memories

Is there a specific memory for events involving people? Researchers in the Vulnerability, Adaptation and Psychopathology Laboratory (CNRS/University Paris VI France ) and a Canadian team at Douglas Hospital, McGill University (Montreal), have identified the internal part of the prefrontal cortex as being the key structure for memorising social information. Published in Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, February 2007

Social events such as a party with friends, a work meeting or an argument with a partner form an integral part of daily life. Our ability to remember these events, and more precisely to remember the people and the relationships we had with them, is essential to ensure satisfactory adaptation to our social existence. At a cerebral level, various regions of the brain, and particularly the hippocampus, are directly involved in learning and memory. Some of these regions are specialised in learning certain types of information, such as the amygdale and our memory for emotions.

Monkey Wrench

Semi-identical twins discovered - "Chimeras"

Scientists have revealed details of the world's only known case of "semi-identical" twins.

The journal Nature says the twins are identical on their mother's side, but share only half their genes on their father's side.

They are the result of two sperm cells fertilising a single egg, which then divided to form two embryos - and each sperm contributed genes to each child.

Each stage is unlikely, and scientists believe the twins are probably unique.

Health

Elderly at Risk: Sedatives linked to pneumonia, strokes

More than 100,000 elderly people with dementia are being sedated with drugs linked to increased risk of pneumonia, strokes and heart attacks.

The first long-term study of a class of drugs called neuroleptics found patients taking them died on average six months earlier than those switched to placebos.

Light Saber

Nightmarish Child Custody Battle Suggestions

So you had a child with a monster. If this monster happens to be a psychopath you have a challenge on your hands. Now what do you do. Take control. How do you that?

First, and foremost, take control of your self. Every time you react to something they do, they are in control. Over and over I hear stories about these monsters and the story teller is stressed out over the whole thing. Wrong answer. You are playing into their hands.

For the purpose of this writing I will assume you are dealing with a court case. Psychopaths are master manipulators and you will not win without help.

Your role in protecting your child from a negative influence is to be the fact gatherer for your attorney. You can not do a good job if you are mentally strung out. Grab a hold of your self and focus on your mission.

Light Saber

Stalk Your Stalker

Are you, or someone you love, so damn frustrated by a stalker you just want to scream. Adding insult to injury most recommendations come in the form of things you must do. You, not the stalker, are advised to turn your world upside in hopes it might stop. Law enforcement tells you there is not enough to make an arrest. Nobody or nothing seems to help. When you are at your wits end I suggest you stalk the stalker.

No, I don't me literally go out and follow them around. Nor do I mean gather all the personal information you can get your hands on. What I do mean is learn as much as you can about them. You need to become your own expert on how they think.

Magic Wand

Study Reveals Why We Get Distracted So Easily

Distractions turn on different part of our brains and do so more quickly than the daily grind of paying attention, neuroscientists have discovered.

Separate regions are responsible for the different ways our brain focuses on the world around us, according to the study by MIT researchers, and our brain waves even pulsate at different frequencies depending on the type of outside stimulus.

"Neural activity goes up and down in a regular periodic way, with everything vibrating together," said study co-leader and neuroscientist Earl K. Miller. "It is faster for automatic stimulus and slower for things we choose to pay attention to."