Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) have identified a key cellular mechanism that guides embryonic heart tissue formation -- a process which, if disrupted, can lead to a number of common congenital heart defects.
Heart tissue forms in two distinct phases known as the First Heart Field, which includes the left ventricle and portions of both atrial chambers, and the Second Heart Field (SHF), which consists of the right ventricle and outflow tract. In humans, the process occurs within the fourth week of development. Using animal models, Keck School of Medicine researchers found that retinoic acid (RA), a derivative of vitamin A, regulates the SHF tissue formation and the septation, or division, of the outflow tract into the ascending aorta and the pulmonary artery.
The study appears in the March 16 issue of the journal Developmental Cell.
Health & Wellness
Most of us are familiar with the use of zinc as an aid to combating common colds and sore throats; however, many of us are unaware of just how vital zinc is in maintaining overall good health. Zinc is an essential trace element found in every cell in our bodies. While studies have indicated that about 12% of Americans are deficient in zinc, our ability to absorb zinc declines with age and it is estimated that this percentage increases to 45% in older Americans.
Zinc performs a variety of important functions, including strengthening the immune system, protecting cell membranes against free radicals, preventing cell structural damage and repairing damaged DNA. Zinc also is instrumental in healing wounds, supports the stabilization of blood glucose, supports neurological function, maintains the senses of taste and smell, and stimulates activity in approximately 100 different enzymes.
In addition, Zinc supports normal growth during pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence and helps to protect against macular degeneration, a cause of blindness in adults over the age of 60. Zinc can even help boost libido. Zinc may also be effective in treating such conditions as acne, eczema and anorexia nervosa and for those suffering from trauma after surgery.
Zinc performs a variety of important functions, including strengthening the immune system, protecting cell membranes against free radicals, preventing cell structural damage and repairing damaged DNA. Zinc also is instrumental in healing wounds, supports the stabilization of blood glucose, supports neurological function, maintains the senses of taste and smell, and stimulates activity in approximately 100 different enzymes.
In addition, Zinc supports normal growth during pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence and helps to protect against macular degeneration, a cause of blindness in adults over the age of 60. Zinc can even help boost libido. Zinc may also be effective in treating such conditions as acne, eczema and anorexia nervosa and for those suffering from trauma after surgery.
Mercury is a naturally occurring metal that is toxic to vertebrates, including humans. Even in very small amounts, it can cause severe damage to your neurological functions and multiple organ systems. Mercury is "hiding" in many things we come in contact with daily; everything from our food to the fillings in our teeth, and even our light bulbs. It seems to be everywhere.
It was recently reported that HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) has been contaminated with mercury. Since such a vast number of processed foods contain HFCS, any time you eat any pre-packaged food, you're most likely eating mercury right along with it. But mercury isn't just in junk food. Even healthy foods can be hiding mercury. Unfortunately, it is reported to be abundant in fish, one of the foods considered to be most healthy for us to consume. Calcium Bentonite Clay, thankfully, is a safe, natural way to help remove mercury from our bodies and protect ourselves from the ravages of this contaminant.
Calcium Bentonite Clay, also known as Living Clay, can be used both internally and externally to cleanse and detoxify the body. Calcium Bentonite Clay has a very strong negative ionic charge. When it comes in contact with any substance that has a positive ionic charge (such as metals, toxins, bacteria, etc.) it attracts it like a magnet, and the two become bound together. The clay both adsorbs the positive-charged ion (attaches it to its surface like VELCRO(R)), and absorbs it as well. As the clay passes through your system, it attracts and binds the metals and toxins, which are then eliminated from the body along with the clay.
It was recently reported that HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) has been contaminated with mercury. Since such a vast number of processed foods contain HFCS, any time you eat any pre-packaged food, you're most likely eating mercury right along with it. But mercury isn't just in junk food. Even healthy foods can be hiding mercury. Unfortunately, it is reported to be abundant in fish, one of the foods considered to be most healthy for us to consume. Calcium Bentonite Clay, thankfully, is a safe, natural way to help remove mercury from our bodies and protect ourselves from the ravages of this contaminant.
Calcium Bentonite Clay, also known as Living Clay, can be used both internally and externally to cleanse and detoxify the body. Calcium Bentonite Clay has a very strong negative ionic charge. When it comes in contact with any substance that has a positive ionic charge (such as metals, toxins, bacteria, etc.) it attracts it like a magnet, and the two become bound together. The clay both adsorbs the positive-charged ion (attaches it to its surface like VELCRO(R)), and absorbs it as well. As the clay passes through your system, it attracts and binds the metals and toxins, which are then eliminated from the body along with the clay.
Researchers from the University of Nottingham have found that a rare, wild mushroom called cordyceps is an effective treatment for cancer. Commonly used in Chinese medicine, the cordyceps fungi inhibits the growth, division, and proliferation of cancer cells in the body.
Cordyceps was originally formulated into a cancer drug called cordycepin back in the 1950s. Though the drug version was ultimately found to be ineffective because of rapid degradation inside the body once it was administered, the active components from the mushroom continue to be effective cancer fighters.
Depending upon dosage levels, cordyceps mushroom extracts directly impact the process of cell protein development, impeding the production of the mRNA molecules that create them. At high doses, cordyceps inhibits protein development directly, essentially eliminating the ability of cancer cells to function and survive.
Cordyceps was originally formulated into a cancer drug called cordycepin back in the 1950s. Though the drug version was ultimately found to be ineffective because of rapid degradation inside the body once it was administered, the active components from the mushroom continue to be effective cancer fighters.
Depending upon dosage levels, cordyceps mushroom extracts directly impact the process of cell protein development, impeding the production of the mRNA molecules that create them. At high doses, cordyceps inhibits protein development directly, essentially eliminating the ability of cancer cells to function and survive.
Experts from the Nordic Cochrane Centre (NCC) in the U.K. have estimated that about 7,000 British women are improperly diagnosed for breast cancer each year because of mammography. The group is urging the National Health Service (NHS) to reevaluate its breast cancer screening program, citing a failure of mammography to properly diagnose patients.
Controversy over the legitimacy of mammography has been heating up worldwide as increasing numbers of medical professionals, industry watchdogs, consumer advocates, and others are recognizing that mammography is failing to achieve what it was intended to do. Not only does it improperly detect cancer cells, but it often subjects women to needless treatments that end up causing them more harm than good.
Official British mammography rhetoric claims that 1,400 deaths are prevented every year from mammography screenings, however there is no evidence to back up this claim. The NCC article, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine explains that many of the claims made by the NHS about its screening program are not backed up by evidence.
Controversy over the legitimacy of mammography has been heating up worldwide as increasing numbers of medical professionals, industry watchdogs, consumer advocates, and others are recognizing that mammography is failing to achieve what it was intended to do. Not only does it improperly detect cancer cells, but it often subjects women to needless treatments that end up causing them more harm than good.
Official British mammography rhetoric claims that 1,400 deaths are prevented every year from mammography screenings, however there is no evidence to back up this claim. The NCC article, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine explains that many of the claims made by the NHS about its screening program are not backed up by evidence.
The placebo effect can be traced in part to physical changes that take place in the spine when a fake drug is taken, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany, and published in the journal Science.
The placebo effect refers to a phenomenon in which a person's symptoms diminish after taking a biologically inactive treatment that they believe to be a real drug. It is a well-documented effect that is particularly strong for conditions originating in the central nervous system, such as pain and depression.
"These results provide direct evidence for spinal inhibition as one mechanism of placebo analgesia and highlight that psychological factors can act on the earliest stages of pain processing in the central nervous system," the researchers wrote.
Researchers told 15 healthy men that their arms were being treated with two separate creams - one of them an anesthetic, the other a placebo. They then applied painful heat to the treated sections of the participants arms while taking a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan of their spinal cords.
The placebo effect refers to a phenomenon in which a person's symptoms diminish after taking a biologically inactive treatment that they believe to be a real drug. It is a well-documented effect that is particularly strong for conditions originating in the central nervous system, such as pain and depression.
"These results provide direct evidence for spinal inhibition as one mechanism of placebo analgesia and highlight that psychological factors can act on the earliest stages of pain processing in the central nervous system," the researchers wrote.
Researchers told 15 healthy men that their arms were being treated with two separate creams - one of them an anesthetic, the other a placebo. They then applied painful heat to the treated sections of the participants arms while taking a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan of their spinal cords.
The dramatic video titled Smoking Teeth = Poison Gas has had a tremendous impact on both the public and professional audiences.
The full version plays 40 minutes with interviews of experts in the fields of mercury toxicology, environmental medicine, politics and dentistry.
The full version plays 40 minutes with interviews of experts in the fields of mercury toxicology, environmental medicine, politics and dentistry.
The CDC issued a report today March 17, 2010 saying that an estimated 1.7 million traumatic brain injuries resulting in deaths, hospitalizations and emergency department visits occur in the United States each year.
The report based on data collected between 2002 and 2006 finds each year there are 52,000 deaths and 275 hospitalizations related to traumatic brain injuries and 1.4 million or 80 percent of the total cases of TBI were treated and released from an emergency department. The deaths related to the traumatic brain injury (TBI) accounts for the total deaths from injury.
Falls are found to be the leading cause for the traumatic brain injury accounting for 35.2 percent of the total, which most likely occurs in children from birth to 4 years and for adults aged 75 years and older.
The report based on data collected between 2002 and 2006 finds each year there are 52,000 deaths and 275 hospitalizations related to traumatic brain injuries and 1.4 million or 80 percent of the total cases of TBI were treated and released from an emergency department. The deaths related to the traumatic brain injury (TBI) accounts for the total deaths from injury.
Falls are found to be the leading cause for the traumatic brain injury accounting for 35.2 percent of the total, which most likely occurs in children from birth to 4 years and for adults aged 75 years and older.
The role of selenium in diabetes has been controversial, with some studies suggesting that it raises diabetes risk and others finding that it is protective. Now, research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism, has shown that, for men, high plasma selenium concentrations are associated with a lower occurrence of dysglycemia.
Tasnime Akbaraly, from the University of Montpellier, worked with a team of researchers to follow 1162 healthy French men and women for nine years, monitoring plasma selenium concentrations and incidence of dysglycemia.
She said, "Our results showed that for French elderly males, having plasma selenium concentrations in the top tertile of the population distribution (1.19-1.97 μmol/L) was significantly associated with a lower risk of developing dysglycemia over the following nine years."
Tasnime Akbaraly, from the University of Montpellier, worked with a team of researchers to follow 1162 healthy French men and women for nine years, monitoring plasma selenium concentrations and incidence of dysglycemia.
She said, "Our results showed that for French elderly males, having plasma selenium concentrations in the top tertile of the population distribution (1.19-1.97 μmol/L) was significantly associated with a lower risk of developing dysglycemia over the following nine years."
Stress during pregnancy may raise the risk of asthma in offspring, according to researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. The researchers investigated differences in immune function markers in cord blood between infants born to mothers in high stress environments and those born to mothers with lower stress and found marked differences in patterns that may be associated with asthma risk later in life.
"This is the first study in humans to show that increased stress experienced during pregnancy in these urban, largely minority women, is associated with different patterns of cord blood cytokine production to various environmental stimuli, relative to babies born to lower-stressed mothers," said Rosalind Wright, M.D., M.P.H., associate physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
The findings have been published online ahead of print publication in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
"This is the first study in humans to show that increased stress experienced during pregnancy in these urban, largely minority women, is associated with different patterns of cord blood cytokine production to various environmental stimuli, relative to babies born to lower-stressed mothers," said Rosalind Wright, M.D., M.P.H., associate physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
The findings have been published online ahead of print publication in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Comment: The case against mercury fillings is clear. Check these other articles:
US issues health warning over mercury fillings
FDA, ADA Conspiracy to Poison Children with Toxic Mercury Fillings Exposed in Groundbreaking Lawsuit
and yet the FDA (totally bought and paid for by Big Pharma) insists that
FDA Declares Mercury Amalgam Fillings Safe for All