Chromosome Readings, $650 to Know When You’ll Die

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Max Dolan

Don’t let your chronological age get you down–let your biological age determine when to have your midlife crisis!

In five to ten years medical researchers believe that a $650 test which measures the length of your telomeres will be available to the public. What are telomeres? They are “structures” located at the tips of your chromosomes and by measuring the length of them you can figure out how long you have left to live!

Via: The Independent

When your telomeres get contrasted to the normal length of a telomere found in the human body, scientists are able to deduce whether you are more susceptible to desises, such as heart disease and pulmonary fibrosis, cardiov ascular disease, Alzheimer’s and cancer; as well as if your just inherently going to die early.

While this crystal ball process is still in the works, it brings up ethical and personal issues. Should man ever really know how long he has to live? Would you change your financial and sexual habits? Would you actually stop smoking? My personal fear: what if my life insurance company gets a hold of the results…

Via: independent.co.uk

Got Human Milk?

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Max Dolan

Well cows do.

Flickr: MShades

Just when you thought that mankind couldn’t abuse the Bos taurus in any other way, apparently Chinese scientists got bored and decided to insert 300 human genes into a cow to make it produce what they call ’human milk’.

What was surely a drunken bet between two scientists has developed into a highly controversial issue.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Animals as well as Helen Wallace, the director of GeneWatch, join natural breast milk stock holders in thier concern about the genetic alteration of cows.

The leader into the frontier of ‘human-like-milk’, Professor Li, claims

Human milk contains the ‘just right’ proportions of protein, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, and vitamins for an infant’s optimal growth and development.

And not only is it good for your children, but Li’s got plans:

We aim to commercialize some research in this area in coming three years. For the “human-like milk”, 10 years or maybe more time will be required to finally pour this enhanced milk into the consumer’s cup.

Photo: uned.es

Got that? In tens years mothers’ breasts across the world will be liberated from their children! The scientific drive to eradicate any maternal connection among man perseveres!

Health insurer taps voyeuristic vein to encourage behavior changes

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Mark Baard

Folks visiting America’s consumerist mausoleum, the Mall of America, are getting a lesson in dieting from a guy in living in a fish bowl for four weeks:

Scott, “The Human Do.ing,” will live at Mall of America from March 18 – April 16 to model daily physical activity and healthy eating and show how community support is a key factor in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. He will encourage others to join him in getting fit and eating right, thereby involving all of Minnesota in his quest and inspiring others to start their own healthy lifestyle journeys.

via PR Newswire.

Cell phones weaken bones, study finds

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Mark Baard

Attention, all you hip-holsterin’ cell phone users: Your must-have wireless gadget is chewing away at your bones.

Docs in Argentina have found that the electromagnetic radiation from cell phones reduce bone density in the parts of the body on which they are carried.

And given the ubiquity of the devices, that “could have a substantial effect on the osteoporosis rate in the population,” according to the authors of the report.

From a recent announcement:

Although small, the new study raises the possibility that long-term exposure to electromagnetic radiation from cell phones could adversely affect bone mineralization. Larger follow-up studies will be needed to confirm or disprove this hypothesis, according to Dr Sravi. He suggests that studies may be warranted in women, who have higher rates of osteoporosis; and children, who would have longer expected lifetime exposure to cell phones.

via Newswire.

Healthcare spin control plan vs. ProPublica

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Mark Baard

Photo: shanelkalicharan/Flickr CC

Worried by a ProPublica investigation revealing disgusting and dangerous conditions at dialysis clinics nationwide, PR people for the billion-dollar industry braced itself with a spin control document, with talking points.

From an industry PR memo obtained by ProPublica:

Despite our collective efforts, we do not anticipate a balanced presentation (in the ProPublica report), and we therefore feel it’s essential to create the “machinery” necessary to orchestrate an aggressive and prompt community-wide response.

The authors of the spin control doc suggests that docs and administrators, if contacted by the media in the wake of the ProPublica report, emphasize technological advances in the industry — rather than taking criticisms head-on.

The doc also shows industry flacks fretted that the story will get “will get traction through other media outlets.”

Chemo nose drops beat blood-brain barrier

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Mark Baard

Docs in Japan have found that “nose-brain direct transport” beats injection for delivering a brain cancer-fighting drug:

Nasal chemotherapy with MTX significantly reduced the tumor weight as compared to nontreatment control and IP group. The strategy to utilize the nose−brain direct transport can be applicable to a new therapeutic system not only for brain tumors but also for other central nervous system disorders such as neurodegenerative diseases.

via Transnasal Delivery of Methotrexate to Brain Tumors in Rats: A New Strategy for Brain Tumor Chemotherapy – Molecular Pharmaceutics (ACS Publications).

Bright lights? Big cancer risk

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Mark Baard

Photo: tourist_on_earth/Flickr CC

U. of Haifa scientists have found that LAN, or “light at night,” suppresses the secretion of melatonin in mice, which leads to rises in certain cancers.

This comes as more bad news to people finding themselves forced by Agenda 21-inspired urbanization schemes into dense cities that never sleep, where streetlights and other sources of artificial ambient light crash in through apartment windows.

From U. of Haifa announcement, today:

Earlier studies in which Prof. Haim has participated at the University of Haifa, have shown that people living in areas that have more night-time illumination are more susceptible to prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women. The researchers’ hypothesis was that LAN harms production of melatonin, a hormone that is released from the pineal gland during the dark part of the 24h cycle and which is linked to the body’s cyclical night-day activity and seasonality. When this hormone is suppressed, the occurrence of cancer rises.

via Connection Between Light at Night LAN and Cancer Revealed.

Praying for a cure? Proximity counts

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Mark Baard

Photo: Giselle Giardino/Flickr CC

Here’s one for all of us who find religion every time we’re worried about our health:

As it turns out, for improving health, prayer might work, after all.

The key, according to Indiana researchers, is PIP — proximate intercessory prayer (PIP). That means the persona praying, and the “target” of those prayers, must be near to one another.

I’d like to see a followup on prayers made via live audio and video connections…

Rural Mozambican subjects exhibited improved audition and/or visual acuity subsequent to PIP. The magnitude of measured effects exceeds that reported in previous suggestion and hypnosis studies. Future study seems warranted to assess whether PIP may be a useful adjunct to standard medical care for certain patients with auditory and/or visual impairments, especially in contexts where access to conventional treatment is limited.

via Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Proximal Intercessory Pr… : Southern Medical Journal.

Scientists confirm a no-brainer: Sex reduces stress

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Mark Baard

Photo: James Vaughan/Flickr CC

Stress is bad, unless it’s sex that’s stressing your body.

That’s good stress.

LiveScience reports that scientists believe the effects of stress hormones on the brain “can be overridden if whatever experiences triggered them were pleasant.”

Details from an un-sexy Princeton rat study:

Rodents that only saw females once in two weeks had elevated levels of stress hormones, while the rats that had regular access showed no increase in the hormones. Sexually experienced rodents also proved less anxious than virgins, in that they were quicker to chomp down on food in unfamiliar environs.

via Sex Boosts Brain Growth, Study Suggests | Rat Sex | LiveScience.

The Sci-Tech Heretic

Science, fiction and news through the conspiratorial lens. By Mark Baard in Boston.

Tag Archives: Health