Scientists find a quicker way to make antibodies | Reuters
"A new process to extract and copy the essential elements of cells that make human antibodies has provided a shortcut to making targeted, infection-fighting proteins known as monoclonal antibodies, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday....The process allowed them to make influenza-specific antibodies in as little as a month, and they said the discovery could lead new treatments for other infectious diseases such as hepatitis C, pneumococcal pneumonia or anthrax."
Fats & Cholesterol: Nutrition Source, Harvard School of Public Health
"[T]otal amount of fat in the diet, whether high or low, isn't really linked with disease. What really matters is the type of fat in the diet." Excellent review of current knowledge on fat. Basically, eat good fats (mono- and polyunsaturated fats) and avoid saturated and trans fats. Good fats actually improve cholesterol blood chemistry. Bad fats, particularly trans fats, degrade cholesterol blood chemistry.
BBC NEWS | Health | 'Testosterone link' to depression
"A study of about 4,000 men aged over 70 found those with lowest testosterone were three times more likely to be depressed than those with the most."
BBC NEWS | Health | Breakfast 'keeps teenagers lean'
"In a study of nearly 7,000 middle-aged people in Norfolk, a team from Cambridge University found that those who ate the most in the morning put on the least amount of weight."
Do Statins Make You Stupid? - New York Times Blog
"There was the headline-making trial of the statin-combination drug Vytorin, which rattled conventional wisdom about the value of lowering cholesterol. Business Week weighed in with a report that asked: “Do Cholesterol Drugs Do Any Good?” And my Well column in Science Times last month pointed out that there’s no data to show that statins prolong the lives of many people who use them."
Chewing Gum Sweetener Can Cause Dangerous Weight Loss
"Many sugar-free chewing gums contain a sweetener called sorbitol. Sorbitol is a laxative which is poorly absorbed by the small intestine. An article in this week's British Medical Journal (BMJ) warns of the dangers of excess sorbitol intake.

The warning comes after doctors came across two patients who had chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain and dangerously excessive weight loss. After lengthy investigations which could not identify why the patients were losing so much weight and had chronic diarrhea and pains, a detailed analysis of eating habits put the problem down to eating too much chewing gum with sorbitol."
Test may spare many women chemotherapy -- chicagotribune.com
A gene test can help doctors determine which breast cancer patients are likely to benefit from chemotherapy, even for those whose tumors are relatively more advanced.
FOXNews.com - Large Study Links Red, Processed Meat to Certain Cancers - Health News | Current Health News | Medical News
People who ate the most red were 25 percent more likely to be diagnosed with bowel, liver, lung and esophageal cancer during the eight-year study, compared to those who consumed small amounts of this type of meat.

The researchers also found that people who ate the most processed meats, including bacon, ham and lunch meat, had a 20 percent higher risk of colorectal cancer and a 16 percent higher risk of lung cancer.

Researchers say 1 in 10 colorectal and 1 in 10 lung cancers could be avoided if people reduced their red and processed meat intake to very low amounts.
Schools trying to stay ahead of staph infections - The Boston Globe
The infection is spread by direct skin-to-skin contact...Staph are also spread by contact with items that have been touched by people with staph, like towels shared after bathing and drying off, or shared athletic equipment in the gym or on the field...The students most at risk are athletes because many come in contact through the course of a game or practice, DeMaria said. He said athletes are also prone to getting superficial cuts during the course of play.
Statins Inhibit Coenzyme Q10 Synthesis
Since coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and cholesterol are both synthesized from the same substance, mevalonate, statin drugs (Lipitor, Zocor, etc) also inhibit the body's synthesis of coenzyme Q10. This is not a "side effect," of statins, but a direct, inherent function of the drugs. Prasugrel (PRASS-uh-grell)
Vitamin C beats statins in cholesterol - heart disease - Health Supreme
If we had simply eaten our fruit (lots of it) or taken our vitamin C, as Pauling recommends, we would have eliminated the cause of heart attacks - degrading arterial walls - and on the way we would also have lowered our cholesterol. Naturally, cheaply and definitely.
Antioxidant vitamins and coronary heart disease ri...[Am J Clin Nutr. 2004] - PubMed Result
The results suggest a reduced incidence of major CHD events at high supplemental vitamin C intakes. The risk reductions at high vitamin E or carotenoid intakes appear small.
NEJM -- Lp(a) Lipoprotein, Vascular Disease, and Mortality in the Elderly
Among older adults in the United States, an elevated level of Lp(a) lipoprotein is an independent predictor of stroke, death from vascular disease, and death from any cause in men but not in women. These data support the use of Lp(a) lipoprotein levels in predicting the risk of these events in older men.
New Brain Cells Listen Before They Talk
Newly created neurons in adults rely on signals from distant brain regions to regulate their maturation and survival before they can communicate with existing neighboring cells--a finding that has important implications for the use of adult neural stem cells to replace brain cells lost by trauma or neurodegeneration.
Cholesterol Medication:"Grapefruit Affect"is a Dangerous Side Effect for Cholesterol Drug Users
Lower cholesterol with certain drugs and you could be setting yourself up for some serious side effects. One of these side effects takes cholesterol lowering drugs and a common breakfast fruit and turns it into the "grapefruit effect," a process that raises blood levels of the medicine without taking more.
Researchers Knock Out HIV
With the latest advances in treatment, doctors have discovered that they can successfully neutralise the HIV virus. The so-called "combination therapy" prevents the HIV virus from mutating and spreading, allowing patients to rebuild their immune system to the same levels as the rest of the population.
Attitude Doesn't Affect Cancer Survival
Having a positive attitude may help cancer patients deal with their disease, but it doesn't directly affect survival, according to one of the largest and most rigorously designed investigations ever to examine the issue...The study included more than 1,000 people treated for head and neck cancer; the emotional state of patients was found to have no influence on survival.
BBC NEWS | Health | Untidy beds may keep us healthy
Failing to make your bed in the morning may actually help keep you healthy, scientists believe....Research suggests that while an unmade bed may look scruffy it is also unappealing to house dust mites thought to cause asthma and other allergies....I've been saying this for years :)
Cancer Monthly - Vitamin C and Cancer
"Vitamin C is not a miraculous cure for cancer, but it significantly prolongs the life of the cancer patient. We believe that supplemental ascorbate can be of real help to all cancer patients and of quite dramatic benefit to a fortunate few."
VOA News - Scientists Discover Stored Blood Loses Life-Saving Gas
Scientists have discovered that blood stored in a bank loses a vital gas that is important for transferring oxygen from the blood. As VOA's Jessica Berman reports, the discovery may explain why a significant number of people die after receiving blood transfusions. Nitric Oxide gas is depleted within hours of donation.
Chronic Work Stress May Trigger Second Heart Attack
People who experience chronic job strain after a first heart attack double their risk of suffering from a second one, according to new research from the University Laval's Faculty of Medicine in Quebec.
Scientists Invent Novel Hydrogels For Repairing And Regenerating Human Tissue
High-Tech Images Can Reveal Stent Status - Forbes.com
WDDTY | Stents: 25 years on and specialists learn that lifestyle changes are just as effective
A new trial, involving 2,297 heart patients with at least one blocked coronary artery, found that they fared just as well if they stopped smoking, exercised, and improved their diet....They lived as long, if not longer, than the patients who were given a stent, but who otherwise carried on as before, and their quality of life was also far higher.
Heart > Drug-Eluting Stents May Not Be For All Clogged Heart Vessels
US health system: Most expensive, least effective | Press Esc
The United States health care system is the most expensive in the world but ranks last compared with five other developed nations on measures of quality, access, efficiency, equity, and outcomes, according to the third edition of a Commonwealth Fund report analyzing international health policy surveys.
Student Printz - Scientists cure cancer, but no one takes notice
Entrez PubMed
The number of coronary stents may be over half a million world-wide. The neurologist and radiologist are frequently confronted with cardiac patients who have had a recent carotid or coronary stent implanted and present with an acute and unrelated stroke for which an MRI is recommended. We have reviewed and classified all the major stents currently available world-wide and discussed their interaction with MRI through their ferro-magneticity. All current stents are MRI safe and MRI can be done anytime.
Egyptians, not Greeks were true fathers of medicine
Scientists examining documents dating back 3,500 years say they have found proof that the origins of modern medicine lie in ancient Egypt and not with Hippocrates and the Greeks.
Medical errors kill tens of thousands annually, panel says
More people die each year in the United States from medical errors than from highway accidents, breast cancer or AIDS, a federal advisory panel reported Monday....The report from the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine cited studies showing between 44,000 and 98,000 people die each year because of mistakes by medical professionals...."That's probably an underestimate for two reasons," noted Dr. Donald Berwick of the Institute of Medicine.
A C.E.O. Pitches Universal Health Care - The Lede - Breaking News - New York Times Blog
Thirty-six companies have decided to join forces in a push to extend health insurance to all Americans.
U.S. hospitals charge uninsured more, study says - Yahoo! News
U.S. hospitals are charging uninsured patients about two-and-a-half times more than those with health insurance, a mark-up that has been steadily rising despite pressure to level prices, a study released on Tuesday found.
Sky News - Machine Means End To Sleepless Nights
A new discovery could make it possible to take a "power nap" at the flick of a switch.

Scientists have found a way to turn on deep sleep at will using a machine that magnetically stimulates the brain.

eXile - Issue #145 - Moscow Babylon - Chicken McShitlets - By Mark Ames
In other words, American chicken is saturated in shit.
Flavoring Suspected in Illness - washingtonpost.com
Ortiz, 44, is among a group of California food-flavoring workers recently diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans, a rare and life-threatening form of fixed obstructive lung disease. Also known as popcorn workers lung, because it has turned up in workers at microwave-popcorn factories, the disease destroys the lungs. A transplant is the only cure.
Common Gene Raises Heart Risk, Studies Find - New York Times
Two rival teams of scientists have discovered a genetic variation that increases the risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death worldwide, by up to 60 percent in people of European descent. They hope a test for the variant will enable physicians to assess patients at risk more accurately and to recommend early intervention.
One injection a year to beat brittle bones | the Daily Mail
A routine annual injection could protect millions of osteoporosis sufferers from broken bones.
Southern AP News: Story: Vegan couple found guilty of killing malnourished baby
"A Superior Court jury convicted a vegan couple of murder and cruelty to children Wednesday in the death of their 6-week-old, who was fed a diet largely consisting of soy milk and apple juice....Jade Sanders, 27, and Lamont Thomas, 31, will receive automatic life sentences for starving the boy, who weighed just 3 1/2 pounds when he died." So sad...
Docs Change the Way They Think About Death - Newsweek Health - MSNBC.com
The new science of resuscitation is changing the way doctors think about heart attacks and death itself.
Prostate cancer revolution
Prostate cancer is the second leading cancer killer among men, after lung cancer. The American Cancer Society projects that in 2007 there will be 219,000 new cases and 27,000 deaths. Yet detecting the disease early has always been problematic. The only blood test available now is a test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is not good at distinguishing malignancies from benign prostate enlargement (BPH).
A high-fat breakfast can lead to an unhealthy day
"... it's been well documented that a high-fat diet leads to artherosclerosis and high blood pressure, and that exaggerated and prolonged cardiovascular responses to stress are associated with high blood pressure in the future. So when we learn that even a single, high-fat meal can make you more reactive to stress, it's cause for concern because it suggests a new and damaging way that a high-fat diet affects cardiovascular function."
ABC News: For Heart's Sake, Put the Salt Shaker Away
Specifically, the study shows that the occurrence of heart attack, death caused by heart disease and other cardiac conditions were reduced by 25 percent to 30 percent in those following a low-salt diet.
VOA News - Scientists Report Sharp Drop In US Breast Cancer Rate
Researchers say the number of breast cancers in the United States dropped sharply in 2003. The reduction follows a finding that links hormone replacement therapy to breast and other cancers in women.
The Overlooked Cancer Cure From Japan by Bill Sardi
Something in rice bran?
Seed: Scientists Say Cancer-Killing Virus Developed
Self-assembling gel stops bleeding in seconds
Swab a clear liquid onto a gaping wound and watch the bleeding stop in seconds...using a solution of protein molecules that self-organise on the nanoscale into a biodegradable gel that stops bleeding.
Old but Not Frail: A Matter of Heart and Head
Scientists are surprised to find that, in many cases, a single factor, undetected cardiovascular disease, is often a major reason people become frail.
B-12 deficiency and heart disease
Scientific American Mind: Train Your Brain -- Mental exercises with/notrofeedback may ease symptoms of attention-deficit disorder, epilepsy and depression--and even boost cognition in healthy brains
Can microwave popcorn be harmful to your health?
FDA has stated that it will start to look into the possible health effects caused by consumers breathing the artifical butter flavoring in popcorn when opening the package. The artificial butter flavoring agent, diacetyl, is suspected of causing a form of bronchiolitis obliterans, a debilitating, and possibly fatal lung disease, in several workers at microwave popcorn plants across the country.
Advice to drink 8 glasses of water a day is wrong?
The best general advice (keeping in mind that there are always exceptions) is to rely upon your normal senses. If you feel thirsty, drink; if you don't drink unless you want to. The exhortation that we all need to satisfy an arbitrarily rigid rule about how much water we must drink every day [is incorrect].
ACS :: Gene Study Reveals New Cancer-Related Mutations
Bioavailability in food nutrients
Cancer cell 'executioner' found
Anti-cancer vaccine on sale | The Daily Telegraph
Internet is a Denial of Service Attack on Your Brain
How Internet (email, websites, text messaging) lowers your effective I.Q.
LEX18 - Stress Can Shrink and Age Your Brain
Fitness and Wellness
Possible Health Benefits of Coenzyme Q10
Apotex Receives Approval for First Generic Plavix
A four- to six-hour work day is healthier
8 Changes I Experienced After Giving Up TV
Even One Fatty Meal Affects Arteries, Study: Effect Of Meals High In Good Or Bad Fat Is Immediately Apparent - CBS News
HyperOxemic Therapy : News : WHOI Online
The Seattle Times: Health: Statin cuts risk of another stroke