Avatara
Mar 30th 2007, 06:49 AM
LATEST REPORTS
Dealing with circadian medicine, public/personal/occupational health, systems biology, human design, and longevity...
Call It Sleep – Sleeping Pills in America - Part II
Marketers are usually more savvy than physicians about what people really want, generally a very quick, technological fix. Americans have cut more than 90 minutes of sleep off their daily lives in the last forty years, a pattern of loss which appears to be accelerating.
Call It Sleep – Sleeping Pills in America - Part I
MIT's ocean model precisely mimics microbes' life cycles
BiologyNews.net - Thu Mar 29
Scientists at MIT have created an ocean model so realistic that the virtual forests of diverse microscopic plants they "sowed" have grown in population patterns that precisely mimic their real-world counterparts. The Darwin Project is a new cross-disciplinary research project at MIT connecting systems biology, microbial ecology, global biogeochemical cycles and climate.
Childhood Obesity: Danger Zone
Food Network - Thu Mar 29
Obesity—it's the fastest growing cause of disease and death in our country, and it's attacking more than 12 million of our children. The Food Network goes to the front lines of the childhood obesity epidemic to find out what's fueling the explosion in overweight children and teenagers and what parents, teachers, doctors and public officials are doing to fight a problem the U.S. Surgeon General calls "more serious" than terrorism. (see WKRN/AP report below.
For Athletes, the Next Fountain of Youth?
NY Times - Thu Mar 29
The latest curative leap to heal professional athletes and weekend warriors alike may sound like science fiction, but it could transform sports medicine. Some doctors and researchers say that in a few years the use of primitive stem cells from infants' umbilical cord blood could grow new knee ligaments or elbow tendons creating a therapy that becomes the vanguard of sports injury repair.
Merck Cancels Work on a New Insomnia Medication
NY Times - Thu Mar 29
Two weeks after the Food and Drug Administration issued safety warnings about widely used sleeping pills, the drug maker Merck canceled a venture into the shifting market for insomnia medications. Merck and its Danish partner, H. Lundbeck, announced that a safe and effective sleeping pill had eluded their scientists after years of study, and they canceled their joint product, gaboxadol.
CDC Says Easter Chicks Carry Health Risk
NY Times/AP - Thu Mar 29
Easter is right around the corner and so is the threat of salmonella carried by baby chicks often given to children as springtime gifts, health officials warned Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 81 people in 22 states fell ill last spring after contracting salmonella from chicks.
Salmonella outbreaks linked to baby poultry exposure
Reuters - Thu Mar 29
You may decide that a baby chick or duckling is not the best pet for your child after considering the implications of today's report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a recent salmonellosis outbreak that was traced back to these little creatures.
Obesity boosts prostate cancer mortality
Reuters - Thu Mar 29
Obese men diagnosed with prostate cancer are more than twice as likely to die of the disease than their leaner peers, a new study shows. They also have more than triple the risk that the cancer will spread beyond their prostate gland.
Reaching 100 years: A wish granted
Salt Lake Tribune - Thu March 29
Martha Johnson always wanted to live to be 100. On March 6, Johnson's lifelong wish was granted - she was a centenarian. But don't ask her about the secret of her longevity. She has no magic formula.
Al Roker Makes Child Obesity Documentary"
WKRN/AP - Thu Mar 29
As a youngster, Al Roker shopped for clothes in the "husky" section of the department store, "like someone was going to strap me to a dog sled." The phrase may be out of style, but the need for plus-sized clothes has only increased. The 52-year-old NBC personality kept his own experiences with weight control in mind while producing a documentary on childhood obesity for the Food Network.
Study: 1 in 8 Semitruck Drivers Doze Off Behind the Wheel
WSAW - Thu Mar 29
More than a million people drive semitractor trailors, and a surprising number say at one time or another they've dozed off behind the wheel - one of out eight, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Repeated long haul flights cause problems for air crew
Xinhua - Thu Mar 29
Menstrual cycle problems and transient psychotic disorders are just some of the dangers faced by air crew who repeatedly work long haul routes, according to a study reported by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The symptoms of jet lag are diverse and are caused by inappropriate timing of the body clock in the new time zone.
Dealing with circadian medicine, public/personal/occupational health, systems biology, human design, and longevity...
Call It Sleep – Sleeping Pills in America - Part II
Marketers are usually more savvy than physicians about what people really want, generally a very quick, technological fix. Americans have cut more than 90 minutes of sleep off their daily lives in the last forty years, a pattern of loss which appears to be accelerating.
Call It Sleep – Sleeping Pills in America - Part I
MIT's ocean model precisely mimics microbes' life cycles
BiologyNews.net - Thu Mar 29
Scientists at MIT have created an ocean model so realistic that the virtual forests of diverse microscopic plants they "sowed" have grown in population patterns that precisely mimic their real-world counterparts. The Darwin Project is a new cross-disciplinary research project at MIT connecting systems biology, microbial ecology, global biogeochemical cycles and climate.
Childhood Obesity: Danger Zone
Food Network - Thu Mar 29
Obesity—it's the fastest growing cause of disease and death in our country, and it's attacking more than 12 million of our children. The Food Network goes to the front lines of the childhood obesity epidemic to find out what's fueling the explosion in overweight children and teenagers and what parents, teachers, doctors and public officials are doing to fight a problem the U.S. Surgeon General calls "more serious" than terrorism. (see WKRN/AP report below.
For Athletes, the Next Fountain of Youth?
NY Times - Thu Mar 29
The latest curative leap to heal professional athletes and weekend warriors alike may sound like science fiction, but it could transform sports medicine. Some doctors and researchers say that in a few years the use of primitive stem cells from infants' umbilical cord blood could grow new knee ligaments or elbow tendons creating a therapy that becomes the vanguard of sports injury repair.
Merck Cancels Work on a New Insomnia Medication
NY Times - Thu Mar 29
Two weeks after the Food and Drug Administration issued safety warnings about widely used sleeping pills, the drug maker Merck canceled a venture into the shifting market for insomnia medications. Merck and its Danish partner, H. Lundbeck, announced that a safe and effective sleeping pill had eluded their scientists after years of study, and they canceled their joint product, gaboxadol.
CDC Says Easter Chicks Carry Health Risk
NY Times/AP - Thu Mar 29
Easter is right around the corner and so is the threat of salmonella carried by baby chicks often given to children as springtime gifts, health officials warned Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 81 people in 22 states fell ill last spring after contracting salmonella from chicks.
Salmonella outbreaks linked to baby poultry exposure
Reuters - Thu Mar 29
You may decide that a baby chick or duckling is not the best pet for your child after considering the implications of today's report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a recent salmonellosis outbreak that was traced back to these little creatures.
Obesity boosts prostate cancer mortality
Reuters - Thu Mar 29
Obese men diagnosed with prostate cancer are more than twice as likely to die of the disease than their leaner peers, a new study shows. They also have more than triple the risk that the cancer will spread beyond their prostate gland.
Reaching 100 years: A wish granted
Salt Lake Tribune - Thu March 29
Martha Johnson always wanted to live to be 100. On March 6, Johnson's lifelong wish was granted - she was a centenarian. But don't ask her about the secret of her longevity. She has no magic formula.
Al Roker Makes Child Obesity Documentary"
WKRN/AP - Thu Mar 29
As a youngster, Al Roker shopped for clothes in the "husky" section of the department store, "like someone was going to strap me to a dog sled." The phrase may be out of style, but the need for plus-sized clothes has only increased. The 52-year-old NBC personality kept his own experiences with weight control in mind while producing a documentary on childhood obesity for the Food Network.
Study: 1 in 8 Semitruck Drivers Doze Off Behind the Wheel
WSAW - Thu Mar 29
More than a million people drive semitractor trailors, and a surprising number say at one time or another they've dozed off behind the wheel - one of out eight, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Repeated long haul flights cause problems for air crew
Xinhua - Thu Mar 29
Menstrual cycle problems and transient psychotic disorders are just some of the dangers faced by air crew who repeatedly work long haul routes, according to a study reported by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The symptoms of jet lag are diverse and are caused by inappropriate timing of the body clock in the new time zone.