Wow – cool huh? This is a wave of the future – a replacement for your PC?????????
You carry around that little pen-like thing in your pocket and wherever you are, just grab it and it will produce both a monitor and a keyboard on any flat surface. Kiss your laptop goodbye!
You’ll have to travel to Belgium for this…but perhaps it would be worth it. This is definitely a one-of-a-kind restaurant – and not for the faint-hearted either!
50 meters above the ground you may choose breakfast, lunch, dinner, or cocktails. The Benji Fun Company has come up with a dining experience for 22, complete with chef, server, and musician. You choose any location – safety guaranteed with the hoisting crane.
What do you think?
Researchers are now suspecting that all of the products available to us from vaccinations to anti-bacterial soap to bottled water are beginning to take their toll on our health. Our immune systems are in a state of confusion and they are actually turning on us. Doctors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are on the verge of testing this theory in an extreme way.
Soon a liquid concoction of microscopic worm eggs will be served to patients with multiple sclerosis. The hope is that these parasites will lessen overactive immune systems and relieve the patients? symptoms.
It was observed over 40 years ago that children?s environments that were highly sanitized were associated with an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is an auto-immune disorder in which the body?s immune system attacks its own tissue, specifically myelin, which insulates nerve cells.
Some scientists are now saying that the way to stop this attack on nerve cells may be with the small helminth whipworm. This harmless microscopic parasite has long infected humans, often in underdeveloped countries.
Physicians at the UW plan to give the whipworm eggs to five MS patients over a period of several months. If the experiment is successful, more patients will be included. Most people infected with this parasite do not produce any symptoms of infection.
More than 2,000 eggs can fit on a space smaller than the head of a pin. Once inside a body, the eggs will hatch and worms will grow to about as long as an eyelash. The theory is that the presence of the worms will redirect the immune systems away from attacking the myelin, thus slowing the damage to the nerve cells.
This approach has already been utilized in the treatment of Crohn?s Disease and ulcerative colitis, both of which are autoimmune disorders of the gastrointestinal system. Also being considered as possible diseases that would benefit from this treatment are Type 1 diabetes, and hay fever. MS and other autoimmune diseases like hay fever were uncommon in the 19th century as compared to today.
In 2007, a study in Argentina gave evidence of a direct link between intestinal parasites and MS. The study found that over a period of 4 ? years 12 MS patients who had been unintentionally infected with intestinal parasites had dramatically fewer relapses than 12 matching patients without parasite infection.
MS is a complex disease, however, and has more contributing factors than whether or not someone has been infected by parasites. Genes play a strong role in whether or not someone becomes ill with MS, as do factors like sunlight exposure and vitamin D levels early in life.
To measure the effect, MRI scans will be performed before and during the study to observe any changes in nerve cells. The study will also be blinded so that doctors examining test results will not know when the images were done. Changes in symptoms will also be recorded. The study will take three months and during that time the participants will ingest a teaspoon of clear liquid containing over 2,000 worm eggs every two weeks. The study has been approved by the FDA and is being funded by a grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
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“The consequences of the fumigation are catastrophic. They do it (spraying from planes) in a hurry. They don’t care that they also fumigate corn plantations, prairies, lakes, fish, animals,” said a middle-aged, lightly bearded Colombian man wearing a blue baseball hat, designed with a green marijuana leaf. He spoke to an interviewer for the filmmaker of the 2001 documentary film, “Coco Mama – The War on Drugs,” produced by Jan Thielen.
Monsanto Corporation currently claims to sell over $1 billion ANNUALLY of garden and farm weed killers. Monsanto also claims that RoundUp is not a threat to humans, animals, or the environment.
Meanwhile, the US contractor, DynCorp International, has been hired as a subcontractor to spray RoundUp Ultra on poppy and coca fields in Columbia (fields that would product heroine and cocaine) to eliminate millions of dollars in drug sales.
Thousands of health complaints from herbicide spray victims are beginning to pour in. In light of this situation, all of the major presidential candidates were asked where they stood on this issue. None had a comment. None. Federal campaign finance records show the following Monsanto contributions: Clinton: $5,150; Huckabee: $3,400; Obama: $339; McCain: $250.
Monsanto’s products all carry the required warning labels that would be very useful for those who have access to them and are able to read them. However, in the situation in Columbia, a US contractor is spraying a large area by airplane. How can the people on the ground under the plane know what precautions to take for themselves and their families and their animals? For example: The RoundUp label states: “Have the product container or label with you when calling a poison control center or doctor or going for treatment.” Ummmmmmmm – not happening.
Other warnings? “If inhaled, move person to fresh air….If person is not breathing, call 911 or an ambulance, then give artificial respiration, preferably by mouth to mouth, if possible….If swollowed, have a person sip a glass of water if able to swallow….Do not induce vomiting unless told to do so by the poison control center or doctor.”
For the record, in 1996 Monsanto agreed to stop advertising the product as “safe, non-toxic, harmless or free from risk.” I would certainly hope so.
The latest revelation in a long list of revelations about products we use daily is the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in food and beverage containers – including baby bottles. When this chemical found in plastic is exposed to heat (as in baby bottles), researchers have found that it may lead to obesity, diabetes and developmental problems.
BPA is used to make the plastic in 95 percent of baby bottles now on the market.
Researchers are waffling about how much BPA is too much and if any at all is acceptable in children’s systems. I think we can count on the fact that our best interests will NOT be protected by their research and erring on the side of caution is probably the most prudent course of action.
BPA-free bottles are available, as are glass bottles.
There is a congressional mandate in place banning sales of regular incandescent light bulbs by the year 2012. Recently however, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has warned that the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) is not a safe product in many cases.
Breaking a CFL can cause serious health risks. They contain mercury. This is especially hazardous for small children and pregnant women. They also warn that these light bulbs should never be used over carpeted surfaces because in the event of breakage, the mercury could contaminate the carpet necessitating completely removing portions of the carpet to eliminate the mercury hazards.
The mercury is necessary in the light bulbs to produce the light and currently there is no other option to achieve this. Small amounts of mercury are vaporized upon breakage. It is even common to break a CFL when attempting to screw it into a socket if it is done incorrectly.
In a recently conducted study researchers broke 65 CFLs. They then tested the air quality and clean-up methods. Their findings were that in many cases immediately after the break (and sometimes even after clean-up) the levels of mercury were as much as 100 times higher than federal guidelines for chronic exposure.
Mercury is a naturally occurring metal that can accumulate in the body. If this happens, serious damage to the central nervous system can occur.
The study concluded that if a CFL breaks, children and pets should immediately be removed from the room and the room should be completely ventilated. Vacuums should never be used to clean up a broken fluorescent light bulb. Alternately, stiff paper and tape should be utilized to clean up the small pieces.
CFLs can contain as much as 30 milligrams of mercury. A recent study has estimated that two to four tons of mercury is released into the air each year from these light bulbs.
Because of environmental pressure, compact fluorescent sales are soaring. Over 290 million light bulbs were sold last year, nearly twice the amount sold in 2006. Currently, CFLs make up 20 percent of the United States light bulb market and this number is guaranteed to increase due to the federal mandate banning all incandescent light bulbs starting in 2012.
Some states are now requiring consumers to dispose of compact fluorescents as household hazardous waste. Other states are now prohibiting their disposal in regular trash. Due to the recent studies, some states are beginning to release guidelines for the use of these light bulbs. Vermont is now suggesting that carpeting be removed where breakages have occurred when small children and pregnant women have been present. Massachusetts is also expected to recommend that CFLs not be used in fixtures where breakages are likely to occur and where sensitive people spend time.
After two tours in Iraq, a marine came back home to the states and tried to resume his life with his wife. He could not shake an overwhelming feeling of dispair, however. Finally, suffering a mental breakdown as a result of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) he committed suicide on Feb 19.
His family is understandably in shock.
As soldiers return home from serving, many have overwhelming feelings of depression and anxiety. Many seek help from the Veterans Health Administration, but become frustrated with the endless red tape and long waits for counseling and care.
The family of the recently deceased marine believes the VA failed their son because of insufficient services. The marine was unhappy with the care he received at the VA and felt it was impersonal. He also felt he couldn’t connect with the Vietnam veterans who were receiving help at the hospital.
With PTSD becoming more commonplace as soldiers return from tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, the VA needs to take the necessary steps to improve its mental health care.
ER doctors are prescribing strong narcotics more often to white patients than to minority patients. Even in cases of severe pain minorities are prescribed narcotics less often than white patients.
The underlying belief may be that doctors fear narcotic abuse by minority patients. The irony, however, is that blacks are less likely to abuse narcotics than whites. Hispanics are becoming almost as likely as whites to engage in narcotic abuse.
Stricter protocols for prescribing narcotics is needed to close this gap.
A New York hospital recently studied its emergency patients and found no racial disparity in narcotics prescribed for broken bones. This center aggressively treats pain and is developing protocols for painkillers that dictate initial dosages and times to check with patients to see if they need more pain medicine.
Its high time to move past any disparities and get them narrowed. Doctors also need to be aware of any personal attitudes that may influence how they prescribe to patients.
I just read about a new Google service that is definitely something to wonder about.
Apparently, Google is going to begin storing the medical records of several thousand people as it tests a new health service. How are they going to adequately protect this sensitive information?
This pilot program will involve up to 10,000 patients at an Ohio clinic who willingly volunteered to participate in this new service.
Each detailed health profile will be password protected with the same password a user uses to access their regular Google account (think email and personalized search tools).
Google is excited about this because they see this as a natural progression from their existing search engine processes. Privacy watchdogs aren’t so sure about this, however. It is widely believed that Google already has too much access to your personal information, including the interests and habits you display as you surf the web and store your email.
Another concern is the fact that the patients who have elected to participate in this service are not covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA). HIPPA established very strict standards for the classification of medical information as privileged communication between a doctor and patient. In short, this means that a patient who decides to transfer medical information to an external service (Google) could be setting themselves up for the government or a legal adversary to obtain the information.
Also, if information is not protected by HIPPA, it could also be used for marketing purposes.
What remains to be seen is how Google intends to profit from this new service. Perhaps its as innocent as a new way to increase site traffic. Perhaps not.
