Archives for February, 2010
Post Polio Syndrome Week – No Presidential Proclamation Required
Posted by Tara C. Smith on February 23, 2010 Student guest post by Ron Bedford. The first week of February 2010 must have been some sort of Post Polio Syndrome (PPS) week. The New York Times ran a story about PPS on February 2nd. On the following Saturday, during the broadcast of the 2009 AKC/Eukanuba National Championship dog show, a Labrador Retriever named Benton…
What might have caused my cousin’s nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Posted by Tara C. Smith on February 22, 2010 Student guest post by Anh To. When I found out my only non-smoking cousin had nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), I was puzzled. With all the hype about cigarette smoking associated with various kinds of cancers in the media, I did not understand why none of my smoking cousins had NPC but the one who didn’t smoke…
What is the Hygiene Hypothesis?
Posted by Tara C. Smith on February 22, 2010 Guest post by Zainab Khan In most western countries, germs have become synonymous with the idea of something bad that needs to be killed as quickly as possible. However, people have long been questioning the validity of these ideas; a few decades ago it was hypothesized that not enough exposure to germ can and does…
Student guest posts: infectious causes of chronic disease
Posted by Tara C. Smith on February 22, 2010 It’s that time again. I teach a class in even years on infectious causes of chronic disease, looking at the role various infections play in cancer, autoimmune disease, mental illness, and other chronic conditions. When I last taught the course in 2008, the students were assigned two writing assignments–to be posted here on the blog.…