Health
Category archives for Health
Does Cranberry Juice Help Repress or Reduce Urinary Tract Infections? A study in skeptical juice drinking.
Posted by Greg Laden on August 13, 2010 After I reported this recent and interesting research paper about urinary tract inflictions, a number of conversations broke out on that post, on my facebook page, and via email, and some of these conversations raised the question of cranberry juice and whether the idea that it prevents, reduces, or shortens the duration of UTIs is…
Why are some urinary tract infections chronic?
Posted by Greg Laden on August 12, 2010 Chronic infection is, in a way, the new emerging infectious disease. Many pathogens are relatively tenacious when they infect elderly individuals or individuals who are otherwise not fully immunocompetent, and such individuals are, thanks to modern medical technology and practice, more common in the population. Resistant bacteria can cause chronic infection. It is interesting to…
Aggregate Proteins and Brain Aging: Interesting new findings
Posted by Greg Laden on August 10, 2010 Neurodegenerative diseases (i.e. Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s) often involves the formation of aggregates of proteins in a patients’ brain, correlated with the process of degeneration. Some of these proteins are unique to the specific disease and others are commonly found in healthy individuals but also occur intertwined with the disease-linked types. Until now, these “common proteins”…
Drowning is not what you think it is
Posted by Greg Laden on August 9, 2010 Untrained people (that would be YOU) often fail to recognize drowning. In this way, people often drown mere feet away from those who could rescue them. One in ten children who will drown this year will drown with their parents watching the process, not knowing what they are looking at.
Does drinking beer increase your attractiveness …. to mosquitoes?
Posted by Greg Laden on July 30, 2010 The anopheles mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, is the primary vector for human malaria. Mosquitoes in general, the A. gambiae included, find their prey by tracking body odor exuded from the breath and skin. Apparently, the composition of body odor determines A. gambiae‘s preference for one individual over another. It has been known for some time now…
If I say something bad about Pepsico, will I get in trouble?
Posted by Greg Laden on July 6, 2010 I once did a contract job for Pepsico. It went fine, but during the fieldwork, we noticed that every overhead utility wire and several prominent tree branches in the undeveloped forest we were surveying for archaeological sites had soda bottles strung over them, like those fetishes hanging around in the forest in the Blaire Witch…
Are you are real skeptic, or are you just faithing it?
Posted by Greg Laden on June 30, 2010 And by faithing it, I mean using faith rather than critical analysis of the available information to make important decisions about what to regard as valid.
The Landscape of Obesity: considerations of race as a factor
Posted by Greg Laden on May 19, 2010 SciCurious has written a review of an interesting paper suggesting a correlation between obesity and city vs. non-city life. As usual, the review by Sci is excellent, but I have a comment or two to add. Having read the review and then the paper, I had to ask if it might be possible to conclude…
I got totally screwed today, and here’s a picture of it:
Posted by Greg Laden on April 29, 2010 If you do not enjoy medical photographs, do not look below the fold.
Study Confirms Link Between Autism and Use of Cells From Abortions in Vaccines?
Posted by Greg Laden on April 26, 2010 First, let’s get this straight. I’m all for anti-science anti-vaxer right wingers not being vaccinated, as long as a) we take their children away from them (and vaccinate the poor dears) and b) isolate the adult anti-vaxers from the rest of the species, perhaps in Texas. But in the meantime, let’s look at the latest…
To cut or not to cut: The question of circumcision
Posted by Greg Laden on April 24, 2010 Men circumcised at birth saying that they prefer being circumcised makes as much sense as a man deaf in one ear extolling the virtues of monophonic sound.
Cost of Modern Medicine, Insurance Reform, and Death in the Paleolithic
Posted by Greg Laden on April 19, 2010 Are you going to be finishing all of that mastodon meat?
Outbreaks of H5N1 Bird Virus Infection in Wild Birds in time and space: Temperature matters (with cool video)
Posted by Greg Laden on April 18, 2010 It has long been thought that there are linkages between certain viruses and the weather. The flu season is winter (in whichever hemisphere it happens to be winter in) for reasons having to do with the seasons. One early theory posited that the practices of East Asian farmers, as they tended their animals, caused waterfowl…
From Fit to Fat to Fit: Slacking Off
Posted by Greg Laden on January 14, 2010 All good things come to an end. But then if you work hard enough, you can get them back.
From Fit to Fat to Fit: Funny haha, funny strange
Posted by Greg Laden on January 14, 2010 Funny Thing Two and Funny Thing Three.
From Fit to Fat to Fit: Into the bush
Posted by Greg Laden on January 13, 2010 Obsession can be a good thing. And I’m not talking about some dumb-ass fragrance.
From Fit to Fat to Fit: Doing it
Posted by Greg Laden on January 12, 2010 When it comes down to it, it is all a matter of just how hard you are willing to work. Then, you start with that and work harder.
From Fit to Fat to Fit: Lenora
Posted by Greg Laden on January 11, 2010 When working with a personal trainer, the first thing you have to do is to calibrate. Then, if the trainer does not crank it up to a higher level, she’s probably not worth her fee.
From Fit to Fat to Fit: Joining the Gym
Posted by Greg Laden on January 11, 2010 Continued from here Back from South Africa and with some time on my hands, I was hell bent on keeping the promise I had made to myself to get back into shape. For most people I know, this would mean eating better and going to the gym more often. But for me, it meant eating…
From Fit to Fat to Fit and Back: Exercise and Weight Loss
Posted by Greg Laden on January 10, 2010 Did you ever watch cattle? I mean, really watch them, for a few hours? Mostly they just sit or stand around munching on grass, chewing their cud, or snoozing. But every once in a while a handful of them will stand up and point in one direction. And they may take a few steps in…
Huxley narrowly escapes The Swine Flu
Posted by Greg Laden on December 4, 2009 We brought Huxley in for his first doctor visit yesterday. Everything was fine. But since we were going to a clinic with an urgent care unit, I expected to see a lot of people with the flu in the waiting room. There is always a lot of messing around in the waiting room, with a…
The Free Market, Flu Vaccine and The Role of Gummit
Posted by Greg Laden on November 23, 2009 The Free Market is a god-like powerful force that we can rely on to solve our problems, especially those of supply and demand. So if, as the WHO estimates, about 2% of the population is going to be covered by H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine then … shall we assume that the other 98% of the…
Medical Matters: H1N1, Science Ignorance and Cancer Screening
Posted by Greg Laden on November 20, 2009 I have a few non-authoritative comments regarding recent and current medical developments. This concerns the flu (esp. the H1N1 Swine Pandemic Flu), and the two recent changes in screening recommendations, for breast and cervical cancer and related issues.
When John Almost Died of Naturopathy
Posted by Greg Laden on November 15, 2009 Recent discussion of Canadian Naturopathy caused this old memory of mine to surface, regarding a friend who nearly died because he had a treatable illness but was attended to only by a Naturopath. A stupid, badly dressed Naturopath who couldn’t drive for shit.
Has swine flu peaked, and it if has, what does that mean?
Posted by Greg Laden on November 9, 2009 Have you seen the movie “Speed”? Great action flick if you haven’t. One of my favorite scenes in that movie is this one (apologies for vagueness … I have not seen the movie in quite some time): There is a bus running wild on the streets being followed by emergency vehicles. A group of girl…
Hey kids, it is up to you to avoid getting H1N1 flu, but here’s some tips
Posted by Greg Laden on November 5, 2009 Kids, before we watch the video, I have to tell you: I just got a flu shot the other day and it did not hurt even a tiny little bit. That’s because the needle is very small and your neurons …. that feel the pain … are far apart. So, many times the shot does…
Prayer as medicine to be included in Health Care Reform
Posted by Greg Laden on November 3, 2009 The current health care reform bill(s) do not address actual health care … like what procedures to use and stuff … as much as they address insurance. This is a health insurance reform bill, not a health care system reform bill. (Though there is necessarily overlap.) Nonetheless Republican Wingnuts want a provision regarding prayer as…
How many people does it take to make a baby really sick?
Posted by Greg Laden on November 3, 2009 We have an interesting conundrum. Our offspring (______) is due on November 20th. This places the likely date of birth just prior to Thanksgiving. This causes many people to get very excited because they get to see and play with the new baby. I wonder how mad at me all those people are going to…
Starving Dengue Fever Virus of Critical Building Blocks
Posted by Greg Laden on November 2, 2009 The following press release touches on a recently emerging and probably valid method of addressing some infections.
vaccinating many more people could slow the seasonal influenza virus’s ability to evade vaccines
Posted by Greg Laden on November 2, 2009 The seasonal influenza virus is extremely adaptable: each year, it evolves ways to evade vaccines, forcing vaccine makers to come up with new formulations. That evolution, known as antigenic drift, occurs when viruses change the sequence of their major surface protein, known as hemagglutinin (HA). HA is one of the primary targets of the natural…
, which is now available for the 
