Author Archives
In short, I review clinical research on an almost daily basis. What I post tends to be articles that are relevant to the readers in addition to some curiosities that have intriguing potential.
As a hobby, I truly enjoy the puzzle-solving play that statistics and programming as in the python language bring to the table. I just do not enjoy problem-solving, I love problem-solving and the childlike inspiration and exploration of that innocent exhilaration of discovering something new.
Enjoy ;-)
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The popular insect repellent deet is neurotoxic: Urgent Action Needed
2009 Report posted for filing Contact: Graeme Baldwin graeme.baldwin@biomedcentral.com 44-203-192-2165 BioMed Central The active ingredient in many insect repellents, deet, has been found to be toxic to the central nervous system. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology… Read More ›
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63rd Health Research Report 18 AUG 2009 – Reconstruction
Editors Top Five: Not enough to list In this issue: 1.The popular insect repellent deet is neurotoxin 2. A synthetic derivative of the kudzu vine can reduce drinking and prevent relapse 3. High-fat diet affects physical and memory… Read More ›
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Fears of a witch hunt as BBC sex abuse scandal spreads
Dead TV presenter’s crimes cast shadow over incoming New York Times CEO. Barry Neild October 27, 2012 07:00 The BBC under fire: Director general George Entwistle. (Andrew Cowie/AFP/Getty Images) LONDON, UK — It started as a simple scandal involving a few… Read More ›
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Did Obama camp borrow racy virginity video idea from Putin?
Campaign video that compares voting for Obama to a girl losing her virginity prompts furious reaction LAST UPDATED AT 13:01 ON Fri 26 Oct 2012 HAS the Barack Obama camp taken a leaf out of Vladimir Putin’s campaign book with… Read More ›
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Are downloadable memories just around the corner? ( Using light repsonse as a Binary Code model )
By Daily Mail Reporter PUBLISHED:18:49 EST, 26 October 2012| UPDATED:18:49 EST, 26 October 2012 A scientist at MIT could be on track to uncovering how to restore lost memories in the brain. Using light stimulation to control neurons and map… Read More ›
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Stingrays: The Biggest Technological Threat to Cell Phone Privacy You Don’t Know About
October 22, 2012 | By Hanni Fakhoury and Trevor Timm On Friday, EFF and the ACLU submitted an amicus brief in United States v. Rigmaiden, a closely-followed case that has enormous consequences for individuals’ Fourth Amendment rights in their home… Read More ›
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Moscow enlists Russian expats in fight against historical revisionism
Published: 26 October, 2012, 14:35 Edited: 26 October, 2012, 14:35 Efforts to revise history and glorify fascism must be further resisted, and Russians living abroad can contribute to these crucial efforts, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday. Decades… Read More ›
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Putin says female punk band Pussy Riot ‘could be at home now doing the housework if they had not broken the law’
Putin said the bands three members deserved their fate because they threatened the moral foundations of Russia Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, have been sentenced to two years in jail after bursting into a cathedral to protest against… Read More ›
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Could there be a REAL ‘Manchurian Candidate’? TV show to test whether innocent people can be turned into brainwashed assassins
Bobby Kennedy’s assassin claimed he was hypnotised to carry out killing CIA investigated mind control between Fifties and Seventies as part of covert project known as MKUltra By Damien Gayle PUBLISHED:08:36 EST, 26 October 2012| UPDATED:08:59 EST, 26 October 2012… Read More ›
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New York Times blocked by China after report on wealth of Wen Jiabao’s family
Authorities censor publication after revelations that the premier’s relatives have accumulated billions during his leadership Tania Branigan in Beijing guardian.co.uk, Friday 26 October 2012 05.43 EDT Reports are highly embarassing for China’s premier Wen Jiabao, who has urged officials not to… Read More ›
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Man who claimed a huge ownership stake in Facebook, arrested by Investigators for the Postal Inspection Service
New York man who sued Facebook faces criminal charges 4:43pm EDT By Emily Flitter and Grant McCool (Reuters) – A New York man was arrested Friday on charges he forged documents in a multibillion-dollar scheme to defraud Facebook Inc and… Read More ›
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China warns of strong measures in Japan island spat
Politics Oct. 27, 2012 – 06:20AM JST( 9 ) BEIJING — China reserves the right to take strong countermeasures if Japan “creates incidents” in the waters around a group of disputed uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, a Chinese vice… Read More ›
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CIA operators were denied request for help during Benghazi attack, sources say
EXCLUSIVE By Jennifer Griffin Published October 26, 2012 FoxNews.com Fox News has learned from sources who were on the ground in Benghazi that an urgent request from the CIA annex for military back-up during the attack on the U.S. consulate… Read More ›
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Extract from mung bean (Vigna radiata), could protect against sepsis
Contact: Emily Ng eng3@nshs.edu 516-562-2670 North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System Feinstein Institute researchers discover that bean used in Chinese food could protect against sepsis MANHASSET, NY – Researchers at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered that… Read More ›
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Researchers develop cocktail of bacteria that eradicates Clostridium difficile infection ( 100%!!! )
Contact: Aileen Sheehy press.office@sanger.ac.uk 0044-012-234-96928 Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute C’est difficile In a new study out today, researchers used mice to identify a combination six naturally occurring bacteria that eradicate a highly contagious form of Clostridium difficile, an infectious bacterium… Read More ›
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Macular Degeneration drugs may do More harm than good ( anti-VEGF drugs )
Scripps Research Institute Study Suggests Caution and Further Studies on Drugs Used to Treat Macular Degeneration LA JOLLA, CA – October 24, 2012 – Millions of people with “wet” macular degeneration are prescribed a class of medication known as anti-VEGF… Read More ›
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Mercyhurst study aims to identify sucralose levels in beach water
Oct 10, 2012 | Posted in News Releases Faculty and student researchers at Mercyhurst University continue to investigate the presence of potentially harmful chemicals in the beach waters of Presque Isle State Park and have added a new one to… Read More ›
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New vitamin-based treatment that could reduce muscle degeneration in muscular dystrophy: Niacin pre-cursor NAD+
Contact: Bryan Ghosh bghosh@plos.org 44-122-344-2837 Public Library of Science Boosting the activity of a vitamin-sensitive cell adhesion pathway has the potential to counteract the muscle degeneration and reduced mobility caused by muscular dystrophies, according to a research team led by… Read More ›
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France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland now imposing partial ban on the Novartis Flu Vaccine
France halts sale of Novartis flu vaccine Fri, 26 Oct 2012 14:18 GMT Source: reuters (Adds comment from European Medicines Agency) PARIS, Oct 26 (Reuters) – France said it was halting sales of an influenza vaccine made by Swiss drugmaker… Read More ›
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Nicholas Mockford’s job at ExxonMobil provides few clues as to a motive for his assassination-style killing. (Work was in alternatives to phthalate )
Nicholas Mockford’s ExxonMobil role provides few clues as to a motive Image 1 of 2 Nicholas Mockford Nicholas Mockford, in the blue coat, with his successful ExxonMobil sailing team after claiming victory in a Channel race last year By Emily… Read More ›
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Silvio Berlusconi four-year sentence quickly cut to one year
Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian prime minister, was sentenced to four years in prison for tax evasion, only for the prison term to be reduced swiftly to one year. Mr Berlusconi has been tried numerous times for his business dealings… Read More ›
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Chinese patrol vessels test ‘authority’ near Senkakus: “replied via radio that the area “is China’s,” “
Friday, Oct. 26, 2012 Kyodo NAHA, Okinawa Pref. — Chinese surveillance vessels on Thursday entered Japan’s territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands for the first time in three weeks, the Japan Coast Guard said. The government lodged a “strong protest”… Read More ›
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British ExxonMobil oil chief ‘assassinated’ in Brussels street
Update: Nicholas Mockford’s job at ExxonMobil provides few clues as to a motive for his assassination-style killing. (Work was in alternatives to phthalate ) A British executive for the oil company ExxonMobil has been shot dead in front of his… Read More ›
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Chinese leader Wen Jiabao’s family accumulate billions during his time in office
The family of Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, has controlled assets worth at least $2.7 billion (£1.67 billion), according to a detailed review of company and regulatory filings. Family of Wen Jiabao control assets worth at least £1.67 bn according… Read More ›
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Santa’s pipe put out in new edition of children’s classic: ” edited out a few words and lines that reference Santa smoking and removed the cover illustration of his pipe”
Fresh version of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas sparks censorship ro) Santa smoking … a traditional image of Father Christmas. Photograph: Alamy/Beryl Peters Collection A new version of Clement C Moore’s classic festive poem A Vist from St Nicholas, better… Read More ›
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Ted Turner says it’s ‘good’ U.S. soldiers are committing suicide in large numbers because it proves humans aren’t programmed to kill
A total of 247 U.S. army personnel are suspected to have taken their own lives between January and September This compares to 222 combat deaths in Afghanistan to October 22 CNN founder claims it’s time to put war and conflict… Read More ›
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Report tries to minimize tuition increase that’s more than triple the rate of inflation
By Kay Steiger Thursday, October 25, 2012 16:15 EDT Topics: rate of inflation ♦ the College Board ♦ tuition increase A new report released Wednesday by the College Board finds that four-year college degrees have increased by an average 4.8… Read More ›
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Officer Held in Plot to Cook Women and Eat Them
By JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN The police officer referred to the woman as Victim-1, recording details like her date of birth, height, weight and bra size. He made note of certain materials, like chloroform and rope. And then the officer, Gilberto… Read More ›
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Study Reveals Impact of Public DNS Services; Researchers Develop Tool to Help
Oct 25, 2012 11:00 AM A new study by Northwestern University researchers has revealed that public DNS services could actually slow down users’ web-surfing experience. As a result, researchers have developed a solution to help avoid such an impact: a… Read More ›
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Chemotherapys False Expectations : 69 percent of patients with advanced lung cancer and 81 percent of patients with advanced colorectal cancer did not understand that the chemotherapy they were receiving was not at all likely to cure their disease
Advanced Cancer Patients Overoptimistic About Chemotherapy’s Ability to Cure, Study Finds ScienceDaily (Oct. 24, 2012) — Findings from a nationwide study led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute suggest that patients with advanced lung or colorectal cancer are frequently mistaken… Read More ›
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Triclosan in (Anti-Bacterial Soap, Toothpaste etc..)– Harmful to Ecological Status of Rivers: Ranked sixth as one of the most particularly harmful substances in Europe
Triclosan — Harmful to Ecological Status of Rivers — Needs to Be Monitored, Researchers Say It is intended that the list of priority substances that have to be monitored by the authorities in Europe will be extended from its current… Read More ›
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A video rebuttal to the IOM’s recommendations of 20ng/ml of Vitamin D being adequate
A rebuttal to the IOM’s recommendations of 20ng/ml of vitamin D being adequate. Their report being titled ” Nearly 80 Million Americans Won’t Need vitamin D Supplements under new guidlines”
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Ishihara: Unrepentant Japanese nationalist
Politics Oct. 26, 2012 – 06:51AM JST( 2 ) TOKYO — Shintaro Ishihara, who resigned as Tokyo governor on Thursday to return to national politics, is an unrepentant nationalist who relishes the chance to provoke the politically correct. The 80-year-old is… Read More ›
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Tibetan self-immolations: China authorities offer rewards to stop protests
Authorities in China are offering financial rewards in the hope of preventing further self-immolations in Tibetan-inhabited areas of the country. Allison Jackson October 24, 2012 16:55 A woman attends an Amnesty International exhibition in Taipei on June 29, 2012 showing portraits… Read More ›
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Spain regulator halts sale of some Novartis flu vaccines
Update #2 : France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland now imposing partial ban on the Novartis Flu Vaccine Italy has banned them..Switzerland is now considering Thu, 25 Oct 2012 16:57 GMT Source: reuters MADRID, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Spain joined… Read More ›
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BMJ and Daily Telegraph’s fake hip exposes failing European device regulation: EU Places Personal Profit over Safety
Contact: Stephanie Burns sburns@bmjgroup.com 44-020-738-36920 BMJ-British Medical Journal Responsible bodies more interested in attracting business than patient safety A joint investigation by the BMJ and Daily Telegraph has exposed the major flaws in the current EU system used for regulating… Read More ›
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Merkel cell polyomavirus linked to Skin Cancer : Developed a mutation that causes it to integrate into host-cell DNA
2009 study posted for filing Study Links Virus To Some Cases Of Common Skin Cancer COLUMBUS, Ohio – A virus discovered last year in a rare form of skin cancer has also been found in people with the… Read More ›
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SAMe ( S-adenosylmethionine ) is Effective in Preventing Formation of Primary Liver Cancer in Rats
2009 study posted for filing A new study investigated the effectiveness of S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) in the prevention and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or primary liver cancer. SAMe, a widely available nutritional supplement, with little known side effects, was found… Read More ›
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Zinc supplementation significantly increases activation of the cells (T cells) responsible for destroying viruses and bacteria
2009 study posted for filing Contact: Cody Mooneyhan cmooneyhan@faseb.org 301-634-7104 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Got zinc? New zinc research suggests novel therapeutic targets New report in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that zinc activates a key… Read More ›
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Common household pesticides linked to childhood cancer cases in Washington area : acute lymphoblastic leukemia
2009 study posted for filing Contact: Karen Mallet km463@georgetown.edu 215-514-9751 Georgetown University Medical Center Researchers caution that the study doesn’t prove cause and effect Washington, DC – A new study by researchers at the Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center finds… Read More ›
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Common food dye may hold promise in treating spinal cord injury: stops the cascade of molecular events that cause secondary damage to the spinal cord
2009 study posted for filing Contact: Mark Michaud mark_michaud@urmc.rochester.edu 585-273-4790 University of Rochester Medical Center A common food additive that gives M&Ms and Gatorade their blue tint may offer promise for preventing the additional – and serious – secondary damage… Read More ›
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A high omega-3 fatty acid diet reduces retinal lesions in a murine model of macular degeneration
2009 study posted for filing Contact: Angela Colmone acolmone@asip.org 301-634-7953 American Journal of Pathology The ‘see food’ diet Bethesda, MD — Current research suggests that a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids may help prevent one of the leading causes… Read More ›
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62nd Health Research Report 04 AUG 2009 – Reconstruction
Editors top 5: Common household pesticides linked to childhood cancer cases in Washington area Got zinc? New zinc research suggests novel therapeutic targets Study Links Virus To Some Cases Of Common Skin Cancer Millions of US children low in… Read More ›
Engineering Evil 