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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Spain must leave the euro: ” Spain is damned if it leaves, but damned for eternity if it stays”
Mario Draghi’s promise to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro never did look like inducing any more than a temporary lull in the storm; still less did the German Constitutional Court’s thumbs up to the European bail-out fund… Read More ›
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Air Force Chief Admits to Cyber Slowness: ” Hostile intrusions into government, private and academic networks are causing the loss of “the equivalent of the Library of Congress” every year”
Sep. 25, 2012 – 03:17PM | By BRIAN EVERSTINE The new head of the Air Force said he “isn’t exactly sure” what the Air Force is doing in cyberwarfare, and he will wait to invest in cybersecurity until the… Read More ›
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Japan ‘stole’ our islands, Chinese foreign minister tells U.N.
PoliticsSep. 28, 2012 – 11:35AM JST UNITED NATIONS — China took a bitter territorial dispute with Japan to the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday, with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi accusing Tokyo of stealing disputed islands. The Japanese government’s purchase of… Read More ›
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Help! Pop music really is slower and sadder than when the Beatles and Abba ruled the charts
Researchers say modern music has lost the ‘feelgood factor’ Claim the only artist to have carried on the tradition of ‘pure pop’ is Lady Gaga By Fiona Macrae Science Correspondent PUBLISHED:10:58 EST, 27 September 2012| UPDATED:11:00 EST, 27 September 2012… Read More ›
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Genetic sleuthing uncovers deadly new virus in Africa: ‘Bas-Congo’ virus
Contact: Jason Socrates Bardi jason.bardi@ucsf.edu 415-502-4608 University of California – San Francisco Global research effort identifies ‘Bas-Congo’ virus as the cause of small, isolated outbreak in 2009 IMAGE:Charles Chiu, MD, PhD Click here for more information. An isolated outbreak of… Read More ›
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Organized crime behind the $100 billion illegal logging industry decimating worldwide forests
By Agence France-Presse Thursday, September 27, 2012 17:00 EDT Topics: illegal logging ♦ Interpol Organised crime is now a big player in illegal logging, which accounts for up to 30 percent of all wood traded globally, the UN and Interpol… Read More ›
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Military conflict ‘looms’ between China and Japan: Speculation already taking place into what role the U.S. will play in the War
War between China and Japan looms, with neither power willing to back down over a disputed chain of islands, expert warns. Yan Xuetong who has warned that unless one side backs down, there could be a repeat of the Falklands… Read More ›
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Teachers suspected of abuse given anonymity
Maths teacher Jeremy Forrest, who disappeared with one of his 15-year-old pupils, might not have been identified to the public under controversial laws that come into force next week. Megan Stammers, left, and hand in hand with Jeremy Forrest on… Read More ›
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Never lose your data again! Hitachi develops glass-based storage system that will last for 100 MILLION years
By John Hutchinson PUBLISHED:15:13 EST, 27 September 2012| UPDATED:15:18 EST, 27 September 2012 Breakthrough: A woman holds up Hitachi’s newly unveiled quartz glass plate technology, which can be used for the indefinite storage of data The developments in recent years… Read More ›
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More than 1,000 Nigerian women stranded for fifth straight day at Saudi airport because they were not accompanied by men
By Agence France-Presse Thursday, September 27, 2012 7:13 EDT Topics: Nigerian officials ♦ Nigerian President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan ♦ Nigerian women More than 1,000 Nigerian women pilgrims remained stranded at a Saudi airport for a fifth straight day Thursday after… Read More ›
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Wang Xuemei casts doubt on theory British businessman was murdered with cyanide by wife of ousted leader Bo Xilai
Heywood conviction unsafe, warns top Chinese forensic scientist Tania Branigan in Shanghai guardian.co.uk, Thursday 27 September 2012 13.54 EDT Neil Heywood and Gu Kailai, wife of Bo Xilai. Photograph: Reuters A leading Chinese forensic scientist working for the government has… Read More ›
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Study: Couples who share housework have a higher risk of divorce
By Agence France-Presse Thursday, September 27, 2012 15:29 EDT Topics: housework ♦ The divorce ♦ Thomas Hansen Couples who share housework duties run a higher risk of divorce than couples where the woman does most of the chores, a Norwegian… Read More ›
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US rapidly increased electronic surveillance
Published: 27 September, 2012, 21:51 The US Justice Department has wiretapped the phones of more Americans in the last two years than the entire decade before it, and federal surveillance targeting the Internet usage of US civilians has surged wildly,… Read More ›
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How toxic environmental chemical DBT affects the immune system: Dibutyltin (DBT)
2008 study posted for filing Contact: Debra Kain ddkain@ucsd.edu 619-543-6163 University of California – San Diego An international team of researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the University of Basel in Switzerland have issued… Read More ›
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Splenda may damage gut bacteria, boost weight gain: study
2008 study posted for filing By Stephen Daniells 25-Sep-2008 – Consumption of the sweetener Splenda at doses within the US FDA’s Acceptable Daily Intake may suppress beneficial bacteria in the gut, and cause weight gain, says a new… Read More ›
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Do cell phones increase brain cancer risk? “long-term cell phone use is “more dangerous to health than smoking cigarettes.” “
2008 study posted for filing Contact: Maureen Hunter m.hunter@elsevier.com 215-239-3671 Elsevier Editorial in Surgical Neurology urges scientists to clarify possible risks Philadelphia, 20 October 2008 – Major research initiatives are needed immediately to assess the possibility that using cellular phones… Read More ›
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10 Things the Food Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know
2008 study posted for filing By Adam Voiland Adam Voiland Two nutrition experts argue that you can’t take marketing campaigns at face value With America’s obesity problem among kids reaching crisis proportions, even junk food makers… Read More ›
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High Fructose Sets Table For Weight Gain Without Warning: Leptin Resistance
2008 study posted for filing Common sweetener found in many foods leads to leptin resistance and exacerbates obesity when paired with high-calorie, high-fat diet BETHESDA, Md. (Oct. 16, 2008) – Eating too much fructose can induce leptin resistance,… Read More ›
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42nd Health Research Report 28 OCT 2008 – Reconstruction
Editors top five: 1. Biotech experts urge industry to work with researchers or risk federal action 2. Splenda may damage gut bacteria, boost weight gain: study 3. What the election means to the nutrition industry? 4. OSTEOPOROSIS DRUGS INCREASE RISK… Read More ›
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Rutgers College of Nursing Professor’s Research Links Increased Hospital Infections to Nurse Burnout
By Ferlanda Fox Nixon September 27, 2012 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year nearly 100,000 hospitalized patients die from infections acquired while undergoing treatment for other conditions. While many factors may contribute to the… Read More ›
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Video shows TSA agents shouting ‘freeze’ to passengers in departure lounge
By Daily Mail Reporter PUBLISHED:08:35 EST, 27 September 2012| UPDATED:09:19 EST, 27 September 2012 A new video reveals a strange TSA security tactic: demanding that travelers ‘freeze’ in place, even though they have already been through airport security. A passenger… Read More ›
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China official says spat with Japan derails free trade talks
Posted 2012/09/27 at 11:46 am EDT BEIJING, Sep. 27, 2012 (Reuters) — A festering territorial dispute between China and Japan has derailed talks for a free trade zone involving the two countries and South Korea, an adviser to China’s central… Read More ›
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Donor network ‘pressured medics to declare patients dead so organs can be harvested’
‘This kid is dead, you got that?’ Donor network ‘pressured medics to declare patients dead so organs can be harvested’ The New York Organ Donor Network accused of bullying doctors into declaring patients brain dead when they are still alive… Read More ›
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China blasts Japan PM’s hardline stance on islands: Called Japan ” self-deceiving “
On Thursday, China hit back at the Japanese prime minister for his statement that Tokyo would not compromise in the ongoing territorial dispute over islands in the East China Sea. PM Yoshihiko Noda said the previous day that the islands… Read More ›
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Spanish Ire, Symbolized by a Carrot: Central Government is Losing Control
September 26, 2012 By RAPHAEL MINDER MADRID — As Spanish domestic politics threaten to spin beyond the control of the central government, they are also making it harder for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to meet Spain’s financial obligations to the… Read More ›
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Cleansing the Internet of Terrorism: Leaked EU Proposal Would Erode Civil Liberties: Including Banning some Languages
September 26, 2012 | By Jillian C. York and Katitza Rodriguez A new project aimed at “countering illegal use of the Internet” is making headlines this week. The project, dubbed CleanIT, is funded by the European Commission (EC) to the… Read More ›
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Antipsychotic Drugmakers Target Marketing Dollars at D.C. Medicaid Psychiatrists, Study Indicates: Prescribing Antipsychotics to non psychotic Children
ScienceDaily (Sep. 26, 2012) — The D.C. Department of Health (DOH) has released a study by George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services (SPHHS) indicating the high levels of marketing by antipsychotic drug manufacturers to Medicaid psychiatrists… Read More ›
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Man who caught Gadhafi abducted and killed
Wednesday, 26 September 2012 Tension gripped Misrata Tuesday after the death of a rebel from the western city who was credited with capturing late Libyan leader Moamer Gadhafi, but who was later abducted and tortured in a rival town. Omran… Read More ›
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Mass. chemist’s colleagues had questioned her work: 60,000 drug samples submitted in the cases of about 34,000 defendants are now in question
AP foreign, Wednesday September 26 2012 BRIDGET MURPHY Associated Press= BOSTON (AP) — A chemist at the center of a drug lab testing scandal admitted she faked results for two to three years, forged signatures and skipped proper procedures, a… Read More ›
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Riot police dodge fire bombs and tear gas hurled at protesters as demonstration in Athens against cuts descends into violence: 500,000 Protest
Officers were set alight by exploding bombs as a protest descended into carnage near country’s parliament About 500,000 people joined the anti-government rally to demonstrate against new austerity measures in Greece Police were seen fighting with protesters in what is… Read More ›
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U.S. Army General who ‘had forced sex and inappropriate relationships with female soldiers’ in Afghanistan flown home in disgrace
Jeffrey Sinclair returned to Fort Bragg after being posted with Airborne Division in 2010 Sinclair has been in the Army for 27 years and served in first Gulf War Charges include possessing pornography and alcohol while deployed By Daily Mail… Read More ›
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Where is everybody?
Picture of the DaySep. 27, 2012 – 06:52AM JST Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda addresses the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday. Noda spoke about Japan’s territorial disputes with China and South Korea and… Read More ›
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Japan won’t compromise with China on claim to islands, Noda says
Japan will never budge on its “sacred” ownership claim to islands in the East China Sea also claimed by China, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said, doing little to ease tensions with Asia’s top economic power. While Japan isn’t seeking a… Read More ›
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The great hospital robbery: Defibrillators, baby heart monitors, even beds – thieves are walking out of NHS wards with vital equipment
By John Naish PUBLISHED:20:32 EST, 24 September 2012| UPDATED:02:20 EST, 25 September 2012 You may think that even the lowest, most callous criminal would draw the line at stealing life-saving medical equipment such as baby heart monitors and emergency… Read More ›
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ANA reports 40,000 cancelations on its China routes
All Nippon Airways says 40,000 seat reservations have been cancelled for its regular flights linking Japan and China, amid souring bilateral relations. ANA president Shin-ichiro Ito on Wednesday revealed the cancellations of the bookings for flights on 17 routes, from… Read More ›
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Anti-cuts protests erupt on streets of Athens and Madrid: ” 70,000 people marched to the Greek parliament chanting “EU, IMF Out!”
5:32pm EDT By Renee Maltezou and Julien Toyer ATHENS/MADRID (Reuters) – Demonstrators have clashed with police on the streets of Athens and Madrid in an upsurge of popular anger at new austerity measures being imposed on two of the euro… Read More ›
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German court rules Catholics must pay tax to remain in church
By Agence France-Presse Wednesday, September 26, 2012 12:41 EDT Topics: catholics ♦ roman catholics ♦ the Catholic Church A top German court ruled on Wednesday that Roman Catholics must pay their church tax in order to remain a member of… Read More ›
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Chinese citizen arrested over U.S military exports
By Agence France-Presse Wednesday, September 26, 2012 18:06 EDT Topics: carbon fiber ♦ china ♦ Ming Suan Zhang NEW YORK — A Chinese citizen has been charged in New York with illegally attempting to export highly restricted material from the… Read More ›
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China White Paper Claims Ownership of Islands Under Japanese Control: Claims the U.S. decision to hand them over to Japan was a “backroom deal” and a “grave violation of China’s territorial sovereignty.”
Sep. 25, 2012 – 02:41PM By Wendell Minnick TAIPEI — The Chinese State Council Information Office has issued a white paper about the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands dispute with Japan. The paper, released Sept. 25, is available in English on the People’s… Read More ›
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No significant influenza (FLU) vaccine effectiveness could be demonstrated for any season, age or setting after adjusting for county, sex, insurance, chronic conditions recommended for influenza vaccination and timing of influenza vaccination
2008 study posted for filing Contact: Heather Hare 585-273-2840 JAMA and Archives Journals Use of the influenza vaccine was not associated with preventing hospitalizations or reducing physician visits for the flu in children age 5 and younger during two recent… Read More ›
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First evidence that a common pollutant may reduce iodine levels in breast milk: perchlorate
2008 study posted for filing Environmental Science & Technology Researchers in Texas are reporting the first evidence from human studies that perchlorate, a common pollutant increasingly found in food and water, may interfere with an infant’s availability of… Read More ›
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Bisphenol A linked to chemotherapy resistance
2008 study posted for filing Contact: Dama Kimmon dama.kimmon@uc.edu 513-558-4519 University of Cincinnati CINCINNATI—Exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) may reduce the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatments, say University of Cincinnati (UC) scientists. The research study, led by UC’s Nira Ben-Jonathan, PhD,… Read More ›
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Research shows link between bisphenol A and disease in adults: Effects Liver Enzymes
Contact: Andrew Gould media@pr-works.co.uk 44-139-268-6107 The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry A research team from the Peninsula Medical School, the University of Exeter, the University of Plymouth and the University of Iowa, have found evidence linking bisphenol A to… Read More ›
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Mouse studies suggest daily dose of ginkgo may prevent brain cell damage after a stroke
2008 study posted for filing Contact: Eric Vohr evohr1@jhmi.edu 410-955-8665 Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Working with genetically engineered mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have shown that daily doses of a standardized extract from the leaves of the ginkgo tree can… Read More ›
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Buddhist statue, discovered by Nazi expedition, is made of meteorite, new study reveals
Contact: Ben Norman sciencenewsroom@wiley.com 44-012-437-70375 Wiley Priceless thousand year old statue is first carving of a human in a meteorite It sounds like an artifact from an Indiana Jones film; a 1,000 year-old ancient Buddhist statue which was first recovered… Read More ›
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Artificially intelligent game bots pass the Turing test on Turing’s centenary
Contact: Daniel Oppenheimer daniel.oppenheimer@utexas.edu 512-745-3353 University of Texas at Austin BotPrize winners score as more human than half their human competitors VIDEO:Under heavy fire from a human judge, UT^2 manages to fight his way to a nearby weapon and obliterate… Read More ›
Engineering Evil 