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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State-sponsored cyber espionage projects now prevalent, say experts
Former military officer says every Middle Eastern country now has Stuxnet-like malware Pete Warren guardian.co.uk, Thursday 30 August 2012 06.54 EDT One expert compares the cyber-espionage programs to the Transformers franchise: they develop other functions when they get to where they… Read More ›
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RJ Ellory: fake book reviews are rife on internet, authors warn
Fake book reviews are rife on the internet and readers should be aware of the “fraudulent” practices of some writers, a group of leading British authors warn tonight. Authors Ian Rankin, Lee Child and Val McDermid were among the 49… Read More ›
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Elite SEALs taken off duty to deal with aftermath of Bin Laden book as whole command is ‘put on the bench’
By Daniel Bates PUBLISHED:13:18 EST, 3 September 2012| UPDATED:16:40 EST, 3 September 2012 Several Navy SEALs have been pulled off active duty and are ‘on the bench’ to deal with the fallout from the controversial book about the killing of… Read More ›
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High doses of Vitamin D help tuberculosis patients recover more quickly: 23 days vs 36 days
Contact: Emma Mason e.mason@qmul.ac.uk Queen Mary, University of London For decades before antibiotics became generally available, sunshine was used to treat tuberculosis, with patients often being sent to Swiss clinics to soak up the sun’s healing rays. Now, for the… Read More ›
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Study suggests possible association between cardiovascular disease, chemical exposure
Contact: Amy Johns johnsa@wvuhealthcare.com 304-293-1412 JAMA and Archives Journals CHICAGO – Exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a manmade chemical used in the manufacture of some common household products, appears to be associated with cardiovascular disease and peripheral arterial disease in… Read More ›
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La Jolla Institute unlocks mystery of potentially fatal reaction to smallpox vaccine
Contact: Bonnie Ward contact@liai.org 619-303-3160 La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology Research team is part of NIH network working toward new smallpox vaccine for eczema sufferers SAN DIEGO – (May 25, 2009) Researchers from the La Jolla Institute for… Read More ›
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Study indicates that people may need more dietary choline than previously thought: 90%+ of U.S. Population don’t get enough daily
Reposted at Request- COI (Reader please be aware of Conflicts on Interest) Contact: Egg Nutrition Media Hotline info@eggnutrition.org 312-233-1211 Edelman Public Relations Eggs 1 of the best sources of the nutrient Washington, D.C. — A new study published in the… Read More ›
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Even as the death sentence of the Mumbai massacre’s lone living perpetrator was affirmed last week, murderous politicians show how medieval justice in India remains. By Dilip D’Souza.
Mumbai Massacre Perpetrator’s Sentence Affirmed Sep 3, 2012 4:45 AM EDT In Mumbai on August 29, activists of the Shiv Sena party distributed sweets. Which is what you usually do when there’s been a birth in the family, or a… Read More ›
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Doctors told to quiz five-year-olds about abuse
Doctors should talk to children as young as five alone if they suspect they are at risk of neglect or abuse, under new guidance. By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor 7:00AM BST 03 Sep 2012 The General Medical Council has issued… Read More ›
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Stroke patients get helping hand from ‘telepathic’ robot arm which can respond to your thoughts
By Eddie Wrenn PUBLISHED:06:24 EST, 3 September 2012| UPDATED:06:24 EST, 3 September 2012 Stroke patients who have lose the use of their arms could find a helping hand in the form of a robotic arm that can ‘telepathically’ respond… Read More ›
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How Merrill Lynch ‘plans to send trucks full of cash into Greece’ as U.S. firms plan for country’s exit from the euro
Greece is on brink of financial collapse and is expected to leave Euro American banks with clients in the country are now preparing contingency plans for how to get money to employees if the country’s banks close By Daily Mail… Read More ›
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Telemarketer Threatens To Blow Up Home – Claim Call is Next to Impossible to trace
Homes Evacuated In Mead, Nothing Found By Lance Hernandez and Deb Stanley GREELEY, Colo. — The Weld County Sheriff’s Office is trying to track down the phone number of a telemarketer who they say threatened the life of a… Read More ›
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Wormwood ( Artemesia ) may hold key to non-toxic Cancer and Leukemia treatment
Reposted at Request from 26-Nov-2001 Contact: Rob Harrill rharrill@u.washington.edu 206-543-2580 University of Washington Two bioengineering researchers at the University of Washington have discovered a promising potential treatment for cancer among the ancient arts of Chinese folk medicine. Research Professor Henry… Read More ›
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Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain: rats became obese by drinking high-fructose corn syrup, but not by drinking sucrose
Contact: Kitta MacPherson kittamac@princeton.edu 609-258-5729 Princeton University A sweet problem IMAGE:A Princeton University research team, including (from left) undergraduate Elyse Powell, psychology professor Bart Hoebel, visiting research associate Nicole Avena and graduate student Miriam Bocarsly, has demonstrated that rats with…Click… Read More ›
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Heat forms potentially harmful substance in high-fructose corn syrup: hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF),
Contact: Michael Woods m_woods@acs.org 202-872-6293 American Chemical Society Researchers have established the conditions that foster formation of potentially dangerous levels of a toxic substance in the high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) often fed to honey bees. Their study, which appears in… Read More ›
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Prenatal exposure to flame-retardant compounds affects neurodevelopment ( IQ ) of young children: polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)
Contact: Stephanie Berger sb2247@columbia.edu 212-305-4372 Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health January 19, 2010 — Prenatal exposure to ambient levels of flame retardant compounds called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) is associated with adverse neurodevelopmental effects in young children, according… Read More ›
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Natural compound ( Quercitin ) blocks hepatitis C infection
Finding may lead to a new treatment Researchers have identified two cellular proteins that are important factors in hepatitis C virus infection, a finding that may result in the approval of new and less toxic treatments for the disease, which… Read More ›
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Bruce Willis fights to leave his iPod tunes to his family: Actor considering legal action against Apple in battle over who owns songs downloaded from iTunes: Bruce Willis fights to leave his iPod tunes to his family -You Don’t actually own the tracks but instead are ‘borrowing’ them under a licence
Since the First Release of this News Story a Second Story from the Guardian has been Published: No, Bruce Willis isn’t suing Apple over iTunes rights http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2012/sep/03/no-apple-bruce-willis * So there is an isuue between the Daily Mail and The Guardian as… Read More ›
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Obesity and metabolic syndrome associated with impaired brain function in adolescents
Contact: Jessica Guenzel Jessica.Guenzel@nyumc.org 212-404-3591 NYU Langone Medical Center / New York University School of Medicine NEW YORK, September 3, 2012 – A new study by researchers at NYU School of Medicine reveals for the first time that metabolic syndrome… Read More ›
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Security rules for Democratic National Convention cause concern: Banned: handbags, backpacks, soda cans, drink coolers, scarves, bike helmets, baby strollers, and non-service animals” within the hundred-square-block event zone
By Muriel Kane Sunday, September 2, 2012 20:19 EDT A new ordinance for “extraordinary events” put in place by the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, which is hosting the Democratic National Convention this week, have left attendees as well as… Read More ›
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Coconut oil could combat tooth decay
Contact: Laura Udakis l.udakis@sgm.ac.uk 44-079-908-26696 Society for General Microbiology Digested coconut oil is able to attack the bacteria that cause tooth decay. It is a natural antibiotic that could be incorporated into commercial dental care products, say scientists presenting their… Read More ›
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Heavy drinking rewires brain, increasing susceptibility to anxiety problems
Contact: Tom Hughes tahughes@unch.unc.edu 919-966-6047 University of North Carolina Health Care IMAGE:Thomas Kash, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacology at the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies in the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, is one of the study’s authors……. Read More ›
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The era of cheap food may be over
By Larry Elliott, The Guardian Sunday, September 2, 2012 12:01 EDT The last decade saw the end of cheap oil, the magic growth ingredient for the global economy after the second world war. This summer’s increase in maize, wheat and… Read More ›
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DEAD-box proteins function as recycling nanopistons when unwinding RNA: May be incorporated into artificial nanomachines
Contact: Daniel Oppenheimer daniel.oppenheimer@utexas.edu 512-745-3353 University of Texas at Austin Ancient enzymes function like nanopistons to unwind RNA AUSTIN, Texas—Molecular biologists at The University of Texas at Austin have solved one of the mysteries of how double-stranded RNA is remodeled… Read More ›
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Debtors’ Prison Is Back — and Just as Cruel as Ever
By Ross Kenneth Urken Posted 12:25PM 08/30/12 –> To most of us, “debtors’ prison” sounds like an archaic institution, something straight out of a Dickens novel. But the idea of jailing people who can’t pay what they owe is alive… Read More ›
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Keeping Your Site Alive
In Appreciation to our Friends at the EFF…Engineering Evil Denial of service (DoS) and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are increasingly common phenomena, used by a variety of actors—from activists to governments—to temporarily or indefinitely prevent a site from functioning efficiently. Often, the… Read More ›
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Pakistani mullah ‘planted charred texts’ on girl accused of blasphemy
Hardline cleric deliberately framed Rimsha Masih, believed to be just 13, in order to ‘get rid of Christians’, court hears Jon Boone in Islamaba guardian.co.uk, Sunday 2 September 2012 05.48 EDT Pakistani policemen escort Islamic cleric Hafiz Mohammed… Read More ›
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Cloud computing: 51% of people think it is effected by storms and high winds
‘…But what happens when it rains?’ Cloud computing may be the latest buzz-word, but half of us think it can be affected by bad weather By Eddie Wrenn PUBLISHED:11:48 EST, 29 August 2012| UPDATED:03:04 EST, 30 August 2012 While ‘the… Read More ›
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10 dead in Quebec Legionnaire’s disease outbreak
By Agence France-Presse Sunday, September 2, 2012 8:13 EDT Topics: disease outbreak ♦ health authorities ♦ Quebec Legionnaire A Legionnaire’s disease outbreak in Quebec City has killed 10 people since late July, health authorities in the francophone Canadian city said… Read More ›
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Cinnamon is lethal weapon against E. coli O157:H7
Contact: Angela Dansby aldansby@ift.org 312-782-8424 x127 Institute of Food Technologists When cinnamon is in, Escherichia coli O157:H7 is out. That’s what researchers at Kansas State University discovered in laboratory tests with cinnamon and apple juice heavily tainted with the bacteria. … Read More ›
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Study illuminates how the plague bacteria causes disease
Contact: Heidi Hardman hhardman@cell.com 617-397-2879 Cell Press The bacteria responsible for the plague and some forms of food poisoning “paralyze” the immune system of their hosts in an unexpected way, according to a new study in the September 8, 2006… Read More ›
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30 per cent of drugs prescribed to under-18s – and up to 95 per cent of drugs given to babies in intensive care – have never been tested on children. (U.K.)
One third of junior drugs are not tested on children sparking demand for probe Official study calls for urgent investigation after ‘high number of drug errors’ 95 per cent of all hospital medicines for babies affected By Jo Macfarlane PUBLISHED:16:00… Read More ›
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Thought-controlled quadcopter takes to the skies: Clenched teeth and blinking both produce a brain signal that the electroencephalography (EEG) headset can read
Up, down, bank, take a photo! Researchers at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, have developed a quadcopter that can be controlled by thought alone. The idea is to give people with impaired motor abilities a new avenue for interaction. Their… Read More ›
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High-fructose corn syrup sugar makes maturing human fat cells fatter, less insulin-sensitive
Contact: Aaron Lohr alohr@endo-society.org 240-482-1380 The Endocrine Society Fructose, the sugar widely used as high-fructose corn syrup in soft drinks and processed foods, often gets some of the blame for the widespread rise in obesity. Now a laboratory study has… Read More ›
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Pancreatic cancers use high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), common in the Western diet to fuel their growth
Contact: Kim Irwin kirwin@mednet.ucla.edu310-206-2805 University of California – Los Angeles Health Sciences Pancreatic cancers use the sugar fructose, very common in the Western diet, to activate a key cellular pathway that drives cell division, helping the cancer to grow more… Read More ›
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Exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Could Increase Asthma Symptoms
Exposure to Common Toxic Substances Could Increase Asthma Symptoms ScienceDaily (Aug. 31, 2012) — Children who are exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which were commonly used in a range of industrial products, could be at risk of an increase in… Read More ›
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Thalidomide – Lies, Greed, Fabricated Data, Brainwashed Doctors, Lazy Press, and Smugness of profits made on the horrific horrors inflicted on children
Still no shame for thalidomide cover-up Victims of the drug scandal have been offered an apology, but Harold Evans, who was in charge of the Sunday Times and broke the story, says there is still no proper recompens Harold Evans… Read More ›
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Bail hopes dashed of Christian girl in Pakistan blasphemy case
A judge has deferred hearing of Rimsha Masih over charges of burning sacred Islamic texts after legal wrangling Jon Boone in Islamabad guardian.co.uk, Saturday 1 September 2012 09.16 EDT Lawyers leave a court in Islamabad hearing the case… Read More ›
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Research Sheds Light On Scary New Surveillance Apps for Smartphones
August 31, 2012 | By Parker Higgins Following on the heels of last month’s first-ever public analysis of the elusive spyware FinSpy, security researchers at Citizen Lab have released an analysis of samples that appear to be FinSpy Mobile, the… Read More ›
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BUSM researchers find potential key to halt progression, reverse damage from emphysema: From an Ingredient in Skin Creams
Contact: Jenny Eriksen jenny.eriksen@bmc.org 617-638-6841 Boston University Medical Center (Boston) – A study led by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) has shown that a compound used in some skin creams may halt the progression of emphysema and… Read More ›
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FDA ties pneumonia deaths to infant vaccine
Repost from 2008 WASHINGTON – GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s rotavirus vaccine is associated with increased pneumonia-related deaths and other adverse reactions, U.S. regulatory staff said in documents posted on Friday. The review comes ahead of a Food and Drug Administration advisory… Read More ›
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Cell phone-cancer link found by Tel Aviv University scientist : ” Due to fewer antennas, cell phones in rural areas need to emit more radiation to communicate effectively.”
Contact: George Hunka ghunka@aftau.org 212-742-9070 American Friends of Tel Aviv University IMAGE:Dr. Siegal Sadetzki.Click here for more information. An Israeli scientist, Dr. Siegal Sadetzki, has found a link between cell phone usage and the development of tumors. Dr. Sadetzki, a… Read More ›
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Anti-cancer ( Avastin ) drug damages brain vessels
Contact: Hema Bashyam hbashyam@rockefeller.edu 212-327-7053 Journal of Experimental Medicine The cancer drug Avastin (bevacizumab) is used to treat advanced bowel cancer in combination with chemotherapy. This drug targets a protein called VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) that stimulates blood vessel… Read More ›
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A compound extracted from olives inhibits cancer cells growth and prevents their appearance
Contact: José Antonio Lupiáñez Cara jlcara@ugr.es 34-958-240-069 University of Granada A research group of the University of Granadahas found out that maslinic acid, a compound present in the leaf and the olive skin wax extracted from alpeorujo (crushed olive pulp),… Read More ›
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25th Health Research Report 20 FEB 2008 – Reconstruction
Editors Top Five: 1. Purple pigments and obesity 2. Fake malaria drugs made in China; how the winter vomiting virus evolves 3. Study finds patients with complex fibroadenomas can avoid surgery 4. A compound extracted from olives inhibits… Read More ›
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Health effects of pesticide mixtures are Deadly: Unexpected insights from the salmon brain
Contact: Ben Sherman ben.sherman@noaa.gov202-253-5256 NOAA Headquarters In his research, scientist Nat Scholz examines how pesticides that run off the land and mix in rivers and streams combine to have a greater than expected toxic effect on the salmon nervous system…. Read More ›
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Harvard Students in Cheating Scandal Say Collaboration Was Accepted: A Lesson in Entitled Behavior
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA published: August 31, 2012 Harvard students suspected in a major cheating scandal said on Friday that many of the accusations are based on innocent — or at least tolerated — collaboration among students, and with help from… Read More ›
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Thousands exposed to deadly mouse-borne virus in US: hantavirus
Six people staying at Yosemite national park in California have contracted the illness, which has claimed two lives Conal Urquhart and agencies guardian.co.uk, Saturday 1 September 2012 06.01 EDT Yosemite national park, California, where six people have contracted the… Read More ›
Engineering Evil 