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 Cancer “Breakthroughs” that Cost Too Much and Do Too Little
Author Laura Beil, Newsweek Aug 27, 2012 1:00 AM EDT ‘Death panels’ are a bad idea. But asking hard questions about health care is not. In his more than 35 years of practice, Dr. Lowell Schnipper has seen a lot… Read More ›
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Osteoporosis Drugs, Reduce Fracture Risk by ONLY 0.9% according to studies
Contact: Emma Dickinson edickinson@bmj.com 44-020-738-36529 BMJ-British Medical Journal Value of drugs for pre-osteoporosis exaggerated Drugs for pre-osteoporosis: Prevention or disease-mongering? Public release date: 17-Jan-2008 A series of recent scientific publications have exaggerated the benefits and underplayed the harms of drugs… Read More ›
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Newly discovered virus linked to deadly skin cancer : Merkel cell polyomavirus
Contact: Michele Baum BaumMD@upmc.edu 412-647-3555 University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences Novel sequencing technique used at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute reveals new cancer virus; reported in the journal Science PITTSBURGH, Jan. 17 – A new strategy… Read More ›
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Fu-Zheng-Jie-Du-Decoction acts PTEN expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (Liver Cancer) Superior to Chemotherapy
Contact: Jing Zhu wjg@wjgnet.com 0086-105-908-0039 World Journal of Gastroenterology Many hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients in China may be treated with Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Some say it works, others doubt its effectiveness. These stated that a research group in China… Read More ›
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Aggression as rewarding as sex, food and drugs
Contact: Melanie Moran melanie.moran@vanderbilt.edu 615-322-2706 Vanderbilt University NASHVILLE, Tenn.—New research from Vanderbilt University shows for the first time that the brain processes aggression as a reward – much like sex, food and drugs – offering insights into our propensity to… Read More ›
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23rd Health Research Report 23 JAN 2008 – Reconstructed
Health Technology Research Synopsis 23rd Issue Date 22 JAN 2008 Compiled By Ralph Turchiano Editors Top Five: 1. Lipoic acid could reduce atherosclerosis, weight gain 2. Probiotics affect metabolism, says new study 3. Value of drugs for pre-osteoporosis exaggerated 4. … Read More ›
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U.S. ‘withheld’ emails on WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning: defense
By Agence France-Presse Tuesday, August 28, 2012 21:53 EDT FORT MEADE, Maryland — Lawyers for the US soldier on trial for passing a trove of classified documents to WikiLeaks on Tuesday accused the government of withholding emails about his pre-trial… Read More ›
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Sanctions block Iran gamers from World of Warcraft
By RAPHAEL SATTER | Associated Press – 4 hrs ago LONDON (AP) — They’ve vanquished elves, trolls, and all manner of magical monsters. But one select group of online gamers is facing an even more formidable foe: The U.S. sanctions… Read More ›
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As Google prepares to launch its smart glasses, one filmmaker reveals a chilling vision of what could happen if they are misused
By Daniel Bates PUBLISHED:09:45 EST, 28 August 2012| UPDATED:09:47 EST, 28 August 2012 They have been billed as the future of the way that we will interact with computers. But a new science fiction film suggests that augmented reality glasses… Read More ›
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Occupy Coal Mine: Sardinian Miners Barricade Themselves Underground
Aug 28, 2012 10:12 AM EDT Armed with 770 pounds of dynamite, 120 Sardinian miners have barricaded themselves 1,300 feet underground in an austerity-driven protest. Barbie Latza Nadeau reports on the standoff. Hours before 120 coal miners barricaded themselves 1,300… Read More ›
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Older Men Who Use Computers Have Lower Risk of Dementia
Abstract Objective To determine if older men who use computers have lower risk of developing dementia. Methods Cohort study of 5506 community-dwelling men aged 69 to 87 years followed for up to 8.5 years. Use of computers measured as daily,… Read More ›
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100 percent of people carry at least 1 type of pesticide
Contact: Juan Pedro Arrebola Moreno juanpe000@hotmail.com 34-636-380-300 University of Granada This release is available in Spanish. A study carried out by researchers from the Department of Radiology and Physical Medicine of the University of Granada, in collaboration with the Andalusian… Read More ›
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Researchers show that Liver Fibrosis can be stopped, cured and reversed
Contact: Debra Kain ddkain@ucsd.edu 619-543-6163 University of California – San Diego Modified protein developed by UC-San Diego researchers may lead to first cure for cirrhosis of the liver University of California, San Diego researchers have proven in animal studies that… Read More ›
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22nd Health Research Report 8 JAN 2008 – Reconstruction
Follow Link Below: Health Technology Research Synopsis 22nd Issue Date 8 JAN 2008 Compiled By Ralph Turchiano http://www.healthresearchreport.me http://www.vit.bz http://www.youtube.com/vhfilm http://www.facebook.com/vitaminandherbstore http://www.engineeringevil.com Editors Top Five: 1. The Cost of Pushing Pills: A New Estimate of Pharmaceutical Promotion Expenditures in the… Read More ›
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Treatment with NAC is associated with better outcomes for children with liver failure
Contact: Amy Molnar amolnar@wiley.com Wiley-Blackwell Questions remain on NACs true utility for this condition A new retrospective study on the effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on children with acute liver failure not caused by acetaminophen poisoning has found that the treatment… Read More ›
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Vladimir Putin: the Russian president’s ‘life of four yachts and 58 aircraft’
Vladimir Putin once compared ruling Russia to being a “galley slave”, but four yachts that come with the job, not to mention palaces, aircraft and a wealth of luxury perks help explain his refusal to quit the presidency, leading … Read More ›
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US arms transfers to other countries nearly tripled last year: 2011 was the largest for a single year in the history of the arms export program
By Agence France-Presse Tuesday, August 28, 2012 7:47 EDT US arms transfers to other countries nearly tripled last year to $66.3 billion, giving America a market share of nearly 80 percent, government researchers said Monday. The Congressional Research Service said… Read More ›
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Site appeals against court request to hand over details of tweets relating to Occupy activist charged with disorderly conduct
By Dominic Rushe, The Guardian Monday, August 27, 2012 16:19 EDT Twitter has lodged an appeal against a New York judge’s decision that it must hand over detailed information related to an Occupy Wall Street protester charged with disorderly conduct…. Read More ›
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Republican party platform to target ‘hardcore’ porn
By Arturo Garcia Monday, August 27, 2012 13:50 EDT Despite their presumptive presidential candidate being endorsed by a porn star, a conservative media watchdog group says the Republican party platform will look to get tough on what it calls “the… Read More ›
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Army soldiers allegedly bought $87K worth of weapons to kill Obama
By Eric W. Dolan Monday, August 27, 2012 18:42 EDT LUDOWICI, Ga. (AP) — Four Army soldiers based in southeast Georgia killed a former comrade and his girlfriend to protect an anarchist militia group they formed that stockpiled assault weapons… Read More ›
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Study shows link between morbid obesity, low IQ in toddlers
Contact: April Frawley Birdwell afrawley@vpha.health.ufl.edu 352-273-5817 University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla. – University of Florida researchers have discovered a link between morbid obesity in toddlers and lower IQ scores, cognitive delays and brain lesions similar to those seen in Alzheimer’s… Read More ›
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Prenatal pesticide exposure tied to lower IQ in children
Contact: Sarah Yang scyang@berkeley.edu 510-643-7741 University of California – Berkeley Berkeley – In a new study suggesting pesticides may be associated with the health and development of children, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health have… Read More ›
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Going Back to School Just Got Scarier: Toxins Found in Supplies ( phthalates )
Parents who are sending kids back to school could be sending them with toxic chemicals. A new report finds that a number of common back-to-school supplies may have high levels of potentially toxic phthalates. The report, released today by the… Read More ›
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Processed food diet in early childhood may lower subsequent IQ
Contact: Emma Dickinson edickinson@bmjgroup.com 44-207-383-6529 BMJ-British Medical Journal Are dietary patterns in childhood associated with IQ at 8 years of age? A population-based cohort study A diet, high in fats, sugars, and processed foods in early childhood may lower IQ,… Read More ›
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Surprising finding that people with cystic fibrosis (CF) produce too little airway mucus – rather than too much..Common Medical Belief is Wrong
Shannon Koontz 336-716-4587 shkoontz@wfubmc.edu Bob Conn 336-716-4587 rconn@wfubmc.edu Mark Wright 336-716-4587 mwright@wfubmc.edu Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center Surprising finding could lead to new treatment for cystic fibrosis WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The surprising finding that people with cystic fibrosis (CF)… Read More ›
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Cannabis smoking ‘permanently lowers IQ’
Teenagers who regularly smoke cannabis are putting themselves at risk of permanently damaging their intelligence, according to a landmark study By Stephen Adams, Medical Correspondent Researchers found persistent users of the drug, who started smoking it at school, had lower… Read More ›
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Johns Hopkins team finds ICU misdiagnoses may account for as many annual deaths as breast cancer
Armstrong Institute researchers discover missed medical conditions in more than 1 in 4 critically ill adults Each year as many as 40,500 critically ill U.S. hospital patients die with an unknown medical condition that may have caused or contributed to… Read More ›
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Vitamin B3 ( NIacin ) may offer new tool in fight against ‘superbugs’ – increased by 1,000 times the ability of immune cells to kill staph bacteria
Contact: Adrian Gombart adrian.gombart@oregonstate.edu 541-737-8018 Oregon State University CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new study suggests that nicotinamide, more commonly known as vitamin B3, may be able to combat some of the antibiotic-resistance staph infections that are increasingly common around the… Read More ›
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Precise and persistent cell sabotage
Contact: Kevin Mayhood kevin.mayhood@case.edu 216-534-7183 Case Western Reserve University Control of siRNA could aid regenerative medicine, cancer therapy Some of the body’s own genetic material, known as small interfering RNA (siRNA), can be packaged then unleashed as a… Read More ›
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Merging tissue and electronics
For Immediate Release:August 27, 2012 contact: Sarah McDonnell, MIT News Office email: s_mcd@mit.edu phone: 617-253-8923 New tissue scaffold could be used for drug development and implantable therapeutic devices. CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — To control the three-dimensional shape of engineered tissue,… Read More ›
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Triphala and Its Active Constituent Chebulinic Acid Are Natural Inhibitors of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A Mediated Angiogenesis
Triphala churna (THL) is a combination of three fruits that has been used for many years in India for the treatment of various diseases. There are now reports which indicate that THL can inhibit growth of malignant tumors in animals…. Read More ›
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Cows genetically modified to improve flavour
Scientists in China have created genetically modified cattle designed to produce tastier beef. For chefs and food-lovers, the perfect steak has long been the holy grail. Now scientists in China have joined the search, by creating genetically modified cattle which… Read More ›
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Researchers develop sci-fi helmet that creates an alternative reality
By Mo Costandi, The Guardian Sunday, August 26, 2012 13:45 EDT Christopher Nolan’s 2010 blockbuster Inception is set in a distant future where military technology enables one to infiltrate and surreptitiously alter other people’s dreams. Leonardo Di Caprio plays Dom… Read More ›
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Food shortages could force world into vegetarianism, warn scientists
Water scarcity’s effect on food production means radical steps will be needed to feed population expected to reach 9bn by 2050 Leading water scientists have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the world’s… Read More ›
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Compound discovered that boosts effect of vaccines against HIV and flu: polyethyleneimine (PEI) 100% Letahl Flu Protection
Contact: University of Oxford press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk 44-018-652-80530 University of Oxford Novel vaccine additive to enhance the body’s immune response shows promise in mice Oxford University scientists have discovered a compound that greatly boosts the effect of vaccines against viruses like flu,… Read More ›
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21st Health Research Report 26 DEC 2007 – Reconstruction
21st Health Research Report 26 DEC 2007 – Reconstruction (link below) In This issue: 1. Elective Caesareans carry increased risk of breathing problems 2. Cholesterol-lowering drugs and the risk of hemorrhagic stroke 3. Turkish health workers condone wife beating 4…. Read More ›
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Does treating worms in people with HIV slow progression to AIDS?
Of the 25 million people infected with HIV-1 in Africa, as many as half are thought to be co-infected with worms (helminths), and there is evidence that these worms may result in a more rapid progression of HIV infection to… Read More ›
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Green tea may protect brain cells against Parkinson’s disease
Philadelphia, PA, December 13, 2007 – Does the consumption of green tea, widely touted to have beneficial effects on health, also protect brain cells” Authors of a new study being published in the December 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry share… Read More ›
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Turkish health workers condone wife beating
Domestic violence is an inherent problem in Turkey, and healthcare workers are doing little to combat the prevalence of wife beating, according to research published in the online open access journal, BMC Public Health. A survey of medical personnel reveals… Read More ›
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Olive oil protects liver
Contact: Graeme Baldwin graeme.baldwin@biomedcentral.com 44-203-192-2165 BioMed Central Extra-virgin olive oil can protect the liver from oxidative stress. Researchers writing in BioMed Central’s open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism exposed rats to a moderately toxic herbicide known to deplete antioxidants and… Read More ›
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60 Years of American Economic History, Told in 1 Graph
Jordan Weissmann – Jordan Weissmann is an associate editor at The Atlantic. He has written for a number of publications, including The Washington Post and The National Law Journal In the 60 years after World War II, the United States… Read More ›
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Nanofibres used to make sports equipment and nappies ‘can be just as dangerous as asbestos’
They can be similar in shape to asbestos fibres, which have been linked to lung cancers such as mesothelioma By Charles Walford PUBLISHED:10:30 EST, 24 August 2012| UPDATED:10:31 EST, 24 August 2012 Tiny fibres made by the nanotechnology industry could… Read More ›
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Sex education ‘doesn’t cut teen pregnancy rate’ claims academic
Sex education lessons and freely handing out contraception to young people has little impact on teenage pregnancy rates, according to a controversial study Unwanted pregnancies have proved “remarkably resilient to policy initiatives”, according to David Paton, professor of industrial economics… Read More ›
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Photo accidentally reveals UK determination to give Assange no way out
By Robert Booth, The Guardian Friday, August 24, 2012 19:19 EDT It is the “restricted” official document that sums up the Metropolitan police’s tactics towards Julian Assange. “Action required: Assange to be arrested under all circumstances,” says the handwritten note… Read More ›
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Telescopes may be forced to shut down due to astronomy budget crisis
By The Christian Science Monitor Friday, August 24, 2012 9:26 EDT For astronomers in the United States it’s déjà vu with a wrenching twist – the possible closure of some of the most heavily used observatories the federal government funds…. Read More ›
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Ryan on abortion exceptions: Rape is just another ‘method of conception’
* I Keep no Political Affiliation: Pro or Free Choice, this statement in the WAY it was said requires greater clarification….Ralph Turchiano Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan says that he personally believes that rape is just another “method of conception”… Read More ›
Engineering Evil 