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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Researchers find multiple effects on soil from manure from cows administered antibiotics
A new study found multiple effects on soils from exposure to manure from cows administered antibiotics, including alteration of the soil microbiome and ecosystem functions, soil respiration and elemental cycling. Source: Researchers find multiple effects on soil from manure from… Read More ›
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Plants alert neighbors to threats using common ‘language’
New research from Cornell University shows that plants can communicate with each other when they come under attack from pests. Source: Plants alert neighbors to threats using common ‘language’
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Trump tweets were systematic plan of attack in Presidential campaign — study
Donald Trump used Twitter effectively to promote his campaign, communicate policy goals and attack opponents as part of a systematic campaign ahead of the 2016 US Presidential elections — a new study reveals. Source: Trump tweets were systematic plan of… Read More ›
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Number of depressed over-65s unchanged but antidepressant use soars
The proportion of people aged over 65 on antidepressants has more than doubled in two decades — according to new research led by the University of East Anglia. Despite a rise in antidepressant use, there was little change in the… Read More ›
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25% of total US health care spending estimated to be waste
A new study estimates about one-quarter of total health care spending in the United States is waste, with a price tag ranging from $760 billion to $935 billion. The United States spends more on health care than any other country…. Read More ›
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Vitamin C therapy linked to better survival rates after sepsis
Vitamin C therapy linked to better survival rates after sepsis Vitamin C therapy linked to better survival rates after sepsis Researchers discovered that intravenous vitamin C therapy reduced mortality in septic patients from 46% in the placebo group to almost… Read More ›
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Nuclear war between India and Pakistan could kill millions worldwide
More than 100 million people could die immediately if India and Pakistan wage a nuclear war, followed by global mass starvation, according to a Rutgers co-authored study. ”Such a war would threaten not only the locations where bombs might be… Read More ›
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An India-Pakistan nuclear war could kill millions, threaten global starvation
A nuclear war between India and Pakistan could, over the span of less than a week, kill 50-125 million people — more than the death toll during all six years of World War II, according to new research. Source: An… Read More ›
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Nuclear war between India and Pakistan would launch a global climate catastrophe
With ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan raising concerns about the possibility of nuclear conflict, even as neither country is likely to initiate without significant provocation, researchers have evaluated both the direct fatalities and global climate anomalies that would result… Read More ›
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Canadians told to stop taking aspirin to prevent first heart attack, stroke
If you’ve never had a heart attack or stroke, you likely should not be taking aspirin to prevent them, according to new research. Researchers at the University of Alberta Kolber reviewed three large, randomized, placebo-controlled studies published in 2018 that… Read More ›
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Acute psychotic illness triggered by Brexit Referendum
Political events can take a serious toll on mental health, a doctor has warned in the journal BMJ Case Reports, after treating a man with a brief episode of acute psychosis, triggered by the 2016 Referendum on Brexit — the… Read More ›
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True lies: How letter patterns color perceptions of truth
Cause-and-effect statements may seem more true if the initial letters in the words are in alphabetical order because the human brain prefers patterns that follow familiar sequences. Source: True lies: How letter patterns color perceptions of truth
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Your video can ID you through walls with help of WiFi
Researchers in the lab of UC Santa Barbara professor Yasamin Mostofi have enabled, for the first time, determining whether the person behind a wall is the same individual who appears in given video footage, using only a pair of WiFi… Read More ›
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Drinking tea improves brain structure, study suggests
Drinking tea improves brain structure, study suggests Drinking tea improves brain structure, study suggests A recent study led by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) revealed that regular tea drinkers have better organised brain regions — and this… Read More ›
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Stressed out: Americans making themselves sick over politics
Nearly 40% of Americans surveyed for a new study said politics is stressing them out, and 4% — the equivalent of 10 million US adults — reported suicidal thoughts related to politics. Source: Stressed out: Americans making themselves sick over… Read More ›
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Getting mac and cheese to Mars
Washington State University scientists have developed a way to triple the shelf life of ready-to-eat macaroni and cheese, a development that could have benefits for everything from space travel to military use. Source: Getting mac and cheese to Mars
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Study estimates more than 100,000 cancer cases could stem from contaminants in tap water
A toxic cocktail of chemical pollutants in US drinking water could result in more than 100,000 cancer cases, according to a peer-reviewed study from Environmental Working Group — the first study to conduct a cumulative assessment of cancer risks due… Read More ›
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New UW study questions value of fluoride varnish
A new study by 2 University of Washington researchers and their colleagues questions the cost-effectiveness of fluoride varnish for preschoolers and calls its anti-cavity effects ‘modest and uncertain’ in this age group. Source: New UW study questions value of fluoride… Read More ›
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Here’s the kind of data hackers get about you from hospitals
New research from Michigan State University and Johns Hopkins University is the first to uncover the specific data leaked through hospital breaches, sounding alarm bells for nearly 170 million people. Source: Here’s the kind of data hackers get about you… Read More ›
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Is theory on Earth’s climate in the last 15 million years wrong?
A key theory that attributes the climate evolution of the Earth to the breakdown of Himalayan rocks may not explain the cooling over the past 15 million years, according to a Rutgers-led study. The study in the journal Nature Geoscience… Read More ›
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Today’s obesity epidemic may have been caused by childhood sugar intake decades ago
Current obesity rates in adults in the United States could be the result of dietary changes that took place decades ago, according to a new study published by researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Source: Today’s obesity epidemic may… Read More ›
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Bone, not adrenaline, drives fight or flight response
Bone, not adrenaline, drives fight or flight response Bone, not adrenaline, drives fight or flight response A new study from Columbia researchers suggests that bony vertebrates can’t muster this response to danger without the skeleton. The researchers found in mice… Read More ›
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Complexity of plastics make it impossible to know which are dangerous
A recent study found that 3 out of 4 plastic consumer products contain harmful chemicals. Bioplastics contained toxicants, too. Source: Complexity of plastics make it impossible to know which are dangerous
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Mouthwash use could inhibit benefits of exercise
Mouthwash use could inhibit benefits of exercise These results show that the blood pressure-lowering effect of exercise was diminished by more than 60% over the first hour of recovery, and totally abolished two hours after exercise when participants were given… Read More ›
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BU study: Are kids hardwired for revenge?
New study from BU psychologists suggests that for children, retribution comes before gratitude. Source: BU study: Are kids hardwired for revenge?
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Cancer drugs don’t always work as intended, researchers warn
CSHL researchers have shown that 10 different cancer drugs being given to about 1,000 human patients in clinical trials kill cancer in entirely different ways than previously thought. Source: Cancer drugs don’t always work as intended, researchers warn
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Ritual suffering improves psychological well-being
Extreme ritual practices involving pain and suffering pose significant risks such as injury, trauma, or infection. Nonetheless, they are performed by millions of people around the world and are often culturally prescribed remedies for a variety of maladies, and especially… Read More ›
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The future of mind control
Harvard scientists are blurring the distinction between brain and machine, designing nanoelectronics that look, move, and feel like real neurons. Camouflaged in the brain, this technology could offer a better way to treat Alzheimer’s disease or post-traumatic stress disorder, control… Read More ›
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Study shows the social benefits of political incorrectness
Using politically incorrect speech can incite controversy but also brings social benefits: It’s a powerful way to appear authentic. Researchers at Berkeley Haas found that replacing even a single politically correct word or phrase with a politically incorrect one —… Read More ›
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Zinc greatly protects against bacterial pneumonia
Zinc greatly protects against bacterial pneumonia Zinc greatly protects against bacterial pneumonia They found that mice with lower zinc intake succumbed to infection up to three times faster because their immune systems had insufficient zinc to aid in killing the… Read More ›
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Nuclear winter would threaten nearly everyone on Earth
If the United States and Russia waged an all-out nuclear war, much of the land in the Northern Hemisphere would be below freezing in the summertime, with the growing season slashed by nearly 90 percent in some areas, according to… Read More ›
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Negative interest rate policies are backfiring — new research
Negative interest rate policies in Europe and Japan were intended to stimulate flagging economies but research from the University of Bath they may be doing more harm than good. Source: Negative interest rate policies are backfiring — new research
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Many who die waiting for a kidney had multiple offers, new study finds
Most patients who died or were removed from the kidney transplant waitlist before getting a transplant received multiple offers for a donor kidney. Source: Many who die waiting for a kidney had multiple offers, new study finds
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Mumps study shows immunity gaps among vaccinated people
Immunity against mumps virus appears insufficient in a fraction of college-aged people who were vaccinated in childhood, research from Emory and CDC indicates. The findings highlight the need to better understand the immune response to mumps and mumps vaccines. Source:… Read More ›
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Ginkgo Biloba may have potential in treating Type 2 Diabetes
Ginkgo Biloba may have potential in treating Type 2 Diabetes Ginkgo Biloba may have potential in treating Type 2 Diabetes The pancreatic beta cells of diabetic rats are reduced and insulin secretion is curtailed. After having Ginkgo biloba and magnetized… Read More ›
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Many kidneys discarded in the United States would be transplanted in France
French organ transplant centers are far more likely to accept ‘lower-rated’ kidneys, like those from older organ donors, than centers in the United States, according to an analysis published today in JAMA Internal Medicine. French transplant centers would have transplanted… Read More ›
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Total heart disease deaths on the rise
Total deaths from heart disease, stroke, diabetes and hypertension — known collectively as cardiometabolic disease — have been increasing since 2011, a new Northwestern Medicine study shows. Cardiometabolic disease is the leading cause of preventable death worldwide. While the overall… Read More ›
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Prenatal pesticide exposure linked to changes in teen’s brain activity
Prenatal exposure to the organophosphate pesticides has been linked to poorer cognition and behavior problems in children. A new study led by University of California, Berkeley, researchers is one of the first to use advanced brain imaging to reveal how… Read More ›
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Resveratrol helps preserve muscle in space
Resveratrol helps preserve muscle in space Resveratrol helps preserve muscle in space “Resveratrol treatment promotes muscle growth in diabetic or unloaded animals, by increasing insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake in the muscle fibers. This is relevant for astronauts, who are… Read More ›
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Study examines maternal exposure to fluoride in pregnancy, kids’ IQ scores
An observational study of 601 mother-child pairs from six cities in Canada hints at an apparent association between maternal exposure to fluoride during pregnancy and lower IQ scores measured in children ages 3 to 4. Community water has been fluoridated… Read More ›
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Flavonoid Intake for Maximum Longevity
Flavonoid Intake for Maximum Longevity Flavonoid Intake for Maximum Longevity Participants consuming about 500mg of total flavonoids each day had the lowest risk of a cancer or heart disease-related death. ‘Flavonoid intake is associated with lower mortality in the Danish… Read More ›
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Dark matter may be older than the big bang, study suggests
Dark matter, which researchers believe make up about 80% of the universe’s mass, is one of the most elusive mysteries in modern physics. What exactly it is and how it came to be is a mystery, but a new Johns… Read More ›
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Fluoride may diminish kidney and liver function in adolescents, study suggests
Fluoride exposure may lead to a reduction in kidney and liver function among adolescents, according to a study published by Mount Sinai researchers in Environment International in August. Source: Fluoride may diminish kidney and liver function in adolescents, study suggests… Read More ›
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A licence to parent?
It’s a comment we often hear in response to stories of child neglect: that parenting should require a licence. Researcher Dr Frank Ainsworth from James Cook University in Australia says that while the suggestion is based on concern for children,… Read More ›
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Resveratrol may have powerful Anti-depressant and Anti-anxiety effects
Resveratrol may have powerful Anti-depressant and Anti-anxiety effects Resveratrol displayed neuroprotective effects against corticosterone by inhibiting the expression of PDE4. The research lays the groundwork for the use of the compound in novel antidepressants. Xia Zhu, Wenhua Li, Yongkun Li,… Read More ›
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Baby spiders really are watching you
Baby jumping spiders can hunt prey just like their parents do because they have vision nearly as good. A study published in the journal Vision Research helps explain how animals the size of a bread crumb fit all the complex… Read More ›
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Pre-life building blocks spontaneously align in evolutionary experiment
It nearly baffled researchers to see amino acids that make up life today spontaneously link up under lab conditions that mimicked those of pre-life Earth. The result was predecessors of today’s proteins. The researchers made it hard on the amino… Read More ›
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Long-term declines in heart disease and stroke deaths are stalling, research finds
Heart disease and stroke mortality rates have almost stopped declining in many high-income countries, including Australia, and are even increasing in some countries, according to new research. Source: Long-term declines in heart disease and stroke deaths are stalling, research finds… Read More ›
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The Powerful Blood Sugar Lowering Effect of Withania Coagulans
The Powerful Blood Sugar Lowering Effect of Withania Coagulans Finally, diabetic mice that were fed the nanoparticles for 5 days showed about 40% lower blood glucose levels compared to their starting amounts. Surprisingly, even 5 days after the treatment ended,… Read More ›
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Call it Mighty Mouse: Breakthrough leaps Alzheimer’s research hurdle
University of California, Irvine researchers have made it possible to learn how key human brain cells respond to Alzheimer’s, vaulting a major obstacle in the quest to understand and one day vanquish it. By developing a way for human brain… Read More ›
Engineering Evil 