Clinical use of psilocybin, the hallucinogen in magic mushrooms, is being debated again after two separate studies showed that it could be used to treat people suffering from depression.

In one study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists gave psilocybin to 30 people and scanned their brains. The scans revealed that the psychedelic compound was linked to reduced activity in regions of the brain associated with high-level reasoning. The second study, to be published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, included 10 healthy volunteers and found that their memories were much more vivid, visual, and happy while under the influence.

Psychiatrist and neuropsychopharmacologist David Nutt, who gave a briefing about the findings said: “Psychedelics are thought of as ‘mind-expanding’ drugs so it has commonly been assumed that they work by increasing brain activity … But, surprisingly, we found that psilocybin actually caused activity to decrease in areas that have the densest connections with other areas.”

However, Nutt cautioned that the new research was very preliminary and involved only small numbers of people.

“We’re not saying go out there and eat magic mushrooms,” he explained. “But … this drug has such a fundamental impact on the brain that it’s got to be meaningful – it’s got to be telling us something about how the brain works. So we should be studying it and optimising it if there’s a therapeutic benefit.”

Shrooms are known for their trippy chemical effects on the brain, and Psilocybin was classified as a Class-A drug under the Drugs Act 2005, placing it in the same category as cocaine and heroin.

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Shrooms ‘could treat depression’

Occasional pot smokers show no signs of lung damage, in contrast to cigarette smokers, according to a 20-year study conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco.

The study, which was released Tuesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association, included more than 5,000 young adults in the United States, who were assessed between 1986 and 2006. The researchers, however, said the study did not evaluate the effects of heavy marijuana smoking on the lungs.

While marijuana smoke contains many of the same components in tobacco smoke, it does not carry the same risks for lung disease. In fact, those light to moderate pot smokers actually had improvements in some measurements of lung function. It’s not clear why that is so, but it’s possible that the major psychoactive compound in cannabis, known as THC, makes the difference.

It is important to note that the findings of this study are not meant to encourage using this substance. While marijuana may have beneficial effects on pain control, appetite, and glaucoma, it likely increases the risk of testicular cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer, and the risk of leukemia in the offspring of women who use it during pregnancy.

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Study finds moderate marijuana use doesn’t harm lungs

Researchers find average computer keyboards carry more harmful bacteria than a toilet seat. That’s why it’s a good thing the Vioguard Self-Sanitizing Keyboard has gotten clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The keyboard rids itself of bacteria and viruses through the use of germicidal ultraviolet light, which kills germs in seconds. It has the look and feel of a conventional keyboard and requires no software or special hardware to function. However, studies indicate that it may not be as effective as previously thought.

Vioguard claims to eliminate 99.9 percent of the harmful microorganisms living on your console, but reports are saying it’s only about 67% effective. So if you want a 100% germ-free keyboard, you still have to clean it manually. I normally use rubbing alcohol with a lint-free cloth and sometimes I get a vacuum cleaner to remove the dust. After all, should somebody have a cold in your house or office, you’re very likely to pick it up from a keyboard.

Vioguard’s FDA approval is new, but its product has been on sale for consumer use, at a cost of $900 on Amazon. Check out the keyboard in action in the video below.

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FDA approves Vioguard’s germ-killing keyboard

It’s one thing to accidentally ingest bleach, as one of my friends recently claimed to have done, but surely no one would do so on purpose, right? However, some teenagers in Alabama have been ingesting it to pass drug tests.

The idea behind this is that bleach will wash away any drugs in your system. But officials are warning people that swallowing the household chemical could cause abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea.

“We have had cases where they have ingested straight bleach, and it caused significant damage to their body,” said Sergeant Joe Mahoney with the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.

Drug tests also have gotten sophisticated and can determine the presence of foreign chemicals.

“Specific gravity tests will let us know the urine is not just pure urine coming from the body or if these other compounds are present or if there is a tremendous amount of water in the system where they’ve tried to flush the system,” Mahoney added.

Mahoney said there is one way to pass a drug test: Do away with illegal substances.

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Teens resort to drinking bleach to pass drug tests

Scientists have reportedly moved a step closer to finally developing a malaria vaccine, raising hope for a breakthrough in the long search for a way to limit the impact of a disease that kills nearly 800,000 people every year.

In an announcement made at a forum in Seattle, developers said the proposed vaccine, based on clinical tests, was able to reduce by about 50 percent the malaria incidence in the 12 months since its administration. The experiment involved 6,000 children aged from 17 months to 5 years old. The preliminary tests were conducted in Africa, where around 90 percent of reported deaths from malaria occur.

“Scientists have been working to develop a malaria vaccine for 40 years, and these findings show that we are on track in the development of a vaccine for African children, those who need it most,” said Dr. Mary Hamel of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccine, known as RTS,S, works by boosting the immune system instead of attacking the mosquito-borne parasites.

Over the last 40 years, efforts to develop a malaria vaccine have failed to produce results as promising as what the current project has yielded, so far. If subsequent tests remain positive, the vaccine could be approved as early as 2015, CNN said in a report.

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Tests Raise Hope for Malaria Vaccine

According to a recent study published in The Journal of Clinical Oncology, oral sex may overtake cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption as the main causes of throat cancer in men. So the next time your partner asks you to go down on her, just say: “Honey, it’s far too risky.”

Researchers revealed that over the last two decades, there has been a significant rise in cases of throat cancer linked directly to the human papillomavirus, commonly known as HPV. The virus is best known for causing cervical cancer, but Dr. Maura Gillison, an oncologist at Ohio State University, said: “The burden of cancer caused by HPV is going to shift from women to men in this decade. What we believe is happening is that the number of sexual partners and exposure to HPV has risen over that same time period.”

Around 20 million people in the United States have genital HPV infections. The Oral Cancer Foundation says close to 37,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral cancer this year, that’s why the medical community encourages everyone to get vaccination for HPV.

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Rise of throat cancer in men linked to oral sex

Meat company Cargill has ordered the recall of 36 million pounds of ground turkey produced from its plant in Springdale, Ark.

The recall, which covers both the fresh and frozen varieties of the ground meat, covers those produced between February 20 and August 2. Cargill made the decision to recall the meat in connection with the U.S. Agriculture Department’s hunt for the source of a new salmonella outbreak that has affected more than 70 people and killed at least one person.

Wednesday’s recall follows a string of salmonella-caused illness that began in March. The Associated Press said in a report that the outbreak now affects 26 states. Cargill said in a statement that the Springdale plant will not be producing any ground turkey while the source of the outbreak is still being identified. “Given our concern for what has happened, and our desire to do what is right for our consumers and customers, we are voluntarily removing our ground turkey products from the marketplace,” Cargill turkey processing business president Steve Willardsen said.

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Cargill Recalls 36 Million Pounds of Turkey Amid Salmonella Outbreak

If you are a fan of Showtime’s TV series Dexter, then you might find this infographic interesting. Dexter, who is a Miami Metro Police Department blood spatter analyst can help close cases by his expertise in blood pattern analysis.

The infographic below highlights and illustrates what is done with all that blood to figure out crimes and how blood stain pattern analysis works!

Created by: Forensic Nursing

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A Bloody Mess: How bloodstain pattern analysis works [infographic]

Drug enforcers in the U.S. are in a predicament due to the rising popularity of what is being billed as the “legal” designer drug, bath salts.

Bath salts have become the latest drug craze in the U.S., and law enforcers are at their wit’s end because the supposed-to-be-harmless product can easily be acquired through the Internet and some convenience stores. The worst thing, bath salts are generally legal, although some U.S. states have banned the product in an effort to curb the ever increasing use of the now-considered synthetic drug.

When smoked, inhaled, or injected, bath salts’s effects are worse than that of all most known drugs combined. According to reports, bath salts can cause psychosis, violence, and agitation. Doctors say people high on bath salts are usually very hard to contain when brought to emergency rooms, with some patients needing a shot of general anesthesia to calm down.

Bath salts have already caused several deaths in the U.S., including an Indiana man who reportedly jumped to the street from a flagpole.

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Bath Salts: The New Scourge of Drug Enforcers

OFWs displaced by recent world events can find alternative livelihood in a new direct sales company. World of Wellness (WOW), offering general health and wellness products through direct sales, has opened its doors to this new breed of entrepreneurs.

“In light of recent world events, more Filipino workers are back in the country for good. We think that WOW Direct Sales will provide them a good, profitable opportunity that will allow them to stay and earn here,” said Sheila Mae Velilla, President and CEO of WOW Direct Sales Corporation.

Velilla established WOW Direct Sales on the principles of fair trade, social advocacy and business entrepreneurship. By offering premium quality products at affordable prices, with a competitive commission plan, the company is confident of attracting and growing its sales force.

WOW Direct Sales has diverse product lines focusing on health, beauty, and wellness. These include organic wines and herbal supplements; premium skin whitening and age-defying lines; botanical hair care products; natural health juices, real crystals and other wellness products.
Most of the products are locally manufactured, with a few exceptions: the juices are made in the USA, the wines are from Spain and the whitening products are made in Japan.

“Considering that our products have active natural, organic, and highly beneficial ingredients and that they are clinically proven to be very safe and effective, they are very competitively priced,” Velilla added.
The daughter of successful entrepreneurs, Velilla is prominent in the pharmaceutical trading business. She heads other companies but is busy growing WOW Direct Sales, which is a spin-off of Cory Quirino World of Wellness, her retail co-venture with beauty and wellness guru Cory Quirino. “CQWOW received hundreds of feedback from customers that they found our products of high quality and affordable. There were also lots of inquiries on whether they can sell Cory Quirino products as a distributor because they believed in these products,” she said.

With an initial investment of P1 million, Velilla established WOW Direct Sales and launched the company last year. To date, WOW Direct Sales has wellness centers in Pampanga, Bulacan, Mandaluyong, Pasay, Las Pinas, Makati, and Isabela. It has over a thousand dealers and is set to open more centers in Cavite, Ilocos Norte, Batangas, Laguna, Bicol, Quezon, Cebu, and more centers in other cities in Bulacan and Pampanga.

Velilla admits that the direct sales market may be saturated, but she believes that WOW Direct Sales can still capture a relatively significant share of it given its competitive products and excellent marketing team. “Our dealers are generously rewarded based on their sales and sponsoring from a personal or group contribution. Their membership and privileges are for a lifetime,” she said.

“WOW Direct Sales believes that real wealth is in health and investments on health should be made affordable. The more who are given access to this provision, the healthier the nation would be,” she added.

# # #

WOW DIRECT SALES CORPORATION is duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under SEC # CS201017782 on October 29, 2010. Its office is located at # 108 Scout Delgado Street, Quezon City, with telephone numbers (+632) 9289969 and (+632) 4418969.

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Wellness sales company boosts OFW entrepreneurship

A drug-resistant strain of the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea, or “the Clap,” has been found in Japan, scientists revealed.

Researcher Magnus Unemo of the Swedish Reference Laboratory for Pathogenic Neisseria said the “superbug” was discovered in samples taken from the Japanese city of Kyoto. Unemo said the new strain, H041, is resistant to all known antibiotics used to treat gonorrhea, one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases. “This is both an alarming and a predictable discovery,” Unemo said. “Since antibiotics became the standard treatment for gonorrhea in the 1940s, this bacterium has shown a remarkable capacity to develop resistance mechanisms to all drugs introduced to control it.”

The new discovery was presented Monday at the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Disease Research in Quebec, Canada. Researchers said that although the strain has been found only in Japan, it is not yet clear if it already exists in other parts of the world. “While it is still too early to assess if this new strain has become widespread, the history of newly emergent resistance in the bacterium suggests that it may spread rapidly unless new drugs and effective treatment programs are developed,” Unemo said.

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Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea Discovered

This infographic illustrates the advantages of vaccines and also highlights the stats and facts of this great debate.

Created by: Medical Coding Career Guide

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The Great Vaccination Debate [infographic]

She’s definitely someone all habitual wankers can relate to.

Ana Catarina Bezerra suffers from a rare medical condition which leads her to masturbate several times a day to relieve severe anxiety and hypersexuality.

“I got so bad I would to masturbate up to forty seven-times a day,” she said. “That’s when I asked for help, I knew it wasn’t normal.”

After getting some medical help, now Ana only masturbates around eight times a day. Due to her condition, the 36-year-old Brazilian accountant and divorced mother of three took her employer to court in order to be allowed to watch porn and touch herself in the workplace. She won.

Now Ana will be allowed to jill off at the accounting firm for 15 minutes every two hours and will also be allowed to use her office computer to look at porn.

Very interesting.

Speaking of masturbation, is this how your mom acted when you got caught?

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Woman wins right to watch porn and masturbate at work

An illustration of the dangers of sitting all day.

[Infographic by: Medical Billing and Coding via Mashable]

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The Truth About Sitting Down [INFOGRAPHIC]

A licensed medical marijuana dealer in the U.S. is helping raise money for relief efforts in Japan. According to Shaun Gindi, owner of Compassionate Pain Management in Colorado, he will donate 100 percent of the profit from his marijuana joints to earthquake and tsunami victims in the East Asian country.

From CNN.com:

He floated the idea of raising money for Japan on his dispensary’s Facebook page and got a dozen “likes” right away. He knew immediately that he could use his dispensary to raise money. Thus was born “Joints for Japan.”

“What we’re going to do is take all the revenue from the hand-rolled medicine, 100% of it, from this weekend and potentially for the next few weeks … and we’re going to donate it to the Red Cross,” Gindi said.

“Hand-rolled medicine” is medical marijuana-speak for a joint, or a marijuana cigarette. They contain half of a gram of marijuana and are the most popular item in the store. At $5 each, Gindi says, they sell thousands a month.

Gindi hopes his fundraising efforts help bring a bit more respectability to the medical marijuana industry. But ultimately, it is the people of Japan he truly hopes to help.

“In Japan every day, the number of lives lost jumps up. Whatever we can do to help out, we’d like to do.”

More info about the Compassionate Pain Management and how Colorado residents can qualify to purchase medical cannabis can be found on the dispensary’s official website.

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Marijuana dispensary selling joints to aid Japan’s tsunami victims