A new set of guidelines for the prevention of breast cancers among women is creating confusion, not to mention dismay, among the public. For example, a woman should start annual check-ups at the age of 50 rather than the current practice of 40. That’s 10 years of possible time that one may develop and die from breast cancer.

Federal advisory panel US Preventive Services Task Force announced Monday, November 16, 2009 that only women between the ages 50 and 74 should get mammograms. Women should also do the tests every two years.

The task force analysis indicates that only 1 out of 1,904 women from 40-50 years old are diagnosed with the deadly cancer. This outweighs the numerous unnecessary tests and screenings that may bring about anxiety to the patient.

However, doctors already stated that they cannot change immediately to the new guidelines and would be sticking to the currently used guidelines. Patients, they said, are willing to have little anxiety and distress rather than live with small, little signs of cancer.

The American Cancer Society is promoting, and insisting, the current setup which is women 40 years and above should undergo mammograms and clinical breast exams annually.

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New Breast Cancer Prevention Guidelines Causing Confusion

The mystery of how arsenic has widely spread in Bangladesh waters was finally solved. The culprit is the tens of thousands of man-made ponds that were designed to protect villagers from unclean and disease-ridden surface waters.

Researches made chemical tests and models to examine the flow of groundwater from a regular agricultural area in Bangladesh. They pointed to the man-made ponds. The study warned against the building of artificial ponds above existing tube wells. Drinking wells were also advised not to be placed downstream from existing ponds, wetlands or rivers.

Two million people from Bangladesh were estimated to have been poisoned from the arsenic drawn out from the tube wells found almost everywhere in the country.

Arsenic is a natural chemical that are poisonous to humans as it can bring skin lesions and cancer of the bladder, kidney, lung and skin.

Arsenic contamination can be found in other countries like Argentina, Chile, China, India, Mexico, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.

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Man-Made Ponds Brought Poisonous Arsenic to Bangladesh Waters

If you’ve been watching the news on TV or reading the newspaper or simply viewing them online, you probably have heard about the latest virus in Ukraine. At first, they thought that this virus is the H1N1. Some say that it is a mutated version of the swine flu (still H1N1). But now they are saying that this mystery virus is not of ‘H1N1 bloodline’, but a mixture of three flu viruses that have mutated into a single pneumonic plague, which is far more dangerous than the swine flu.

“People are dying. The epidemic is killing doctors. This is absolutely inconceivable in the 21st Century.” said President Yushchenko, President of Ukraine.

Ukraine is between Europe and central Russia, and if this continues and worsens, many fear, that it would spread out in all directions causing a massive plague capable of killing millions of people.

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Mystery Virus in Ukraine is Not H1N1

A sixth grader from Chesapeak, Virginia, who sneezes as much as 12 times per minute and 12,000 times a day, has baffled her family and doctors.

12-year-old Lauren Johnson caught a cold roughly two weeks ago. The cold eventually went away, but the sneezing stuck around. It only stops when she’s in deep sleep.

Lynn Johnson, Lauren’s mother, says she suffers every time she hears her daughter sneeze. Despite visiting several doctors (including a hypnotist), and taking different medications, the mysterious condition continues.

One neurologist said that Lauren’s condition could be “irretractable psychogenic disorder,” which could be triggered by stress.

During a five-minute interview on the Today Show Lauren sneezed hundreds of times, her speech interrupted every few seconds.

WATCH:

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Lauren Johnson: The girl who sneezes 12,000 times a day

A recent study shows that eating about an ounce and a half of dark chocolates daily for two weeks can help reduce levels of stress hormones and partially corrected stress-related biochemical imbalances in the bodies of people who are felling highly stressed.

Sunil Kochhar and colleagues published online the results of their clinical trial in ACS’ Journal of Proteome Research. The results indicate that antioxidants and other beneficial substances in dark chocolates may help ease emotional stress, reduce probability of heart disease and other physical conditions.

The clinical test was conducted among thirty volunteers (11 males and 19 females), aged 18-35 with body max index (BMI) 18-25 kgm. They were told not to consume any chocolates or chocolate containing products for eight days. On the days after they were eating chocolates, fasting blood plasma and morning spot urine samples were collected from the volunteers. Lab procedures then are conducted to check stress effects.

The study said that the prescribed consumption of 1.4 ounces daily for two weeks of dark chocolate is sufficient to modify the metabolism of healthy human beings.

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Dark Chocolates Found as Emotional Stress Reliever

Sexual function can be restored for those with damaged penises by growing new penile tissues in the lab and implanting it.

For rabbits, that is.

The procedure conducted for the experiment started by extracting smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells from the penises of the animals. They are separately grown on rod-shaped collagen scaffolds, placed in an incubator and nourished by fluids. When the cells mature, the newly formed penile spongy tissue called corpora carnevosa are implanted surgically to the penises of the rabbits. The tissue will reconstitute itself as time passes by.

Dr. Andrew McCullough, director of male sex health, fertility and microsurgery at NYU Medical Center said that the outcome have been met with positive results. “It has a long way to go, but the researchers have basically shown they can take cells from an organ, culture them, put them back in and have them be functional.”

The rabbits were able to normally have an erection, do penetration and deposit sperms to the female rabbits. Study showed that 4 out of 12 female rabbits were impregnated.

Researches say that the technique can one day be implemented to treat severe erectile dysfunction in human males.

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New Penile Tissue Regrown in the Lab

You are probably sick and tired of news about the swine flu but at the same time wary and cautious for yourself and your family. News of ongoing vaccination in the States brings a sigh of relief to some thinking this would solve the problem. But in other countries, there is a different flavor to the swine flu news. According to http://www.recombinomics.com, those killed by H1N1 in Ukraine experienced total destruction of the lungs. How so?

Fever, cough and respiratory disorders are first observed. And then, this leads to accelerated respiration rate, shortness of breath and effectiveness of independent breathing. Those patients that experienced these symptoms also experience double-headed particles of lower lung lesion which is followed by total destruction of the lungs.

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“Total Destruction” of Lungs in Ukraine H1N1 Fatalities

Do you cry? Well, humans cry when feeling sad or are in pain. But what if it could kill you, would you still cry? That is the said reality for Tianna Lewis McHugh who was diagnosed with Reflex Anoxic Seizure. This could condition can kill her if she does cry for a prolonged period of time. She has actually undergone several seizures but fortunately enough, her parents were there to save her.

When she does undergo a seizure, her skin turns pale, her hearts stops beating and she stops breathing. Truly frightening.

“When she has fits it’s horrendous,” said Andy (her father). “When she starts to cry we usually have to flick water in her face to bring her out of the shock.”

I am not sure if this condition will last her lifetime but hopefully not. Our life is full of downs that sometimes crying is the only way out. Unfortunately for Tianna, she does not have that luxury. What’s more, in terms of love, she would have to find the one on the first try or else…

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Tears of Death

You do not need a full brain to live your life to a full. This was proven by Michelle Mack who was born with just half a brain. This did not hinder her from pursuing a normal way of life though. She can speak normally and has graduated from high school. Today at 37 years of age, she can take care of herself and earns a living with a data entry job. Her life wasn’t always easy however.

“It was very hard for me,” Mack said. “It was very hard for me growing up. No one knew the truth about my brain.”

This was certainly a miracle. Doctors have determined that Mack’s right side of the brain has rewired itself to take over the normal bodily functions otherwise taken cared of the left side of the brain (the part that was missing).

“I wanted to do this so people like producers, photographers and security guards and police officers learn about people like me,” she said, “that I’m normal but have special needs, and that there are a lot people like me, so that they could be more understanding.”

Yes, let us learn from her and appreciate her wanting to tell her life story to us by doing all we can to improve our lives. We only have one life so let us live it to the full.

[image from CNN]

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Living a Full Life with Half a Brain

If you’ve been reading the news daily, chances are you are quite familiar with the government’s plan of giving the swine flu vaccine to everyone. As of today, they are saying that the vaccine is coming in in 2 forms, the nasal spray and the regular shot.

The nasal spray is geared towards those who are scared of the needle. But experts say that it is less effective than the conventional shot. Whether that is true or not, the first batch that would be passed around is the nasal spray. One caveat however is that the nasal spray would have to be given to healthy people without underlying symptoms of the flu. I don’t understand why but that’s the way it is.

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Swine Flu Spray or Shot?

Professional athletes who take performance-enhancing drugs are subject to drug testing—but what about students who do the same?

According to Vince Cakic of Sydney University in the Journal of Medical Ethics, more students are turning to ‘smart pills’ or nootropics in an attempt to improve their academic performance.

These drugs, which are often widely available over the internet, are normally used for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and ADHD.

In some US campuses, the use of nootropics is as high as 25 percent—particularly in colleges with more competitive admission criteria.

Chemically enhanced academic performance is cheating, says Cakic. And “as laughable as it may seem, it is possible that scenarios such as urine testing could very well come to fruition in the future.”

Wow. Can you imagine having to pee in a cup before the ACT exam?

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Students turn to ’smart pills’ to boost grades

We’ve been hearing it in the news over and over again that the governments of the world are preparing for the return of the Swine Flu by creating a Swine Flu Vaccine. However, there are conspiracy stories saying that we should be more afraid of the vaccine than the virus itself because it contains dangerous elements which could be more harmful if taken in. Is this true?

Well, here is a video footage of Dr Kent Holtorf, an Infectious Disease Expert saying that he wouldn’t even consider having his family take the vaccine! Watch the video for more details:

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Swine Flu Vaccine: Safe or Not?

Heroin addicts in the UK could be given free aluminum foil to convince them to smoke rather than inject the semi-synthetic opioid drug.

Experts say that smoking heroin instead of injecting reduces a user’s risk of catching HIV and other infectious diseases. In this process a flame is held below the thin metal sheet, the drug is heated into smoke and a user “chases” the fume up with a tube.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is studying whether the law should be modified to let Britain’s thousands of problem drug users to receive al-foil as a way of protecting their health.

At the moment, section 9A of the Misuse of Drugs act prohibits the supply of “articles to be used for the preparation or consumption of illicit drugs”.

[Image via flickr]

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Heroin addicts may be given free foil to ‘protect’ their health

The “Today Show” ran a follow up story Thursday morning about Paul Karason, who suffered an extremely rare side effect after self-medicating for a skin condition.

Karason, 58, looked like your regular guy up until about a decade ago, when he began treating himself with colloidal silver. He has the strange Papa Smurf look that has caused him worldwide recognition as the “Blue Man”.

“I’m anxious to try green,” Karason joked to host Matt Lauer. “You get a little bored with blue.”

According to Wikipedia, colloidal silver is a liquid suspension of microscopic particles of silver. A colloid is technically defined as particles which remain suspended without forming an ionic, or dissolved solution.

The substance is being marketed for homeopathic medical remedy, which can be taken internally or used externally. Although it has never been scientifically proven that colloidal silver actually heals, a lot of people still take it. And in Paul’s case the side effect was blue skin.

WATCH:

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Man turns ‘blue’ after taking colloidal silver (video)

At 6′4″, Forrest Bird, fly high with his invention of the modern medical respirator. His brainchild has given the breath of life to millions of people around the world. The respirator we all know today began with a gizmo he cobbled together to help his friend with emphysema breathe.

The year was 1947 and Bird says he didn’t have the “foggiest” idea that he was on the trail of inventing a device that would become one of the most routine parts of emergency medicine. “I mean, this was seeing a problem and coming up with a rudimentary answer, that was all,” he says.

Forrest Bird’s invention, the respirator, has saved millions and, at age 88, he’s still living his life to the fullest, flying his planes and working long days.

Forrest Bird (born June 9, 1921) is an inventor who developed a prototype mechanical ventilator that is widely used for acute and chronic cardiopulmonary care. The ventilator, invented in 1955, was revised to create a ventilator for infants, the “Babybird.” It is responsible for reduced the rate of breathing-related infant mortality from 70 percent to 10 percent. He has received numerous awards for his scientific innovations, including two Lifetime Scientific Achievement awards. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1995. Originally from Massachusetts, Bird now resides in Sagle. In 2007, he opened the Bird Aviation and Invention Museum to showcase his inventions.

Watch:

Watch CBS Videos Online

[via CBS]

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Forrest Bird: Inventor of modern medical respirator