Your friday dose of woo: the secret life of plants
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Last week's woo was pretty darned hard to top, don't you think? It had it all, after all: Boner potentiation, penis enlargement, magnets, near infrared, and more. The only thing it lacked that would have made it absolutely perfect woo were references to pseudoscientific "vibration" or, even better, quantum theory. That's the reason I could only give it a 9.5/10 rather than a perfect score of 10/10. All I can say is: Better luck next time.
In looking for something that could at least live up to last week, if not surpass it, I was surprised that there actually was such a link in my ever-reliable Folder of Woo. Even better, ...
Source: Respectful Insolence - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Tags: Medicine Source Type: blogs
The 86th meeting of the skeptics' circle: a bitch of a meeting. really.
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Sometimes being a skeptic can be a real bitch. And no one knows that better than the host of the latest installment of a blog carnival that has, believe it or not, been running over three years now, the ever-popular Skepbitch. She's served up a heaping helping of the best skeptical bitching from the last two weeks. Head on over and enjoy!
Next up to host is Action Skeptics on May 22. If you're a blogger, start getting your best skeptical posts ready to submit for the next Skeptics' Circle.
Finally, as always, if you're interested in hosting, check out the schedule and guidelines, as well as the guidelines for hosts, and ...
Source: Respectful Insolence - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Tags: Announcements Source Type: blogs
Unix os servers: most reliable platform
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UNIX-based servers, which represent about 10 per cent of the installed base of server operating systems, achieved the highest reliability ratings among mainstream operating servers in the Yankee Group’s 2008 Server Operating System Reliability Survey.IBM’s AIX UNIX led all server operating systems for reliability with just over 30 minutes of per server annual downtime, while Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems also got high scores.The Linux distributions Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and Novell SuSE Linux notched the biggest reliability improvements in the latest survey, with each decreased per server per annum down...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
E-gov, a way of life: selvaraj
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e-Governance now does not mean the application of advanced information and communication technology (ICT) to improve governance. Rather, it should now be considered as a philosophy and way of life, the Administrator of Union Territory Lakshadweep BV Selvaraj opined.Inaugurating a two-day workshop on e-governance here on Friday, Selvraj said e-Governance has cut across the various disciplines and it was seamless.The workshop being organised under the aegis of the Lakhsadweep administration will discuss modalities about ‘empowering citizens through ICT’ besides other issues.Administrator lakshadweep inaugurating session ...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
India to spend rs 3k cr to check school dropouts
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In its bid to encourage students to continue their education beyond class eight, the Government of India on Friday approved a Rs 3,004-crore scholarship scheme for meritorious students of economically weaker sections.The National means-cum-merit-Scholarship, to be implemented during the 11th Five Year Plan, would grant Rs 6,000 per annum scholarship to over one lakh students at the beginning of their class ninth session, till class 12.According to the plan chalked out by the country’s Ministry Human Resource Development (MHRD), over one lakh students would be awarded the Rs 6,000 per annum scholarship at the beginning of...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Scientists identify immune system pathway to fight allergy, asthma
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Indian scientists from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified genetic components of dendritic cells that play a crucial role in asthma and allergy-related immune response malfunction.The researchers say that targeting these elements could give rise to more effective drugs to treat allergic disorders and asthma.Dendritic cells are fundamental to immune response as they recognize, capture and introduce threatening organisms to T lymphocytes¯other immune cells that secrete potent proteins called cytokines that surround and destroy the invaders.However, the Pittsburgh team's study goes further to shed...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Suicide victims who suffered child abuse have gene changes in brains
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Suicide victims who battled child abuse had clear genetic changes in their brains, a study by McGill University scientists has found.During the study, researchers discovered what they say are key differences between the brains of ordinary people, and of those who took their own lives after suffering child abuse.They found that the genetic sequence wasn't significantly different in the suicide and non-suicide brains, but there were differences in their epigenetic marking - a chemical coating influenced by environmental factors.Researchers found that all of the 13 suicide victims in the study had experienced abuse as childre...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Steroids of no use for kids with bacterial meningitis
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This study reminds us again that children are not just small adults. We need to consider whether the problems associated with corticosteroid use, such as gastrointestinal bleeding, outweigh any potential benefits," he added.In the study, the research team analyzed medical records of 2,780 children with bacterial meningitis at 27 U.S. pediatric hospitals from 2001 to 2006.The median age of the children was nine months. Approximately 9 percent, or 248, of the children studied received corticosteroids, with steroid use doubling during the study period, from under 6 percent of children in 2001 to 12 percent in 2006. There was ...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Appropriate treatment can prevent risk of hiv transmission from mother to child
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Appropriate treatment can prevent risk of HIV transmission from mother to child, a UK study shows.Data on 5,151 HIV pregnancies in the UK and Ireland between 2000 and 2006 found an infant infection rate of just 1.2% where preventative steps were taken.In the mid-1990s, before effective drug therapy became available, the infant infection rate was over 20%.University College London led the Aids Online study, BBC reports.The researchers said it was the first time such low rates of infection had been observed at a population level.Most HIV positive women in the UK now take a combination of antiretroviral therapy (ART) drugs du...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Appropriate treatment can prevent risk of hiv transmission from mother to child
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The authors found that under 10% of pregnant women with HIV in these countries had access to the drugs.As a result, they calculated, about 1,800 babies were born with HIV each day because their mothers did not get the drugs they need.Lead researcher Claire Townsend said that for women with access to drugs, the findings were "greatly encouraging".She said: "They demonstrate that if women are tested for HIV early enough in pregnancy for ART to be initiated, the risk of infection to their baby is very low indeed."This emphasizes the importance of achieving and maintaining a high uptake of antenatal HIV testing on a national s...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Folic acid and b vitamins have no beneficial effects on the heart
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Long-term supplementation of folic acid and vitamin B do not confer any protection on women as fas as heart disease and stroke are concerned, a new study has found.Randomised, controlled trials by Christine M. Albert, M.D., M.P.H., of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues, showed that women at high-risk of cardiovascular disease who took a daily supplement of folic acid and vitamin B6 and B12 for seven years did not have an overall reduced rate of cardiovascular events, despite a significant lowering of homocysteine levels."Homocysteine [an amino acid produced by the body] levels h...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Opinions differ on cancer risks in hair-dyeing
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A new study finds that using hair dye more than nine times a year increases the risk of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (a form of cancer of the blood cells) by 60 per cent. But opinions differ on whether dyeing is that dangerous.The study had also found that women who regularly used dyes before the Eighties were at even greater risk because older products contained toxic ingredients not found in today's hair products.Women who used dark hair dyes were 50 per cent more likely to develop another type of blood cancer - follicular lymphoma. (Colours such as black, brown and red are thought to be more risky because it takes more...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Genetic glitch in mitochondria linked to amd risk
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The presence of a genetic variation in the DNA of mitochondria may increase a person's risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a new study by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Centre has revealed.The researchers focused their study on a particular variation in the mitochondrial genome associated with the disease that occurs in about 10 percent of Caucasians, referred to as mitochondrial haplogroup T."Most people don't realize that we have two genomes. We have the nuclear genome - the "human genome" - that makes the cover of all the magazines, and then we also have this tiny genome in mitochond...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Vitamin d may help to extend life in chronic kidney patients
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A new study has revealed that treatment with activated vitamin D can cut death risk among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), by one-fourth.Many patients with advanced CKD take the drug calcitriol, an oral form of activated vitamin D, to treat elevated levels of parathyroid hormone.The study involved 1 418 patients with stage 3 to 4 CKD, which means moderately to severely reduced kidney function.All patients also had high parathyroid hormone level (hyperparathyroidism) that may contribute to weakening of the bones in CKD.The team identified one group of patients who were being treated with calcitriol to lower their...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Study finds that maternal weight gain greatly impacts foetal growth
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While pregnancy and weight gain go hand in hand, a report by an Indian-origin researcher has cautioned that too much or too less than the recommended amount of weight gain during pregnancy might prove risky not only for the mother but the baby as well.The new report by Meera Viswanathan, Ph.D., a senior research analyst at the RTI International-University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Evidence-based Practice Center, is based on a systematic review of 150 studies, between January 1990 and October 2007, examining the short- and long-term effects of maternal weight gain on pregnancy, mothers, fetuses, and children.The repo...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Mathematical formula 'simplifies' diagnosis of sleep problems
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A scientist from University of Queensland has developed a mathematical formula that may simplify future diagnosis of sleep problems.Philip Terrill, a PhD student has created a formula that measures varying breathing patterns of infants, which indicate different sleep states such as active or quiet sleep. He hopes that the same would successfully work for adults.For the study, Terrill had placed a band around the child's chest that recorded breathing rates. He then analysed using the new formula based on the maths of chaos theory and has been successfully tested on 30 children so far.The present sleep monitoring method invo...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Proteins that play major role in melanoma development identified
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Two proteins have been found to play a major role in the development of a mole into a deadly melanoma by Penn State scientists.The researchers have also demonstrated that therapeutic targeting of these proteins is necessary for drugs to effectively treat this deadly form of cancer."We have shown that when two proteins - (V600E)B-Raf and Akt3 - communicate with one another in a mole, they cooperate leading to the development of melanoma," said Gavin Robertson, lead author and associate professor of pharmacology, pathology and dermatology, and director of the Foreman Foundation Melanoma Therapeutics Program at the Penn State...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Vocal-cord cancer may be treated by laser
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A novel laser treatment to get rid of early-stage vocal cord cancer has been developed by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).The treatment, which has now been used in more than 25 patients, effectively restores patients' voices without radiotherapy or traditional surgery, which can permanently damage vocal quality."We had previously adapted lasers that target blood vessels to treat precancerous vocal-cord dysplasia and a variety of benign vascular lesions. We have now applied that experience to treat vocal-cord cancer, which is diagnosed in several thousand American patients each year," said Steven Zei...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Debate on whether patients be allowed to buy the treatment they want
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Last weeks ruling about the Alzheimer’s drug Aricept, is one of numerous decisions not to fund some treatments under the National Health Service (NHS) that have been vigorously disputed. But should patients be allowed to purchase such treatments privately rather than go without?Two experts debate the issue on BMJ.com today.The supplementing of NHS care with private treatment is already widespread and the practice will become more common as the finite budget of the NHS becomes less able to cover all the medical care that people want or require, says James Gubb director of the health unit at Civitas, an independent social ...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Role of a key protein in fighting meningitis found
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A new study by researchers at University of Leicester has found that a blood protein plays a key role in fighting meningitis.The study also reveals that the same protein, Properdin can also harm internal organs under certain circumstances.Lack of the protein in the human body has previously been linked to susceptibility to meningitis."I have a broad interest in immune mechanisms of health and disease, though recently, I have focused on a particular component of the first line immune defence, a protein called Properdin," said Dr Cordula Stover, of the Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation at the University of L...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Breast cancer tumours grows faster in younger women than older ones
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A new approach to estimate tumour growth, developed by scientists at the Department of Etiological Research, Cancer Registry of Norway, has indicated that the growth of breast cancer tumours is faster in younger women as compared to older women.This new model, developed by Harald Weedon-Fekjær of the Department of Etiological Research, Cancer Registry of Norway and colleagues, can also determine the proportion of breast cancers which are detected at screening (screen test sensitivity).In addition, it also provides a new approach to simultaneously estimating the growth rate of breast cancer and the ability of mammography s...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Medical immigration plans pose risk to patients: bma
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Government attempts to restrict career opportunities for overseas doctors in the UK could threaten patient services, the BMA says.Last week the House of Lords ruled against government guidance restricting training opportunities for doctors on the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP). Under the new points-based immigration system, overseas doctors who already have HSMP status will be able to compete for training posts with their UK colleagues.However, the Department of Health is still consulting on other proposals to manage medical migration, including charging overseas doctors for their postgraduate training.The BMA’s...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Boy killed by inmates at juvenile home in south indian city
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An observation home meant to reform child offenders is proving to be a horror home for innocent children, filled with instances of physical torture, sexual assault and now the killing of a 14-year old boy by fellow inmates yesterday.Mubarak Ali was murderously assaulted by fellow inmates at the juvenile home in Coimbatore, a city in Southern India, barely two days after he was taken into the home.The boy had run away from his uncle’s house in Erisarampatti village near Pollachi last Friday. Police picked him up on “suspicion” when he was moving aimlessly in the busy Gandhipuram area. The child welfare committee that ...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
India plans to merge land record schemes
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The Department of Land Resources in India has proposed that its land records computerisation project be merged with its other initiative of updating the records for strengthening of the revenue administration in the country.Stating this at a Parliamentary Consultative Committee Meeting of his Ministry, the Union Minister for Rural Development Dr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh informed that a proposal has been made to merge the two schemes of Computerisation of the Land Records (CLR) and Strengthening of Revenue Administration and Updating of Land Records (SRA&ULR).“This will benefit the citizens in a big way as the new structur...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Govt failure caused bird flu in tripura: peta
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Recent outbreak of Bird Flu in Tripura was a result of failure of the state government in maintaining basic standards of cleanliness on poultry farms.In a recent report the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA) said there was a deadly link between farm filth and Bird Flu.Leading health experts—including those at the United Nations—have also blamed filthy conditions in poultry farms for the spread of the deadly H5N1 strain of Bird Flu, PETA claimed.“The PETA had warned the Tripura government of an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus last year. A video footage of crowded and filthy chicken and egg farm...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Un to help postal sector go ‘green’
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The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU) have signed an agreement to slash the carbon dioxide emissions caused by the postal sector.Under the agreement, both the agencies will work together to calculate the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions created by postal services around the globe, including a survey of buildings and an assessment of the mileage covered and fuel consumed by vehicles.Once emissions have been calculated, UNEP will help the UPU develop a method to quantify the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the postal sector.Together the two agencies plan to offer a ran...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Govt sop to tn for new industries
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In a bid to boost industrial investment in developing southern distrits of Tamil Nadu, the Government of India has relaxed norms providing special incentives for industrial investment of over Rs 50 crore as against the earlier limit of Rs 250 crore.Welcoming the government’s initiative, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Tamil Nadu State Council said that this renewed focus towards the industrial development of southern districts would ensure balanced regional development across the state.CII Tamil Nadu State Council Chairman Manikam Ramaswami said that the southern districts contribute over 20 per cent of sta...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 9, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Rat race
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My service is a mess. Despite me and all the other residents and some mid-level providers scurrying around all day, every night we find ourselves with a crazy list, on which I don’t recognize half the names, don’t know what procedures they had done, why they’re in the hospital, what medications they’re taking, or what we’re supposed to do with them tomorrow. I’m not sure how it happens. Perhaps the habit of sending the intern to do the last cases of the day, which are the small potatoes, at the same time that the ER and the office flood us with new admissions and consults, might have som...
Source: Cut On The Dotted Line - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: Dr. Alice Tags: internship teamwork Source Type: blogs
A (kind of) new cancer research blog
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Although there are a lot of medical bloggers out there, there's always room for more good blogging, particularly if it's related to basic and translational research. That's why the Cancer Research UK Science Update blog is worth checking out. It's actually been around a while as an internal blog, but now it's "gone public," so to speak, allowing readers to check out its older posts. I encourage my readers to take a look. Read the comments on this post... (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Tags: Medicine Source Type: blogs
When popularity outpaces science in surgery
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In science- and evidence-based medicine, the evaluation of surgical procedures represents a unique challenge that is qualitatively different from the challenges in medical specialties. Perhaps the most daunting of these challenges is that it is often either logistically impossible or unethical to do the gold-standard clinical trial, a double-blind, randomized placebo trial, to test the efficacy of an operation. After all, the "placebo" in a surgical trial involves exposing patients to anaesthesia, making an incision or incisions like the ones used for the operation under study, and then intentionally not doing the actual o...
Source: Respectful Insolence - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Tags: Surgery Source Type: blogs
Biomarker predicts malignancy potential of prostate lesions -
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From Urology Times
Spanish researchers have found a means of distinguishing between high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN) lesions destined to become cancerous and those that will remain benign, which may spare patients the discomfort and inconvenience of unnecessary needle biopsies, according to a study in Clinical Cancer Research (2008; 14:2617-22).
This is teh first studay that I am familiar with that has a genetic marker for patients with diagnosis of high grade PIN. High grade PIN was once thought to be higly associated with prostate cancer (about 50%) and warranted a repeat biopsy. This was when uro...
Source: Robotic Surgery Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: Domenico Savatta, M.D. Source Type: blogs
Waiting time from initial urological consultation to nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma-does it affect survival?
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This study shows that for kidney cancer it does not seem to make much of a diffference. The main problem with tihs study is that patients with larger tumors often get counselled to have surgery right away, whereas smaller ones are often given the option to wait a few months if the patient wants to. (Source: Robotic Surgery Blog)
Source: Robotic Surgery Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: Domenico Savatta, M.D. Source Type: blogs
It is child marriage time in northern indian state
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It might be illegal to marry off children, but parents in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan do it with gay abandon. And on some auspicious days hundreds of marriages are solemnized.Like on the Akha Teej falling Thursday. The state authorities claim to be persistently trying to contain child marriages for a long time now, but non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such efforts have been in vain. Or, to put it bluntly, no government has had the political will to contain the scourge.Every year, large-scale child marriages take place on Akshaya Tritiya in the rural areas of the state, especially among the tribals. District...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Pregnant women face obstacles when applying for jobs
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When it comes to getting jobs, pregnant women still face judgment and obstacles, show two recent studies by George Mason University and Rice University professors.The studies, co-written by Eden King of Mason, Michelle Hebl of Rice and their collaborators, explored different interpersonal reactions that pregnant women face in their daily lives.In one study, 81 adults evaluated a pregnant or non-pregnant applicant for male- or female-typed jobs.Those who provided evaluations for more traditionally "masculine" jobs such as corporate lawyer, janitor, high school math teacher or general surgeon were more judgmental toward the ...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Anti-polio drive in pak province runs into difficulties
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Anti-polio drive in the southern Pakistani province of Sindh has run into difficulties, raising alarm in many quarters. There is a very real threat that the virus could travel to polio-free areas of the country, experts apprehend.Sindh is considered the new polio hotspot in the country, but its authorities are refusing to accept the federal government’s help in controlling the new outbreak and say they can handle the situation on their own.The confirmation by doctors on 1 May that a two-year-old child had tested positive for the polio virus brings to five the number of cases of the disease in the province in 2008.Ninetee...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Junior doctors on strike again in new zealand
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New Zealand’s hospitals are facing another round of disruption when junior doctors strike work over their pay dispute for the second time in a fortnight on Wednesday morning.About 2800 trainee doctors who are members of the Resident Doctors' Association will walk off the job at 7am for 49 hours. Wanganui Hospital services will be affected as a call is being made asking the government to intervene into the wage negotiations between the junior doctors and the country’s district health boards that is at a stalemate.New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) said on Tuesday that the intervention of the Minister of Health coul...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Traumatic sexual abuse in south australia's tribal lands
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Young children are suffering widespread and traumatic sexual abuse in Australia's oldest self-governing Aboriginal tribal lands, according to an inquiry.However, fear of retribution is preventing prosecutions and treatment for the children, said the inquiry's head, former Supreme Court judge Ted Mullighan.Mullighan said conditions on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands in far north South Australia were similar to those of a third world country, reports the Australian.In his report examining the sexual abuse of children on the APY lands, tabled in State Parliament today, Mullighan said: "In communities on the La...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Buying sex considered an 'addiction' by 83% men
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A new survey has shed light on why men are hooked on hookers, by revealing that a vast majority of males view buying sex as a form of addiction.To get a broader insight into the attitudes of men who buy sex, the team of researchers, mostly young women invited more than 100 US men who visited prostitutes to sit and talk about their attitudes and experiences. They received more than 200 responses.The survey designed by anti-prostitution activist Melissa Farley showed that majority of men believed that there was nothing wrong with prostitution and 83 per cent viewed buying sex as a form of addiction.Moreover, many believed th...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
National curriculum proposes measures to cut suicides due to exam stress
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Reports on cases of students committing suicide have appeared in newspapers from time to time.National Curriculum Framework (NCF), 2005 recommends measures like reduction of curriculum load, emphasis on comprehension and application of knowledge, focus on continuous and comprehensive evaluation, emphasis on testing of competencies rather than rote memory, making examination more flexible, provision of guidance and counselling in schools, and over all to make learning child-centric.Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has already taken the following steps to reduce stress on students due to examination:-• Continuou...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Study maps molecular journey of bladder cancer
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An international team of researchers, including a scientist of Indian origin have performed a whole organ genomic survey that has given them new insights into the molecular basis of bladder cancer.Led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, the researcher team geographically related the organ’s varied tissues—normal, pre-cancerous, and malignant—to their underlying genetic variation or regulation.This helped the researchers identify a crucial new category of genes that launches the process of cancer development, they said.“These ‘forerunner genes’ are the ignition key that starts ...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Breakthrough in autonomous robot surgeries
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Engineers at Duke University are getting closer to the day when robots will perform surgery on patients in dangerous situations or in remote locations, such as on the battlefield or in space, with minimal human guidance.They believe that the results of feasibility studies conducted in their laboratory represent the first concrete steps toward achieving this space age vision of the future.On a more immediate level, they said that the newly developed technology could make certain contemporary medical procedures safer for patients.For the experiments, the engineers started with a rudimentary tabletop robot whose 'eyes' used a...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Gay men look to surrogate mothers to fulfil their parenthood dreams
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An ever-growing number of gay couples are paying tens of thousands of dollars to have surrogate mothers carry their babies, turning America's concept of traditional family on its head.It took two women and two men for two-year-old twins Katherine and Connor to come to life.Their fathers, Michael Eidelman and A.J. Vincent, who have lived together for years, invested love, time and all their savings to build their family in New York's Chelsea neighborhood.The eggs were donated by a woman in Washington state and fertilized in vitro with sperm from both men. The fertilized egg was then inserted in the uterus of a woman from Oh...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
New tb drug trials in india likely
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Trials on a new, shorter regimen drug for TB could start in India soon. The international trial will look at whether the drug Moxifloxacin actually increases cure rate and helps shorten the duration of treatment for tuberculosis patients. It is billed as one of the world’s largest ever TB trials.Belonging to a class of drugs called fluoroquinolone antibiotics, Moxifloxacin works by stopping the lifecycle of a harmful bacteria.Scientists have identified it as a drug with the potential to cut the length of treatment from the present six months to four months when used in combination with other popular TB drugs.It has been ...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Pepsico and ima sign non-commercial deal
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For the first time in PepsiCo’s worldwide markets, doctors will begin endorsing Tropicana pure juices and Quaker Oats in India.PepsiCo’s snack foods division FritoLay India has tied up with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to promote both products. An MoU between PepsiCo and IMA has already been signed to the effect and the endorsement deal holds good for a period of three years.The current move envisioned by PepsiCo’s global chief Indra Nooyi to increase the health focus of the company, hopes to counter the accusations hurled by NGOs against the two cola giants for flooding the market with sugary drinks and salt...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Genetic changes boost breast cancer risk
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In this study, researchers identified what exactly these slight genetic changes mean at the molecular level. FGFR2 genes altered at two specific points have a greater affinity for binding certain transcription factors, i.e. regulatory proteins that influence gene expression patterns.This additional binding leads to the production of more FGFR2 protein in cells carrying the mutation and this would suffice for increasing the risk of cancer in a small but significant amount.However, the mutation doe not occur in the coding regions of the genes (the bits translated into protein by cellular machinery), but rather, in an intron ...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Breast cancer spread may be triggered by cells lining milk duct: study
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This study demonstrates that in DCIS of the breast, and potentially in other cancers that originate in duct tissues, the answer may lie in the tumour’s microenvironment -- the cells and tissue that surround the cancer," Polyak added.For the study, Polyak and her colleagues focused on myoepithelial cells, which form part of the lining of the milk ducts and are involved in breast development, as well as impeding the growth and invasiveness of some cancer cells. In order to study what role, if any, these cells play in DCIS, the researchers worked with a specially engineered line of cells known as MCFDCIS.When injected in l...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
No brca mutations means high risk for breast cancer recurrence
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We examined the rate of occult malignancies in both these groups of women in the prophylactic mastectomy specimens. What we found was interesting. There was a higher than expected presence of disease in the women who did not test positive for a BRCA mutation,” Willey said."The higher rate of occult cancers in group 2 may be because they all had contralateral known malignancies, but this study supports the use of prophylactic mastectomy as an option for these women as it is for those who have a BRCA mutation," Willey added.Willey said that further studies should address the role of sentinel node biopsy for high-risk women...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Why face symmetry is sexy?
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Your face is not only an important source of social information, but its attractiveness is one property that is quickly noticed. Now, in a new research, scientists have highlighted why symmetry and sexual dimorphism - how masculine or feminine a face is - are key variables that determine how attractive a face is.In the study - published in the May 7 issue of the journal PLoS ONE - Anthony Little of the University of Stirling and colleagues show that measurements of symmetry and sexual dimorphism from faces are related in humans, both in Europeans and African hunter-gatherers, and in a non-human primate.In all samples, symm...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Sell cannabis legally aussie doctor says
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A prominent Sydney doctor has come out in support of proposal to sell cannabis in post offices legally. The packets would however have a health warning on them.Alex Wodak, director of the alcohol and drug service at St Vincent's Hospital, said that Australia needed to learn from the tobacco industry and the US prohibition in coming to terms with his belief that cannabis would replace cigarettes in consumption levels over the next 10 years."The general principal is that it's not sustainable that we continue to give criminals and corrupt police a monopoly to sell a drug that is soon going to be consumed by more people than t...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
Eu food safety body may review its clearance of baby bottle chemical
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The EU food safety watchdog EFSA said Tuesday it may review its clearance of bisphenol A for use in the manufacture of plastic baby bottles after Canada moved to ban the substance."EFSA is aware of the studies on bisphenol published in the United States and Canada," spokeswoman Anne-Laure Gassin told AFP. "The agency will examine whether it should review its opinion on this product, which dates from January 2007."The European Food Safety Authority, headquartered in Parma, northern Italy, will reach a decision soon, she said.The Canadian government announced last month that it was seeking public comment on whether to ban ba...
Source: "Reflections" - Doctor Bruno's Blog - May 8, 2008 Category: Surgeons Authors: புருனோ Bruno Source Type: blogs
