The Fount of Useless Information
Your place for useless information that just might possibly be interesting.
The Miraculous NASA Breakthrough That Could Save Millions of Lives
http://gizmodo.com/5882725/the-miraculous-nasa-breakthrough-that-could-save-millions-of-lives
Thanks to Erik for the link!
When I was young I was a fervent supporter of NASA because of all the amazing things they had done. Then along comes …
The End of Health Insurance Companies
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/30/the-end-of-health-insurance-companies/
I had never heard of the “Accountable Care Organization” before reading this article, but it appears on the surface to be a really good direction for us to go toward. Having …
UCSF scientists declare war on sugar in food
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/01/BA891N1PQS.DTL
I have read a lot about this topic over the last decade or so (maybe closer to 2 decades now that I think about it) and I am mostly convinced that …
Birth Control Matters
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nita-chaudhary/kathleen-sebelius-plan-b_b_1241653.html
This is a big deal, but the topic has been hijacked by people who have no stake in the matter and want to revert us to a reproductive stone age. I recently read an article in …
How doctors do harm
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/30/health/how-we-do-harm-brawley/index.html?hpt=hp_c2
Astounding:
…American medicine is big business. It is about 18% of the U.S. economy and growing. The average cost of a health insurance policy for a family of four is $19,400 per year. The expense
Prions more mobile than thought
Disease agents can jump from one species to another
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/337970/title/Prions_more_mobile_than_thought
For those of you who don’t know what prions are, they are protein molecules in the brain (they are in other parts of the body, …
How Now, Brown Fat? Scientist Are Onto a New Way to Lose Weight
http://healthland.time.com/2012/01/26/how-now-brown-fat-scientist-are-onto-a-new-way-to-lose-weight/
I have read about this ‘brown fat’ conundrum many times. I am coming to the conclusion that what has really set us apart from our ancestors …
I have been busy teaching a class this week (complete with 10 hour days, but at least I get paid for it all) so haven’t had time to troll the news sites as is my wont. I got an email …
The Very Real Danger of Genetically Modified Foods
New research shows that when we eat we’re consuming more than just vitamins and protein. Our bodies are absorbing information, or microRNA.
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/01/the-very-real-danger-of-genetically-modified-foods/251051/
When I first saw the title I figured I …
Patients at risk after scientists withhold test results from clinical trials of new medicines
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2082116/Patients-risk-scientists-withhold-test-results-clinical-trials-new-medicines.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
There is already a huge bias in science where (almost) only positive results are ever reported, but, at least in most cases, there are not …