Tamiflu may be nearly useless
According to the LA Times, the British Medical Journal is questioning the efficacy of Tamiflu for treating any kind of flu (H1N1 included). The article closes with this conclusion:
"It probably doesn't hurt to treat patients with severe flu complications with Tamiflu, and it may help. But the drug should not be used in an effort to prevent infection among people who have been exposed to the virus or in those who have only very mild infections."
The Atlantic also ran a story on this topic and pointed out that there is some evidence that Roche, the manufacturer, may have misled governments and scientists about the drug. They also mention that there are potential fatal side effects to taking the medication, though these are likely rare.
Natural News has a similar story on Tamiflu, which references the British Medical Journal's findings and the article in The Atlantic, but is a bit more sensational.
Caffeine may reverse Alzheimer's
There has been news about caffeine possibly slowing the disease, but this is the first I've heard of a study claiming that caffeine can actually reverse Alzheimer's disease.Note Dr. Weil's comment at the bottom of the article:
"This is all obviously intriguing news, but it is interesting to me that the in media coverage of this study, reporters have largely played up the coffee angle, when the mice were given caffeine, not coffee. The fact is that green and white teas also contain caffeine, along with other compounds that may be neuro- and cardioprotective - and, in my experience, tea is less likely to cause the insomnia, digestive upset, bladder irritation, and jitters that often come with coffee drinking."
Vitamin E may slow Alzheimer's disease
The article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090504/hl_nm/us_vitamin_e(via huffingtonpost.com)
Carcinogens in kids bath products
Read about the disturbing findings at usatoday.com.
Weather change can trigger headaches
This will come as no surprise to many headache sufferers -- a recent study confirmed that increases in temperature and drops in barometric pressure can trigger headaches.
Breast cancer "vaccine" being developed
"Scientists at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hope to begin clinical trials this spring on a vaccine to prevent the recurrence of breast cancer."Read the article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/05/breast-cancer-vaccine-bei_n_155414.html
Cell phones and brain tumors
Popular Science points out yet another study that claims a link between cell phone use and tumors. Read about it here: http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-12/last-call
There are studies that say there's no link between cell phones and brain tumors, and studies that say there are. Since I don't like to be a test subject, I'll use my bluetooth headset whenever possible.
Broccoli compound targets key enzyme In late-stage cancer
ScienceDaily notes, "An anti-cancer compound found in broccoli and cabbage works by lowering the activity of an enzyme associated with rapidly advancing breast cancer, according to a University of California, Berkeley, study appearing Dec 3 in the online early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences." http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081203092435.htmDevice could filter cancer cells from blood
From PhysOrg: "In a new tactic in the fight against cancer, Cornell researcher Michael King has developed what he calls a lethal 'lint brush' for the blood -- a tiny, implantable device that captures and kills cancer cells in the bloodstream before they spread through the body." http://www.physorg.com/news148236650.htmlWatching your dreams on a screen
I doubt the word "soon" in this article is accurate, but nevertheless this is both intriguing and a bit scary: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1093770/Have-dreaming-white-Christmas-Scientists-soon-watch-screen.htmlAbout Me
Matt KaufmanI am a philosopher, software engineer, computer geek, Buddhist, vegan and now, expert noun-lister.
My Email: ws.20.mdea at spamgourmet dot com
About Kompato: It means compassion in Esperanto.
My Code:
Teamspeak Monitor - A web application to monitor Teamspeak usage (PHP/MySQL)
tsmonwatcher - A client-side application that works with TeamSpeak Monitor to alert on TeamSpeak events (Python)
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