Discover Health & Medicine

Heart-Stopping Cinematic Excitement: Guess How Much Fat Is in Movie Popcorn? | Discoblog

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:00:38 -0800

In the latest installment of “science ruins your guilty pleasure,” a new report confirms what everyone pretty much already knew–movie popcorn is terrible for you.

Via the Los Angeles Times:

A medium-sized popcorn and medium soda at the nation’s largest movie chain pack the nutritional equivalent of three Quarter Pounders topped with 12 pats of butter, according to a report released today by the advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Popcorn from Regal Entertainment Group, AMC and Cinemark, were analyzed in lab. Regal was the worst offender, packing 1,200 calories, 60 grams of saturated fat, and 980 milligrams of sodium into a medium popcorn–before adding butter! The gooey buttery sauce adds 200 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat per 1.5 tablespoons.

Both Regal and AMC pop their popcorn in coconut oil, which is about 90 percent saturated fat, noted the study’s authors. Cinemark uses canola oil, which is healthier, but a medium popcorn from Cinemark will still add around 760 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat to your diet, according to the analysis, which is published in the December issue of CSPI’s Nutrition Action HealthLetter.

On a positive note, no trans-fats were detected in any of the samples.

Apparently, there aren’t any plans to include a low calorie popcorn at any of the movie chains’ snack bars, so if you want healthier options, just do like everyone else and sneak in your own food.

Image: flickr / jennie-o

So Long, Colostomy Bag: British Man Gets Remote-Controlled Sphincter | Discoblog

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:15:40 -0800

Briton Ged Galvin survived that vicious car wreck that nearly took his life. Unfortunately, the accident crushed some of his organs and left him needing a colostomy bag to go to the bathroom.

That was until his doctors created his cyborg sphincter. Yes, you read that correctly. Doctors removed muscle from above Galvin’s knee, wrapped it around his damaged sphincter, and attached electrodes to the nerves. Now, when Galvin goes to the bathroom he simply presses a button on a remote control.

From The Telegraph:

Mr Galvin, who had previously endured the indignity of carrying a colostomy bag, added: “I thought that in these days of modern medicine surely there was something they could do. They’d mended everything else – why not this? Anything was better than a colostomy bag.

“The operation changed my life and gave me back my pride and confidence. Because of the remote control I can lead a normal life again.”

Outstanding. Though hopefully Galvin’s remote has a lock that prevents him from accidentally triggering it while it’s in his pocket.

Image: Anna Lythgoe/SWNS.COM

New Guinean Cannibals Evolved Resistance To Mad Cow-Like Disease | 80beats

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:24:59 -0800

Members of a tribe in Papua New Guinea has evolved resistance to a affliction similar to mad cow disease (called Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, or CJD, in people). How did they do it? Cannibalism, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The Papua New Guinea variant is called kuru, and it was a disaster there. When members of the Fore people in Papua New Guinea died, others would eat the dead person’s brain during funeral rituals as a mark of respect. Kuru passed on in this way killed at least 2500 Fore in the 20th century until the cause was identified in the late 1950s and the practice halted [New Scientist].

The scientists compared DNA samples of about 3,000 living Fore people, some of whom had participated in the old rituals, to 152 samples of stored DNA from Fore that kuru killed. They looked at the genes for prions, ordinary brain proteins that take on a misfolded shape in prion disease such as CJD and kuru. They found a mutation called G127V that protected people from kuru. Only people who ate brains and survived have it, they found [Reuters].

The discovery excited scientists with the possibility of understanding and even treating other prion diseases, like CJD. And British neurologist John Hardy exemplified the scientific glee at seeing human evolution happen in such a short time. “It’s fantastic demonstration of natural selection… In Papua New Guinea kuru became the major cause of death, so there was a clear survival advantage and the selection pressure was enormous” [BBC News].

Image: D. Carleton Gajdusek

Now For Sale at Fire Sale Prices: Thousands of People’s Genomes | 80beats

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:47:49 -0800

DeCode Genetics, a genome sequencing and drug development company, found out the hard way that predicting disease risk simply by reading someone’s genes isn’t so straightforward. On Tuesday, deCode filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware. The company’s financial problems have also raised some troubling questions about genetic privacy.

DeCode’s mission was to uncover genetic risk factors for common diseases and to develop personal genome scans so individuals could learn their risk. DeCode quickly became the leader in the worldwide race to identify the causes of common disease. The company’s researchers discovered mutations linked to schizophrenia, heart disease, diabetes, prostate cancer and many other illnesses. Its approach was to identify the mutations first in Icelanders and then to confirm them in other populations [The New York Times]. Iceland was seen as an ideal spot for genetic studies, because the population was fairly isolated and the country has excellent medical and genealogical records. However, the company’s early successes did not translate into dollars, in part because the mutations they found only account for a small percentage of the overall incidence of a given disease.

DeCode published high profile scientific research on the human genome, but the company has struggled to survive for the past year as it took too long to convert discoveries into marketable products and opportunities for raising cash faded with the global credit crunch [Bloomberg]. Last year, the company began offering personal genetic tests in which customers sent in cell samples swabbed from the insides of their cheeks and got back reports on their genetic vulnerability to certain diseases. Many experts have argued that such tests have little value.

Despite their scientific advancements, deCode has been a failure as a business, burning through $700 million and failing to generate a single quarterly profit. When deCode filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, they listed estimated total assets in the range of $50 million to $100 million and estimated total liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million [Reuters]. Saga Investments LLC placed the first bid on deCode for near $14 million.

Saga could continue the human genome research if they so choose. However, some privacy advocates are already worrying about what will happen to the genetic profiles from all of deCode’s customers. A deCode executive said that Saga would be bound by a privacy policy that prevents disclosure of data to third parties such as insurers, employers or doctors…. [But] pooled and anonymised information, for example, could be sold to academic researchers or pharmaceutical companies [The Times].

Image: iStockphoto

Nanosilver Puts the Hurt on Microbes—and Maybe Fish, Too | 80beats

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:56:46 -0800

Toys, refrigerators, washing machines, socks—more and more products contain silver nanoparticles. It’s no wonder: These particles, which measure less 100 nanometers (smaller than a single HIV virus), can kill microbes on contact. But, researcher Darin Furgeson says, nanosilver can also escape into ecosystems and cause serious damage to fish embryos. Furgeson’s team published its results in the journal Small.

In one new experiment, Furgeson, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences, exposed zebrafish embryos to silver nanoparticles in a laboratory, and found that some died and others were left with dramatic mutations. “Some of the fish became extremely distorted, almost making a number nine or a comma instead of a linear fish,” he said [Scientific American]. Eyes, tails, and other body parts turned out malformed in the fish that survived.

Just how much nanosilver gets into the environment? A separate study from Environmental Science & Technology washed nine kinds of nanosilver-containing textiles, including some “anti-bacterial and anti-odor socks” that are already on the market. The researchers found that anywhere from less than 1 percent to as high as 45 percent of the silver came out in the first wash. Most of the silver was in the form of coarse particles of greater than 450 nanometers, suggesting that mechanical stress in the washing machine was responsible for most of the release [The New York Times], and that the nanoparticles might have aggregated to reach that size.

Those nanoparticles flushed out by a washing machine can end up in both fish habitats and drinking water supplies. Furgeson says his fish experiments could help show whether nanosilver is a health concern for humans, too. “Zebrafish have similar tissues and organs to us,” Furgeson said. “They don’t have lungs, but they do have a liver, kidneys and heart – though it is only two chambered – and they have a blood-brain barrier” [Scientific American].

Image: Wiki Commons / Kristof vt

X-Rayed Mummies Reveal That Ancient Egyptians Had Heart Disease | 80beats

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:36:57 -0800

The elites of ancient Egypt had money, power, divine status in the case of the pharaohs, and also heart disease. In a study in today’s issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, a team of researchers reports performing x-ray scans of 20 Egyptian mummies and finding them rife with cardiovascular disease like clogged arteries, one of the commonest ailments in modern American society.

On a visit to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo, one of the researchers had been intrigued by a nameplate on the remains of Pharaoh Merenptah, who died in 1,203BC. The plate said the pharaoh died at the age of 60 and suffered diseased arteries, arthritis and tooth decay [The Guardian]. So the scientists obtained permission to scan that mummy and others in the museum collection.

The common people of ancient Egypt weren’t mummified; only elites like royal families, their nursemaids, and priests got such a treatment. The elites ate salted fish, bread, and cheese like everyone else, but they also dined on rich foods such as cow, sheep, and goat meat, as well as honey and cakes with butter, says Abdel Nureldin, a professor of Egyptology at Cairo University, who worked on the investigation. At the same time, virtually no one in ancient times was sedentary, and that may have helped counteract their fatty diets [ScienceNOW Daily News].

Still, the researchers found, 16 of the 20 x-rayed mummies showed signs of heart disease. Men and women were affected equally. The most ancient of the mummies afflicted with atherosclerosis was Lady Rai, who had been a nursemaid to Queen Ahmose Nefertiti. She died at the age of 30 or 40 around 1530 BC, about 300 years prior to the time of Moses and 200 years before King Tut [Los Angeles Times].

Because only elite Egyptians were preserved so well after death, researchers can’t say how widespread cardiovascular disease might have been in the ancient society, or the ancient world at large. But what the finding does tell them is that while heart disease is exacerbated by the overindulgent and sedentary style of modern life, there’s more to it than that.

Image: Michael I. Miyamoto

With a rebel yell, they cried Maher, Maher, Maher | Bad Astronomy

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:00:06 -0800

Oh, that Bill Maher. It’s time to change his show’s name to "Antireality Time". Because when he talks vaccines, he wanders into major woowoo territory.

I don’t need to debunk his antivax nonsense, since actual doctors who have facts at their fingertips do it so well, like in this tirade from Orac and in Steve Novella’s more measured (but just as devastating) response.

But there is one thing I want to mention. My favorite part is when Maher says:

I agree with my critics who say there are far more qualified people than me — its [sic] just that mainstream media rarely interviews doctors and scientists who present an alternative point of view.

First off, that’s total baloney. Go watch the news and other talking head shows; they often have people talking up the "alternative" (that is to say, wrong) point of view when it comes to vaccines. And if these people aren’t certified physicians, what does that tell you? Maybe you’ll come to the correct conclusion that the overwhelming majority of physicians think antivaxxers are full of it.

And second, about talk shows not having "alternative" viewpoints — and this is critical — why should they? When the weatherman talks about lightning in your area, should he give equal time to the Zeus theory?

Feh. Maher digs himself deeper every time he talks about this. Some people hold him up as an icon of skepticism, but it’s simply not true. A lot of non-believers love his ideas and attitude when it comes to religion, which is fine, but it doesn’t translate to his other beliefs, especially when it comes to real medicine. What he does isn’t skepticism, it’s dogma, and just as dogmatic as the religions he mocks.

Study: Boys Engage in “Less Masculine Play” After Prenatal Chemical Exposure | 80beats

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:31:54 -0800

It’s been a bad month for chemicals and masculinity. Last week 80beats covered the discomforting link found between the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), which is found in any number of consumer products, and erectile dysfunction. Now the villains are phthalates, chemicals used to make plastics softer and more flexible. A new study in the International Journal of Andrology has raised a storm of concern that prenatal exposure to these chemicals could make boys less masculine in their play preferences.

Phthalates, which block the activity of male hormones such as androgens, could be altering masculine brain development, according to Shanna H. Swan, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Rochester Medical Center and lead author of the new report [Los Angeles Times]. To test whether that link extended into behavior, Swan’s team tested women for phthalate levels midway through their pregnancy and then checked back in on the children four to seven years later.

The researchers asked parents to report their children’s patterns of play, but they knew they also had to separate any potential phthalate effect from the “nuture ” side of question. To determine how parental views might sway behavior, parents completed a survey that included questions such as, “What would you do if you had a boy who preferred toys that girls usually play with?” They were asked to respond with whether they would support or discourage such behavior, and how strongly [TIME].

The study of about 150 kids found that while girls were mostly unaffected, boys who had been exposed to the highest phthalate levels showed a lower likelihood than other boys to participate in what we consider typical rough-and-tumble male recreation—play fighting, pretending to play with guns, and so on. But the research might not imply the national masculinity crisis that some headlines suggest. Play in the most highly phthalate-exposed boys wasn’t “feminized,” Swan explains, since these kids didn’t preferentially play with dolls or don dresses. Rather, she says, “we’d describe their play as less masculine” [Science News]. Rather than play-fighting, she says, those boys tended toward “gender neutral” play like putting puzzles together or competing in sports.

Though these results will require lots of further study, chemical effects in the womb and on developing children can’t be taken lightly. Last summer Congress followed the state of California’s lead in banning some phthalates from children’s toys, in response to the growing body of evidence that this class of chemicals cause harm.

Phthalates still go into vinyl shower curtains, cables, flooring, and other plastic products. Unsurprisingly, the American Chemistry Council’s phthalate senior director Steve Risotto came out swinging in response to the study, suggesting that Swan’s team had scared mothers in the study into raising more effeminate boys. “The researchers biased the results by using mothers from their previous study,” he said. “These mothers may have had much higher levels of concern about their young boys’ behavior, because Dr. Swan has repeatedly declared that phthalate exposure is reason for alarm” [Chicago Tribune].

However, the mothers didn’t know Swan was studying phthalates, nor did they know their own phthalate levels. So if worried mothering were the dominant cause of the “feminizing” the study noticed, then all the boys should have shown a predilection for less masculine play, not just those who’d been exposed to the highest phthalate amount in the womb.

Image: flickr / hoyasmeg

Soccer Star Seeks Out Serbian Placenta Massage to Speed Healing | Discoblog

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:00:05 -0800

It’s official, ladies and gentlemen: There’s nothing that athletes won’t try.

Here in the United States we’re inundated with stories of athletes doping with steroids and human growth hormone, as well as resorting to more… unusual forms of physical treatment, like when former Chicago Cubs outfielder Moises Alou once mentioned that he urinated on his hands to toughen them up. Europe, however, has some equally bizarre treatments and alternative medicine that have yet to enter the American sporting zeitgeist. Take Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie’s new hope of returning quickly from a recent injury: placenta massage.

The Dutch footballer tore ankle ligaments in a recent match against Italy. In hopes of returning in less than the standard six-week recovery period, Van Persie is off to Serbia for a procedure about which he knows almost no particulars. “She is vague about her methods but I know she massages you using fluid from a placenta,” he said. “I am going to try. It cannot hurt and, if it helps, it helps.”

Despite the lack of detail, Arsenal’s physicians consented to Van Persie receiving the placenta procedure. Why not? BBC News reports that there are health benefits associated with placenta, and besides, there’s no talking athletes out of something that has even the slimmest chances of improving recovery or performance:

England footballer Wayne Rooney used an oxygen tent prior to the 2006 World Cup to help him recover from a broken foot and six years ago runner Paula Radcliffe rubbed oil from the belly of an emu to ease injuries sustained in a collision with a cyclist.

No word yet, however, on whether Major League Baseball is considering a ban on placenta and emu oil.

Image: flickr/ Wonker

In Antarctica, Drilling for… 100-Year-Old Whiskey? | Discoblog

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:02:33 -0800

New Zealand explorers are Antarctica-bound to rescue a cache of rare whiskey left on the continent by British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton during his journey in 1909.

Buried under the floorboards of a hut where his crew spent a long, dark winter are two crates of an extinct brand of McKinlay and Co. whiskey. Experts say the historic booze has been preserved in ice, according to Stuff.co.az:

The New Zealanders will use special drills to free the trapped crates and rescue a bottle from the crates, discarded near the Cape Royds hut used by the Nimrod expedition, or at least draw off a sample using a syringe.

However, they won’t be sipping the whiskey if they can remove it. International protocols say the crates can be removed from Antarctica for conservation only. Whyte & Mackay, the distillery that owns McKinlay and Co., says if they can draw a sample, the blend could be replicated and put back into production. So one day soon, you too could be sipping on Shackleton’s preferred hooch.

Let’s hope their drilling adventure goes more smoothly than other recent trips to Antarctica…

Image: flickr / individuo

No Gattaca Here: Genetic Anti-Discrimination Law Goes Into Effect | 80beats

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:04:41 -0800

Don’t let anyone treat you badly because of your genes. As of this weekend, it will be against the law.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) prevents both employers and insurance companies from requiring genetic tests or from using your family’s medical history against you. The biggest change resulting from the law is that it will–except in a few circumstances—prohibit employers and health insurers from asking employees to give their family medical histories. The law also bans group health plans from the common practice of rewarding workers, often with lower premiums or one-time payments, if they give their family medical histories when completing health risk questionnaires [The New York Times]. The law also bars employers from requiring genetic testing or using such information to make decisions on hiring, firing or promoting employees.

To alleviate the privacy concerns of people that have had genetic testing, Congress stepped in and passed GINA last year. The act takes effect Nov. 21 for all employers with 15 or more employees. It applies to group health insurers whose plan years begin on or after Dec. 7, and it took effect for individual health insurance plans last May. The act does not apply to life insurers. The act would ban a company from not promoting a 49-year-old to chief executive because it knew his father and grandfather died of heart attacks at age 50 [The New York Times]. It is still legal for employers to glean information about an employee’s medical history from family obituaries, or to inquire why an employee missed work to care for a sick relative under the Family Medical Leave Act. However, it will now be illegal to use this information to somehow penalize the employee.

Image: flickr / IRRI Images

This Could Be Last Call for Alcoholic Energy Drinks, Says FDA | 80beats

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:46:06 -0800

Aficionados of 3AM Vodka, Max Fury, and Slingshot Party Gel, take heed! The Food and Drug Administration is casting a wary eye on your classy energy drinks. The federal agency has requested proof from the drink manufacturers that these combinations of caffeine and alcohol are, in fact, safe to drink. The FDA never has approved the addition of caffeine to an alcoholic beverage, and a task force of state attorneys general and other officials has urged the agency to scrutinize the combination. The task force argues that the caffeine can mask the intoxicating effects of alcohol, possibly leading to an increase in drunk driving, sexual assault and other destructive behavior [Los Angeles Times]. Since the FDA never approved the drinks in the first place, the burden of proof falls on the manufacturers, and now the FDA is forcing their hands.

And the FDA isn’t joking around. Companies including Diageo North America Inc., Constellation Brands Inc. and United Brands Co. were told that unless they could provide evidence of safety, the agency will “take appropriate action to ensure that these products are removed from the marketplace,” according to letters sent to the companies and released by the agency [Bloomberg]. The drink companies now have 30 days to respond to the request.

The FDA decided to take action after 18 state attorneys general sent a letter to the agency in September, raising concerns that the drinks appeal to young people and can foster drunk driving [The Wall Street Journal]. The FDA argues that even though caffeine has already been approved, it’s being used by drink manufactures in an illegal way that wasn’t specifically approved. Previous studies have linked alcoholic energy drinks to risky behaviors, and several state attorneys general succeeded last year in getting big-beer manufacturers Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors to pull the caffeine from their popular drinks Sparks and Tilt [NPR News].

The drink makers are keeping quiet on the issue, but even if the FDA decides to pull the drinks off the shelves, you could still get your stimulant/depressant fix at your favorite watering hole. Jager bombs, anyone?

Image: flickr / edkohler

Pepper Spray & Cocaine Could Be a Lethal Combo | 80beats

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:00:27 -0800

Cocaine combined with capsaicin, an active ingredient in pepper spray, can be deadly, if research in mice is any indication.

In the early 1990s, anecdotes of people dying after being doused with pepper spray puzzled researchers, until autopsies revealed many were on cocaine at the time. To look for a link between the two substances, a research team injected cocaine, capsaicin or both at once into the abdomens of several groups of about 30 mice. Injections allowed them to control the dose of capsaicin the mice received, which wouldn’t have been possible if the mice were simply sprayed [New Scientist]. Equal doses of cocaine plus capsaicin killed about half the mice, compared to cocaine alone, which killed just a few. And a dose of cocaine high enough to kill half the mice on its own killed up to 90 percent when combined with capsaicin.

The researchers admit they don’t really know how capsaicin and cocaine combine to make a lethal cocktail, but their research shows an interesting correlation. During their research, they reviewed 26 autopsy reports and Californian police reports between 1993 and 1995 of people who died shortly after being subdued with pepper spray. They noted that 19 of them had evidence of psychostimulants in their blood and nine had cocaine. [The team] suspects that a fatal interaction takes place in the brain between capsaicin and psychostimulants [New Scientist].

Toxicologists not involved with the research say the results are certainly curious, but of course more research is necessary before jumping to conclusions. For one, the mice were injected with capsaicin while humans inhale pepper spray, so it’s not clear how much capsaicin is absorbed into a person’s bloodstream. Despite not knowing the underlying mechanism, scientists say their research, published in the journal Forensic Toxicology, suggests that police forces may need to rethink their use of pepper spray as a non-lethal weapon.

Image: Wikimedia Commons / Stefan Kühn

Some jabs are deeper than others | Bad Astronomy

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:00:17 -0800

I wouldn’t be surprised at all that, if Jenny McCarthy were impaled on a unicorn’s horn, she’d blame vaccines. After all, her organization Generation Rescue has shamefully blamed them on totally unrelated things before, and no doubt will again.

This is a serious topic, since the antivaxxers are a public health menace, and the rise of preventable diseases can in many cases be traced back to their propaganda. But sometimes, just sometimes, mocking them is the way to go.

Thanksgiving for Fish: Food Chemicals Go Through People & Back Into Water Supply | Discoblog

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:06:16 -0800

Pulses of certain Turkey Day food ingredients are detected in the water supply in the days after the holiday, according to researchers. But as reported in National Geographic News, it doesn’t stop there:

For instance, thyme and sage spike during Thanksgiving, cinnamon surges all winter, chocolate and vanilla show up during weekends (presumably from party-related goodies), and waffle-cone and caramel-corn remnants skyrocket around the Fourth of July.

A research team from the University of Washington tracked pulses of food ingredients that enter Washington’s Puget sound to learn more about how our actions on land affect the water supply, and to determine what slips through sewage treatment plants. Similar monitoring is underway worldwide, and scientists have turned up things such as flu vaccines, cocaine, heroine, rocket fuel, and birth control in waterways.

Click on over to team leader Rick Keil’s lab Web site to learn more about the Puget Sound research. But Keil told National Geographic News that the no one knows yet whether the subtle seasoning of the water is having an impact.

For now, there’s no evidence that a sweeter and spicier sound is a bad thing—salmon, which can smell such flavors, could be enjoying their vanilla-enhanced habitat, Keil said.

Image: flickr / Lana_aka_BADGIRL

Gene Therapy That Bulks up Muscles Raises Doping Concerns | 80beats

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:30:49 -0800

A gene therapy treatment intended to reverse muscle weakness appears to restore muscle mass in monkeys, raising hopes that doctors may soon be able to treat this condition in humans with degenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis and muscular dystrophy. Scientists injected a gene into the monkeys’ thighs that causes cells to produce human follistatin, which interferes with another compound called myostatin. Myostatin breaks down muscle, so in theory adding follistatin should encourage muscles to grow [Reuters].

And grow they did. Within three months the monkeys’ thigh muscle mass increased, and the effect lasted for 15 months, according to the research published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. (Not quite the same effect as the whippet turned hugely muscular by a natural genetic defect.) The relatively long-lasting effect is promising for researchers looking to treat lifelong conditions such as multiple sclerosis and muscular dystrophy. The researchers say the treatment was safe and that no other organs were affected.

But there could be a downside to this promising work–some experts are asking whether this therapeutic technique could be used by unscrupulous athletes looking to tweak their genetics and to build stronger muscles. The drugs companies Amgen and Wyeth have already begun testing myostatin inhibitors in humans and such studies have already prompted fears about the potential for myostatin inhibitors to be abused by athletes hoping to gain the competitive edge. If gene therapy can achieve similar outcomes in humans, such modifications will be even harder to detect [New Scientist]. The World Anti-Doping Authority has banned gene doping in athletic competitions for obvious reasons, even though there’s no evidence that any athletes are tinkering with their genes.

Of course there wouldn’t be: If some jock were gene doping, there would be no way to detect it.

Image: Wikimedia Commons / Muhammad Mahdi Karim

Italy’s New Swine-Flu Defense: High-Tech Holy Water Dispenser | Discoblog

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:02:50 -0800

With a global pandemic afoot, the last thing many people want to do is put their hands in water that many other people have already touched, even if it happens to be holy water. But in Italy, where about 30 people have already died from swine flu, many Catholics will soon be able to get untainted holy water as part of church sacrament.

Catholic churches around Italy are scrapping their traditional water fonts in favor of new automatic, motion-activated holy water dispensers invented by Luciano Marabese.

BBC News reports:

The design of the dispenser is similar to a traditional water font, but with an infra-red light that reads the presence of a hand and squirts holy water onto the person’s fingers.

Mr Marabese says he is receiving hundreds of emails from all over the world requesting information about the product.

“Some people had stopped dipping their hand into the holy water font as they were afraid of infections,” he told Reuters.

“Some people even pretended to touch the water but they just touched the marble edge of the font.”

Afghanistan isn’t taking any chances with swine flu, either. In response to concerned zoo visitors, the predominantly Muslim country has been keeping its only pig under quarantine. The pig should be glad: It’s more likely it would catch “swine flu” from humans than the other way around.

Image: flickr / DominusVobiscum

Men Are Far More Likely to Abandon a Seriously Ill Spouse | 80beats

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:01:48 -0800

It started as an observation in a Seattle cancer ward, where oncologist Marc Chamberlain noticed that his male patients were often receiving steadfast support from their wives, while his female patients often didn’t have husbands hovering at their bedsides. Based on this anecdotal evidence, Chamberlain decided to investigate divorce rates among couples where one person had recently been diagnosed with a serious illness. His findings raise troubling questions about the loyalty of the male sex.

The study included diagnoses of both cancer and multiple sclerosis and found an overall divorce rate of nearly 12 percent, which is similar to that found in the normal population. But when the researchers looked at gender differences, they found the rate was nearly 21 percent when women were the patients compared with about 3 percent when men got the life-threatening diagnosis. The researchers suggest men are less able to commit, on the spot, to being caregivers to a sick partner, while women are better at assuming such home and family responsibilities [LiveScience]. However, the study did find that the divorce rate was lower in longer marriages.

Chamberlain notes that the study, which will be published in the journal Cancer, didn’t have any information about how happy the marriages were to begin with. “All these patients were couples when we met them, but we don’t know about pre-diagnosis marital conflicts that had been festering,” Dr. Chamberlain said. “But the striking part is with life threatening illness, how often women are abandoned compared to men. That does not speak very well of my gender” [The New York Times].

The researchers say that doctors may want to advise couples to seek family therapy after the woman receives a serious diagnoses, and note that the medical benefits of having a committed spouse are real and measurable. Researchers also looked at the quality of life among the patients who separated or divorced. They found these patients used more anti-depressants, took part less in clinical trials, had more frequent hospitalizations, were less likely to complete radiation therapy and more likely not to die at home [Reuters].

Image: iStockphoto

Fiber-Filled, Antioxidant-Packed Ice Cream—Brilliant? Sacrilegious? Nasty? | Discoblog

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:25:30 -0800

What’s the most important scientific research in the world, you ask? Obviously it’s the quest to transform ice cream into a healthy food. Of course, the brain freezing goodness will still be chock full of fat and calories, but hey, toss in some healthy stuff and you can binge guilt-free, right? Right?

Via LiveScience:

In addition to ice-cream’s fat- and calorie-filled ingredients, the researchers hope to add dietary fiber, antioxidants and probiotics (gut bacteria that support a healthy digestive system) to your delectable dessert. Antioxidants could protect cells from damage caused by molecules called free radicals and are suspected of helping to prevent a slew of diseases.

Researchers hope to have a taste-testable prototype within six months, but it may not be entirely delicious; some antioxidant ingredients have a bitter flavor, the researchers note, and adding fiber might give the ice cream a gritty texture. Still, the research team is optimistic they can strike a balance between health and taste, and they hope to have shelf-ready tubs within two years.

Check out the video below of these scientists working in the best laboratory ever.

Video: University of Missouri News Bureau

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Study: The Chemical BPA, in High Doses, Causes Impotence | 80beats

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:35:25 -0800

A chemical commonly found in plastics that has recently fallen under intense scrutiny by public health officials has now been linked to impotence. During a five year study, scientists followed 634 male Chinese factory workers who were exposed to high levels of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) on the job and compared their sexual health with that of similar Chinese factory workers not exposed to BPA. The men handling BPA were four times as likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction and seven times as likely to have difficulty with ejaculation [Washington Post]. The study (PDF), published in the journal Human Reproduction, marks the first time sexual dysfunction has been linked to BPA exposure.

To be fair, the workers were exposed to BPA levels that are 50 times greater than the average U.S. man faces, so scientists can’t say how smaller amounts of the chemical will affect sexual health. However, the chemical resembles the hormone estrogen and that’s fueled worries that even very small amounts of BPA can cause harm [NPR News]. The feds are determined to get to the bottom of the issue and have pledged $30 million to researchers over the next two years in an effort to finally settle the question of whether BPA is safe.

That would be a welcome development, since BPA is ubiquitous in consumer products—everything from plastic bottles to canned food linings is laced with the stuff. BPA is so widespread that 93 percent of the U.S. population has BPA in their urine, according to previous research. The Food and Drug Administration has maintained that BPA is safe, despite its own scientific advisory board’s criticism that the agency ignored over 100 research publications linking BPA to ill health effects. A growing body of research over the past decade has linked BPA to a range of health effects in laboratory animals, including infertility, weight gain, behavioral changes, early-onset puberty, cancer and diabetes [Washington Post]. BPA defenders have argued that the previous research conducted on animals is of limited use in determining the chemical’s toxicity, and have insisted that human data is necessary. The FDA is currently taking a fresh look at the issue, and is expected to complete its review by the end of the month.

Image: iStockphoto

How to Prevent Heart Hackers From Turning Off Pacemakers | 80beats

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:21:33 -0800

Many medical devices come equipped with wireless communication systems these days, allowing doctors to customize their operations or to see their patents’ information. But fitting pacemakers or implanted defibrillators with WiFi also opens the door to hackers‘ attacks. Hackers could potentially steal personal information, remotely drain batteries, or cause a dangerous malfunction, so researchers are working on ways to block them. The approach relies on using ultrasound waves to determine the exact distance between a medical device and the wireless reader attempting to communicate with it [Technology Review]. The plan is to only allow access to a medical device from wireless reading devices within 10 feet, and only then after a series of authentication steps. However, in the event of an emergency, the medical device would grant access to anyone within a few inches of the device. In other words, to anyone close enough to assist.

The research team also has to consider how much power their security measures will drain from the devices, which is a not-so-trivial point for a battery-operated pacemaker. But Claude Castelluccia, who was involved with designing the security system, said that because the device won’t respond to requests that come from outside the predetermined distance, it would also be harder for an attacker to wear down the battery by forcing it to process one request after another [Technology Review]. To test their system, researchers recently implanted a medical device in the stomach of a cow, and they’re currently shopping their patented technology to potential developers.

Image: flickr / library_mistress

Scientists Make Rabbit Penis Replacement Parts; Male Rabbits Rejoice | 80beats

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:34:02 -0800

Our long national nightmare is over: At last, scientists can make rabbit penis spare parts.

In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers led by Anthony Atala published the results of their successful attempt to engineer new corpora cavernosas, the column of tissue that engorges with blood during male arousal, for male rabbits. Other procedures can partially restore function to a damaged phallus, and Atala’s team has previously shown they could replace a small portion of the tissue (they had up to a 50 percent success rate in rabbits) [Scientific American]. This, however, was the first time they totally replaced corpora cavernosas.

Atala is best known for developing a technique in which cells are taken from an organ and sprayed onto a frame made of collagen, the primary structural protein in animal tissue. The structure is then bathed with growth-stimulating compounds and kept in an oven that duplicates the body’s temperature and chemical composition. Given these starting conditions, natural biology does the rest [Wired.com].

In this experiment, the team surgically removed the corpora cavernosas of 12 rabbits, and replaced them with new “scaffolds” built through this technique. The tissue took hold, and copulation ensued at stereotypical rabbit pace. Every one of the revitalized dozen attempted to mate within a minute of being introduced to females; four became fathers.

The Wake Forest research contains the standard caveat: No, the technique isn’t ready for humans yet. But when it is, look out. Such methods could potentially aid men who just want to enhance their normal penises, rather than repairing any damage. “Our intent and the goal of our work is to provide a solution for men who need penile erectile tissue for medical reasons…. Of course, you cannot control how the technology is used in terms of what patients want” [LiveScience], says Atala.

Image: flickr/Gidzy

NASA’s Plan to Irradiate Monkeys Raises Cruelty Concerns | 80beats

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:30:10 -0800

If NASA ever wants to send astronauts on long-term space flights, it needs to know how radiation will affect the crew. Testing humans obviously isn’t going to happen, so NASA is funding a round of experiments to study how radiation effects monkeys, the first time monkeys have been used as test subjects by NASA in decades. The point of the experiments is to understand how the harsh radioactive environment of space affects human bodies and behavior and what countermeasures can be developed to make long-duration spaceflight safe for travelers beyond Earth’s protective magnetic shield [Discovery News]. The monkey studies will advance previous radiation experiments with rats and mice and will focus on how radiation affects the monkeys’ central nervous system.

Researchers will expose 18 to 28 squirrel monkeys with a small dose of radiation, similar to what astronauts would receive on a round trip flight to Mars. The monkeys, previously trained to perform a variety of tasks, will be tested to see how the exposure affects their performance [Telegraph] at different times after exposure to gamma rays. The monkeys will not be killed during the experiments, and after testing staff and veterinarians will look after them for the rest of their lives at Harvard Medical School’s McLean Hospital in Boston.

As you might expect, the experiment’s funding announcement is causing a stir among animal rights groups like the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). PCRM sent an appeal to NASA urging them to halt the experiments, which they are branding as “one giant leap backward for NASA.” They are also arguing that the research is “cruel” since it violates NASA’s own guidelines for animal treatment and that it’s “unnecessary” since long-term spaceflight still seems like a pipe dream. NASA’s animal testing policy, established in 1996, asserts that “the minimization of distress, pain and suffering is a moral imperative” and emphasizes that experimenters must weigh the burdens of animal subjects against potential societal benefits [Scientific American].

In response to the criticism, NASA’s administrator Charles Bolden restated the agency’s commitment to deep space travel and the necessity of radiation testing. Jack Bergman, who will lead the research, said “there’s a long-standing commitment on the part of NASA to deep space travel and with that commitment comes a need for knowing what kinds of adverse effects deep space travel might have, what are the risks to astronauts,” Bergman said. “That’s not been well assessed” [Discovery News]. Bergman will conduct the experiments at NASA’s Space Radiation Laboratory at the Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York.

Image: flickr / suneko

Learn Beaker Safety and Other Lab Tips from Singing Sock Puppets | Discoblog

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:00:15 -0800

When OSHA comes knocking on your lab’s door, you’d better be prepared to explain just how careful you are with your acids, Bunsen burners, and the like. With that in mind, check out The Safety Song from The Sounds of Science, a small group of Berkeley grad students and alums that express their love of science and music with… puppets.

For more from The Sounds of Science, click here.

Video: YouTube / nanomonster1

Pray this doesn’t get passed | Bad Astronomy

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:00:02 -0800

I was going to write about how Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and John Kerry (D-MA) were trying to somewhat slimily slip a provision into the health care bill about paying for prayer-based health services, but then wouldn’tyouknowit, Steve Novella (who apparently does not need to sleep or eat or breathe) beat me to it. Besides his take-down of the odd and wholly unrealistic beliefs of Christian Scientists, I’ll note that is has been pretty definitively proven that prayer doesn’t work in healing. So not only is this provision unconstitutional, it’s just an all-around bad idea.

Can Your Pet Catch & Spread Swine Flu? Yes, If Your Pet’s a Ferret | 80beats

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:32:26 -0800

News that an Iowa cat has been diagnosed with swine flu has sparked a new round of concerns, as pet-owners worry both that their furry companions could get sick, and that their pets could pass the virus on to other humans. The 13-year-old, mixed-breed cat showed the symptoms of lethargy, sneezing and coughing typical to sick cats [ABC News]. The veterinarians who treated him say that several people in the cat’s home had been experiencing flu-like symptoms, and lab work confirmed that the feline had the H1N1 virus.

Happily, the cat is expected to make a full recovery. But both vets and public health officials are rushing to reassure the public that one sick cat probably does not indicate a coming crisis. While it’s possible that more cats will be diagnosed with the swine flu, vets point out that the virus was circulating for more than six months before the first cat case was discovered, indicating that the virus probably doesn’t jump from species to species very easily. Doctors also note that there’s very little chance that a cat will spread the virus to humans: Even when inter-species transmissions do occur, the H1N1 virus seems more likely to move from humans to animals, rather than the other way around [HealthDay News].

There have been no reported cases of dogs catching the virus, but there is one type of pet that is known to be vulnerable. Ferrets are generally susceptible to the seasonal flu, and the AP reported Wednesday that H1N1 infection has been confirmed in two ferrets, one in Nebraska and the other in Oregon. “Not only can they be infected with the flu but they are clearly able to transmit the flu back to people,” Treanor said [HealthDay News]. But the bottom line appears to be: Unless you’re a ferret-owner, you probably have nothing to worry about.

Image: flickr / theogeo

Laser-Etched Fruit Is an Answer in Search of a Problem | Discoblog

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:59:33 -0800

Ever wondered if your Florida grapefruit is really from Florida? After all, how can you trust those flimsy little stickers. Well, researchers have a solution to this important problem: lasers!

Via Physorg.com:

Laser labeling of fruit and vegetables is a new, patented technology in which a low-energy carbon dioxide laser beam is used to label, or “etch” information on produce, thereby eliminating the need for common sticker-type labels.

In the United States, the FDA is in the final stages of approving this “tamper-free labeling technology.” Laser-etching of fruits and veggies is already underway in New Zealand, Australia, and Pacific Rim countries, and it has been been approved in many other regions.

There’s actually some science behind laser-etching. A recent study in the journal HortTechnology concluded “the fruit quality remains high as the invasion of the epidermis does not incite decay [or] provide an avenue for food pathogens,” as the laser essentially cauterizes the peel of the fruit. “The technology will offer the grapefruit industry a safe alternative to adhesive sticker labeling without enhancing decay susceptibility.” Thank goodness for that.

Image: Agricultural Research Service and University of Florida

Musical, Fahrvergnügen-Inspired Staircase Makes Commuters Less Lazy | Discoblog

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:31:03 -0800

It’s tough to get people to make healthier decisions about the way they live their lives. Public health officials have tried for decades to stem the obesity epidemic by getting people to exercise more, but all their tactics–lecturing, scolding, scaring, informing, inspiring, empowering–have had very little effect.

But at a subway station in Stockholm, a band of inventive social engineers had amazing results when they decided to get commuters off the escalators and onto the stairs. They asked themselves, “Can we get more people to choose the stairs by making it fun to do?” And then they turned the staircase into a piano keyboard, complete with black and white keys.

The project was part of a larger initiative sponsored by Volkswagen called “The Fun Theory,” which aims to prove that people will change their behavior for the better if you let them have a little fun in the bargain. Have you pulled off a similar trick? Tell Volkswagen about it and you can win more than $4,000.

Video: Volkswagen

The Sea Change That's Challenging Biology's Central Dogma

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:20:00 -0800

For decades, RNA was seen as a simple slave to DNA. Newer research shows it has an active and critical role in every disease from Alzheimer's to cancer.

The Creepy World Of Old-School Medicine | Discoblog

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:18:41 -0800

The International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago is like a walk through time—a time when removing part of a patient’s skull for “therapeutic” purposes was considered normal.

Wired.com has an inside look:

From graphic paintings of childbirth to a vast collection of often-ghastly tools of the trade, the Surgical Museum is a morbidly fascinating journey into the blood-spattered beginnings of modern medicine. After a look at these hair-raising exhibits, you might remark that while the United States may be in serious need of health care reform, at least we have anesthetics and the germ theory of disease.

Click over to Wired.com for a photo tour of the museum.

Image: flickr / brain_blogger

Vital Signs: Confusing Cues

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:35:00 -0800

A spreading rash signals something far more dangerous than a skin condition.

Mumps the word | Bad Astronomy

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:00:54 -0700

Hey, antivaxxers! I just wanted to send you guys a quick note of thanks for all the work you do.

For example, that whole thing about getting mumps to resurge due to lower vaccinations rates in the UK? That’s very cool. We all missed mumps so much.

Also, the way you guys dupe parents is simply brilliant!

You’ve been pretty effective getting the word out, especially the way you market yourselves as just trying to be questioning, just trying to get all the facts out. It works! You’ve been able to trick inquisitive, rational people into thinking maybe you’re onto something, when of course we all know you’re using outdated ideas, twisted facts, and sometimes out-and-out lies (which, of course, appeals to people prone to conspiracy thinking anyway). I mean, taking something that almost certainly has nothing to do with vaccinations but making that a meme spreading across the media? Great stuff! And the way you viciously attack people who disagree with you? Fantastic!

But you should really sit back and take a look at Suzanne Somers. Now there’s someone who takes incoherent nonsense about cancer and is able to market and spin it into quite an industry for herself. And who can blame her? She gets on Oprah, CNN, radio shows… and the only cost is a maybe a few thousand people dying of cancer because they tried her provably wrong "cures" instead of seeking real medical help. But hey! We all have to die someday! I mean, let’s have some perspective here. After all, what has science ever done for us?

Hat tip to Gerick Lee and many others for these tips.

20 Things You Didn't Know About... Sugar

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:10:00 -0700

Did you know that most of the sugar you eat comes from beets? And that sugar in deep space may be a chemical precursor to life on Earth? Find out these and more sugary facts.

Will Swine Flu Take Down the Internet? | Discoblog

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:48:45 -0700

Swine flu has returned, just as predicted, and is getting the better of us—46 states have reported cases of the flu already. And even if you want to take precautions by getting vaccinated, there aren’t enough vaccines to go around.

In any case, when you take sick days to recover, the last thing you’d want to do is be at home without access to the Internet. The Washington Post brings up a good point: If the flu truly becomes a pandemic, then the sick will begin accessing their Internet from home en masse. Such an increase in traffic might overwhelm the system and clog networks run by Comcast, AT&T, Cox, and Verizon. The Post reports:

The Department of Homeland Security is in charge of communications networks during times of national emergency. But it doesn’t have a strategy to deal with overloaded Internet networks—an essential resource to keep the economy humming, and residents informed and connected during a pandemic, the GAO said. Furthermore, the DHS hasn’t coordinated with agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission to create guidelines for how telecom, cable and satellite providers can minimize congestion.

There are solutions, but each has its downsides. Adding bandwidth capacity would be a little too late, and cost too much. Slowing connections to some ‘hoods would violate service agreements to those customers. And blocking traffic to Web sites would require government approval.

Related Content:
Discoblog: Michael Jackson’s Death Causes Internet to Slow
DISCOVER: Swine Flu Has a Warning Shot

Image: flickr/ hitthatswitch

Dentists Organize A Cash-For-Candy Program on Halloween | Discoblog

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:32:01 -0700

Many children are anxiously awaiting Halloween this weekend. But with all these sugary treats come a price: cavities. In fact, one out of every four children in the U.S. currently has at least one cavity in their baby teeth, a number that’s the highest it’s been in 40 years— and has been blamed on today’s sugary diet. Even worse, British researchers found that when kids consumed candy every day, they were more likely to be criminals when they grew up.

This Halloween, two Michigan dentists, Shawn Morris and Daniel Simmons, are encouraging kids to turn in their candy for cash. The mission is called Operation Gratitude—children will receive $1 per pound of sweets, so the dentists can collect a large candy stash. The candy, however, won’t go uneaten: The dentists will send it to U.S. troops stationed in Iraq so they can hand out the candy to local children.

So what is the incentive for candy-heavy children to turn in their loot? Hometownlife reports:

Youngsters who trade in their candy — a maximum of five pounds per child and total 1,000 pounds for the event — will receive a new Firefly glow-in-the-dark toothbrush and a goody bag of gifts. The youngsters will also be entered in a raffle to win one of three Nano iPods.

Along with reducing damage to young teeth, the candy collection also will benefit U.S. troops.

Good habits taught when you’re young could go a long way—especially considering that 80 percent of U.S. adults have some sort of gum disease. Plus, if cavities are left untreated, they can lead to permanent damage including loss of teeth and gum disease, which has been linked to stroke and heart disease. Seriously, more candy, more problems.

Related Content:
Discoblog: Is Your Halloween Costume Safe?
Discoblog: Top Ten Science Halloween Costumes Part I
Discoblog: Top Ten Science Halloween Costumes Part II

Image: flickr/ spundekas

Future Tech: The 3-D Simulation that Lets Your Surgeon Practice...on You

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Wouldn't it be great if your surgeon could practice your procedure on a simulated model of your body? Well, thanks to a new technology, they can.

Some stuff | Bad Astronomy

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:00:38 -0700

Just a few things from here and there:

1) The 126th Carnival of Space is spacing it up at The Gish Bar Times (where I think they serve nice cold Gish Gallops). You know the deal: astronomy, space, blog posts, etc. Go there and read good stuff!

2) Speaking of good stuff, my Hive Overmind colleague Sean Carroll at Cosmic Variance is taking antivaxxers to task, and got a visit by none other than JB Handley, head of the mouthfoaming antivax group Age of Autism. Handley left some spin in the comments, and I’ve taken him to task there, asking him some simple questions about studies which show that everything he claims is wrong. We’ll see what happens there.

3) I forgot to post Script PhD’s interview with the Mythbusters from Comic Con! It’s old, I know, but you might like it. Scroll waaaay down to get to it. Unless you’re a Lost or Fringe fan, then you can read the whole thing.

Defending Science Isn’t Always Pretty | Cosmic Variance

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:23:45 -0700

This month’s issue of WIRED features a great story by Amy Wallace: “An Epidemic of Fear: How Panicked Parents Skipping Shots Endangers Us All.” It’s an overview of the anti-vaccination movement in the United States, a topic that should be very familiar to anyone who reads Discover’s baddest astronomer. At ScienceBlogs, Orac and Abel Pharmboy gives big thumbs-up to the article.

The anti-vaccination movement is a little weird — they claim that vaccines, which are universally credited with wiping out smallpox and polio and other bad things, are responsible for causing autism and diabetes and other also-bad things, all just to make a buck for pharmaceutical companies. The underlying motivation seems to be a combination of the conviction that things must happen for a reason — if a child develops autism, there must be an enemy to blame — and a general distrust of science and technology. Certainly the pro-science point of view is fairly unequivocal; like any medicine, vaccines should be used properly, but they have done great good for the world and there are very real dangers of increased risk for epidemics if enough children stop receiving them. Good for WIRED for taking on the issue and publishing an uncompromisingly pro-science piece on it.

But the anti-vax movement is more than just committed; they’re pretty darn virulent. And since the article came out, author Amy Wallace has been subject to all sorts of attacks. She’s been documenting them on her Twitter feed, which I encourage you to check out. Some lowlights:

I’ve been called stupid, greedy, a whore, a prostitute, and a “fking lib.” I’ve been called the author of “heinous tripe.”

J.B. Handley, the founder of Generation Rescue, the anti-vaccine group that actress Jenny McCarthy helps promote, sent an essay titled “Paul Offit Rapes (intellectually) Amy Wallace and Wired Magazine.” In it, he implied that Offit had slipped me a date rape drug.

Just now, I got an email so sexually explicit that I can’t paraphrase it here. Except to say it contained the c-word. And a reference to dead fish.

In his book, Autism’s False Prophets, Dr. Offit writes about scientists who have been intimidated into staying silent about autism/vaccines. If scientists – who are armed with facts and trained to interpret them – are afraid, can it be any surprise that a lot of parents are, too?

It’s pretty horrifying stuff. But there is good news: Wallace also reports that the large majority of emails she has received were actually in favor of the piece, and expressed gratitude that she had written it. There are strong forces arrayed against science, but the truth is on our side, and a lot of people recognize it. It gives one a bit of hope.

An anniversary worth celebrating | Bad Astronomy

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:53:08 -0700

According to Wikipedia, the last naturally occurring incident of smallpox (Variola minor) happened on this date in 1977:

By the end of 1975, smallpox persisted only in the Horn of Africa. Conditions were very difficult in Ethiopia and Somalia, where there were few roads. Civil war, famine, and refugees made the task even more difficult. An intensive surveillance and containment and vaccination program was undertaken in early and mid-1977. The last naturally occurring case of indigenous smallpox (Variola minor) was diagnosed in Ali Maow Maalin, a hospital cook in Merca, Somalia, on 26 October 1977.

In the 20th century, smallpox is estimated to have killed hundreds of millions of people. Hundreds of millions. Imagine the United States — the entire country, from the Pacific to the Atlantic — empty, devoid of people, dead. Smallpox wiped out that many people with room to spare.

And yet, today, it’s gone.

Why do you think that is? Homeopathy? Detoxification? Thinking good thoughts?

Nope. Vaccinations. A global campaign was undertaken in 1950, and within 30 years smallpox was struck from the face of the Earth.

Hey Jenny McCarthy, Meryl Dorey, and all you antivaxxers and your ilk: got a response to this? Still want to claim vaccines don’t work? Still want to stop people from getting them? Do you want to see this happen to children all over the planet again (WARNING – SERIOUSLY! -VERY DISTURBING IMAGE). Because if you are successful in your campaign to stop vaccinations, that’s what we’ll be facing again.

Vaccines are perhaps the single greatest triumph of modern medicine. Yet a vocal minority willing to trash facts, spin the truth, and generally spout misinformation is putting not only themselves but you, me, and everyone at risk.

Happy anniversary, smallpox, gone these past 32 years. And may I add, good damn riddance. May reason, rationality, and science-based medicine do the same for every other threat to the health and well being of the human race as well.

Tip o’ the syringe to Reddit.

Aussies 1, Chiros 0 | Bad Astronomy

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 09:43:34 -0700

A couple of weeks ago, a chiropractor lodged a complaint with the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) against the Australian Skeptics. Why? Because they had reprinted journalist Simon Singh’s article about chiropractic, which said that in the UK they were making bogus claims about how chiropractic can cure all manners of ills such as asthma and colic in babies, when it’s been shown it cannot.

Got that? This chiropractor, Joseph Ierano, complained against them because of someone else’s article! Brilliant.

The good news is that the HCCC just told the Skeptics they have dismissed the complaint. I’d love to report that, amidst howls of laughter, they said that Ierano’s complaint has no merit, his arguments were totally wrong, and not only has chiropractic been shown in many studies to have no efficacy against diseases like colic and asthma, it in fact can be a very dangerous practice.

Instead, however, it was dismissed because the Australian Skeptics group is not a health care provider, and is therefore not in the jurisdiction of the HCCC. So it was a technicality. That’s still good news, since the AS is not in any trouble, but as they say in that link above, they wish this could’ve been used by the HCCC as a larger scale means to investigate and publicly discuss the inefficacy of chiropractic in these cases. Too bad.

There is still a lot of publicity coming from this whole thing, since the British Chiropractic Association sued Simon Singh for libel due to his original article, instead of simply providing evidence that their claims were not bogus (and when they finally did try to support chiropractic, their claims were woefully off-target). The blogosphere erupted with support for Singh, as did a lot of mainstream press soon thereafter. A very cynical eye indeed has been turned to the practice of chiropractic of late. It’s long overdue.

From what I have read — including studies done by doctors as discussed in such books as Trick or Treatment and Bad Science — chiropractic’s only claim for helping is that there is some marginal evidence it can relieve lower back problems, but that’s it. It doesn’t cure toothaches, or anything carried by germs, or really anything else (excluding the placebo effect, which can be provided in any of number of other ways that don’t involve actual physical manipulation). And when the neck is manipulated, chiropractic can have serious side effects.

I am not a health care practitioner, but with what I know now, I would never go to a chiropractor. Some of them may understand the limitations of their practice, but clearly far too many do not. If you have some sort of health issue, go to your board-certified physician and ask them what they think of alternative practices, and ask them to be blunt.

We’re talking about your life here, folks. Don’t hand it over to someone who may not have a clear grasp of what their so-called alternative medicine can — and cannot — do.

Pesticides Can Increase Suicidal Thoughts | Discoblog

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:52:20 -0700

China has an incredibly high suicide rate —44 percent of the world’s suicides occur there. In 2007, China Daily reported that more suicides were happening in rural areas than urban ones, which is the opposite of the trend in other countries.

Now, scientists believe they’ve found the reason why: Exposure to agricultural pesticides increases the number of suicidal thoughts a person has. China still uses agricultural pesticides, or organophosphates, even though they’ve been banned in Western countries because of their known toxicity when ingested and the adverse mental health problems caused by long-term exposure.

Researchers from Tongde Hospital Zhejiang Province and King’s College London studied residents of central and coastal China and found the “first epidemiological evidence to suggest possible effects [of pesticides] on suicidal thoughts.” Leading the study, psychiatrist Robert Stewart took a survey of nearly ten thousand rural Chinese residents to find out how they stored pesticides. People who kept their pesticides in the house were more likely to think suicidal thoughts. Also supporting this casual link: The areas that reported higher numbers of home pesticide storage had a higher suicide thought rate overall.

Physorg reports:

Dr Robert Stewart comments: ‘Organophosphate pesticides are widely used around the world although are banned in many countries because of their risk to health. They are particularly lethal chemicals when taken in overdose and are a cause of many suicides worldwide. Our research findings that suggest that higher exposure to these chemicals might actually increase the risk of suicidal thoughts provides further support for calls for tighter international restrictions on agricultural pesticide availability and use.’

With suicide being the leading cause of death in people ages 15 to 34, public health officials should think about ways to minimize exposure to the pesticides—like making it mandatory to keep them out of the house.

Image: flickr/ jefvandenhoute

Future Tech: Doctor on-Call? Cell-Phone Cameras Can Diagnose Disease

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:10:00 -0700

Developing nations often have a lack of medical facilities but good cell phones. The CellScope turns the latter into the former.

Video: Bottomless Soup Bowls Trick Us Into Pigging Out | Discoblog

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:02:42 -0700

The weekend is finally here, and to make sure that you don’t stray off your diet, we’ll leave you with a new video on the science of overeating.

Basically your eyes are your enemy. The evidence lies in a bottomless soup bowl experiment devised by the 2007 Ig Nobel prize winner in Nutrition, Brian Wansink. Participants in the experiment were 73 percent more likely to eat a larger portion of soup if their bowl was imperceptibly refilled as they ate, according to the research titled Bottomless Bowls: Why Visual Cues of Portion Size May Influence Intake, published in the journal Obesity.

For Wansink’s take on the results, check out the episode:

Video: minimovies.org

Sauerkraut, Mustard, Relish, and (Slightly Increased Risk of) Cancer

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0700

For anyone who thought hot dogs were the healthiest food around, some new research will come as a sad surprise.

How Invaders Break Through the Brain's Great Wall

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Some bacteria pierce the imposing blood-brain barrier by breaking links in the chain; sneakier ones do it by fooling the guard cells.

Newsflash: Swallowing Swords Is Bad For Your Health | Discoblog

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:49:36 -0700

Fresh on the heels of the 2009 Ig Nobel Awards come six mini-movies about the research of past winners, including this doozy, Sword Swallowing and its Side Effects, which took home the Ig Nobel Medicine Prize in 2007.

Check out this episode below:

Video: Minimovies.org

The Era of Nanoparticle Drugs Begins With Erection Cream

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:50:00 -0700

Smaller than viruses, these drug-carrying balls of sugar could deliver any medicine. Researchers are starting with an all-important use: erection cream.

I Am Shiva, Destroyer of Proteins | The Loom

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:41:43 -0700

Deep down, we are all cannibals. In tomorrow’s issue of the New York Times, I take a look at the science of autophagy: how our cells destroy themselves to live again. It turns out that this cellular cannibalism is crucial for our well-being in many ways. Scientists are now trying to improve our ability to destroy ourselves as a potential treatment for diseases like cancer and Huntington disease, and perhaps even to slow the process of aging itself. Check it out.

(Note to link-lovers: the article takes you directly to some of the primary literature. Progress!)

[Image: Royal Academy of Arts]

Fighting Child Obesity, One Bake Sale at a Time | Discoblog

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:59:29 -0700

Yes, children are getting fatter in the U.S. And reactions are ranging from none at all to borderline extreme. On the latter end of this spectrum comes the announcement that bake sales are being banned in all New York City schools. The New York Times reports:

In an effort to limit how much sugar and fat students put in their bellies at school, the Education Department has effectively banned most bake sales, the lucrative if not quite healthy fund-raising tool for generations of teams and clubs.

The change is part of a new wellness policy that also limits what can be sold in vending machines and student-run stores, which use profits to help finance activities like pep rallies and proms. The elaborate rules were outlined in a three-page memo issued at the end of June, but in the new school year, principals and parents are just beginning to, well, digest them.

Granted, all hope is not lost for sweets-craving sugar addicts:

Parent groups and Parent-Teacher Associations are conspicuously given an exception: once a month they are allowed to sell as many dark fudge brownies and lemon bars as they please, so long as lunch has ended.

Sticks of butter will also be available at a discount.

Image: iStockphoto

Nobel For Telomeres | The Loom

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:22:54 -0700

Congratulations to Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak, who just won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine this morning. They won for their discovery of telomeres, the caps on the ends of chromosomes that keep them from degrading and ward off aging. The Nobel site has posted some useful information about why this was such a profound discovery.