Should CEO's have to disclose health conditions to the public? The question matters if the person being referred to is Steve Jobs, whose health is under constant scrutiny. Does it matter that the person asking the question is one of Mr. Jobs' biggest critics?
posted on Jul 26, 2008 - View this thread

Jamie Lynn's Reproduction Rap A slightly educational, slightly ridiculous look at where babies come from.
posted on Jul 12, 2008 - View this thread

Dr. Michael E. DeBakey died last night a few months shy of 100 years old. The father of modern cardiovascular surgery, he extended the lives of thousands through multiple surgical innovations.
posted on Jul 12, 2008 - View this thread

The NHS at 60. The National Health Service is 60 on July 5th. Take a look at documents, audio and video related to the birth and growth of this "radical plan."
posted on Jun 28, 2008 - View this thread

Amy Winehouse has Emphysema. The 24 year old artist, whose career has netted multiple awards but has often been overshadowed by her drug use, now faces a lung condition that can be slowed but never reversed, with effects ranging from shortness of breath to cyanosis and heart faliure.
posted on Jun 23, 2008 - View this thread

It's like gunning the engine of a car. The recent documentary Unnatural Causes examines the health consequences societal inequalities have on people. The PBS series has a couple dozen embeddable video clips exploring atomic testing, Native American Health, Latino Health and more. One clip examines why when African women come to the U.S., within one generation, their daughters suffer higher rates of premature babies and poorer birth outcomes. One group is putting hundreds of millions of dollars into alleviating health disparities in 14 communities across the country.
posted on Jun 9, 2008 - View this thread

4 months, 48 states, 3 full-time staff living and working out of a 31-foot Winnebago. "The Cover America Tour aims to put a face on the problems Americans are experiencing and to make sure their voices are heard as the debate over health care reform heats up." Meet Blake, Pauline & Meg (Consumer Reports) and talk about your health care issue or just follow past and upcoming stops along the route on the blog. Suggest a stop in your city or view pictures.
posted on May 30, 2008 - View this thread

A runner's primer
posted on May 29, 2008 - View this thread

The Stupidity of Dignity: Conservative bioethics' latest, most dangerous ploy. Steven Pinker reviews Human Dignity and Bioethics, the latest report from the President's Council on Bioethics.
posted on May 28, 2008 - View this thread

No more waiting on gas prices. It's time to indulge in a little luxury: the elusive perfect shave.
posted on May 25, 2008 - View this thread

Google Health launched today..
posted on May 19, 2008 - View this thread

Think you can guess HIV status just by looking? Via NYTimes article
posted on May 19, 2008 - View this thread

West Nile virus and Avian influenza and Chronic wasting disease, oh, my! (and Monkeypox...) Outbreaks of disease in populations of wild and domestic animals, having such a heavy impact on human health, has led the United States Geological Survey and the University of Wisconson to develop a way to track news of disease outbreaks around the planet: The Global Wildlife Disease News Map.
posted on May 8, 2008 - View this thread

Virtual Age and Life Expectancy Calculator "Your Virtual Age is a reflection of your health and vitality. The lower your Virtual Age the better shape you are in. It is used to calculate the Life Expectancy of someone of your current physical age."
posted on May 4, 2008 - View this thread

Talk about plastic accumulating in the North Pacific gyre has popped up on and off for quite a while now. Vice is running a series on the state of the gyre, as part of their "Toxic Series". Given the fact that most plastics are not biodegradable, we need to start looking more carefully at how much damage we are doing to ourselves through our use of plastic, and what we can do about it.
posted on Apr 22, 2008 - View this thread

Cheap Corn Makes Your Life Short
posted on Apr 20, 2008 - View this thread

Thirty-six years after the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse recommended that "simple possession" of pot be decriminalised, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has introduced a bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), to remove federal criminal penalties for possession of up to 100 grams (about three-and-a-half ounces) of marijuana and the not-for-profit transfer of up to one ounce (28.3 grams). Drug reform advocates lit up hailed the legislation as "an important step toward bringing federal law into line with scientific fact, practical reality and public opinion." Is America, at long last, having a collective moment of sanity?
posted on Apr 20, 2008 - View this thread

Scientists have discovered that "endometrial regenerative cells" (ERC's) -- in other words, human menstrual blood -- contains stem cells. ERC-derived stem cells seem to have a number of superior traits to both bone marrow derived and umbilical cord derived stem cells, the previous gold standards: they can give rise to a variety of different cell lines without differentiation, they multiply more quickly than other stem cells, they are able to replicate more times without adversely mutating, and they apparently do not need to be closely genetically matched to the recipient. Now some women have even begun banking their menstrual blood to preserve their stem cells through a company called "C'Elle: Your Monthly Miracle" -- check out their FAQ and online video. This follows last May's announcement that menstrual blood derived cells can pretty much cure Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in mice, a disease for which there is no current therapeutic treatment available.
posted on Apr 14, 2008 - View this thread

The state of Oregon is holding a health insurance lottery where 91,000 hopeful enrollees will be competing for a couple thousand spots under the Oregon Health Plan, the state's Medicaid program. OHP was created to cover those who made too much to enroll in traditional Medicaid but too little to afford market healthcare, and this development comes as a result of budget cuts and a subsequent enrollment closure in July of 2004. It's a far cry from the universal health care coverage that the plan was suppose to lead to, and marks a dramatic turn for the state's once-ambitious health care reforms.

(Previously in dystopic health care developments)
posted on Mar 30, 2008 - View this thread

Two new reports on our progress in Iraq were released today:
"Five years after the war started, the humanitarian situation in Iraq is among the most critical in the world..." - International Committee of the Red Cross.
"Five years of carnage and despair in Iraq" - Amnesty International.
posted on Mar 17, 2008 - View this thread

This Is 'Snus'. Snus is a form of smokeless tobacco with a very long history in Sweden. Snus is gaining a bit of popularity in America; both Camel and Marlboro are launching their own brand. It is touted as a more discreet way to use tobacco in the wake of increasing bans on smoking, especially bacause it does not require spitting. A few Swedish compaines, such as Northerner and BuySnus.com ship it worldwide affordably. The Anti-Tobacco crowd is already manning the trenches and claiming that Snus is as dangerous as any other tobacco. However, the science that has been done to date appears to reach a very different conclusion.
posted on Mar 16, 2008 - View this thread

Hannah Poling is a nine year old girl with mild to moderate symptoms of autism, which developed three months after she received vaccinations. The Department of Health and Human Services announced that her family will receive a settlement from the vaccine compensation fund. Autism activists are encouraged, but the DHHS officials insist they are not admitting a link between autism and vaccines and maintain that for most, vaccines are safe. Rather, they say, the series of vaccines Hannah received exacerbated an underlying mitochondrial condition, causing the symptoms of autism.
posted on Mar 7, 2008 - View this thread

Where does recalled beef go? Last month, the largest beef recall in U.S. history (143 million pounds) occured after the Humane Society released footage of sick cows at a meat processing plant in California. Before it was recalled, most of the beef had already been sent to school lunch programs and other public nutrition programs.
posted on Mar 3, 2008 - View this thread

In Japan haramaki were originally worn as part of samurai armor to protect the stomach and kidneys. They have evolved to become a handy winter fashion accessory, which keeps the whole body warm.
posted on Feb 28, 2008 - View this thread

Benefits of Beer There are a ton of these but this is by far my favorite.
posted on Feb 22, 2008 - View this thread

Mythbusting Canadian Health Care, Part I. Part II: Debunking the Free Marketeers. [Via Orcinus.]
posted on Feb 13, 2008 - View this thread

The Twenty Worst Foods in America. There's something for everyone!
posted on Feb 11, 2008 - View this thread

Well, it seems that some British scientists have succeeded in creating a human embryo from three parents. Oh, let the games begin...
posted on Feb 5, 2008 - View this thread

Saddam's Confessions - Given Saddam Hussein's central place in the American Consciousness over the last couple decades and particularly in recent years, I found 60 minutes' interview with FBI interrogator George Piro pretty fascinating.
posted on Jan 27, 2008 - View this thread

It smells like dirty socks, wet dog, oil, chemicals, gymnasiums, burning, vomit, and more. It induces blurred vision, disorientation, shaking and tremors, vertigo, seizures, loss of consciousness, respiratory failure, depression, sleep disorders, salivation, nausea and diarrhoea among other symptoms. Is "toxic airline syndrome" the new Gulf War Syndrome?
posted on Jan 7, 2008 - View this thread

Trial by Transplant. "Most transplant recipients are grateful beyond measure. Amy Silverstein's view, after nearly two decades with a donated heart, is more conflicted and often bleak. Much of her life, as described in Sick Girl, has revolved around nauseating drugs, ongoing fatigue, painful tests, ER visits and hospitalizations without end—and the constant fear that the next heartbeat could be her last. At low ebb, she has teetered on the edge of giving up."
posted on Jan 7, 2008 - View this thread

The Checklist - "If a new drug were as effective at saving lives as Peter Pronovost’s checklist, there would be a nationwide marketing campaign urging doctors to use it" [single page]
posted on Jan 2, 2008 - View this thread

I took my video camera to a Foster Care Alumni meeting and asked seven foster kids to tell me about there experiences in Child Protective Services while wards of the state: Tristen, Andrew, Kyle, Aisha, Elnita, Ashley, Joshua.
posted on Dec 29, 2007 - View this thread

TheDataWeb - a network of online data libraries on topics including census data, economic data, health data, income and unemployment data, population data, labor data, cancer data, crime and transportation data, family dynamics, vital statistics data
posted on Dec 26, 2007 - View this thread

Progress for Children: A World Fit for Children Statistical Review "reports on how well the world is doing in meeting its commitments for the world’s children. This UNICEF special edition analyses progress towards the Millennium Development Goals in four priority areas for children: promoting healthy lives, providing a quality education, combating HIV and AIDS, and protecting against abuse, exploitation and violence."
posted on Dec 22, 2007 - View this thread

The Prepaid Healthcare Visa® Gift Card, for that special someone without insurance on your holiday list. Rejoice! Terry Gilliam's dystopian future is now! [via]
posted on Dec 19, 2007 - View this thread

Mystery meat macrophotography by Mike Adams, not the one full of full of baloney. (via)
posted on Nov 30, 2007 - View this thread

In the wake of a highly sexified Ang Lee film, Chinese medical authorities have warned the public against "abnormal body positions". Links SFW.
posted on Nov 30, 2007 - View this thread

Almonds. Eat more almonds. They're good for you. The fall harvest is now in and you can get organic almonds online. Also, they're better than pecans.
posted on Nov 26, 2007 - View this thread

The Guardian discusses homeopathy: Jeannette Winterson supports it, Ben Goldacre opposes it.
posted on Nov 19, 2007 - View this thread

Not a Cough in a Carload: Images from the Tobacco Industry Campaign to Hide the Hazards of Smoking.
posted on Nov 15, 2007 - View this thread

Creative Destruction: The Best Case Against Universal Health Care. [Via The Mahablog.]
posted on Nov 14, 2007 - View this thread

Don't want the flu? Wash your hands! Washing your hands is not the only way to prevent the flu, but it's clearly important.
posted on Nov 14, 2007 - View this thread

The BBC reports that new research ties ADHD to delayed cortical development.
posted on Nov 14, 2007 - View this thread

In this week’s medical research update, being mildly overweight might not be so bad for you. According to one summary, “overweight people have a lower death rate because they are much less likely to die from a grab bag of diseases that includes Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, infections and lung disease. And that lower risk is not counteracted by increased risks of dying from any other disease, including cancer, diabetes or heart disease.” And so what is meant by “overweight” needs to be reconsidered. But last week’s bulletin, discussed here, suggested that longer life spans are associated with lower weights, and the primary recommendation was to “Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight.” Allright: Epidemiological studies are hard to interpret and some people question the science. Newspapers are oriented to breaking news and treat medical reports as such, relying on he said/she said quotes from experts instead of providing integrative analysis. So who exactly is going to put together the pieces? What about NIH, your tax dollar at work? Or some blogs?
posted on Nov 7, 2007 - View this thread

Have You Eaten Your Dirt Today, Honey? A New Approach To The Hygiene Hypothesis. The hypothesis argues: The reason why there is so much asthma, eczema, allergies and maybe even childhood diabetes in the modern world is because we — well infants really — live in too clean a universe. What our baby immune systems need is a kickstart by exposure to viruses, bacteria, worms, pollutants and so on. If you don’t get an infant hit from these icons of uncleanliness, the immune system goes haywire and your body over-reacts to all sorts of invasive things that normally could be ignored. Via.
posted on Nov 6, 2007 - View this thread

Body fat causes cancer according to a scary report from the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund that reviewed 7000 studies. Obesity creates "a low-grade chronic inflammatory state" that promotes cancer. This report seems more foreboding than others of its ilk, e.g.: "Even small amounts of excess body fat, especially if carried at the waist, increase risk." Drinking is also carcinogenic: better limit yourself to 2 drinks a day if you're male and 1 if you're female. (Of course, breathing is also bad, and so is sunlight. ) Conclusion: you can live a really long time if you don't like to eat or drink, though you want to avoid taking this to extremes.
posted on Oct 31, 2007 - View this thread

Robin Prosser was a former concert pianist and systems analyst who suffered from an autoimmune disease similar to lupus for over 20 years. The disease left her in constant pain and made her allergic to most pharmaceutical painkillers. Only medical marijuana brought her relief, but last spring the DEA seized her medicine. Unable to cope with the chronic pain any longer, she committed suicide on October 18th. [Via Andrew Sullivan.]
posted on Oct 29, 2007 - View this thread

Garra Rufa treatment, video, before and after pics. Fish that will eat you alive and make you healthy, "when you get over the ick factor, the nibbling can have a calming affect".
posted on Oct 22, 2007 - View this thread

A photoessay of the culinary highlights of the Texas State Fair, now in progress.
posted on Oct 11, 2007 - View this thread