MetaFilter posts tagged with epidemiology

CeaseFire

homunculus — Sat, 03 May 2008 15:15:56 -0800

Blocking the Transmission of Violence. "If gang violence was an infectious disease, how would you stop it? A Chicago epidemiologist thinks he has the answer."

US Census Bureau's DataWeb

Gyan — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 07:03:28 -0800

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

Cholera and Epidemiology

peacay — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 12:49:12 -0800

Sick City - Maps and Mortality in the Time of Cholera [print version] reviews Stephen Johnson's "The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic"*. Dr John Snow became the acknowledged modern father of epidemiology by identifying water as the transmission vehicle of a cholera outbreak in Victorian England. UCLA have an amazingly comprehensive website devoted to Dr John Snow (and much more) - worthy of a look if only for the nice maps.

Being mildly overweight/underweight is good/bad for you

cogneuro — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 04:21:20 -0800

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?

"It really looked quite a bit like a real disease."

solipsophistocracy — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 08:11:23 -0800

The 2005 outbreak of Corrupted Blood in World of Warcraft may provide epidemiologists with a new platform for studying the spread of disease.

By using these games as an untapped experimental framework, we may be able to gain deeper insight into the incredible complexity of infectious disease epidemiology in social groups.

It comes as no surprise that the "stupid factor" plays a role in susceptibility to viral marketing, but it may also be a factor in the spread of real life germs.

"A Compound From Olive-pomace Oil Gets 80% Slowing Down Of HIV Spread"

duende — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 15:45:32 -0800

In the past, various possible treatments and methods have been suspected of helping combat AIDS, which have later been proven correct. Other, less reputable treatments have also been claimed to work, the likes of which descend towards malpractice, pseudoscience and criminal negligence. But in a turnabout, the olive oil element of South Africa's controversial treatment, deemed to be "Africa's Solution", actually helps as well.

"Do you hear voices?" "Doesn't everyone?"

srs — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 08:33:19 -0800

INTERVOICE (International Network for Training, Education and Research into Hearing Voices) "offers information, publications, research, and good practice on hearing voices and other key issues." Voice hearing is surprisingly common, even normal. Many people find it a pleasurable and positive experience. Find everything from stencil graffiti to a recent New York Times magazine article on the work of the Hearing Voices Movement. (w i k i s)

Mad human disease?

grapefruitmoon — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 14:58:15 -0800

In the new book The Family That Couldn't Sleep, journalist D.T. Max investigates Fatal Familial Insomnia - a strange prion disease that has been linked to Variant Creutzfeld-Jakobs Disease (the human form of mad cow disease).

POZ party players

docgonzo — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 09:57:51 -0800

Who goes to POZ Parties? Researchers profile HIV-1 positive men who have sex with men (MSM) at so-called "POZ parties": "Predominantly white and over the age of 30, subjects in the sample include a broad range of years living with HIV infection. Motivations for using a POZ Party venue for sexual partnering include relief from burdens for serostatus disclosure, an interest in not infecting others, and opportunities for unprotected sexual exchange. High rates of unprotected sex with multiple partners are prevalent in the venue. Although the sample evidences high rates of lifetime exposure to illicit drugs, relatively little drug use was reported in these sexual environments."

voice in the wilderness

The Jesse Helms — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 22:54:27 -0800

Tell your boyfriends, partners, ex's, or hookups they may have been exposed to HIV or another STD.