Body Science : New Discoveries, News, Health Science

[Medusa]

I was perusing my daily news stops and came across this article:

http://news.oneindia.in/2010/03/05/mischievousgut-bugs-could-be-making-youfat.html

I've never heard of TLR5 but I do remember talking about the flagella of organisms in junior high science class. These things are actually floating in our guts!!!

Anyway, in trying to look around on the net for info about TLR5 and how it functions, it occured to me that it would be cool to have a discussion of the science at play in our bodies. I am always coming across articles with interesting little tidbits about the newest findings and research.

Remember the ear growing on the rats back?!!

Anyway, my (rudimentary) approach to the science of fat says "Hey, just increase your TLR5 and it will help you lose weight by lassoing more of those nasty bacteria flaggelas, right?"

Well, no.

I found this on wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TLR_5
but there isnt a lot of info out there about how TLR5 production can be naturally increased in the body.

[Apocalipstic]

Interesting!

There was an article in my Mental Floss magazine http://www.mentalfloss.com/magazine/issues/?issue=0806
about how intestinal parasites and worms are being eradicated in the developed world and how it is making us sick.

One dude walked around latrines in some remote part of Africa to get worms on purpose cure his asthma.

Worth it?

My sister got foot long worms when she lived in Honduras (Not on purpose), she lost a TON of weight..but almost died in the process.

[Medusa]

I read an article today where Scientists had figured out how to grow a human jaw bone from stem cells!
:present:

[Cyclopea]

Deadly new fungus strain rolling across Northwestern U.S.

BY ETHAN SACKS
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Originally Published:Friday, April 23rd 2010, 1:39 PM
Updated: Friday, April 23rd 2010, 2:09 PM

A mysterious new strain of airborne fungus that has mystified scientists is rolling through the Northwestern U.S. and Canada, leaving at least six people dead in its wake.

A study found that the new strain of Cryptoccus gatti, previously native to tropical and subtropical regions like Australia and South America, is spreading through Washington and Oregon and heading towards Northern California, National Geographic reported.

"The alarming thing is that it's occurring in this region, it's affecting healthy people, and geographically it's been expanding," study co-author Edmond Byrnes, a graduate student at Duke University, told the magazine.

Experts are baffled as to how the fungus reached North American and how it could survive in a colder climate.

Even more worrisome for health experts are reports that the victims had relatively healthy immune systems, according to National Geographic. Twenty one known cases have been recorded in humans, and six have been fatal.

A 1999 outbreak of a similar strain of the fungus in British Columbia, Canada, had a much lower mortality rate, killing 19 out of 218 recorded victims.

There is currently no vaccine for the fungus strain, which causes an infection which may not display symptoms -- including a bad cough and shortness of breath - until months after exposure.

"The enhanced virulence of isolates from the outbreak region, when compared with those from other regions, suggests that the genotypes circulating in the Pacific North West are inherently increased in their predilection to cause disease in mammalian hosts," the study authors wrote in the April 22 issue of the scientific journal, PLOS Pathogens.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health/2010/04/23/2010-04-23_deadly_new_fungus_strain_rolling_across_northwe stern_us.html#ixzz0lxuZbDQ7

[Gemme]

Deadly new fungus strain rolling across Northwestern U.S.

BY ETHAN SACKS
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Originally Published:Friday, April 23rd 2010, 1:39 PM
Updated: Friday, April 23rd 2010, 2:09 PM

A mysterious new strain of airborne fungus that has mystified scientists is rolling through the Northwestern U.S. and Canada, leaving at least six people dead in its wake.

A study found that the new strain of Cryptoccus gatti, previously native to tropical and subtropical regions like Australia and South America, is spreading through Washington and Oregon and heading towards Northern California, National Geographic reported.

"The alarming thing is that it's occurring in this region, it's affecting healthy people, and geographically it's been expanding," study co-author Edmond Byrnes, a graduate student at Duke University, told the magazine.

Experts are baffled as to how the fungus reached North American and how it could survive in a colder climate.

Even more worrisome for health experts are reports that the victims had relatively healthy immune systems, according to National Geographic. Twenty one known cases have been recorded in humans, and six have been fatal.

A 1999 outbreak of a similar strain of the fungus in British Columbia, Canada, had a much lower mortality rate, killing 19 out of 218 recorded victims.

There is currently no vaccine for the fungus strain, which causes an infection which may not display symptoms -- including a bad cough and shortness of breath - until months after exposure.

"The enhanced virulence of isolates from the outbreak region, when compared with those from other regions, suggests that the genotypes circulating in the Pacific North West are inherently increased in their predilection to cause disease in mammalian hosts," the study authors wrote in the April 22 issue of the scientific journal, PLOS Pathogens.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health/2010/04/23/2010-04-23_deadly_new_fungus_strain_rolling_across_northwe stern_us.html#ixzz0lxuZbDQ7



Ahhhhh crap. :blink:

[Medusa]

A cure for HIV coming????


http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100703/hl_hsn/scientistsmakeimmunecellsinmicethatfightoffhiv;_yl t=AstI7KVsxtz8vkI_AvNQ7f4PLBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTNsYTIxYn RzBGFzc2V0A2hzbi8yMDEwMDcwMy9zY2llbnRpc3RzbWFrZWlt bXVuZWNlbGxzaW5taWNldGhhdGZpZ2h0b2ZmaGl2BHBvcwMxMQ RzZWMDeW5fY

[Andrew, Jr.]

Did you guys and gals read where Ossy Osbourn is being studied by the doctors in Britain and US. He agreed to it. They stated that they cannot figure out how someone who was a hard core rocker, who drank and took God knows what and for how long, is still alive at his age. It should be interesting to see what they come out with. It is going to be shown on Discovery Health Channel I believe.

[Medusa]

Scientists just discovered a new life form!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/02/nasa-new-life-arsenic-bacteria_n_791094.html

[Passionaria]

[/URL]
Top Ten Legal Drugs Linked to Violence By Maia Szalavitz (http://healthland.time.com/2011/01/07/top-ten-legal-drugs-linked-to-violence/#comments) Friday, January 7, 2011

When people consider the connections between drugs and violence, what typically comes to mind are illegal drugs like crack cocaine. However, certain medications — most notably, some antidepressants like Prozac — have also been linked to increase risk for violent, even homicidal behavior.

A new study (http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0015337) from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices published in the journal PloS One and based on data from the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System has identified 31 drugs that are disproportionately linked with reports of violent behavior towards others.


Please note that this does not necessarily mean that these drugs cause violent behavior. For example, in the case of opioid pain medications like Oxycontin, people with a prior history of violent behavior may seek drugs in order to sustain an addiction, which they support via predatory crime. In the case of anti psychotics, the drugs may be given in an attempt to reduce violence by people suffering from schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders — so the drugs here might not be causing violence, but could be linked with it because they're used to try to stop it.


Nonetheless, when one particular drug in a class of nonaddictive drugs used to treat the same problem stands out, that suggests caution: unless the drug is being used to treat radically different groups of people, that drug may actually be the problem. Researchers calculated a ratio of risk for each drug compared to the others in the database, adjusting for various relevant factors that could create misleading comparisons. Here are the top ten offenders:


10. Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq) An antidepressant which affects both serotonin and noradrenaline, this drug is 7.9 times more likely to be associated with violence than other drugs.


9. Venlafaxine (Effexor) A drug related to Pristiq in the same class of antidepressants, both are also used to treat anxiety disorders. Effexor is 8.3 times more likely than other drugs to be related to violent behavior.



8. Fluvoxamine (Luvox) An antidepressant that affects serotonin (SSRI), Luvox is 8.4 times more likely than other medications to be linked with violence.


7. Triazolam (Halcion) A benzodiazepine which can be addictive, used to treat insomnia. Halcion is 8.7 times more likely to be linked with violence than other drugs, according to the study.



6) Atomoxetine (Strattera) Used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Strattera affects the neurotransmitter noradrenaline and is 9 times more likely to be linked with violence compared to the average medication.


5) Mefoquine (Lariam) A treatment for malaria, Lariam has long been linked with reports of bizarre behavior. It is 9.5 times more likely to be linked with violence than other drugs.



4) Amphetamines: (Various) Amphetamines are used to treat ADHD and affect the brain's dopamine and noradrenaline systems. They are 9.6 times more likely to be linked to violence, compared to other drugs.


3) Paroxetine (Paxil) An SSRI antidepressant, Paxil is also linked with more severe withdrawal symptoms and a greater risk of birth defects compared to other medications in that class. It is 10.3 times more likely to be linked with violence compared to other drugs. (More on Time.com: Healthland's Guide to Life 2011 (http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,2040258,00.html))


2) Fluoxetine (Prozac) The first well-known SSRI antidepressant, Prozac is 10.9 times more likely to be linked with violence in comparison with other medications.


1) Varenicline (Chantix) The anti-smoking medication Chantix affects the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, which helps reduce craving for smoking. Unfortunately, it's 18 times more likely to be linked with violence compared to other drugs — by comparison, that number for Xyban is 3.9 and just 1.9 for nicotine replacement. Because Chantix is slightly superior in terms of quit rates in comparison to other drugs, it shouldn't necessarily be ruled out as an option for those trying to quit, however.

Read more: [URL]http://healthland.time.com/2011/01/07/top-ten-legal-drugs-linked-to-violence/#ixzz1B8MBw6Bx

[Passionaria]

http://homeopathyplus.com.au/poor-memory-can-be-improved-by-one-simple-exercise/


It offers real help to those with learning difficulties, autism and Alzheimers
disease.




In fact, anyone whose memory is not as sharp as it should be can benefit from this exercise.



EEG scans show that it synchronises right and left sides of the brain to improve thinking and memory.



Main Points From the Video



In this video, a teacher, doctor, microbiologist, occupational therapist, and parent discuss how one easy exercise:


Stimulates neural pathways via acupressure points in the earlobes
Synchronizes the right and left side of the brain to improve function and promote calmness
Sharpens intelligence in seniors, juniors, mums, dads and kids
Helps those with autism, Asperger’s syndrome, learning difficulties and behavioral problems
Is fast and simple to do – takes just 1 to 3 minutes a day
Benefits anyone of any age

Results may be immediate or gradual. Concentration should certainly be stronger within 3 weeks. The exercise only needs to be done once a day but if concentration wanes it can be repeated as often as desired.