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Massachusetts, where many of the more than 260 victims live, mandates residents have health insurance. But even those with coverage could face major out-of-pocket costs.
Massachusetts, where many of the more than 260 victims live, mandates residents have health insurance. But even those with coverage could face major out-of-pocket costs.
http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/30/pf/boston-victims-medical-bills/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
Big news:
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Scientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have developed a technique in mice models to convert skin cells to the types of brain cells that are found damaged in patients with cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis. The next step, said Dr. Paul Tesar, the lead investigator in the study, is to see if the technique can be applied to human cells. Since skin cells are abundant, the process, called "cellular reprogramming," has the potential to provide researchers with a plentiful supply of converted cells to work with in the search to find ways to treat people with myelin disorders, said Tesar. Millions of people worldwide suffer from myelin disorders, which include multiple sclerosis in adults and cerebral palsy and inherited degenerative brain disorders in children. In myelin disorders, myelinating cells are destroyed and cannot be replaced by the body. These cells are important because they provide an insulation that protects neurons and enables the brain to deliver messages to the rest of the body. The study by Tesar's team was published Sunday in the online edition of the journal Nature Biotechnology. Tesar's research with animal models is relevant, said Dr. Bruce Trapp, chairman of the department of neurosciences at the Lerner Research Institute. "This is a significant step forward in trying to generate cells that could be transplanted in the brain to repair and replace damaged myelinating cells," said Trapp, who was not involved in the study. Cells have a particular genetic code, with some genes turned on and some turned off, Tesar said. Researchers found a way to manipulate the genetic code to turn skin cells into cells that functioned like brain cells. "It's a cellular alchemy, the ability to control and direct a cell to become something else," said Tesar, assistant professor of genetics and genome sciences at CWRU. The new technique involves reprogramming three naturally occurring proteins to change firoblasts (abundant structural cells present in the skin) into oligodendrocytes (cells responsible for myelinating, or insulating, the neurons of the brain). A cure for these diseases would require the myelin coating to be regenerated by the oligodendrocytes, Tesar said. In the study, researchers generated billions of the reprogrammed cells and showed that they could produce new myelin coatings around nerves after being transplanted into mice. Currently, fetal tissue and some types of stem cells are the only sources of oligodendrocytes, Tesar said. The hope is that cells from a patient's skin eventually could be transformed and then transplanted to a region of the brain or spinal cord for possible regeneration of damaged or dead cells, he said. Dr. Brian Popko, professor of neurological disorders at the University of Chicago, called the work by Tesar's team "an exciting development." "The study is a real tour de force with significant implications for human demyelinating diseases," Popko said.
Low Level Science
Really love the idea of low level science - see the blog post from http://www.pbcrossfit.com/wordpress/?p=858
I know this may come across as a big surprise to most of the athletes at CFPB, but, not only am I actually literate, but I also consider myself to be somewhat of a big reader. I don’t have much love for fiction of any sort. I find fantasy land to be a total waste of time and cannot seem to wrap my brain around it. I tried to read “The Hunger Games,” made it about 100 pages, realized it was a trilogy so the chick was guaranteed to win and had to just go watch the movie. That was probably the first piece of fiction I have picked up since “The Davinci Code.” Ya know, the book that used a bunch of facts to tell a fiction story and humans were so intelligent they couldn’t figure where the facts ended and the fiction began. Isn’t fiction fun? Good thing Google is around so we can instantly find out all the secrets of the Vitruvian Man (which just happens to be the best position for linking double unders together – just saying).
My cup of tea, when it comes to reading, is what I like to call “low level science.” Let’s be real, if you really understand thermodynamics and quantum physics, you are super awesome. I mean, seriously, that stuff really is rocket science and you are just smarter than I am. I use the term “low level science” because these books are all based in fact and offer up large ideas that make up our world. I really do not understand the intricacies of chemistry, physics, math, and biology but I find it riveting that the same atoms that we are made of, also make up other planets, and stardust, and the stuff that we have yet to develop the technology to see. Scientists just put a fully loaded Jeep Wrangler on Mars and nobody is talking about this stuff. Science is awesome. I love the big ideas. I love what it explains. I am not smart enough to understand all the details, but it sure does get my brain rolling.
One “low level science” genre I am really into is the study of human behavior, ranging from “why are some people successful” to “what actually goes on when we sleep,” and “Why won’t Anders shut up about eating healthy?” I enjoy taking a step back and analyzing human behavior as if someone put the camera lens on us and we are able to analyze ourselves on a 1 hour National Geographic special. They usually offer up really big ideas, do not get bogged down in nitty gritty science, and are able to connect these big ideas to our everyday lives. I think these books explain so much in how we go about our day and how our decisions affect our lives. I HIGHLY recommend reading all of these. They have all provided some level of clarity as to why I do what I do, train the way I train, eat the way I eat, and for the most part – live the way I live – in a system where everyone has the ability to “create” their own lives, nobody is “given” anything. “The Paleo Solution” By Robb Wolf.
This is the most Lehman’s and informative book I have ever read. If you look at my copy or ever borrow it, I have littered the pages with notes on how the simplest changes to one’s diet can positively affect all aspects of your life. If you do not think of food as the fuel, medicine, and the most important aspect to living a healthy life – Please reconnect yourself with nature a little and understand the basics of life. At a minimum, you will learn what the hell we are talking about when we talk about insulin, amino acids, and… I have lost you.
“Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival” By T.S. Wiley
This incredibly informative book on sleep is a must read. It explores what happens when you’re sleeping, why we sleep, and most importantly why being sleep deprived is detrimental to the quality of your life. Have you ever thought, “Wow, it is so random that all of these other animals sleep at night and will randomly take naps just like we do?” Well, the lion and tiger and bear do not have 9-5’s, 2 kids, and a mortgage. Before all that, we probably would have been napping with them. You DUMMIES. This sleep thing is important. Learn about. Do it. Make your life better.
“The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How.” By Daniel Coyle
There is a very good reason why people that are the best at what they do become the best. It has very little to do with genetics but a level of dedication, practice, and a specific type of “deep practice” that allows this little thing called myelin to wire our bodies to do things exceptionally well. This book is beyond inspiring. It straight up changed everything about the way I train for my sport. I think about everything I care about on a somewhat deeper level to ensure that I “understand” the why of my actions. Please read this book. It will blow your mind how many good habits you can create by deep practice and caring about the actions you take. It actually even helped me understand how I could break a lovely dipping habit.
“Anything By Malcom Gladwell” By Malcom Gladwell
Seriously, that isn’t the name of the book, but this guy speaks my language. I love how he critically analyzes human behavior and circumstance. Read “Outliers”. Just do it. If you think this world we live in came to us by happenstance, you’re just wrong. It is important to think about the “Why” behind everything. Saying “that’s just the way it is,” is lazy and a crappy answer. Something happened to set the wheels in motion of every action, and that action evolved into a little more, and continued to grow until it became “just the way it is”. Challenge yourself to critically examine the way things are in your daily life.
Grass Fed Beef, Veggies, and 9 hours of Sleep,
AV
Old Weapon In New Mosquito Fight
The recent outbreak of West Nile virus in the Dallas area has led to a new round of large-scale spraying for mosquitoes — a method of treating outbreaks that has generations of success, and even nostalgia, behind it.
Although the overall mosquito-killing strategy has changed little since the days when it was pioneered during construction of the Panama Canal a century ago, the chemicals used have become much safer for everything and everyone involved, save the mosquitoes, experts say.
Still, raining insecticides down from the sky has alarmed some residents of Dallas, where an outbreak of mosquito-borne West Nile has killed at least 10 people and sickened more than 200 others. On Wednesday, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings approved the first aerial spraying over the city in some 45 years.
The last time Dallas was the target of an "aerial application" of insecticide, malathion was used. The chemical was the subject of controversy in the 1980s when it was used to kill the Mediterranean fruit fly in California. It is considered generally safe for humans.
http://www.npr.org/2012/08/19/159013034/dallas-deploys-old-weapon-in-new-mosquito-fight
Impressive Video Stream Numbers from London
NBC has finally released stats on its online Olympic efforts, and it has much to be pleased about. So far, NBC's Olympic hub --NBCOlympics.com -- has served over 102.6 million video streams, and that's with 6 days of events remaining. The entire Beijing Olympics resulted in 75.5 million streams.
The number of live video streams currently stands at over 45 million, which is triple the number from Beijing (14 million).
That shows that requiring pay TV registration to access the live video streams was not a significant hurdle to viewers. NBC's decision to require a pay TV account for live video access is still a controversial one.
Paradoxically, the success of NBC's live online video may be boosted by the unpopularity of NBC delaying key events to show in prime time on television. While the most popular events aren't streamed live on the website, either, the site allows viewers to view thousands of hours of live coverage, most of it without distracting commentary. Indeed, NBC's online video is the alternative to NBC's broadcast video.
NBCOlympics.com earned over 1.1 billion page views so far, so it's almost reached the 1.2 billion page views that the Beijing site received. The most popular Olympian, NBC notes, is Gabby Douglas, who received 18.27 million views. Michael Phelps was second with 7.04 million page views, McKayla Maroney third with 6.04 million, Jordan Wieber fourth with 5.94 million, and Aly Raisman fifth with 3.01 million.
Finally, NBC notes that viewers are clicking to the site and staying for a long time. The average visitor spends 27 minutes on the site, a 118 percent improvement over Beijing.
Linus Torvalds Splits Tech’s ‘Nobel’ With Stem Cell Pioneer
Question: What do Linux and stem cell research have in common? Answer: They’re both considered “life-enhancing technical innovations” by the Technology Acadamy Finland, a foundation that is awarding a prestigious award called the Millennium Technology Prize in Helsinki today.
Linux creator Linus Torvalds and stem cell pioneer Shinya Yamanaka are joint recipients of the 2012 prize, an honor that some call the tech equivalent of the Nobel Prize. That means they will split the €1.2 million ($1.5 million) prize money 50-50.
Torvalds and Yamanaka were named as a finalists for the prize back in April, but it was assumed that one or the other would be singled out as a grand-prize winner. The joint award comes as a bit of a surprise.
http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/06/millennium_split/?utm_source=twi...
Save money on your medical bills - SIMPLEE
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Texas Board Approves Rules on Use of Stem Cells
The new rules allow doctors to perform stem cell procedures as long as they are done for research and receive approval from an institutional review board, which can be private and profit-making. The rules also require that patients sign informed consent forms.
The approval process, which took months, was set off by Gov. Rick Perry, who reported relief from back pain after being injected with his own stem cells last summer before he began his presidential bid. Mr. Perry directed his staff to help push through the legislation on which the new rules are based.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/14/us/new-rules-on-adult-stem-cells-approved-i...
