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There Is No Dementia Epidemic

There Is No Dementia Epidemic

Aug 21 2015 | comment(s)

The notion of a dementia epidemic has been a big concern in ageing societies across the globe for some time. With the extension of life expectancy it seems to be an inevitable disaster – one of the “greatest enemies of humanity”, according to UK prime minister David Cameron.

Chantix Smoking Cessation Drug Is Not Helping Smokers Quit

Chantix Smoking Cessation Drug Is Not Helping Smokers Quit

Aug 21 2015 | comment(s)

The introduction of a new prescription smoking-cessation aid, varenicline, in 2006 has had no significant impact on the rate at which Americans age 18 and older successfully quit smoking, according to a new study in Tobacco Control which suggests that the primary effect of varenicline (marketed as Chantix) has only been to displace the use of older tobacco addiction therapies, such as nicotine patches and the antidepressant, bupropion (Zyban).

Project Persephone Worldship Or Geoengineering The Planet We Have

Project Persephone Worldship Or Geoengineering The Planet We Have

Aug 21 2015 | comment(s)

It is often said that the first full image of the “blue planet”, taken by the Apollo 17 space mission in December 1972, revealed Earth to be precious, fragile and protected only by a wafer-thin atmospheric layer. It reinforced the imperative for better stewardship of our “only home”.

But there was another way of seeing the Earth revealed by those photographs. For some the image showed the Earth as a total object, a knowable system, and validated the belief that the planet is there to be used for our own ends.

The Dying Gasp Of Chuck Benbrook's Credibility

The Dying Gasp Of Chuck Benbrook's Credibility

Aug 20 2015 | comment(s)

Dr. Chuck Benbrook is an economist who may be an adjunct at Washington State University but calls himself a research professor and tells the public he is an expert in biology. Why so many organic food proponents believe a guy about something as complex as genetic modification when he can't even get his own title correct is a mystery we can't solve today but we know his credibility sure won't be bolstered up by an op-ed he just published in the New England Journal of Medicine.  
Drought In Europe Worst Since 2003

Drought In Europe Worst Since 2003

Aug 20 2015 | comment(s)

Much of the European continent has been affected by a severe drought so far this summer, one of the worst since the drought and heat wave of summer of 2003, according to the latest report by the European Drought Observatory (EDO). The drought, which particularly affects France, Benelux, Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, northern Italy and northern Spain, is caused by a combination of prolonged rain shortages and exceptionally high temperatures.

 The current seasonal weather forecast envisages more abundant rains for the Mediterranean region in September, but no effective improvement is yet foreseen for parts of western, central and eastern Europe. 
Hospice Use Is Not A Good Indicator Of End-Of-Life Care

Hospice Use Is Not A Good Indicator Of End-Of-Life Care

Aug 20 2015 | comment(s)

Though it is the common metric, hospice use is not really an indicator of quality of end-of-life care.

Instead, when researchers in the U.S. studied variations in patterns of hospice use between states, they found troubling trends.  Shi-Yi Wang, MD, PhD, Yale University School of Public Health and coauthors discuss the variations in the timing and duration of hospice enrollment and their implications in an article published in Journal of Palliative Medicine (doi:full/10.1089/jpm.2014.0425). They performed a retrospective analysis of Medicare patients who used hospice services during the last 6 months of their lives.
Decline Of Language — Are Women To Blame?

Decline Of Language — Are Women To Blame?

Aug 20 2015 | comment(s)

Recently we were treated to a repeat of a three part series,
Canary In The Gold King Mine: EPA Spill Won't Be The Last

Canary In The Gold King Mine: EPA Spill Won't Be The Last

Aug 20 2015 | comment(s)

You are gazing over the clear stream, thinking of fishing the crystal waters in the Rockies. The next morning, you are stunned to see an orange-yellow sludge covering the stream as far as you can see. Is this the Colorado Gold King Mine spill into Cement Creek of August 5, 2015?

No, this describes the Clear Creek, CO spill of April, 2009 from a private mine or it could be the 1975 or 1978 Cement Creek spills from abandoned mines.

Jumping Genes Turned The Tree Of Life Into A Bush

Jumping Genes Turned The Tree Of Life Into A Bush

Aug 20 2015 | comment(s)

New species evolve whenever a lineage splits off into several branches and so a common metaphor for evolution has been to describe evolution as a 'tree of life', where every branch constitutes a species.

But since about 99.999% of all species that have ever existed are already extinct, and we have never even known about them, the tree is more like a bush with things constantly growing and falling off. Last year, a consortium of some hundred researchers reported that the relationship between all major bird clades had been mapped out by analyzing the complete genome of around 50 bird species. This included the exact order in which the various lineages had diverged.

Transplant Donors And Recipients Want To Know About Each Others' Health

Transplant Donors And Recipients Want To Know About Each Others' Health

Aug 20 2015 | comment(s)

Both donors and recipients want more information about each others' health before participating in transplant surgeries, according to a study which challenges current practices and policies on information disclosure for prospective living kidney donors and their intended recipients..