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HIV CRISIS HITS MIGRANTS RETURNING TO RURAL MEXICO FROM US MIGRANT WORKERS ARE RETURNING TO MEXICO CARRYING INFECTION, TREATMENT OFTEN IMPEDED BY MARGINAL STATUS 2 August 2007 A new study has shown that the most serious risk rural Mexican women face of contracting HIV is by sexual intercourse with their own husbands, in cases where the husband is a migrant worker traveling to and from the US. The result of the irregular migration policy regarding the US-Mexico border is that men who migrate without papers to work in factories or on farms often spend large amounts of time alone, with no contact with their wives or families. [Full Story] GOOGLE LAUNCHES SPECIAL HEALTH ADVISORY GROUP, TO HELP USERS TARGET NEEDED HEALTH INFORMATION Google has launched a new special advisory group for health issues. The aim is to improve its overall search technology so that the end-user's experience is not a confusion of mis-matched or possibly dangerous flawed information regarding health issues. The hope is that Google's ability to provide relevent content will be honed and new search refining techniques will be discovered through the effort to ensure that health-related information is more relevant, more reliable, and more easily accessible. [Full Story] INDIA TO PUSH FOR POLIO ERADICATION In late September, India announced it was planning an aggressive campaign to halt the spread of polio, a paralyzing disease nearly eradicated worldwide a decade ago. The plans came after official reports showed 5 times as many new cases in the first 9 months of 2006 as in all of 2005, with about 90% of the 297 new cases concentrated in Uttar Pradesh state alone. [Full Story] BILL PRESENTED TO PREVENT GOV'T TAMPERING WITH SCIENCE Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) is to introduce an amendment to legislation currently under debate, which would restrict the executive branch's ability to gag scientists, manipulate their findings or demote those who disagree with official policy. The legislation would also require that scientists appointed to investigatory panels be selected for their credentials, not their political views. [Full Story] WILD BIRDS MAY BE LESS LIKELY TO SPREAD AVIAN FLU THAN POULTRY As nations across the world either brace for what is now seen as the inevitable spread of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, which has proven deadly to a high percentage of the few human beings who have contracted the virus, some are taking aim at migratory birds. But wild birds might not be the most likely means of delivery for the aggressive virus. [Full Story] NEW RESEARCH SHOWS MEMORY RETURNS BRAIN TO PAST NEUROCHEMCIAL REALITY A new study, conducted at the University of Pennsylvania, by Sean Polyn, PhD, and reported today in the journal Science, demonstrates that memory is the brain's effort to return to a past state. It is not simply a recalling of fact or envisioning of the past, but rather a mechanism by which the brain recreates the chemical and neurological state of its organization at a past time. [Full Story] AIDS KILLED MORE THAN 3 MILLION IN 2005 The human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) and its deadly end-stage syndrome, AIDS, killed at least 3 million people in 2005. HIV also infected 5 million new people around the world, the largest single increase on record, though similar numbers were reported for 2003. The pandemic is still extremely deadly and is still spreading. [Full Story] LUNG CANCER KILLS NON-SMOKERS TOO Lung cancer is one of the most dangerous and widespread diseases in the United States. An estimated 170,000 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year. Six in ten will die within one year, and eight in ten will die within the first two years after being diagnosed. It is commonly assumed that only smokers develop lung cancer, because the habit so drastically increases the likelihood of diagnosis. But as many as 17% of new diagnoses are made for lifelong non-smokers. [Full Story] UN REPORTS 5 MILLION NEW HIV CASES IN 2003 Even while other diseases are sweeping into the headlines (Malaria - Polio - SARS - West Nile), the UN reports that HIV, the AIDS virus, is spreading faster than ever. According to the new report, the UN found 5 million new cases of HIV infection worldwide during 2003. That's the highest number of new infections for any single year since the virus was discovered. The study also finds that 90% of those in desperate need of treatment are not receiving any. Even prevention measures are only accessible to 1 in 5, in the most at-risk populations. As a result, 3 million people were killed by AIDS during 2003, and the virus is spreading in all parts of the world. [Full Story] BILINGUAL MINDS ARE BETTER GUARDED AGAINST AGING A new study published this month in the journal Psychology and Aging, shows that people who speak two languages from the age of 10 are more resistant to mental deterioration associated with aging. The study focuses on the fact that "crystallized intelligence", or early-learned habitual knowledge, is better retained than other intellectual capabilities. The findings seem to indicate that having two distinct cognitive resources for organizing information about the world trains the bilingual mind to focus on multiple stimuli with more ease, and to respond to their environment more efficiently. [Full Story] NEW EVIDENCE OF DANGER FOR WOMEN WHO SMOKE A new study indicates that women who smoke are 2.7 times as likely to develop lung cancer as men. According to NBC Nightly News, the new study shows that women are smoking, and starting to smoke, at higher rates than men, and that their risk is significantly higher. The report predicted a possible epidemic of lung cancer among women which might be quietly spreading among new smokers and younger women. [Full Story] GENETIC MARKERS
10 March 2003 Current biotechnology research is working on the tracing of genetic markers, certain genes which show statistical coincidence with higher rates of certain diseases. While the connection between these genes and a higher incidence of disease is based on statistical circumstance, and isn't generally a solid indication of any real predisposition, the temptation to use such statistical data for cost-cutting and predictive business strategy is likely to be great. Will an industry of discrimination arise from unregulated genetic marker research? [Full Story] |
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