Medical Mouse

Mad Cow And Alzheimer's Have Surprising Link

by Jon Hamilton

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All Things Considered, February 25, 2009 · Scientists have discovered a surprising link between Alzheimer's disease and mad cow disease. It turns out both diseases involve something called a prion protein.

The finding, which appears in the journal Nature, could explain one of the great mysteries in Alzheimer's disease: How components of the plaques that form in patient's brains are able to damage brain cells. It also could point the way to new treatments for the disease.

Joss Whedon's new show Dollhouse is about a secret organization that supplies mind-wiped sex ninjas to the rich. It's not set in the future because neuromanipulated technoslaves could exist today. Here's proof.

1. We can erase people's memories.
Back in October a study was published in Neuron that proved an enzyme called CaMKII can erase bad memories while you recall them.

HMSA’s Online Care is a true innovation in health care - a system connecting consumers with HMSA participating physicians online or by phone.

With HMSA’s Online Care, consumers in Hawaii can speak with a local physician or specialist via Web-based videoconferencing, secure chat, or telephone.

A special tattoo ink that changes color based on glucose levels inside the skin is under development by Massachusetts-based Draper Laboratories. The injectable nanotech ink could eventually free diabetics from painful blood glucose tests.

E-cigarettes were invented by Hon Lik of electronics company Ruyan in Beijing, China. Ruyan sold its first electronic cigarette in May 2004, and e-cigarettes have been growing in popularity ever since. Accurate figures are hard to come by, but Ruyan - the world's biggest manufacturer - claims to have sold over 300,000 in 2008. Smart Smokers, one company which sells Ruyan's cigarettes in the UK, says sales are rising exponentially. In the US, hit TV show The Doctors featured the e-cigarette in the top 10 health trends of 2008. In a world where smoking is increasingly socially unacceptable, the e-cigarette looks like a success story in the making.

The worst part of breaking a bone (besides the pain) is the healing process. Wearing an uncomfortable cast can be irritating and aggravating, making it harder to move around for months at a time. Well, that process may soon change. A company has developed a product called “Injectable Bone” that may repair the broken bone in minutes.

The worst part of breaking a bone (besides the pain) is the healing process. Wearing an uncomfortable cast can be irritating and aggravating, making it harder to move around for months at a time. Well, that process may soon change. A company has developed a product called “Injectable Bone” that may repair the broken bone in minutes.

Women with resting heart rates of more than 76 beats per minute were found to be 26 percent more likely to have a heart attack or die from heart disease than those with heart rates of 62 beats per minute or lower, the researchers said.

Eyelids
If your eyelids burn and your eyes are bloodshot, it could be ocular rosacea, a painful inflammation that may be linked to the parasite Demodex folliculorum.

The fix: Give your eyelids a daily bath, says Toronto dermatologist Benjamin Barankin, M.D. With your eyes closed, rub a mix of equal parts baby shampoo and water over your lids, and rinse well. After symptoms clear, repeat weekly for prevention. If that doesn't solve the problem, see your dermatologist for a prescription treatment.

NEW YORK - Men who want to have a vasectomy reversed may soon be able to opt for a "mini-incision, no-scalpel" operation, according to a group of surgeons who have performed a number of successful vasectomy reversals using this approach.

In vasectomy, the tube that carries sperm from the testes to the penis, the vas deferens, is severed. The operation can now be performed through a tiny incision in the scrotum, resulting in fewer complications than the more invasive approach requiring a larger incision.

Men who change their minds can choose to have the surgery reversed by reconnecting the severed ends of the vas deferens, or have sperm "retrieved" and used for in-vitro fertilization.