YOU Get the Cure and YOU Get the Cure and EVERYBODY GETS THE CURE!

After our recent class discussion about HIV and the man who was cured of AIDS, doctors may have found a cure that will work for all cases of HIV/AIDS and maybe even other viruses such as Hepatitus B and C. The cure comes from a naturally occurring ingredient (a quite obscure one, I might add)--bee venom.

Cures from bee venom? Who'd have thought?

Ok, so I know that this doesn't seem that likely...After all, HIV/AIDS has been a death sentence for millions of people. It's powerful enough to break the human body's immune system down and cause people to develop pneumonia from the common cold. How in the world can something as simple as bee venom cure such a horrible disease?

Well, I found something interesting on sciencenews.org that discusses just that.

A chemical called melittin in the bee's venom is capable of deteriorating the double membrane that surrounds viruses such as HIV. It also doesn't affect the normal cells of the body--just the small, teensy-tiny virus infected cells. This treatment has amazing possibilites, and it is even suggested that women in at-risk parts of the world could get a vaginal gel that contains the chemical as a preventative, as that is the location of initial infection in women. 

If this proves to be a long-lasting solution, millions of lives could be saved all over the world! Finally the disease that has been eluding us for 30 years now has (possibly) met its match. 

Article Cred: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/348990/description/Bee_venom_component_might_offer_HIV_protection

Photo Cred: http://myhoustonmajic.com/2928747/bee-venom-kills-hiv/

Not Just for Heart Attacks

 

Bone marrow donation is one of the most painful processes you can go through. It's necessary though, to fight certain cancers and blood disorders, such as lymphoma. Scientists are now researching something that could be a bit of a game changer in the process; it is believed that aspirin and drugs similar to aspirin may improve the success rate of stem-cell transplants.

So how does this work?


Well, doctors already have a drug called filgrastim to stimulate the haematopoietic stem cells in donors or in people who are receiving their own stem cells, according to writer Thea Cunningham for nature.com. However, doctors say, "In patients with multiple myeloma or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, however, and in some donors, stem cells don’t mobilize well with filgrastim and other drugs in its class. Using NSAIDs such as meloxicam could enhance filgrastim’s efficacy." 


Why is it important?

Bone marrow transplant is still a tricky process that we are continually trying to figure out to increase its success rate. If this method is proven to be very effective, it could change the lives of many people--increasing life expectancy for cancer patients and making bone marrow transplant a very viable option.

Photo creds: http://www.x-ald.nl/treatment-options/hsct/; http://askdrnandi.com/tag/aspirin/

Article cred: http://www.nature.com/news/painkillers-mobilize-blood-stem-cells-1.12600

You Could Still Die like Beethoven

Lead poisoning isn't something that we really worry about anymore in our society. Over the past century, the United States has made an extraordinary effort to rid our lives of the dangers of lead. People who live in older homes get lead paint removed, and while this is a painstaking and quite expensive process, we do it for our health.

As an American, lead poisoning isn't something that crosses my mind often. When I was younger, I was fascinated with Ludwig van Beethoven, who died of lead poisoning, which was only discovered a few decades ago when they tested a flock of his hair.

Anyway, I found this article about lead poisoning, and I was perplexed because it just isn't really a problem here. However globally, lead is a pretty big threat, even in 2013. Dr. Mary Jean Brown of the CDC talks about these "informal factories" where people are exposed to large amounts of lead from recycling batteries everyday and since there are no barriers, there is no way to prevent large amounts of lead from entering their homes.

Howard Mielke of Tulane University also discusses how excessive amounts of lead can affect a child's intelligence levels. This is especially bad considering that this is occurring in developing parts of the world, and if we want to advance as a world, we need to have well-educated people who are functioning at their peak.

Here are some symptoms of lead poisoning

Lead poisoning is an issue that should not even be an issue anymore in our world. We need to make an effort to push this behind all of us, not just in the leading countries. 

Article cred: http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2013/0217_lead_poison.shtml

Photo cred: http://www.poweredbyosteons.org/2012/01/lead-poisoning-in-rome-skeletal.html

Say It Isn't So!

In class recently, we had a discussion about the food industry and how the United States is much more lax about where/how its food is produced compared to other places in the world, particularly Europe. We don't care that our food is filled with extra dyes, preservatives, and hormones, but how do you think  Americans would feel if they knew that meals advertised as having beef were actually made partially with horse meat?

That's right, I said it. HORSE MEAT.

How would you know whether or not you could trust this meat?

Folks over at Nestlé in Switzerland aren't too happy right now because they have just detected horse meat in some of their products--they aren't the only ones though, just the most recent in a slew of scandals. At least they are so ashamed of it that they are making recalls on the tainted meals.

Here in America, we had our own scandal about a year ago with the so-called "pink slime" filler in ground meats, which is why my own family now only buys organic meats, but you can also go to the butcher, pick out a cut of meat (such as a chuck roast), and have the butcher grind it right in front of your face.

This article piqued my interest because I can't figure out why European nations feel the need to use a substitute for beef when they have a smaller amount of people to feed than larger countries like the United States. So what happens when the world's population is so out of control when this becomes the norm? Are going to kill our domesticated dogs and cats too? It's a scary prospect to think about, especially when you know something like that is bound to happen as our world continues to grow rapidly.

Article cred: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/02/130222-horse-meat-beef-scandal-food-france-england-europe-science-romania-nestle-horsemeat/

Photo cred: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/16/16964619-fraud-on-a-massive-scale-europes-horse-meat-scandal-keeps-on-growing?lite

Shinsplints...Who Needs Them?

I don't know how many people really suffer from shinsplints, but I happen to get terrible ones every single time I exercise. I don't know why it happens--I stretch very thoroughly before and after working out, and for some reason, I can't seem to shake these things off. Gretchen Reynolds just wrote an article in the NY Times about how to treat shinsplints (you can only imagine how this news is music to my ears). Naturally, I was intrigued, and I found out some very helpful information.

Dr. Sabrina Strickland says in the article that wearing shoes with more cushion, increasing mileage slowly, and training on soft surfaces such as grass can all help shinsplints, but for some people, shin splints are inevitable (sigh). This is what is suggested in the article to treat the injury:

"A good start is to sit in a chair and straighten your sore leg; reach down to your toes and gently pull them back toward your body. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds or so and repeat five or six times. Then reverse the motion and gently push the toes down for 30 seconds or so and repeat five or six times. " 

This is where the pain happens!

If you're experiencing shin splints, cut back on exercise that affects this part of your leg. If the pain continues, go see a doctor. 

For those of you who are chronic shinsplint-ers like me, I hope this article helps! I know I'll definitely be utilizing its content to solve my pain in the future.

Article cred: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/15/ask-well-relief-for-shin-splints/?ref=health

Photo cred: http://richwoodstrack.com/physiology/shin_splints.html

I Can Read Minds...of Fish--Week 1

Junichi Nakai of Saitama University's Brain Institute in Japan has been doing some research with zebrafish to monitor how the neurons in their brains are firing--almost as if he can read their minds. Seems kind of tricky when you think about it, considering you can't see the brains of most animals...it's pretty hard to see through a skull. However, these zebrafish are transparent and scientists have actually been able to see the neurons firing in their brains! They can see when they are displaying predatory behavior, as well as monitor their tectum (which is involved with visualizing moving things). Although this is just a small step in accomplishing a great feat, these scientists are confident that this study could eventually "improve the development of psychiatric drugs, as scientists will more easily be able to tell if a particular drug has the desired effects on the brain."

ZEBRAFISH!!

So why is a transparent fish important? It isn't just a fancy little discovery with no relevance to the real world. By monitoring the neurons firing in this fish's mind, scientists can gain insight into how the human mind, as well as the minds of other animals, works. It may not seem like much right now, but if this research is successful, this is the start to the next advancement in the medical world. 

I will admit, I may (or may not) have chosen this article because its title is "What's Your Fish Thinking," and I definitely wondered that about the fish in my aquarium growing up. When Finding Nemo came out, I learned that some fish have a memory span of 3 seconds, which further piqued my interest. However, this article is much more significant that just being able to tell a fish's thoughts. It could make it a lot easier someday for doctors to monitor the medicines they prescribe so that they know what actually works for certain patients--a symbol of hope, if you will. The human brain is kind of a miracle to me; it seems impossible that the normal person only uses 10% of his or her brain in a lifetime. If this is the key to knowing and actually understanding how our brains work, I look forward to seeing where this research goes. 

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2013/01/whats-your-fish-thinking.html?ref=hp

Photo cred: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chenhowen/2316701540/