Free Republic

It is up to you Arkansas. You make your voices heard now! Blanch Lincoln has got to go in the next election! Ni nice anymore. Same goes for you in Louisianna!

A proposal to limit embryonic stem cell research at the University of Nebraska failed to win the approval of the NU Board of Regents Friday, a critical verdict that came after one regent broke ranks with his pro-life colleagues to cast the deciding vote. Lincoln Regent Jim McClurg's about-face split the regents' vote 4-4, stalling the proposal and opening the door to expanded research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Supporters of embryonic stem cell research hailed the vote as a hallmark opportunity for NU to play a key role in lifesaving work. The vote also helps counter a...

Buddy Lou, a 10-year old tabby cat, has become the first feline death from H1N1 in the United States. It appears the cat acquired the H1N1 virus from the owner’s niece who had been sick with an influenza-like illness the previous week. H1N1 in cats: Buddy Lou’s illness The cat was brought to the Animal Clinic in Lebanon, Oregon, on November 4, with labored breathing and was initially diagnosed with pneumonia. His breathing worsened by the next day and the cat was admitted to the veterinary clinic for treatment with antibiotics and oxygen. Buddy Lou did not respond to treatment...

Heavy College Students Must Pass Fitness Class Pa. university requires those with high BMI to take a 3-hour a week class Nov . 20, 2009 PHILADELPHIA - A Pennsylvania university's requirement that overweight students take a fitness course to graduate has raised the hackles of students and the eyebrows of health and legal experts. Officials at historically black Lincoln University said Friday that the school is simply concerned about high rates of obesity and diabetes, especially in the African-American community. "We know we're in the midst of an obesity epidemic," said James L. DeBoy, chairman of Lincoln's department of health,...

MI-5, Volume 5 is an unbelievable blue print of the complete take-over of the British government by a dictatorship. The similarities in this season of MI-5 is a carbon copy to how the American Congress is now going to a dictatorship. It really is a must see because you can view how things may indeed be unfolding. It is an amazing series as if it was made with Great Britain as the setting but in reality it is talking about the USA.

Unless you've just arrived in 2009 on a time machine, you know that smoking isn't good for you. Did you know, that smoking isn't good for your computer, either? It's true, at least according to Apple. Two readers in different parts of the country claim that their Applecare warranties were voided due to secondhand smoke. Both readers appealed their cases up to the office of God Steve Jobs himself. Both lost. Back in April, Derek copied us on his e-mail to Jobs: I took my mid 2007 apple macbook (black) into the Jordan Creek Apple Store in West Des Moines,...

With all of the breaking news regarding the global warming/climate change scam- is there a possibility Al Gore could be imprisoned the way Bernie Madoff was? I don't see much difference in what the two men have done.

Four people have been arrested in Peru on suspicion of killing around 60 people to sell their fat on the blackmarket for cosmetic use in Europe, authorities say. Three suspects who were arrested in central Peru this month have confessed to killing five people for their fat, according to Colonel Jorge Mejia, chief of Peru's anti-kidnapping police. A search is now underway for seven others, including two Italians, lead prosecutor Jorge Sans Quiroz said. The fat was purchased "to be commercialised in European [cosmetic medicine] laboratories," he said. The prosecutor's indictment said that the gang allegedly targeted farmers and indigenous...

India Tells West To Stop Eating Beef India has urged the West to give up eating beef to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming. Dean Nelson in New Delhi 20 Nov 2009 According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, livestock is responsible for 18 per cent of the the Earth's greenhouse gas emissions. Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images The environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, said if the world abandoned beef consumption, emissions would be dramatically reduced and global warming would slow down. "The solution to cut emissions is to stop eating beef. It leads to emission...

Place you Favorite Recipes here.

Here is a video report that mentions a new study out today that says women can wait until 21 to be screened for Cervical Cancer, and only need to have "Pap Smear" tests every two years during their 20's. This report comes on the heels of a separate report that urges women not start having mammograms until age 50, and then every two years. It also says self-exam is not necessary. The video reports on a backlash brewing across the country against the new mammogram guidelines. . . . (VIDEO)

Now, findings from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital shed light on the neural basis of memory defects in Down syndrome and suggest a new strategy for treating the defects with medication. The study, which was conducted in mice, is the first to show that boosting norepinephrine signaling in the brains of mice genetically engineered to mimic Down syndrome improves their cognition. Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter that nerve cells use to communicate...

I'm usually adept at catching the embedded politics, in tv and movies, and I usually change the station or turn it off when I do. Tonight was the first time, and I was taken aback by it, that I discerned such tactics in the series "Bones"

Science is rich with happy flukes. Remember the story of penicillin? Alexander Fleming discovered the bacteria-destroying mold by accident when he left a culture dish uncovered in his lab in 1928. Eight decades later, here's another one: a Googlesoftware program called SketchUp, which was intended largely for architects and design professionals, has found a very unexpected and welcome fan base—children with autism. SketchUp is not only entertaining kids with autism spectrum disorders, it's providing them with skills that might one day help them as they age out of school and into the workforce. It all started when Google's Tom Wyman...

Drinking alcohol every day cuts the risk of heart disease in men by more than a third, a major study suggests. The Spanish research involving more than 15,500 men and 26,000 women found large quantities of alcohol could be even more beneficial for men. Female drinkers did not benefit to the same extent, the study in Heart found. Experts are critical, warning heavy drinking can increase the risk of other diseases, with alcohol responsible for 1.8 million deaths globally per year. The study was conducted in Spain, a country with relatively high rates of alcohol consumption and low rates of...

A U.S.-based group representing people who portray Santa Claus during the Christmas season wants its members to be designated a priority group to receive the swine flu vaccine. Over the next few weeks, Father Christmases will come into contact with thousands of children at shopping malls and Santa Claus parades. The Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas, a fraternal organization that provides training and resources for people who work or volunteer as Santa Clauses, said the health of its roughly 700 members is a real concern. "Yes, we should be given the needle," said Nicholas Trolli, the organization's president. "Many...

SPRINGFIELD - The VA won't pay for one Marine's injury. Lance Cpl. Josef Lopez deployed to Iraq in 2006 when he was 20 years-old. He enlisted in the Marine Corps fresh out of high school and was enthusiastic about serving to protect the lives of others. He never thought that he would almost lose his own life from something as routine as a vaccination. "I started having trouble walking," Lopez said. "There was a numbness that started in my feet and gradually worked it's way up." After being overseas only nine days Lopez had trouble with his legs tingling. Literally...

Stefanie Spielman, 42, wife of OSU great Chris Spielman, has died. She is beloved for her courageous struggle against breast cancer. Stefanie is survived by her husband, Chris, and four children. A fund named for her -- Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research -- has raised more than $6.5 million for breast cancer research, according to the Spielman Fund Web site.

Kids have got stuffed toy bug   By STAFF REPORTER Published: Today     NOT many of us would want to cuddle up to E.coli and Streptococcus this winter, but that's exactly what these cuddle toys are. The bizarre creatures, designed to look like the bugs that cause common colds, sore throats and coughs have become the latest craze. The fluffy GiantMicrobes are the same shape and colour as the real thing — but one million times bigger. They have been given human features such as eyes, a mouth and nose to make them more appealing to young children....

Joubert/Photo Researchers, Inc A neuron in the brain. Researchers at Princeton University recently made a remarkable discovery about the brains of rats that exercise. Some of their neurons respond differently to stress than the neurons of slothful rats. Scientists have known for some time that exercise stimulates the creation of new brain cells (neurons) but not how, precisely, these neurons might be functionally different from other brain cells.In the experiment, preliminary results of which were presented last month at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Chicago, scientists allowed one group of rats to run. Another set of...

A retired nurse has been forced to take care of his sick partner in one of the county's hospitals because he claims staff are too busy to treat her condition adequately. Hospital bosses admitted they were "very busy" at the moment and for the past nine out of 14 days the hospital had been on its highest alert status of black which means it is under incredible pressure. Mr Herbert said: "The staff are so busy at that hospital it is unbelievable. I am not knocking them because most of them do a great job but I am concerned patients'...

This might be in our future too.

Scientists from the University of Granada have used two new techniques, capillary electrophoresis and high resolution liquid chromatography, to enable them to identify and quantify a great part of the phenolic compounds in such foods. These compounds have a chemopreventive effect in humans and a great influence on the stability of oxidation levels of food. UGR News Scientists at the University of Granada have identified and characterized for the first time different antioxidant compounds from foods such as olive oil, honey, walnuts and a medicinal herb called Teucrium polium. They have used two new techniques, capillary electrophoresis and high resolution...

ANACONDA — The slim, white cartridges fit easily into the compact, black machine. With the push of a button, text becomes voice and reading becomes possible again. After five years of development, the National Library Service has perfected its new digital talking books. In Montana, three Anaconda World War II veterans were the first to receive theirs. The veterans, Svend Wind, 82, Sid Beausoleil, 86, and Clarence Jones, 87, gathered Wednesday morning at the Hearst Free Library, where members of the Montana Talking Book Library presented them with the new machines.

Other than the ads that claim Acai Berry is a great diet supplement does any Freepers use it for a reason as a diet supplement in concentrated capsule form? Thanks. Could not find any legit forums when I googled it is all ads promoting the product no real medical info. And I dont count Dr. Oz as a legit resource.

In a letter in the Nov 18 Pasadena Star News (see below) Brandon Lee Fureigh of Glendale pretends to be a proponent of small government who believes it is “un-Christian” to let people die due to denial of health insurance to all those who make mistakes in filling in medical insurance applications, who cannot afford health insurance, who put politics-for-sale above caring, and worst of all, “because of the lies that go unchallenged in the media.” Well, we are going to do what Mr. Fureigh advocates and challenge some of his own lies about himself and health care reform right...

A special event on Nov21 this Sat, physicians organize a nationwide rally on all major city. In CA, the rally will be at State Capitol in Sac, CA. It starts at noon. Please spread the words! Go to their website to find out the location in your State. http://www.millionmedmarch.org

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Villagers in the highlands of Papua New Guinea who ritualistically ate human brains but did not die of a brain disease called kuru have a genetic mutation that protects them, researchers said Wednesday. Their study of the unusual cannibalistic practice shows evolution in real time in the human population, and might lead to a treatment for similar brain-wasting conditions, the researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. Kuru once wiped out entire generations of women in remote Papuan villages. It was traced to a now-defunct mortuary ceremony in which women and children ate the brains...

Scientists in China are reporting discovery of unusual liver proteins, found only in males, that may help explain the long-standing mystery of why the hepatitis B virus (HBV) sexually discriminates -- hitting men harder than women. Their study has been published online in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research, a monthly publication. Shuhan Sun, Fang Wang and colleagues note that chronic hepatitis B seems to progress and cause liver damage faster in men, with men the main victims of the virus's most serious complications -- cirrhosis and liver cancer. Men infected with HBV also are 6 times more likely than women...

While the debate continues over whether Caster Semenya, the 18-year-old South African track sensation who blew away the field and took the gold in the women's 800-meter in Berlin in August, is a man or a woman, we soon must confront an even more complex issue: Are elite athlete humans or androids? International Association of Athletics Federations will decide Semenya's fate later this week as it announces the result of her gender test. Semenya will no longer be able to compete as a female if the association rules that a hormonal imbalance resulting from alleged intersexuality offers her an unfair...

Then, exactly a week after he accepted the Richard Dawkins Award, Bill Maher couldn't help it but let his freak flag fly! In fact, he started out an interview with Bill Frist by asking: "Conservatives always say about health care, especially, you know, are you going to let the government run health care? They screw everything up. So why would you let them be the ones to stick a disease into your arm?" After Bill Frist interjected to ask whether Maher was talking about the swine flu vaccine Maher continued, "I would never get a swine flu vaccine or any...

A study by researchers at the University of Bergen, Norway, and the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King's College London has found that depression is as much of a risk factor for mortality as smoking. Utilising a unique link between a survey of over 60,000 people and a comprehensive mortality database, the researchers found that over the four years following the survey, the mortality risk was increased to a similar extent in people who were depressed as in people who were smokers...

Hardening of the arteries has been detected in Egyptian mummies, some as old as 3,500 years, suggesting that the factors causing heart attack and stroke are not only modern ones; they afflicted ancient people, too. Study results are appearing in the Nov. 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and are being presented Nov. 17 at the Scientific Session of the American Heart Association at Orlando, Fla. "Atherosclerosis is ubiquitous among modern day humans and, despite differences in ancient and modern lifestyles, we found that it was rather common in ancient Egyptians of high socioeconomic status...

Here is video of NBC's Dr. Nancy Snyderman talking about a Government Task Force report that now recommends a "seismic shift" in Mammogram Guidelines for women. Snyderman rather coldly explains the report, which now says women don't need to start having mammograms until age 50 (it has been 40), only need one every two years, and don't need to do self-exams. When asked why the change when some women have survived breast cancer because of early detection through mammograms and self-exams, Snyderman said the task force research shows that only 1 in 1900 women under age 50 have a detected...

Scientists have uncovered heart disease in 3,500-year-old Egyptian mummies, suggesting the risk factors behind it are not just modern in nature. Heart disease is often ascribed to modern risk factors, such as smoking, unhealthy diets rich in saturated fats, salt and processed sugars, or sedentary lifestyles. But then cardiologists touring the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo during a medical conference last year noticed the nameplate of the pharoah Merenptah, who ruled from 1213 B.C. to 1203 B.C. It read that when Merenptah died at roughly age 60, he was afflicted with atherosclerosis, or thickening of the arteries due...

A DEADLY plague could sweep across Europe, doctors fear, after an outbreak of a virus in Ukraine plunged the country and its neighbours into a state of panic.

A drug that failed to fight the blues could be the female answer to the little blue pill Viagra, the lead North American investigator analysing tests of the drug said Tuesday. Women who took the drug flibanserin when it was being tested as an anti-depressant said it didn't help them beat the glums, but did give them "an increase in libido that they liked," John Thorp, one of the investigators analyzing data from three clinical trials of the drug, told AFP.

It's no secret to students that coed dorms are more fun than same-sex dorms. But they can also fuel very unhealthy behavior that might otherwise be moderated. A new study finds university students in coed housing are 2.5 times more likely to binge drink every week. And no surprise, they're also likely to have more sexual partners, the study found. Also, pornography use was higher among students in coed dorms. Some 90 percent of U.S. college dorms are now coed.

Been thinking about what I'd put together as a conservative, if I had to correct things in our current healthcare system. Number of things come to mind, none of which Pelosi or Reid or any of the dems come to grips with. Further making me feel confident I'm on the right track. 1. Health Insurance strongly encouraged to buy, not forced. Strongly encouraged because the alternative is paying for 100% of your catastrophic emergency medical costs, asset forfeiture if necessary. This means coming after any form of wealth you've got to pay your debts. Going after 401k's, going after IRAs,...

Chemicals found in many plastics are causing little boys to act more like little girls, according to new research.

NEW YORK – Most women don't need a mammogram in their 40s and should get one every two years starting at 50, a government task force said Monday. It's a major reversal that conflicts with the American Cancer Society's long-standing position. Also, the task force said breast self-exams do no good and women shouldn't be taught to do them. For most of the past two decades, the cancer society has been recommending annual mammograms beginning at 40. But the government panel of doctors and scientists concluded that getting screened for breast cancer so early and so often leads to too...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Sweeping new U.S. breast cancer guidelines released on Monday recommend against routine mammograms for women in their 40s, but several groups immediately rebelled against the recommendations. The new guidelines by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an influential panel of independent experts, would sharply curtail the number of breast mammograms done in the United States, sparing women the worry of false alarms and the cost and trouble of extra tests. U.S. cancer experts argued the altered schedule may mean more women will die from breast cancer. The guidelines, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, are based...

Most women should start regular breast cancer screening at age 50, not 40, according to new guidelines released Monday by an influential group that provides guidance to doctors, insurance companies and policy makers. The new recommendations reverse longstanding guidelines and are aimed at reducing harm from overtreatment, the group says. It also says women age 50 to 74 should have mammograms less frequently — every two years, rather than every year. And it said doctors should stop teaching women to examine their breasts on a regular basis.

Study: Chemicals in plastic can make boys act more like girlsBy Rosemary Black DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Monday, November 16th 2009, 4:09 PM Chemicals found in many plastics are causing little boys to act more like little girls, according to new research. A team at the University of Rochester studying the safety of phthalates -- chemicals in the plastic used in many household objects – found that they can actually disrupt hormones, according to BBC News. The chemicals affect the baby's developing brain by deactivating testosterone, the male sex hormone, according to the BBC. In the study, scientists tested urine...

WHAT: A new study shows that molecular similarities exist between the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus and other strains of seasonal H1N1 virus that have been circulating in the population since 1988. These results suggest that healthy adults may have a level of protective immune memory that can blunt the severity of infection caused by the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus. The study team was led by Bjoern Peters, Ph.D., and Alessandro Sette, Ph.D., of La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, Calif., grantees of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. The...

Automotive 1 | Handle a blowout “Instead of hitting the brakes, maintain your speed,” says Eric Espinosa, executive director of the Maryland-based National Institute of Vehicle Dynamics. Sudden changes of speed can compromise what structural integrity the tire may still have. Steer gently for the same reason. With things fully under control, slow gradually and pull over to the shoulder.

Study finds inadequate levels of Vitamin D may significantly increase risk of stroke, heart disease and deathMURRAY, UT – While mothers have known that feeding their kids milk builds strong bones, a new study by researchers at the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City suggests that Vitamin D contributes to a strong and healthy heart as well – and that inadequate levels of the vitamin may significantly increase a person's risk of stroke, heart disease, and death, even among people who've never had heart disease. For more than a year, the Intermountain Medical Center research team...

Health care insurance for everyone is an insult to our psyche and our wallet.

Research has shown that there are different degrees of drinking disorders, and many people can change habits on their own. Seventy years ago, Bill Wilson -- the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous -- declared his powerlessness over alcohol in a book by the same name. The failed businessman contended that, as an alcoholic, he had to "hit bottom" before changing his life and that sobriety could only be achieved through complete abstention. For generations, Americans took these tenets to be true for everyone. Top addiction experts are no longer sure. They now say that many drinkers can evaluate their habits and...

The Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa has inaugurated an advanced laboratory for an innovative cancer treatment using nano-particles of gold, and laser beams. The treatment is non-invasive, has no side effects and damages only the cancerous cell, without damaging the healthy cells that surround it...