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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) latest "compromise" health care bill is 11th-hour legislative sausage that was made on the fly and includes ideas dating at least to the Clinton administration, says the Washington Post. Most significantly, though, Sen. Reid's bill is a dramatic step toward a single-payer health care system, even if the public option is not on the table, says the Post: * Sen. Reid's latest compromise allows uninsured individuals over 55 to buy into Medicare. * That policy brings with it numerous problems, the core of which are higher costs to taxpayers, squeezing individuals out of their...

WASHINGTON -- While vaccines help prevent many diseases in the United States, we lack immunization protection against several serious illnesses, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine that identifies priority areas for updating the National Vaccine Plan. The revised plan should include a strategy to accelerate development of high-priority vaccines, said the committee that wrote the report. In addition, it should emphasize the importance of expanding funding for safety research and monitoring, and include the development of a national communications strategy to clarify the importance of vaccines and bolster public confidence in the immunization system. The National Vaccine...

Government Should Fear You... ... You should not fear Government. Speaking to many different people from several different walks of life these last few weeks I have noticed a recurring theme... fear. That is when I start to wonder what ever happened to that "hope" that Os... Obama had promised us. That is when I start to wonder why people are so paralyzed with fear when it comes to their government. Why have "We the People" become the peasants to the elite few atop capitol hill? While on vacation, yes... I the Grand Fubba (PH-OO-BA) took a nice long vacation,...

The roe of hake, lumpsucker and salmon is the best dietary source of Omega 3, according to a study carried out by researchers at the University of Almería (UAL). The scientists analysed the eggs, or roe, of 15 marine animals, and found all of these contained high levels of these fatty acids, which are essential to the human body. Until now there had been no precise understanding of the nutritional potential of the roe of marine animals, but a team of researchers from the UAL has now shown that this is one of the best natural sources of Omega 3...

The recent shootings at the Ft. Hood, Texas army base, allegedly by an army psychiatrist, have placed much-needed focus on mental health care in the army. In an article published in the December issue of the journal CNS Spectrum, renowned psychopharmacology expert Stephen M. Stahl, MD, PhD, calls for increased mental health staffing at Fort Hood and other army bases. Stahl, adjunct professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, reports that findings from interviews, surveys and education programs at Ft. Hood – data collected from more than 100 mental-health workers and...

Friend -- This year, when you're writing holiday cards to your friends and loved ones, there are two more people who need to hear from you: Senator John Cornyn and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. With the Senate deep in final negotiations -- and a compromise just introduced that increases choice and drives costs down -- your senators need to understand how urgent reform really is. So we've come up with a unique way for you to get the message across -- by sending your senators a card with your holiday wish for the season. Send a holiday card to...

The Saint Louis Zoo's two-and-a-half-year-old Asian elephant named Jade is undergoing treatment for elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV), according to Curator of Mammals Martha Fischer. Jade was successfully treated for EEHV in February of this year and since then her blood tests had been negative. The virus is potentially fatal to elephants. "Jade is holding her own," according to Fischer. "We have continued to monitor our young elephants very closely every day for symptoms of EEHV and check their blood levels regularly." A cooperative multi-institutional research effort to study EEHV and find a cure has been underway for the last several...

New TAU study finds stroke drug kills cancer cells and leaves normal cells intactA never-approved drug developed to prevent the death of nerve cells after a stroke can efficiently kill cancer cells while keeping normal cells healthy and intact, an international team led by a Tel Aviv University researcher is reporting in the journal Breast Cancer Research. Prof. Malka Cohen-Armon of TAU's Sackler School of Medicine found that the stroke drug — a member of a family of phenanthridine derivatives developed by an American drug company — worked to kill cancer in mice which had been implanted with human breast...

LONDON – British researchers say there is little evidence Tamiflu stops complications in healthy people who catch the flu, though public health officials contend the swine flu drug reduces flu hospitalizations and deaths.

BOSTON (Reuters) – Bone marrow transplants, already used to treat some children with sickle cell disease, also may cure some adults with this deadly genetic defect that causes red blood cells to contort, U.S. scientists said on Wednesday. > Destroying a patient's bone marrow and replacing it with healthy marrow from a donor, often a sibling, is considered too risky for adults. > This approach leaves enough space inside the patient's bones for the donated marrow to find a home and produce enough healthy red blood cells to compensate for the defective ones. >

Drinking coffee does not sober you up – and may actually further impair your judgement, new research suggests. The combination of alcohol and caffeine produces a potentially lethal mix that just makes it harder to realise you are actually drunk in the first place. And the study published in Behavioural Neuroscience suggests popular caffeinated energy drinks could also raise risks from intoxication rather than lessen them. "The myth about coffee's sobering powers is particularly important to debunk because the co-use of caffeine and alcohol could actually lead to poor decisions with disastrous outcomes. "People who have consumed only alcohol, who...

Memo to children — and adults for that matter — everywhere: Don’t try to emulate Flick from "A Christmas Story." Ever. Your tongue will get stuck to a metal pole when the temperature is -2. Boise fire officials were able to help a boy whose tongue was stuck to a metal fence pole... Firefighters didn't ask him his age but said he was probably 10. The boy is OK... The boy’s tongue was bleeding a little bit but there was no visible tearing. When Boise firefighters arrived, they found the boy standing by the 8 foot tall chain link fence...

UNIONTOWN, Pa. -- A Fayette County woman who drank herself unconscious celebrating her 20th birthday said a hospital didn't properly treat her, resulting in partial amputations of both of her legs. Shanna Hiles' medical malpractice suit against Uniontown Hospital and one of its emergency physicians says she passed out while sitting on the floor with her legs tucked under her in May. Hiles was in that position for more than 12 hours, and she claims hospital officials didn't properly diagnose her condition and work to restore circulation to her legs.

Demand for an EPA offset for CO2 We the petitioners demand the EPA provide farmers, ranchers and dairymen with an Oxygen generaton offset against any CO2 fee or tax because oxygen is NOT a greenhouse gas. Example: A Christmas tree plantation uses fuel to plant and harvest however no credit is issued for their crop reducing the CO2 in the air with their trees nor is any credit given for the oxygen generated by the trees for the years between planting and harvest. Any green crop removes CO2 and generates oxygen.

Scientists are reporting a discovery of the potential basis for a urine test to diagnose community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), a difficult-to-diagnose disease that is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. The test could save lives by allowing doctors to begin the right treatment earlier than often occurs at present. The study appears online in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research. In the new study, Carolyn Slupsky points out that a variety of bacteria, viruses, and other microbes can cause pneumonia. Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) is among the germs that cause CAP. These microbes can be difficult to detect...

<p>WASHINGTON -- After days of secret talks, Senate Democrats tentatively agreed Tuesday night to drop a government-run insurance option from sweeping health care legislation, several officials said, a concession to party moderates whose votes are critical to passage of President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.</p>

Exposing kids to nasty germs might actually toughen them up to diseases as grown-ups, mounting research suggests. A new study suggests that higher levels of exposure to common everyday bacteria and microbes may play a helpful role in the development of the body's inflammatory systems, which plays a crucial role in the immune system's fight against infection. "Inflammatory networks may need the same type of microbial exposures early in life that have been part of the human environment for all of our evolutionary history to function optimally in adulthood," said Thomas McDade, a professor of anthropology at Northwestern University and...

Bird influenza viruses have a variety of strategies to cross the species barrier and spreadThe 2009 H1N1 influenza virus used a new strategy to cross from birds into humans, a warning that it has more than one trick up its sleeve to jump the species barrier and become virulent. In a report in this week's early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, researchers show that the H1N1, or swine flu, virus adopted a new mutation in one of its genes distinct from the mutations found in previous flu viruses, including...

If the EPA is going to crush what is left of our manufacturing and coal powered electrical energy, what good is the congress? If the Health and Human Services can modify and amend the cradle to grave health care plan being foisted upon us, why have them write a bill in the first place? Maybe it is time to ask our representatives this question. Are you irrelevant?Even kookier, if Obama succeeds in his present course of crashing the US economy so that a "crisis doesn't go to waste" and he claims broad executive powers, what will our congress be able...

Long life may stem from a proper imbalance of dietary nutrients. A new study in fruit flies suggests that the life-extending properties of caloric restriction may be due not only to fewer calories in the diet, but also to just the right mix of protein building blocks, called amino acids. The study, published online December 2 in Nature, may help explain some of the health benefits of restricted-calorie diets. Coupled with other data, the new study should prompt researchers to reevaluate whether it is calorie count or the nutrient composition of a diet that is most important for regulating lifespan...

Edwin declares that the unborn baby is not a baby. It is a body part. It is like teeth or hair, something that can be done away with.

When Tiger Woods was brought to the Health Central Hospital in Ocoee, Fla., his condition was more serious than previously reported. According to a person with knowledge of Woods’ hospital admission, the star golfer had to be admitted directly to the hospital’s intensive care unit, where he was immediately intubated and his breathing stabilized. Also, there’s clarification about the police interview with Woods’ neighbors, who called 911. At the time of the 911 call, neighbor Jarius Lavar Adams told dispatchers that Woods was asleep on the lawn, snoring. “Although the body can snore in any state of unconsciousness, it’s unlikely...

Curcumin, piperine could play role in preventing breast cancerANN ARBOR, Mich. — A new study finds that compounds derived from the spices turmeric and pepper could help prevent breast cancer by limiting the growth of stem cells, the small number of cells that fuel a tumor’s growth. Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found that when the dietary compounds curcumin, which is derived from the Indian spice turmeric, and piperine, derived from black peppers, were applied to breast cells in culture, they decreased the number of stem cells while having no effect on normal differentiated cells....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of the most systematic looks yet at the swine flu pandemic confirms that it is at worst only a little more serious than an average flu season and could well be a good deal milder, researchers said on Monday. ... Lipsitch's team calculated a potential range of 7,800 to 29,000 deaths. This compares to seasonal flu, which kills 36,000 people a year and puts 200,000 into the hospital.

Liza Northrop Beale, the general manager of The Almanac, a weekly newspaper in Washington, Pa. died Saturday of complications related to the H1N1 virus. She was 49 and lived in Peters Township which is suburban Pittsburgh.

In fatal cases of 2009 H1N1 influenza, the virus can damage cells throughout the respiratory airway, much like the viruses that caused the 1918 and 1957 influenza pandemics, report researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner. The scientists reviewed autopsy reports, hospital records and other clinical data from 34 people who died of 2009 H1N1 influenza infection between May 15 and July 9, 2009. All but two of the deaths occurred in New York City. A microscopic examination of tissues throughout the airways revealed that the virus caused damage...

China may run out of females. That means a culture with nothing but males. Now it won’t come to such an extreme; then again, it could.

(AP) – 1 day ago OXFORD, Pa. — Obese students at a historically black college near Philadelphia won't have to take a fitness class to graduate after all. Lincoln University faculty nixed the idea this week amid complaints the so-called "fat course" undermined a school principle of equal treatment. The school had initiated the policy to address high rates of obesity and diabetes, especially in the African-American community.

Note the date of the article. What is dated in that article continues to present and into the future. The past molds the present.

Do you have a high-efficiency front-loading washing machine? If so, be on the lookout for mold. This recently-published MSNBC.com piece investigates the increased likelihood of mold growth in front-loaders. Unlike top loaders, which see most water evaporate after a cycle, front loaders experience water collection, particularly on the Rubber gasket around the glass window.

The Iditarod plans to test mushers for drugs and alcohol in March, a change many mushers have no problem with -- but one that three-time champion Lance Mackey scoffs at. "I think it's a little bit ridiculous," Mackey said Wednesday night from his home near Fairbanks after a training run. "It is a dog race, not a human race. It (using a drug) doesn't affect the outcome of the race." Mackey, a throat cancer survivor who has a medical marijuana card, admits to using marijuana on the trail and thinks his success has made some of his competitors jealous. "It...

NASA Potato Chips — Holy what the f***? This was the most out there skit of SNL I think I’ve seen in years, and that includes the digital shorts. This was so absurd that it must be based on something that I haven’t seen before…? I’ve gotta say, though, I thought it was pretty freakin’ funny in just how weird it was, even if I almost threw up in my own mouth a little at the thought of what happened.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A new study has found that the amount of vitamin D (http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2008-mchi/4904.html) in patients being treated for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (http://www.mayoclinic.org/non-hodgkins-lymphoma/)was strongly associated with cancer progression and overall survival. The results will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (http://www.hematology.org/) in New Orleans. "These are some of the strongest findings yet between vitamin D and cancer outcome," says the study's lead investigator, Matthew Drake, M.D., Ph.D., (http://www.mayoclinic.org/bio/13726218.html) an endocrinologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. "While these findings are very provocative, they are preliminary and need to be validated in other studies....

I just came from one of the finest medical complexes in the world, the Houston Medical Center. So many of the buildings, research labs, hospitals, etc were built with multi million dollar donations from generous benefactors. My question is: Will people donate to build a hospital or a lab that is run & controlled by the government?

She had no lawyer. She tried to defend herself. In the end the government took her to the noose. She was hung. The 16-year-old body was accused of committing "acts incompatible with chastity." Note date of article's first posting. What was happening then is happening now and will happen on into the future.

I have some serious concerns about the yearly shot that most people get during the flu season. It has been many years since I have had a serious cold or the flu.. This year after I had my shot, I came down with serious flu symptoms and it has been hanging on for more than a week. My next door neighbor also came down with the flu after she had her yearly shot, she went to her doctor and confirmed she, indeed, had the flu. I know that that this happens on occasion that the shot can cause the flu...

Social workers took a 2-year-old U.K. boy into care after his mother refused to give him junk food. Zak Hessey was 17 pounds, 6 ounces when his mother Lisa took him to hospital, telling doctors he was a "fussy eater" and not gaining weight. Doctors said he should weigh 19 pounds, 8 ounces, and advised the mother of five to bulk him up on chips, chocolate and cakes.

We've taken God out of everything. We have allowed the Lord and Jesus to be ridiculed and mocked and defamed. Kids aren't given as much exposure to God as they are to violence. Who's responsibility is this? Who has turned our kids into humans walking around wanting to kill others "just to know what it feels like?"

Researchers in Japan have found that female mice produced by using genetic material from two mothers but no father live significantly longer than mice with the normal mix of maternal and paternal genes. Their findings provide the first evidence that sperm genes may have a detrimental effect on lifespan in mammals. The research, which is published online (Wednesday 2 December) in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction, found that mice created from two female genomes (bi-maternal (BM) mice) lived an average of 186 days longer than control mice created from the normal combination of a male and female genome....

Sisters Parvisha, 18, and Sanam, 14, were kidnapped by Islamic neighbor Muhammad Irfan. He enticed them into cosmetology training. They ended up his prize.

The correct combination of proteins is decisive for healthy aging, not reducing the calories in our dietThis release is available in German.A new study of the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing could help to understand the positive effect of dietary restriction on healthy ageing. Previous evidence from different organisms (fruit flies and mice) have shown that dietary restriction increases longevity, but with a potential negative side effect of diminished fertility. So the female fruit fly reproduces less frequently with a reduced litter size on a low calorie diet, but its reproductive span lasts longer. This is the result...

Here is video of a chilling promo for an Abortion Clinic in Michigan that describes having an abortion as a "normal experience," and that 45 million abortions have been performed "from a place of goodness," since Roe vs. Wade became law. The bizarre woman who speaks in the video, with odd music in the background, says "there is not one way to live a good life." "When a woman makes a decision to have an abortion, she is making a choice that is thoughtful, considered, and essentially coming from a place of goodness." In fact, she says it takes a...

Anger is more likely among the young, those with children at home, and the less educated, a new study finds. A national survey of 1,800 Americans aged 18 and older questioned participants on how and when they feel angry in order to build "a broader social portrait of anger in the United States," said study researcher Scott Schieman, now at the University of Toronto.

Israeli scientists have discovered a way to create beating heart cells using human skin cells reprogrammed to become stem cells. The findings could lead to advances in disease research, and could in theory be used to repair damaged or diseased tissues. Published in the latest issue of Circulation, the findings by Professor Lior Gepstein of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology could make it possible to clinically repair damaged human hearts...

Human geneticists have reached a private crisis of conscience, and it will become public knowledge in 2010. The crisis has depressing health implications and alarming political ones. In a nutshell: the new genetics will reveal much less than hoped about how to cure disease, and much more than feared about human evolution and inequality, including genetic differences between classes, ethnicities and races...

Like many toddlers, Zak Hessey was a fussy eater who refused his mother's healthy home cooking. Concerned about his falling weight, his parents sought the advice of doctors. That simple act triggered a shocking chain of events that led to the youngster being put into foster care for four months. Paul and Lisa Hessey believe in the long-term benefits of healthy eating and rejected advice to feed their two-year-old son high-calorie snack food To their horror, social workers put Zak into foster care 'to assess his needs' and allegedly threatened the couple with the loss of their parental rights if...

Gathered around her cause are Islamic women who have shared her convictions for justice and reason.

Admirers have written concerning Ghada Jamshir: "She is one feisty woman, and for some orthodox males, such forcefulness is itself a crime against ‘submission,’ so cherished in Islam. Her style is firm, aggressive, no-nonsense. This amazing woman who refuses to wear a veil, condemns lack of family planning, Sharia courts, and accuses the categorizations of ‘Islamic’ marriage as oppressive to women. "Ms. Jamshir is not a lady to be messed with, and she has nothing but contempt and derision for her critics. If only there were more like her in the Arab world."

When a small church comes to the Bowery Mission bearing fried chicken with trans fat, unwittingly breaking the law, they’re told “thank you.” Then workers quietly chuck the food, mission director Tom Bastile said. “It’s always hard for us to do,” Basile said. “We know we have to do it.” A Manhattan deli going out of business delivered a pickup truck’s worth of lettuce, sundried tomatoes, hamburgers, sausages and other food to the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen last week. With 1,400 meals to serve daily, Operations Manager Michael Ottley was extremely grateful. He didn’t check the trans fat content of...

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is doing a survey about healthcare. It's open to all, so Freepers need to weigh in and make their opinions be heard.