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Could a pill one day slow ageing in humans?Punchstock Rapamycin, a drug commonly used in humans to prevent transplanted organs from being rejected, has been found to extend the lives of mice by up to 14% — even when given to the mice late in life. In flies and worms, drug treatments have been shown to prolong lifespan, but until now, the only robust way to extend life in mammals has been to heavily restrict diet. The researchers caution, however, that using this drug to extend the lifespan of humans might be problematic because it suppresses the immune system —...

Henry Waxman is now saying the GOP is "rooting against the country" because of their opposition to Waxman-Markey and to the health care takeover...Waxman should understand that opposition to a job crippling energy tax and opposition to nationalized health care is not a personal vendetta against Obama. If denying Obama success means opposing those policies which I believe to be detrimental to American values and conservative priciples then I guess that's what I'm doing. But it's all about fighting for what I believe is a better path for the American economy and the American in general than a personal grievance...

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- The latest polling looks great for President Obama: It shows that Americans love national health care. If history and polling trends are any guide, however, that will change. Voters right now are in what the famous pollster Daniel Yankelovich called the Wishful Thinking stage -- a moment in the life of an opinion analogous to the dreamy early days of a relationship. Yankelovich believed opinion evolved through seven stages: Dawning Awareness, Greater Urgency, Reaching for Solutions, Wishful Thinking, Weighing the Choices, Taking a Stand, and Making a Responsible Judgment. In the next few weeks, when voters...

Ezekiel Emmanuel MD, Rahm Emmanuel’s brother, who is Barack Obama’s “Special Advisor for Health Policy�, is described by the [1] Huffington Post article as engaged in a very important mission: redesigning the US health care system. Emanuel and the White House are attempting to reorganize the delivery and reimbursement systems of health care, changing what the types of procedures doctors rely on, making people more aware of disease prevention, encouraging insurance companies to expand coverage, and so on. It is a process rife with sensitivities, trickeries and, of course, the potential for failure. It is not, he insists, impossible.“It...

Vice President Joe Biden is expected to announce Wednesday that three major hospital associations have agreed to provide as much as $160 billion in savings to pay for a health care overhaul, according to sources close to the negotiations. The timing of the announcement is aimed at sustaining momentum for health reform as Democratic congressional leaders embark on a critical five-week period in which they hope to pass bills out of the Senate and House by the August recess.

Global Update The vaccine against tuberculosis that is routinely given to 75 percent of the world’s infants is too risky to give to those born infected with the AIDS virus, says a new study published by the World Health Organization. It recommended that vaccination be delayed until babies can be tested. The Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine, known as BCG, protects children well against deadly tuberculous meningitis, though it does less well against the lung form. It has been in use since 1921, and children in many countries — though not the United States, which never adopted it — bear its characteristic...

Health Benefits of Flax Seed Flax Fights Cholesterol The consumption of flaxseed is associated with a reduction in total cholesterol, including the LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides. Study after study has shown a positive response to eating ground flax seed daily. Eating low fat foods, increasing your exercise, limiting the salt, sugar and eating flax seed daily are a few ways that you can win the battle against high cholesterol.Flax Fights Diabetes Nutritionists are instructing their diabetic patients to eat flax daily. It has been discovered that the omega-3 fat and high fiber in flax may play a role in...

Note: The following text is a quote: THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary _________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release July 6, 2009 FACT SHEET Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Public Health and Medical Sciences The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Russian Ministry of Health and Social Development signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Public Health and Medical Science. The Memorandum establishes a framework for deeper cooperation between these government institutions, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, scientific research institutions, including those of the Russian Academy of...

Before taking her job as the White House health reform director, Nancy-Ann DeParle earned more than $6 million serving on the boards of major health care corporations, some of which were accused of fraud, mismanagement and regulatory violations during her tenure, the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University reports on MSNBC.com. Some critics say the corporate relationships could be a conflict of interest for DeParle. Also, while there's no evidence DeParle was involved in or aware of allegedly fraudulent activities, in three cases, she served on board committees overseeing the companies' legal and regulatory compliance.

Achieving comprehensive health reform has emerged as a leading priority of the President and Congress. President Obama has outlined eight principles for health reform, seeking to address not only the 45 million people who lack health insurance, but also rising health care costs and lack of quality. In Congress, a number of comprehensive reform proposals have been announced as the debate begins over how to overhaul the health care system. This interactive side-by-side compares the leading comprehensive reform proposals across a number of key characteristics and plan components. Included in this side-by-side are proposals for moving toward universal coverage that...

Scientists have uncovered powerful evidence that caffeine not only helps to stave off the disease but can treat it. They hope soon to follow up the initial results from animal experiments with human patient trials. US neuroscientist Dr Gary Arendash, who led the research, said: "The new findings provide evidence that caffeine could be a viable 'treatment' for established Alzheimer's disease, and not simply a protective strategy. "That's important because caffeine is a safe drug for most people. It easily enters the brain, and it appears to directly affect the disease process." A key aspect of Alzheimer's is sticky clumps...

So when he tells you he's interested in debating the issue, he's lying to you. Am I wrong? Look at the left. They no longer have Bush to blame. There are no Republicans in power. So they revert back to the only thing they know how to do. Throw temper tantrums and throw blame. Even if they're only blaming themselves. President Obama, strategizing yesterday with congressional leaders about health-care reform, complained that liberal advocacy groups ought to drop their attacks on Democratic lawmakers and devote their energy to promoting passage of comprehensive legislation.

Report says NKorea's Kim convalescing by the sea Sun Jul 5, 2:46 am ET SEOUL, South Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has been living at an east coast villa since mid-May and is likely convalescing after reportedly suffering a stroke last year, a newspaper said Sunday citing U.S. and South Korean intelligence.

Enlarge ImageEvolving evidence. In a massive study, C-reactive protein didn’t boost the risk of heart attacks.Credit: Wikipedia A new study may be the last word in a controversy that's plagued cardiovascular disease research for years: whether a marker of inflammation known as C-reactive protein (CRP) drives heart attacks and strokes. In a survey of more than 128,000 people, researchers have found that genes that raise CRP levels don't make cardiovascular disease more likely. Although the study arrives at the same conclusion as earlier work, its massive size makes it statistically the most powerful test yet of this question and...

Medical care in the United States is derided as miserable compared to health care systems in the rest of the developed world. Economists, government officials, insurers, and academics beat the drum for a far larger government role in health care. Much of the public assumes that their arguments are sound because the calls for change are so ubiquitous and the topic so complex. Before we turn to government as the solution, however, we should consider some unheralded facts about America’s health care system. 1. Americans have better survival rates than Europeans for common cancers. Breast cancer mortality is 52 percent...

I went through Obama’s Townhall video, and I did some research on some of the things he said. Here’s what I found: What Obama said: About 2/3 of the cost of the reform that we're proposing is just re-allocating the money that's already in the system. You, the taxpayer is already paying for it. Now, 1/3 of it, we're going to have to pay for it by increased revenues. What I've proposed is that if we capped the itemized deductions, that very wealthy people, the top 2% use on their income tax so that they're getting the same tax breaks...

Please excuse the vanity. This is a serious question I have. I am seriously distressed at what is going on in our country. I know that I am too into politics, which makes it worse. To some extent seeing the fall of this country and the current administrations push towards socialism is really stealing some of my joy in life. I know there are obsessive political type on FR who feel the same way. How do you deal with it?

Cell tracking shows that axolotl cells in a regrowing leg retain distinct roles. The amazing axolotl - legless, but never for long.Wikimedia Commons Salamanders have the ability to regrow amputated limbs – but what stops a tail growing from the stump, instead of a leg? A team of scientists are now a step closer to the answer. They studied tissue regeneration in axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum), salamanders endemic to Mexico. The creatures heal so well because the muscle, bone and skin cells nearest to the amputation site revert into a more generic form, forming a clump of adult stem cells called...

A research group from Bristol has found that a naturally occurring protein, known as nerve growth factor, can dramatically improve the survival of heart cells and reduce heart cell damage following a heart attack in mice. The researchers hope that this treatment could also benefit humans and prevent heart attack victims from suffering further damage to their heart muscle. Nerve growth factor - healing broken hearts Growth factors are naturally occurring molecules produced by the body to regulate cell division and cell survival processes. Some growth factors are known to influence many different cell types, whereas others are considered...

Canada's in the spotlight as debate on health care reform rages in the U.S.Published Thursday July 2nd, 2009 Lee-Anne Goodman, THE CANADIAN PRESS WASHINGTON - It's rare that anything to do with Canada is front and centre in the minds of Americans, but the Canadian health-care system has been a hot topic of discussion over the past few weeks as Capitol Hill legislators work on a massive health-care overhaul. From hair salons to hospital waiting rooms and Georgetown dinner parties, Americans have wanted to know: "What's health care really like in Canada?" "Is it true no one can get a...

Senate bill fines people refusing health coverageBy RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR – 58 minutes ago WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans who refuse to buy affordable medical coverage could be hit with fines of more than $1,000 under a health care overhaul bill unveiled Thursday by key Senate Democrats looking to fulfill President Barack Obama's top domestic priority. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the fines will raise around $36 billion over 10 years. Senate aides said the penalties would be modeled on the approach taken by Massachusetts, which now imposes a fine of about $1,000 a year on individuals who refuse to get coverage....

]-->Army Capt. Jason Smith listens to an infant's breathing at the last "Bring on the Docs" cooperative medical engagement at the Jassan Health Clinic in Iraq's Wasit province, June 23. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Joe Thompson, Multi-National Division - South. FOB DELTA — Soldiers serving with a medical task force here completed nearly a year's worth of missions last week, satisfied that they've helped to improve health care in Iraq's Wasit province. Soldiers from Task Force Gunner Med wrapped up Operation "Bring on the Docs" with a recent visit to the Jassan Health Clinic for a cooperative medical engagement."It...

Senate Democrats unveiled their plans to create a government-run public health insurance option and require most employers to provide healthcare benefits to their workers Thursday, partially filling in the blanks on two of the biggest unsettled questions in the effort to reform the healthcare system. According to Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, their legislation would extend health insurance coverage to 21 million uninsured people over 10 years at a net cost of $611.4 billion. Combined with separate legislation being developed by the Senate Finance Committee, senators said their healthcare reform plan would bring the...

JOHN Stossel is telling his own network "Give me a break!" after it pulled his health-case insurance segment off the air to give more time to the death of Michael Jackson.

NEW ORLEANS — An international committee of experts has endorsed the use of the hemoglobin A1c assay to diagnose diabetes, at a level of 6.5% or above. The 21-member international committee, chaired by Dr. David M. Nathan, was appointed by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). Their consensus report—presented in a symposium at the annual scientific sessions of the American Diabetes Association and published simultaneously online in Diabetes Care—has not yet been officially endorsed by the three organizations. “This is the first major departure from the...

ORLANDO — Fewer than half of childhood cancer survivors who are deemed to be at high risk of secondary breast, colon, and skin malignancies follow cancer-screening and surveillance recommendations as adults, according to a new analysis of the large, longitudinal Childhood Cancer Survivors Study. High-risk survivors were the least compliant with colonoscopy recommendations: Only 11.5% of 794 survivors who were considered vulnerable for colorectal cancer had a colonoscopy during the 5 years before they were surveyed, Dr. Paul Nathan reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Skin cancer is the most common radiation-associated second malignancy...

COLORADO SPRINGS — Pressure is mounting to routinely screen all children for autism early because evidence increasingly demonstrates that intervention before age 3 years results in far better outcomes, Dr. Ann Reynolds said at the annual conference of the Colorado Academy of Family Physicians. “It's so important to get those services going. Children with autism who begin treatment before age 3 have a much better chance of having functional language,” explained Dr. Reynolds, a pediatrician at the University of Colorado and director of the child development unit at the Children's Hospital, Denver. American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines recommend an autism-specific...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq, July 1, 2009 – Soldiers serving with a medical task force here completed nearly a year’s worth of missions last week satisfied that they’ve helped to improve health care in Iraq’s Wasit province. Army Capt. Michael O’Leary checks a patient’s eye during an examination at the last “Bring on the Docs” cooperative medical engagement at the Jassan Health Clinic, June 23, 2009, in Iraq’s Wasit province. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Joe Thompson  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Soldiers from Task Force Gunner Med wrapped up Operation “Bring on the Docs” with...

Liberal health reform advocates have talked about ramming a reform plan — including a Medicare-like public insurance option — through the Senate with only 51 Democratic votes. But a leading Senate player says it won’t work.

Karl Greenfeld’s painful, eloquent memoir lays bare the disease’s toll.Boy Alone: A Brother’s Memoir, by Karl Greenfeld (Harper, 368 pp., $25.99) In the 1988 film Rain Man, Dustin Hoffman plays an autistic adult named Raymond Babbitt, a role for which he received an Academy Award. Hoffman’s performance has another distinction: 21 years later, it remains the phoniest portrayal of autism ever put on screen. Those who suffer from that affliction, unlike Raymond, aren’t all cuteness and intuition. Their rages don’t last three picturesque minutes; they can go on for days. In infancy, those stricken most severely retreat into themselves, never...

Last week, a team of eight cyclists completed the coast-to-coast bike marathon called the Race Across America in record time. It was quite an achievement under any circumstances, but what made it extraordinary was something all eight of them had in common: Type 1 diabetes. Type 1, sometimes called juvenile diabetes, poses special challenges for athletes. A person with Type 1 can’t produce insulin and must take regular injections to control blood sugar. But exercise can also lead to precipitous, even deadly, drops in blood sugar. (Type 2 diabetes, by far the more common form of the disease, typically develops...

Photo Stirs Speculation on North Korean Leader By CHOE SANG-HUN SEOUL, South Korea — An image of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, shown recently on government-run television appears to be a doctored version of an earlier photo, raising the possibility that Mr. Kim’s health has deteriorated to the point where he has had to skip public appearances, a South Korean newspaper reported on Monday. On June 14, the state-run Central TV showed what it said was a still photo of Mr. Kim posing with a group of soldiers indoors during a visit to a military unit. The Chosun Ilbo,...

TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Billy Mays, well known for pitching a variety of products in U.S. television commercials, had heart disease but did not appear to have suffered head trauma in a rough airplane landing prior to dying in his sleep on Sunday, a medical examiner in Florida said on Monday. The bearded, black-haired Mays, 50, who gained fame as an enthusiastic TV "pitchman" advertising an array of commercial products, was found dead by his wife at their home in Tampa, Florida. On Saturday, Mays was among the passengers aboard a U.S. Airways flight from Philadelphia that landed roughly at...

I heard about King Corn when Nora Gedgaudas interviewed Curt Ellis, one of the film’s creators. Ellis and his co-creator Ian Cheney decided to learn about the dominance of corn in our food supply by growing an acre of corn in Iowa, then following where corn goes after it’s harvested. The short answer is: it goes into pretty much everything. People like to blame the big, bad food industry for turning us into a nation of corn-eaters, but it was clear to me (and yes, this fits nicely with my own bias) that the problem is rooted in stupid government...

Among the recent research grants awarded by the National Cancer Institute is one for a study asking whether people who are especially responsive to good-tasting food have the most difficulty staying on a diet. Another study will assess a Web-based program that encourages families to choose more healthful foods. Many other grants involve biological research unlikely to break new ground. For example, one project asks whether a laboratory discovery involving colon cancer also applies to breast cancer. But even if it does apply, there is no treatment yet that exploits it. The cancer institute has spent $105 billion since President...

Scientists have found a substance in red wine that is slowing down the aging process in mice. Will it someday lengthen the lives of humans, too? Morley Safer reports. FULL STORY AND VIDEO FROM 60MINUTES

Left top: Oct. 2007. Platform shoes Left middle: Nov., 2008. Low-heeled ordinary shoes Left bottom: May., 2009. Sneaker shoes(?) Right: Jun., 2009. Athletic shoes (most comfortable?)

Being overweight won’t kill you — it may even help you live longer. That’s the latest from a study that analyzed data on 11,326 Canadian adults, ages 25 and older, who were followed over a 12-year period. The report, published online last week in the journal Obesity, found that overall, people who were overweight but not obese — defined as a body mass index of 25 to 29.9 — were actually less likely to die than people of normal weight, defined as a B.M.I. of 18.5 to 24.9. By contrast, people who were underweight, with a B.M.I. under 18.5, were...

If not, then why does the current bill exempt Members of Congress?"If you don't have health insurance, you'll be able to get the same kind of health insurance Members of Congress get for themselves." --Barack Obama, "Closing Argument" speech, Canton, Ohio, October 26, 2008 In a rare moment during last night's Democrat Party health care infomercial on ABC, President Obama was challenged by Dr. Orrin Devinsky, a neurologist and researcher at the New York University Langone Medical Center. Dr. Devinsky asked if Obama's wife or one of his daughters was sick and the plan the President proposed limited tests and...

President Obama struggled to explain today whether his health care reform proposals would force normal Americans to make sacrifices that wealthier, more powerful people -- like the president himself -- wouldn't face. The probing questions came from two skeptical neurologists during ABC News' special on health care reform, "Questions for the President: Prescription for America," anchored from the White House by Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson. Dr. Orrin Devinsky, a neurologist and researcher at the New York University Langone Medical Center, said that elites often propose health care solutions that limit options for the general public, secure in the knowledge...

Peanut butter sandwiches, favoured by cartoon character Charlie Brown, could be the secret to beating heart disease, according to new research. A study in the US reveals snacking on peanuts or peanut butter at least five days a week can nearly halve the risk of a heart attack. A team of experts at Harvard Medical School in Boston came up with the findings after studying the eating habits of thousands of women with type two diabetes. The condition dramatically increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Poor diet and lifestyle has led to a surge in the numbers affected...

Just-released research about a new class of drugs called “PARP inhibitors” is the most exciting development in cancer research in a decade or more. In just a few years it could save thousands of lives. In the longer term, the drugs could represent a transformational approach to understanding and treating several forms of the disease. All this enthusiasm is based on a small report published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. It focuses on one clinical trial in its earliest stage in 60 patients with breast, ovarian and prostate cancer. Some — but not all — of the...

It can take just hours after the symptoms appear for someone to die from bacterial meningitis. Now, after years of research, experts at The University of Nottingham have finally discovered how the deadly meningococcal bacteria is able to break through the body's natural defence mechanism and attack the brain. The discovery could lead to better treatment and vaccines for meningitis and could save the lives of hundreds of children. Bacterial meningitis in childhood is almost exclusively caused by the respiratory tract pathogens Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, and Haemophilus influenzae. The mechanism used by these lethal germs to break through the...

Bills structured to improve health care for Americans are currently being drafted in Congress. The President will address the American people on ABC tonight to discuss why an expansion of Medicaid is needed. Many believe that these efforts will bring the U.S. one step closer to socialized medicine, others contend that the government should provide health care. So far no discussion has been set forth explaining how it will be paid, nor what kind of impact it would have on the already struggling private sector. With many industrialized nations providing universal health care to its citizens, many in the U.S....

Obama has a new online course he's offering for free. It is called How to Make Yourself Look like a Lying, Hypocritical Horse's A$$ in 30 Seconds. Maybe you recall this little gem from our illustrious leader during the campaign....

Youtube user synopsis: "Rep. Louie Gohmert introduces his innovative healthcare plan that gives YOU complete control over your healthcare decisions and gets the government and insurance bureaucrats out of the way of your patient-doctor relationship. Every American will have access to affordable, quality healthcare and be covered by an individual, personalized Health Savings Account (HSA) or catastrophic insurance for amounts greater than their HSA. This plan also keeps our country from going broke!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzkK7pb4s68

No direct impact caused Paul McQuigg’s brain injury in Iraq three years ago. And no wound from the incident visibly explains why Mr. McQuigg, now an office manager at a California Marine base, can get lost in his own neighborhood or arrive at the grocery store having forgotten why he left home. But his blast injury — concussive brain trauma caused by an explosion’s invisible force waves — is no less real to him than a missing limb is to other veterans. Just how real could become clearer after he dies, when doctors slice up his brain to examine any...

A 31-year-old man who went to the hospital complaining of a headache was told to take a pain reliever and sent home. But after two more days of excruciating pain, Paul Curtis, of Carlingford, Australia, went back to the hospital to find he had a chip out of his spine and he could have severed his spinal cord, the Australian Associated Press reported. The hospital staff told Curtis they couldn’t give him an X-ray when he first arrived at the hospital because the radiology unit was closed for the evening.

President Obama has indicated he wants a health-care bill on his desk sometime around October...the evidence is overwhelming that we must end the private insurance company domination of health care in our country and move toward a publicly funded, single-payer, Medicare-for-all approach.