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For years an obscure doctor hailing from Australia’s hardscrabble west coast watched in horror as ulcer patients fell so ill that many had their stomach removed or bled until they died. That physician, an internist named Barry Marshall, was tormented because he knew there was a simple treatment for ulcers, which at that time afflicted 10 percent of all adults. In 1981 Marshall began working with Robin Warren, the Royal Perth Hospital pathologist who, two years earlier, discovered the gut could be overrun by hardy, corkscrew-shaped bacteria called Helicobacter pylori. Biopsying ulcer patients and culturing the organisms in the lab,...

Although he didn't dare mention him by name, there's little doubt that Joe Scarborough had Mark Levin—who has taken strong shots at Scarborough's criticize-conservatives-first approach—in mind as a radio talk show host who is "jealous" of him and for whom Scarborough feels "sorry." On today's Morning Joe, James Carville told Scarborough that the hard core of the Republican party does not consider him one of them. Scarborough defended himself, claiming that whereas some basement-dwelling, underwear-clad bloggers and a couple of "jealous" radio hosts might not like him, Republicans regularly come up and hug him, proclaiming "thank God!", when he's out...

Poor diet, a lack of exercise, excess weight and genetics are the usual risk factors for Type 2 diabetes. But a new line of research suggests that in some cases, there may be a surprising contributor: the stomach bacterium known as Helicobacter pylori.People who acquire H. pylori — typically in childhood — are at a greater risk of ulcers and gastric cancer. But H. pylori also is thought to affect two digestive hormones involved in hunger and satiety.The belief is that the bacterium increases levels of ghrelin, the "hunger hormone," which is known to promote weight gain. At the same...

What do the words sex, lavender, flatulence, quickie, butt, mango and pud have in common? They are among more than 1,000 words deemed so obscene by the Pakistani Telecommunications Authority that they have instructed mobile phone operators to block them from all text messages. It is a decision that has left many in Pakistan unsure whether to be staggered, amused or outraged. Social media sites such as Twitter have been flooded with posts about the decision. An unconfirmed list has been circulating online. Many of the words are sexually explicit but the inclusion of some words and phrases appear to...

Scientists have determined that Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium that causes peptic ulcers and some forms of stomach cancer, requires the vitamin B6 to establish and maintain chronic infection, according to research published this week in the online journal mBio™. This finding, along with the identification of the enzyme the microbe requires to utilize the vitamin, could lead to the development of an entirely new class of antibiotics. "Approximately half the world's population is infected with H. pylori, yet how H. pylori bacteria establish chronic infections in human hosts remains elusive. To our knowledge, this study is the first to describe...

Michelle Obama Speaks To Camp Pendleton Troops By JULIE WATSON CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – First lady Michelle Obama is challenging Americans to come up with ways to show support for U.S. troops and their families. Obama spoke Sunday to about 3,500 service members and their families at Camp Pendleton, which has lost five Marines in the war in Afghanistan in the past week. Obama says Camp Pendleton and its neighboring Southern California communities are a model for the nation in terms of showing support for the military. She says communities can do things such as offer free museum passes, discounts...

So, you are sitting in your mothers basement right now, checking your favorite message boards while tending to the carpal tunnel syndrome you have developed from too many hours playing world of warcraft. You have a crush on that level 60 wizard, and she claims she is a girl, but then again, its probably another dude in his mothers basement. You'd like to get out sometimes. Sometimes you even do. You make it to the comic book store once a week, and sometimes even travel to local star trek conventions. Still, you wonder why you have not received the publicity...

A reader sent along a story published in a Bulgarian newspaper about an outrageous-sounding scheme offered to foreigners: Invest in real estate. Win American citizenship. Yes, it’s true. And I’ve told you about it before. More on that in a minute. From Bulgaria: Investment in real estate in US guarantees a green card 16:58 Thu 15 Jan 2009 - Nick Iliev The purchase of a piece of property in America, a single-family house, a PUD (planned unit development) or a condo (flat within a condominium) will guarantee you and your family a green card. This is one of the extreme...

When bedtime comes, as all children and sick people know, the boogeymen come out of the closet. Darkness, silence and isolation can turn chairs into tigers, and make even trivial health problems seem ominous and hopeless. But illness that goes bump in the night may not be just a patient's inner child coming out. Doctors have sensed for centuries that many diseases actually do get worse at night, and science has begun to confirm this impression. The emotions nighttime elicits, although they certainly do not help matters, are not primarily to blame. Instead, it is the body's internal chemicals and...

An editor working on ex-President Bill Clinton's memoirs has raised questions about the veracity of his account after reading the book's first draft. "Did you make half of that stuff up?" the editor asked, according to Clinton's own admission during a ceremony at his Little Rock presidential library on Friday. In little-noticed comments covered by the Associated Press, the ex-president revealed the unnamed editor's skepticism, saying, "When I first showed my editor the drafts of my memoirs, he said, 'Boy you've got a lot in here about Arkansas.' "And I said, 'Well read it before you cut it out.'" Then...