Awesome technology!

    http://news.yahoo.com/photos/tiny-artificial-heart-saves-baby-s-life-slideshow/http://news.yahoo.com/photos/tiny-artificial-heart-saves-baby-s-life-slideshow/

Doctors lobby wins again

".........From The estimated $30 billion deal also includes $4 billion to prevent doctors from having their reimbursement rates slashed by Medicare.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/16/payroll-tax-cut-deal-to-include-keystone_n_1154888.html

it's not time that heals all wounds - it's REM sleep

Not all sleep is REM sleep.  It is the dreaming phase of sleep which you go in and out of depending on other physiologic variable.  


The other consequences of too little sleep (from WebMD):

• Impaired memory and thought processes.
• Depression.
• Decreased immune response.

Sleep deprivation also magnifies alcohols effects on the body, so a fatigued person who drinks will become much more impaired than someone who is well-rested. Sleep deprivation also increases pain perception on pain simulation testing. Caffeine and other stimulants can temporarily overcome the effects of severe sleep deprivation, but cannot do so for extended periods of time.

Natural pain remedies from your kitchen

Good to know.

http://www.ivillage.com/natural-pain-remedies-your-kitchen/4-b-334141

A new benefit from medical marijuana?

Whatever your stance on medical marijuana this is exciting.  Anything that can prevent or reduce Alzheimer's disease should be studied carefully. Hopefully a peer reviewed study will prove this benefit.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17140265

Are we what we eat? Scientific American says yes.

www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm%253Fid%253Dvitamins-minerals-and-microrna

“You are what you eat.” The old adage has for decades weighed on the minds of consumers who fret over responsible food choices. Yet what if it was literally true? What if material from our food actually made its way into the innermost control centers of our cells, taking charge of fundamental gene expression?

That is in fact what happens, according to a recent study of plant-animal micro­RNA transfer led by Chen-Yu Zhang of Nanjing University in China. MicroRNAs are short sequences of nucleotides—the building blocks of genetic material. Although microRNAs do not code for proteins, they prevent specific genes from giving rise to the proteins they encode. Blood samples from 21 volunteers were tested for the presence of microRNAs from crop plants, such as rice, wheat, potatoes and cabbage.

The results, published in the journal Cell Research, showed that the subjects’ bloodstream contained approximately 30 different microRNAs from commonly eaten plants. It appears that they can also alter cell function: a specific rice microRNA was shown to bind to and inhibit the activity of receptors controlling the removal of LDL—“bad” cholesterol—from the bloodstream. Like vitamins and minerals, microRNA may represent a previously unrecognized type of functional molecule obtained from food.

The revelation that plant microRNAs play a role in controlling human physiology highlights the fact that our bodies are highly integrated ecosystems. Zhang says the findings may also illuminate our understanding of co-evolution, a process in which genetic changes in one species trigger changes in another. For example, our ability to digest the lactose in milk after infancy arose after we domesticated cattle. Could the plants we cultivated have altered us as well? Zhang’s study is another reminder that nothing in nature exists in isolation.

job opp in Europe

Very interesting technology.  Can't wait to see some clinical data.

http://www.miracormedical.com/p-58875.html