Pass the peas please.
BBC News – Pea plant grows inside man’s lung
A Massachusetts man who was rushed to hospital with a collapsed lung came home with an unusual diagnosis: a pea plant was growing in his lung.
Thought for Today – 8.16.10
Do You Know Dr. Dean Ornish? (you should)
I’ve been a fan of Dr. Ornish for a long time. His lifestyle focus to prevent and/or reverse atherosclerosis with diet, exercise, and stress reduction was clearly ahead of its time. Medicare will now pay for the Ornish and Pritikin programs. But am I the only one to realize that Medicare usually doesn’t start until age 65? Time for private health insurance companies to step up to the plate on this issue.
Scary Chart of the Decade – 8.14.10
Thought for Today – 08.08.10
Sauna endurance finalist collapses and dies in 110C – Telegraph
Ossi Arvela, the head of the sauna-sitting competition, said in a statement: “The Russian competitor has died in the sauna world championships.”
Hopefully this “sport” will not develop a large following.
By the way, 110 C = 230 F.
HT to Yves Smith at http://www.nakedcapitalism.com
Chronic HBV and Lymphoma Risk
Medical News: Chronic HBV Raises Lymphoma Risk – in Infectious Disease, Hepatitis from MedPage Today
Among individuals who were positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), the adjusted hazard ratio for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was 1.74 (95% CI 1.45 to 2.09, P<0.0001), compared with those who tested negative, according to Eric A. Engels, MD, of the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Md., and colleagues.
Calcium Supplements and MI Risk – Listen and Learn
BBC News – Today – Calcium supplement effectiveness ‘pretty poor’
Here’s a pretty good interview on the calcium supplementation and MI risk for those of you who like to listen and learn.
Calcium Supplements and MI Risk
Calcium supplementation appears to increase the risk of myocardial infarction, a meta-analysis showed.
Among studies of patients with or at risk for osteoporosis, those who took calcium supplements were about 30% more likely to have an MI than those who did not, Ian Reid, MD, of the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and colleagues reported online in BMJ.
Among randomized controlled trials with patient-level data, the hazard ratio for MI with supplementation was 1.31 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.67). Among those with trial-level data, the relative risk was 1.27 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.59).
Strong Social Relationships and Mortality
Maintaining strong social relationships may help slow the approach of death, a meta-analysis showed.
In a pooled analysis of 148 studies, having strong social relationships was associated with a 50% greater likelihood of surviving through follow-up (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.42 to 1.59), according to Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and colleagues.
The magnitude of the association puts social relationships on a par with quitting smoking and beyond obesity and physical inactivity in terms of relationship with mortality, the researchers reported in the July issue of PLoS Medicine.
The War in Mexico – Prisoners as Hitmen
Hitmen behind Mexico massacre were prisoners: government | Reuters
This news piece is a little aged but linked here in case you missed it.
New Study in Monkey-Antagonism
Monkeys hate flying squirrels, report monkey-annoyance experts – CSMonitor.com
We study monkeys to better understand ourselves.
What’s your flying squirrel?
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