Posted: April 17, 2012
Finally, a price on mothering - minimum wage.
On Sunday, Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg told The Huffington
Post in an email, "Moving welfare recipients into work was one of the
basic principles of the bipartisan welfare reform legislation that
President Clinton signed into law. The sad fact is that under President
Obama the poverty rate among women rose to 14.5 percent in 2011, the
highest rate in 17 years. The Obama administration's economic policies
have been devastating to women and families."
Mitt Romney, however, judging by his January remark, views
stay-at-home moms who are supported by federal assistance much
differently than those backed by hundreds of millions in private equity
income. Poor women, he said, shouldn't be given a choice, but instead
should be required to work outside the home to receive Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families benefits. "[E]ven if you have a child 2
years of age, you need to go to work," Romney said of moms on TANF.Recalling his effort as governor to increase the amount of time women on
welfare in Massachusetts were required to work, Romney noted that some
had considered his proposal "heartless," but he argued that the women
would be better off having "the dignity of work" -- a suggestion Ann
Romney would likely take issue with.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com
Posted: April 17, 2012
Rather teaching nutritional responsibility, now drug companies will be able to get even more of the population on medication, sooner.
Breakthrough test identifies depression and its subtypes with promise of individualized treatment.
CHICAGO --- A Northwestern Medicine scientist has developed the
first blood test to diagnose major depression in teens, a breakthrough
approach that allows an objective diagnosis by measuring a specific set
of genetic markers found in a patient's blood.
The current method of diagnosing depression is subjective. It relies
on the patient's ability to recount his symptoms and the physician's
ability and training to interpret them.
Diagnosing teens is an urgent concern because they are highly
vulnerable to depression and difficult to accurately diagnose due to
normal mood changes during this age period.
The test also is the first to identify subtypes of depression. It
distinguished between teens with major depression and those with major
depression combined with anxiety disorder. This is the first evidence
that it's possible to diagnose subtypes of depression from blood,
raising the hope for tailoring care to the different types.
The full article:
http://www.eurekalert.org
Posted: April 17, 2012
Tampa, Fla. (April 17, 2012) - An innovative 13-postures Tai Chi
designed for wheelchair users is described in the current issue of Technology and Innovation- Proceedings of the National Academy of InventorsR.
The innovation has brought the traditional Chinese martial and
healing arts to people with ambulatory impairment, thanks to the
technology and program developed by Zibin Guo, PhD, of the University of
Tennessee Chattanooga.
"Too often, social and cultural barriers discourage people with
physical disabilities from participating in fitness activities," said
Zibin Guo, PhD, who collaborated with the China Disabled People's
Federation and the 2008 Beijing Paralympics Committee to introduce the
Tai Chi Wheelchair at the 2008 Beijing Olympics/Paralympics Cultural
Festival. "Wheelchair Tai Chi can be practiced seated for those needing
simple, low-impact, upper-body exercise by integrating wheelchair motion
with the gentle, dynamic flowing movements of Tai Chi. It lifts the
spirit and give practitioners a sense of command of space."Read the full article:
http://www.eurekalert.org
Posted: April 17, 2012
People underestimate the amount of sugar in drinks which are perceived to be "healthy", research suggests.
The Glasgow University study asked more than 2,000 people in the UK to estimate how much sugar was in a range of drinks.
While many overestimated the amount in fizzy beverages, they underestimated levels in smoothies and fruit juices.Read the full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17731052
Posted: April 17, 2012
http://strawberryblu.com/2011/08/21/so-whats-with-the-blue-strawberry/
Scientists are genetically modifying strawberries in order to allow
them to resist freezing temperatures better. They're doing it by
artificial transfer of genes from a species of fish called the Arctic
Flounder Fish. The Arctic Flounder Fish produces an anti-freeze that
allows it to protect himself in freezing waters.
They isolated the gene that produces this anti-freeze and introduced it
to the strawberry. The result is a strawberry that looks blue and
doesn't turn to mush or degrade after being placed in the freezer. While
they're not in production, research is ongoing. Would you eat blue strawberries?
Posted: April 16, 2012
http://www.eutimes.net
A new report circulating in the Kremlin today prepared by the Foreign Ministry on the planned re-opening of talks with Japan over the disputed Kuril Islands during the next fortnight states that Russian diplomats were "stunned" after being told by their Japanese counterparts that upwards of 40 million of their peoples were in "extreme danger" of life threatening radiation poisoning and could very well likely be faced with forced evacuations away from their countries eastern most located cities... including the world's largest one, Tokyo.
Posted: April 16, 2012
http://www.cchrint.org/2012/04/11/the-end-of-antidepressants-studies-show-theyre-no-more-effective-than-placebo/
Watchers of a February broadcast of "60 Minutes" may have been stunned to learn that studies have been conducted that seem to prove that antidepressants, on the whole, are no more effective than placebo. This revelation about antidepressants - among the top-selling and top-prescribed drugs in the United States - may have been new news to some, but the studies conducted by Irving Kirsch, PhD, and colleagues, have been raising eyebrows and garnering attention since 1998. Which begs the question, have Kirsch's studies had any impact on the sales of antidepressants and/or on the prescribing patterns of doctors?
Posted: April 16, 2012
New, alternative treatments for bedsores: Early intervention, thorough hygiene, and vigilant monitoring improves outcomes.
At a New York medical center, a new program aims to prevent small problems from getting out of control.
Confined to a wheelchair with spina bifida, a disease that causes damage to the spinal cord and a lifetime of complications, 22-year-old Cyniya Daniels must constantly battle one of the most daunting of the complications: chronic wounds from pressure ulcers caused by her immobility
But thanks to an innovative program at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx borough of New York City, Ms. Daniels's wounds are carefully monitored with a comprehensive approach that includes preventive screening, early detection and aggressive treatment, both from doctors and nurses at the center's wound clinic and from medical staff who visit her at home.
Read the full article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304023504577321404093450624.html?mod=WSJ_article_MoreIn_Life%26Culture
Posted: April 16, 2012
Common sense and communicating with patients is now considered revolutionary:
A very simple question is changing the delivery of medical care:
How is your health affecting your quality of life?For decades, numbers drove the treatment of diseases like asthma, heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis. Public-health officials focused on reducing mortality rates and hitting targets like blood-sugar levels for people with diabetes or cholesterol levels for those with heart disease.
Doctors, of course, are still monitoring such numbers. But now health-care providers are also adding a whole different, more subjective measure -- how people feel about their condition and overall well-being. They're pushing for programs where nurses or trained counselors meet with people and ask personal questions like: Is your condition inhibiting your life? Is it making you less happy? Does it make it hard to cope day to day? Then the counselors offer advice about managing those problems and follow up regularly.
Read the full article:
http://online.wsj.com
Posted: April 16, 2012
In her explosive new book Fast and Furious, Katie Pavlich makes the case that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano not only failed to stop an operation that led to the death of one of her own, Border Agent Brian A. Terry, but she may have also lied to Congress in sworn testimony at a hearing held to find out what really happened.
Inside sources told Pavlich that Napolitano's testimony was in direct contradiction to emails she exchanged, and reports and briefing she received, according to an exclusive preview of the book by Human Events.
Read the full article:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=50807
Posted: April 13, 2012
http://www.bloomberg.com
A spate of earthquakes across the
middle of the U.S. is "almost certainly" man-made, and may be
caused by wastewater from oil or gas drilling injected into the
ground, U.S. government scientists said in a study.
Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey said that for
the three decades until 2000, seismic events in the nation's
midsection averaged 21 a year. They jumped to 50 in 2009, 87 in
2010 and 134 in 2011.
Posted: April 13, 2012
http://www.activistpost.com
The Paris-based Centre for the Study of Interventionism (CSI) and Julien Teil, director of "Lies behind the "Humanitarian War" in Libya: There is no evidence!"
has recently released a short documentary exposing how a cartel of
Western nations and their Arab proxies are purposefully creating chaos
inside targeted nations and then using it as a pretext to invade, topple
governments, and replace them with preselected client regimes, and in
effect threatening the very concept of national sovereignty.
Posted: April 12, 2012
http://www.caring.com
According to the CDC, most Americans get enough of the key vitamins and minerals in their diet. However, most of us know better than to trust these sorts of claims from the corrupt organization...
The truth is, most Americans are - at the very least - vitamin-D deficient, if not deficient in many more crucial vitamins and minerals due to the SAD (Standard American Diet).
Posted: April 12, 2012
http://www.hometownannapolis.com
Annapolitans can now have up to five egg-laying chickens in their backyards. But when it came to a vote this morning before the City Council, it wasn't over easy.
The legislation, introduced in December, passed 6-3 at 12:30 a.m. today.
Council members with reservations helped hatch a compromise -- a sunset
amendment that will make chicken ownership a sort of three-year
experiment.
Posted: April 10, 2012
A new study suggests people who had certain kinds of dental X-rays in the past may be at an increased risk for meningioma, the most commonly diagnosed brain tumor in the U.S.
The findings cannot prove that radiation from the imaging caused the tumors, and the results are based on people who were likely exposed to higher levels of radiation during dental X-rays than most are today.
"It's likely that the exposure association we're seeing here is past exposure, and past exposure levels were much higher," said Dr. Elizabeth Claus, the study's lead author and a professor at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.
Read the full article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/10/us-dental-x-rays-idUSBRE8390GM20120410
Posted: April 10, 2012
http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/bre833128-us-autism-usa-genes/
A sweeping study of hundreds of families with autism has found that spontaneous mutations can occur in a parent's sperm or egg cells that increase a child's risk for autism, and fathers are four times more likely than mothers to pass these mutations on to their children, researchers said on Wednesday.
Read the full article:
http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/bre833128-us-autism-usa-genes/
Posted: April 10, 2012
http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/bre8331b4-us-food-ammonia/
Surprise rippled across America last month as a new wave of consumers discovered that hamburgers often contained ammonia-treated beef, or what critics dub "pink slime".
What they may not have known is that ammonia - often associated with cleaning products - was cleared by U.S. health officials nearly 40 years ago and is used in making many foods, including cheese. Related compounds have a role in baked goods and chocolate products.
Read the full article: http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/bre8331b4-us-food-ammonia/
Posted: April 10, 2012
Not only may they have harmful ecological impacts, but iguanas are becoming a serious nuisance species in some areas. The Green Iguana Society gets many letters each month from frustrated Florida residents, asking how to remove or repel wild green iguanas from their yards and pools. According to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UFIFAS) , green iguanas in Florida eat shrubs, trees, landscape plants, orchids, and fruits such as figs, mangos, berries and tomatoes. Ornamental vegetation can be decimated by one large iguana taking up residence in a yard. In addition to destroying landscaping efforts, iguanas also cause problems by digging nesting burrows that can undermine sidewalks, sea wells and foundations. Iguana feces are odiferous, unsightly, and may harbor Salmonella bacteria. Because iguanas often prefer to defecate in or around water, it is not uncommon for an iguana to use a private pool as a defecation area. Large adults may be aggressive towards people and pets if they feel threatened.
There are many thoughts on how to address the invasion. Learn more:
http://www.treehugger.com
http://www.greenigsociety.org/feraligs.htm
http://www.outdoorlife.com
Posted: April 10, 2012
http://www.treehugger.com
Scientists over at Natcore Tech have created what is now the "blackest" solar cell to date. While that might sound as trivial as creating a white iPhone, this is a fairly huge advancement in the world of solar technology. With an average reflectance of 0.3%, these black silicon wafers absorb more light than any other out there, which means more of the sun's energy is actually converted into energy.
Read the full article: http://www.treehugger.com
Posted: April 10, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com
MEXICO CITY -- "We must cultivate our garden," Voltaire famously wrote at the end of "Candide," but even he could not have imagined this: a towering arch of 50,000 plants rising over a traffic-clogged avenue in a metropolis once called "Mexsicko City" because of its pollution.
The vertical garden aims to scrub away both the filth and the image. One of three eco-sculptures installed across the city by a nonprofit called VerdMX, the arch is both art and oxygenator. It catches the eye. And it also helps clean the air.
Read the full article: http://www.nytimes.com
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