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End of week round-up
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A while back I blogged about the Science of beauty products and I asked about the biology of grey hairs. And my fellow Indy Science Bloggers The Beauty Brains answered:
Why Do Gray Hairs Look And Feel Different?:
They explain about the two different types of melanin – eumelanin and pheomelanin – and how they are responsible for hair color. Apparently the the melanin producing cells – melanocytes – stop making melanin as we get older. Apparently no one knows how to make it stop either! And they just seem to feel more kinky and unruly – but are actually the same but just stand out more because they are a different color.
Another fellow Indy Science Bloggers – robot guy – was just interviewed by Kilimanjaro magazine! In the interview he talks about astronomy and rocketry and how he was influenced by science fiction. He also talks about how special of a place is the Earth is and how we need to “be stewards of our planet, for there is really no other planet close by suited to our needs”.
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February 22, 2007
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Odds and Ends – (2/22)
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( Due to continuing neck/back problems – I’m going to have to write posts for a while that are a little more eclectic and shorter.)
A study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology shows that when women having amniocentesis are given local anesthesia such as lidocaine there is no statistically significant difference in the amount of pain they experience during the procedure.
The Journal of Clinical Oncology presents a paper with evidence that the side effects of breast cancer therapy can very quite a bit depending upon the women’s age.
I bet most people have heard this already – a baby born after 21 weeks and six days of pregnancy at only
9.5 inches long and less than 10 ounces this past October will be going home soon! She is possibly the most premature baby to ever survive.
Not related to just women’s health, but still interesting is a paper in American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology showing that the way doctors dress doesn’t influence how professional or competent people perceive them to be – or how satisfied they are with their care. Personally, I know I don’t care how they dress but I think that if they are too dressed up it makes them seem less human or caring. And I guess this means that House has an excuse now not to wear a lab coat!
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Related Posts:
- Pregnancy and newborn health part 2
- Pregnancy – diet, weight gain and diabetes
- Smoking and other pregnancy perils
February 20, 2007
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New cardiovascular disease prevention guidelines for women
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(I’ve been having ergonomic problems again and have not been able to post too much.)
The American Heart Association just released new guidelines for women to help prevent cardiovascular disease. The emphasis of the updated guidelines is on long term, lifetime risk reduction not just short term reduction.
The recommendations include the reduction of alcohol consumption and sodium intake, controling weight and increasing physical activity.
The physical activity levels recommended for women trying to lose weight or keep it off are to exercise at an intensity level to that of brisk walking for a minimum of 60 to 90 minutes a day – everyday! While I don’t doubt that that is a good idea I do doubt that most women would have time for that. After working 8+ hours a day, driving back and forth to work, cooking and other household work and possibly taking care of children – how many women really have time to exercise an hour or and hour and a half each day? (How many men have that much time to exercise either?)
It is also recommended that women stop smoking and eat more fruits and vegetables – that’s nothing new or surprising either. Reducing saturated fat intake to less than 7% of calories shouldn’t be terribly difficult for most women, but eating fish 2 or more times a week could be hard when you also have to balance that with not eating fish high in mercury.
A new thing included is recommending women take aspirin on a regular basis if they are over 65. Also, keeping LDL cholesterol levels to less than 70 mg/dL in women who are very high-risk is recommended.
Considering that the chance of a women dying from cardiovascular disease during her lifetime is almost 1 in 3 – it is very important that women be aware of what they can do to keep themselves healthier. I wonder how realistic these guidelines are though and how many women will really follow them?
(Technorati Tags: cardiovascular, heart, cholesterol, exercise, aspirin)
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Related Posts:
- Kids and obesity
- The secret to living a longer, healthier and happier life!
- Pregnancy – diet, weight gain and diabetes
February 14, 2007
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Happy Valentine’s Day!
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Happy Valentine’s Day!
For Valentine’s Day The Beauty Brains are having a 7 part countdown to Valentine’s Day.
In The Color Of Love they discuss the where the red dye originally came from. In Love Chemistry you can read about the effects of the hormone oxytocin and how it results in us feeling love and trust towards others. Also learn about Self Cleaning Lingerie and find out whether or not candy is bad for your skin. Go to their site to see today’s post for Valentine’s Day!
Looking for something charitable to do for Valentine’s Day? Consider donating to The Great American Condom Campaign. Their mission is to “reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections by engaging and educating Americans about critical public and personal health issues related to condom use”. Rachel explains more about what they do here. (I wish they had a buttom or banner we could place on our sites to help promote condom use.)
Anyway, have a happy – and safe – Valentine’s Day!
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February 12, 2007
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Breast cancer – genes, tests and drugs
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A team led by Angela Cox of Sheffield University Medical School in the UK recently published in Nature Genetics the discovery of a gene that appears to decrease the chance of getting breast cancer in women of European descent by around 13%. The utilized data collected from 14 studies involving around 33,000 women. The gene is called CASP8 and is a member of the cysteine-aspartic acid protease family of genes also known as caspases. Caspases are involved in apoptosis, which is the programmed death of certain cells. Many cancers involve mutations in genes that are involved with apoptosis resulting in cancerous cells remaining alive despite having mutations that should have resulted in their dying through apoptosis.
Recently the FDA approved a test that can help predict whether or not women who have had breast cancer before are likely to have it return. The test is called MammaPrint and uses a sample from the person’s breast cancer. DNA from the sample is then analyzed and the activity of about 70 different genes are measured.
A report in Cancer finds that some newer breast cancer drugs called aromatase inhibitors are safer and have less side effects than tamoxifen and their users tend to live longer. They only for women who are post-menopausal however. Aromatase inhibitors block the activity of the enzyme aromatase thereby preventing the conversion of androgens into estrogens.
(Technorati Tags: breast cancer, apoptosis, cancer, tamoxifen, aromatase inhibitors)
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Related Posts:
- Breast cancer: BRCA2 and DNA repair
- Breast cancer gene product has role in translation
- Breast cancer research update – 7/20/07
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