Just because your country supports the human rights iniatives dos not mean that you will be healthier.  Take a look at this blog about it and the link to the lancet article.

Wow  a couple months ago my Dr. did a blood test to check on my arthritis medications; he found no problems with anything except he said I had a remarkable Vitamin D deficiency and I was put on a mega dose of Vitamin D supplement and then a maintenance dose.  Now it seems it is not at all unusual for us lazy Americans:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090323161111.htm

“ScienceDaily (Mar. 24, 2009) — Average blood levels of vitamin D appear to have decreased in the United States between 1994 and 2004, according to a new report.

Clinicians previously believed the major health problems associated with vitamin D deficiency were rickets in children and reduced bone mineral content in adults, conditions reduced by fortifying foods with vitamin D, according to background information in the article. More recently, insufficient vitamin D levels have been associated with cancer, heart disease, infection and suboptimal health overall. Evidence suggests that levels of 30 nanograms per milliliter to 40 nanograms per milliliter may be needed for optimum health

“Vitamin D supplementation appears to mitigate the incidence and adverse outcomes of these diseases and may reduce all-cause mortality,” the authors write. However, currently recommended levels of supplementation—200 international units per day from birth to age 50, 400 international units per day from age 51 to 70 and 600 international units per day for adults age 71 and older—focus primarily on improving bone health. In addition, decreases in outdoor physical activities and successful campaigns to reduce sun exposure may have contributed to vitamin D insufficiency, since sunlight exposure is a main determinant of vitamin D status in humans.”

Teaching of ethics is critical as science advances at pace.

Public engagement with science is vital but its possible misuse means society must stay in control, argues Prof Lord Robert Winston, Emeritus Professor of Fertility Studies at Imperial College, London.

Illegal kidney trade is flourishing!

‘Safe Ebola’ created for research

Scientists have made the lethal virus Ebola harmless in the lab, potentially aiding research into a vaccine or cure. Taking a single gene from the virus stops it replicating, US scientists wrote in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

Much of the developed world has been able to live free of disease restrictions (quarantine) for decades.  However this latest case raises the issue in a frightening case of apparent stupidity.  When advised not to fly or travel in public a man decided that his personal desires were more important than the safety of others and traveled anyway.  He said that he was advised not to travel not prohibited from traveling.  Should we be more aggressive in travel restrictions? or immigration restrictions? particularly when it comes to health issues?  There are many many diseases only a plane ride away from here.  How should we address them?

Wow, almost a year.   Thank you to all of you who have remained devoted followers of this Blog.  I am open to suggestions and commets drop me a line if you have a comment or suggestion!

Over at Wendy’s Woollies there is a Yarn Raffle to support research.  Check it out!

Google Earth and the US Holocaust Museum team up

“The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has joined with Google in an unprecedented online mapping initiative. Crisis in Darfur enables more than 200 million Google Earth users worldwide to visualize and better understand the genocide currently unfolding in Darfur, Sudan. The Museum has assembled content—photographs, data, and eyewitness testimony—from a number of sources that are brought together for the first time in Google Earth. ”

This is an amazing partnership that will help cast additional light on the issue. I strongly encourage you to take a look and see for yourself.