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Ignorance and fear: the perfect recipe for elections
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Africa is much safer than what it has been made out to be. This map shows the true geographical reach of Ebola right now. If you're afraid for your life, your politicians are likely doing a good job instilling fear into you before the next election!
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9704 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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17002 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
What do the Cubans have that the rest of the world doesn't?
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A possible vaccine for lung cancer! In a country known for cigars, lung cancer is one of the major killers in Cuba. So for the past 25 years, they’ve been developing Cimamax, which is now available freely to Cubans. According to a Phase II trial conducted in Cuba in 2008, lung cancer patients who received the vaccine lived an average of four to six months longer than those who didn’t. This led Japan and some European countries to trial the drug as well. The drug itself is far from flawless and, by attacking a cell’s protein rather than the tumour directly, can have severe side effects, including – of all things - causing a higher risk of cancer. It might not be a "cure" in the traditional sense, but it's a way of managing the disease. What t ...
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10873 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
This strange disease turns one's skin into bone
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Known an fibrodysplasia ossificans progressive, or FOB for short, this disease can suddenly turn a person’s tissues and muscles into bone, thereby permanently immobilizing parts of the bodies. Joints such as elbows or ankles may become frozen in place; jaw motion can be impeded and the rib cage fixed, making eating or even breathing difficult. Currently, no cure exists to combat this rare condition.
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7955 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
Addicted to hookah smoking, this might change your mind
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As cigarette smoking rates fall, more people are smoking tobacco from hookahs: communal pipes that enable users to draw tobacco smoke through water. A new meta-analysis shows that hookah smokers are inhaling a large load of toxicants. According to the study, compared with a single cigarette, one hookah session delivers approximately 125 times the smoke, 25 times the tar, 2.5 times the nicotine and 10 times the carbon monoxide (CO). The latter stat accounts for the light-headedness and high that smokers experience when inhaling the smoke, since CO reduces the amount oxygen capable of binding to circulating red blood cells. In addition to these estimates, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that, for the first time ...
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8072 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
The year summer was erased
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The eruption of Mount Tambora was so massive, it erased summer that year.The 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora was one of the most powerful eruptions in recorded history. The eruption of the volcano, on the island of Sumbawa in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia), reached a climax on 10 April 1815 and was followed by between six months and three years of increased steaming and small phreatic eruptions. The ash from the eruption column dispersed around the world and lowered global temperatures, leading to worldwide harvest failures in an event sometimes known as the Year Without a Summer in 1816. The eruption resulted in a brief period of significant climate change that led to various cases of extreme weather. Several climate forcings ...
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4185 |
bio_man |
6 years ago |
Watch this 1940's Disney Cartoon Made to Fight Malaria
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In 1943, Walt Disney helped combat malaria by making an animated film called The Winged Scourge. This short film starred the seven dwarfs and taught children that mosquitoes transmit malaria, which is a very bad disease. While not specifically mentioned in the film, malaria is caused by several species of the protozoan Plasmodium, of which Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum are the most common. The most serious infections involve P. falciparum, which causes a higher incidence of complications and death. The short film advocated the killing of mosquitoes to stop the disease. Luckily, by 1951, malaria was finally eliminated in the United States ( eliminated means that no new cases arose in the country for 3 years). Today, oral chloroqui ...
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3754 |
bio_man |
4 years ago |
Strange disease that causes fibers to grow underneath the skin
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Imagine a disease whose presence is marked by a feeling of something crawling along your skin, stinging every part of your body as if there is insect or parasite infestation that doesn't go away. Not only that, but your skin is plagued with the presence of multicolored filaments that lie under, are embedded in, or project from skin. Morgellons disease (pronounced with either a hard or soft "g") is a highly misunderstood skin condition that was first reported in the USA in 2002, although may have a longer history depending on where you look. The characteristic filaments described earlier are microscopic, visually resembling textile fibers, and are white, black, or a more vibrant color, such as red or blue (left image). In addition to fiber p ...
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3763 |
bio_man |
A year ago |
Major Diseases of a Century Ago
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In the 1950s, 20,000 cases of polio occurred annually. After vaccination began, the number of cases plummeted to 10 in 1979. The major diseases of a century ago reflect how far we have come in our scientific and medical knowledge. Since then, the landscape of human health has evolved significantly, shaped by advancements in science, medicine, and technology. In this article, we will journey through time to understand the major diseases humans faced a hundred years ago. Infectious DiseasesOne hundred years ago, infectious diseases were among the leading causes of death. These diseases were caused by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Tuberculosis (TB), caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, was a major global heal ...
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4303 |
bio_man |
7 months ago |
The Toxic Skin and Fungi Defense
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Harlequin frogs, a group of brightly colored, small-sized amphibians found in the rainforests of Central and South America, have a unique and intriguing relationship with fungi, particularly in the context of combating the devastating infectious disease known as chytridiomycosis. These frogs are known for their striking coloration, which serves as a warning signal to potential predators due to their toxic skin secretions. What makes their connection to fungi fascinating is that many species of Harlequin frogs rely on specialized skin bacteria that produce potent antifungal compounds. In the face of the deadly chytrid fungus ( Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis), which has decimated amphibian populations worldwide, these frogs' skin microbiota, p ...
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6026 |
bio_man |
6 months ago |
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