I am very excited about this Fourth of July. I will be spending it in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with my whole family. It has been a long time since we were all together for a fun celebration. The “foodie” in me is already contemplating what culinary delight I can make to wow the family at … Read more
This 4th of July, I am going to a wedding. If you’ve read this blog with any regularity over the past 3 years, you know this is pretty much par for the course of how I spend my weekends during the summer. When I saw the date on the invite, my immediate reaction was, “They … Read more
A clinical trial of testosterone treatment in older men, reported June 30 online in the New England Journal of Medicine, has found a higher rate of adverse cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and elevated blood pressure, in a group of older men receiving testosterone gel compared to those receiving placebo. Due to these events, … Read more
In high-risk adults with type 2 diabetes, researchers have found that two therapies may slow the progression of diabetic retinopathy, an eye disease that is the leading cause of vision loss in working-age Americans.
It drives me nuts when I’m sitting on the train and I can hear the music blaring from another person’s iPod. It’s just plain rude to be playing your music so loudly that it disrupts the rest of the train. But even if those people aren’t considerate of others, shouldn’t they at least care about … Read more
The vitamin folate appears to promote healing in damaged rat spinal cord tissue by triggering a change in DNA, according to a laboratory study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), part of the National Institutes of Health, announced the availability of supplemental funding for eligible NIBIB-supported research grants to facilitate collaborative work among researchers in the United States and India.
One of my two year old’s favorite tricks is when I make his toy caterpillar turn into a toy butterfly under a dishtowel cocoon. He squeals with glee every time the butterfly emerges from the dishtowel! (You have to love inspiration from The Very Hungry Caterpillar.) Unfortunately, I’ve noticed that the real things are hard … Read more
Despite hopes that higher blood levels of vitamin D might reduce cancer risk, a large study finds no protective effect against non-Hodgkin lymphoma or cancer of the endometrium, esophagus, stomach, kidney, ovary, or pancreas. In this study, carried out by researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and … Read more
Recently the Oprah Winfrey show featured a multiple part series on debt called Debt Diet. The series emphasizes how Americans are drowning in debt and not saving enough. The show offers an action plan to help families get out of debt. The series follows three families as they wrangle with trying to implement the step … Read more
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Wellcome Trust, a global charity based in London, will announce a partnership with African researchers to conduct genetic and environmental studies in Africa of common, non-communicable disorders — such as heart disease and cancer — as … Read more
The National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, is bringing together premier researchers who translate molecular and genetic approaches from the laboratory to visual system diseases in the clinic.
Scientists have discovered that a gene linked to Alzheimer’s disease may play a beneficial role in cell survival by enabling neurons to clear away toxic proteins. A study funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, shows the presenilin 1 (PS1) gene is essential to the function of … Read more
Sunday, June 20, is Father’s Day. As I was thinking about what I would say for my Father’s Day blog, I began thinking about my own dad. He died a couple of weeks after Father’s Day two years ago. Even though my dad only went to school through the 8th grade, I consider him to … Read more
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have observed two previously unknown steps in the spread of the malaria parasite through the bloodstream. And in laboratory cultures, the researchers interfered with one of these steps, raising the possibility that new drug treatments could be developed to combat the disease.
You know summertime is approaching when your local grocery store begins stocking an aisle with bags of charcoal briquettes, lighter fluid, barbecuing utensils and other grilling paraphernalia. Summer barbecuing is a favorite tradition with most Americans. I personally like barbecuing season, because I know that I will get a little break from cooking when my … Read more
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has stopped a clinical trial evaluating a new approach to reduce the risk of recurrent stroke in children with sickle cell anemia and iron overload because of evidence that the new treatment was unlikely to prove better than the existing treatment.