When you think of a typical humidifier, you likely picture a large device that you fill with water and plug in. But not anymore. Enter the Satechi USB Portable Humidifier.

This cool little gadget attaches to most water bottles and gets power via a USB cable. Whether you’re at home, in the car, at the office, or traveling, the Satechi USB Portable Humidifier just needs a water bottle and a USB port to provide moisture to your immediate area. Using cold water, you can also use it as a mister during hot days. The device doubles as an aroma diffuser using liquid fragrances or oils. Check it out in the video below.

Satechi Portable USB Humidifier ($29.99) | Amazon

Source: Satechi

(HT: Lifehacker)

Daniel Allen – The Nature Magpie: A Cornucopia of Facts, Anecdotes, Folklore and Literature from the Natural World. Facts, figures and folklore, The Nature Magpie is a treasure trove of our thoughts and feelings about nature. Author Daniel Allen is the guide, joined by naturalists, novelists and poets as they explore the most isolated parts of the planet.

Tony Ryan, Steve McKevitt – Project Sunshine: How Science Can Use the Sun to Fuel and Feed the World. Capturing all the energy in just one hour’s worth of sunlight would enable us to meet the planet’s food and energy needs for an entire year. Project Sunshine tells the story of how scientists are working to reconnect us to the ‘solar economy’, harnessing the power of the sun to provide sustainable food and energy for a global population of 9 billion people.

Eric Scerri – 30-Second Elements: The 50 Most Significant Elements, Each Explained in Half a Minute. A full-colour guide to the periodic table and the stories behind its most significant elements.

Martin Rees, Francois Fressin – 30-Second Astronomy: The 50 Most Mindblowing Discoveries in Astronomy, Each Explained in Half a Minute: Amazon.co.uk. How hot is Venus? Can you distinguish between a pulsar and a quasar? Is there a universe or a multiverse? Where do we fit into the infinitely grand scheme of things? Is there anyone out there? 50 incredible discoveries brought down to Earth.

Science books for summer is a post from the science blog of David Bradley, author of Deceived Wisdom Subscribe to our Email Newsletter

This step might be surprising but it’s really important to position yourself. Everyone is a futurist now therefore one must be very cautious when using this expression. Scott Smith, changeist, divides them into the following groups:

There are different flavors of futurists. There is the professional, consulting kind, many of whom trained in a formal university or professional program, and use structured methods and tools to help large organizations make sense of trends and develop strategies. There are the self-proclaimed futurists who are enthusiasts of a specific area such as technology, food, health, culture and so on, who dedicate themselves to furthering a favored future (here I would place Kurzweil and kin). Then, there are the broader masses of folk who like the idea of the future, and speak about leading others there, or just surround themselves in the trappings of all that is shiny and future-esque.

While there are university programs and courses in futuristic studies, I don’t think I should deal with the major changes in economy or society (see the video below), but focus only on bringing disruptive medical technologies to everyday healthcare.

Brian David Johnson, the futurist of Intel,  described what if feels like being a futurist:

1. You start with understanding what people need and want.
2. You understand what technology holds for the next few years.
3. You collect data about the changing world.
4. Then you try to find out what it would feel like to be human in the near future based on the previous observations and data.

Some people try to foresee the future in many ways, others try to predict outcomes by using social media discussions, or focus on technological advances such as Google Glass, although my job is not to foresee or predict anything, instead, extrapolate today’s trends and try to prepare all stakeholders of healthcare for changes they will have to face.

While others don’t, I do believe healthcare will always need medical professionals, but it’s true their role will be different serving as apo-mediators in the system. This is the area where someone must take responsibility and implement practical changes into everyday medicine.

This is why I created a website where I collect all my activities and correctly identify myself as a medical futurist describing the clear missions I outlined: medicalfuturist.com.

At my recent Doctors 2.0 and You keynote in Paris, I described some major points about what it means to be a medical futurist and what aspects I have to keep in mind.

• The future of healthcare will be based on patients who will be able to measure anything about themselves from blood count to ECG and even genomic data.
• We must prepare students and medical professionals for this digital world. This is why I launched a university course, an e-learning platform and wrote a book. Every medical student in the world must read e-Patient Dave’s book!
• My role as a medical futurist is to close the gap between e-patients and their not that web-savvy doctors; as well as between digital technologies and everyday medicine.

Steps taken so far:

• From Doctor to Futurist: Step #1 The Decision
• From Doctor to Futurist: Step #2 The Filter
• From Doctor to Futurist: Step #3 Attending FutureMed
• From Doctor to Futurist: Step #4 The Mission

There are a lot of reasons why Thelma Ackley signed up for 23andMe — she’s fascinated by her ancestry and she’s curious about her health — but the main reason is her husband and her six grandchildren.

A few years ago her husband Jim, a former engineer, developed Parkinson’s disease. The neurodegenerative disease is slowly taking away his control over his muscles. It makes it harder for him to walk and do the kind of handyman work he so enjoyed.

He’s still able to do a lot and is spry and happy, but for the things he can’t do, Thelma now is there. She keeps Jim as active as possible. The couple walk together up to a mile a day, and Thelma makes sure Jim does regular physical therapy.

“I want to keep him around for as long as I can,” she said.

But of all the things she has done for Jim, the easiest was signing up for 23andMe and consenting to research. Although 23andMe has research communities where patients with conditions like Parkinson’s Disease, Sarcoma and MPN can join for free, any 23andMe customer can participate and help out simply by consenting to research when they enroll.

“We’ve conquered so many diseases like Polio and all it takes is people working hard on it and one thing I can do to help is this,” she said.

That doesn’t mean we’re going to cure Parkinson’s overnight, but participating in research may help scientists find the causes and treatments for the disease. Thelma said she doesn’t know why someone wouldn’t participate.

“I have six grandchildren from ages 21 to 30 and I don’t want this to befall them,” she said. “This is something I can do for them as well.”

"to love my God, to serve my Queen and my country"

That obviously only applies to people of faith and those with a female monarch…and indeed compromises the integrity of those girls without fixed national domicile. So, after consultation the century-old organisation is planning a bit of a rewording, dropping references to both spiritual and earthly autocrats as well as geography it seems. The pledge will now contain the line:

"be true to myself and develop my beliefs"

Now, being true to oneself is fine and developing one’s beliefs is okay (ish), but the latter still smacks of religion, unicorns and fairy dust, couldn’t they have made version 2.0 say something like:

"be true to myself and develop my understanding of the universe through a rational, evidence-based approach to reality"

That would be much more fitting for our age and avoid that crushingly egotistical phrase “develop my beliefs”.

BBC News – God vow dropped from Girlguiding UK promise.

Guiding pledge 2.0 dismisses God and the Queen is a post from the science blog of David Bradley, author of Deceived Wisdom Subscribe to our Email Newsletter

Using food questionnaires, researchers tracked the eating habits of almost 150,000 people every four years for an average of 20 years of follow-up. Their analysis took into account age, family history, race, smoking status, initial red meat consumption and lifestyle factors such as physical activity, alcohol intake and diet quality.

The study found that among those who ate more red meat as the study progressed showed higher rates of diabetes than those whose red meat consumption didn’t change.

Consuming 3.5 more servings of red meat per week during a four-year period increased a person’s chance of developing diabetes by almost 50 percent in the subsequent four years.

Those who consumed 3.5 less servings of read meat per week during a four-year period didn’t have a short-term reduced risk of developing the disease, but over the subsequent 10 years, reduced their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 14 percent.

The findings apply to both processed red meats, such as lunch meat and hot dogs, and unprocessed red meat, such as hamburger, steak and pork. The association was stronger for processed meat.

Some experts suggest that the high calories and fat in red meat are to blame for the association between increased consumption and higher risk of diabetes. Indeed, people who are overweight are more likely to develop the condition. However, even after the researchers controlled for body mass index and weight gain, the linkage between increased red meat consumption and type 2 diabetes remained.

In an invited commentary in the journal , William J. Evans, Ph.D., head of the Muscle Metabolism Discovery Performance Unit at GlaxoSmithKline, and an adjunct professor of geriatric medicine at Duke University, suggests that the problem isn’t red meat, but the amount of saturated fat in the meat [2].

According to lead author An Pan, Ph.D. [3]:

The public-health message is to try to limit red-meat consumption (particularly processed red meat) and switch to plant-based food choices and more fish/poultry. While there is no cutoff point or recommendation regarding how many servings per week, the current evidence suggests the less, the better.

The study is the first to look at red meat consumption changes over time and how it affects diabetes risk.

References

1. Pan et al. Changes in Red Meat Consumption and Subsequent Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. JAMA Intern Med. 2013;():1-8. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.6633.
2. Evans WJ. Oxygen-Carrying Proteins in Meat and Risk of Diabetes Mellitus. JAMA Intern Med. 2013;():1-2. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.7399.
3. Cutting Back on Red Meat May Lower Risk for Type 2 Diabetes. Medscape. 2013 Jun 18.

In the beginning…

…there was a barren spinning ball of rock, with a hot, molten core, hurtling through space around a distant, but warming fusion reactor. But the spinning ball was not alone on its journey – there were countless misshapen chunks of rock and ice and frozen gases in its vicinity, many with eccentric orbits around the central fusion reactor. These comets and other solar debris could skim past or shift in their orbits at the whim of great balls of gas and rock, although always ruled by the laws of the one they know as Kepler.

Life on the Rocks.

Life on the rocks is a post from the science blog of David Bradley, author of Deceived Wisdom Subscribe to our Email Newsletter

Several studies have shown that certain girls, particularly African-American girls, experience puberty earlier than others, but there’s an ongoing debate about what that might mean.

There are a number of reasons why some girls begin puberty earlier than others. Girls who are heavier tend to enter puberty earlier than thinner girls, while there are also disorders that can trigger “precocious puberty”— or puberty before age eight. Environmental factors, such as nutrition and certain chemicals, also can play a role.  Understanding the genetic components that influence when a girl begins menstruating — also known as her age at menarche (“men-AR-kee”) — could also help scientists better understand the genetic factors behind diseases associated with early puberty, including type 2 diabetes and breast cancer.

But to date, the scientific community has all but overlooked a core population that is perhaps most at risk. Today, African-American women tend to begin menstruating four to six months earlier than girls of European descent. Later in life African-American women also have a higher risk for obesity, hypertension, and metabolic disorders including diabetes. These two trends could be related and genetic factors could be a common denominator.

A new study of African-American women looked specifically at genetic variations contributing to  age at menarche. The research, done by a multi-institutional team of scientists, crunched data from 15 different studies, which included information from over 18,000 women.

Their findings indicate differences in DNA that could help scientists better understand the genetics of menarche timing in all women, as well as the development of diseases associated with early menarche.

We’ve written before about the importance of considering ancestry when analyzing trends in disease. Certain diseases are more prevalent in certain populations. For instance, African-American men are more likely to develop and die from prostate cancer than people of European descent.  African Americans also tend to be at higher risk for type 2 diabetes, while people of European descent are at higher risk of the heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation.

Given the difference in risk it seems imperative that researchers investigate a diversity of populations to better understand the genetic factors behind these diseases. Yet research on populations with non-European ancestry continues to lag.

In this case study, the researchers performed a meta-analysis of existing research to search for DNA variants associated with earlier menarche in African-American women and then compared their results to data from women of European descent. The variants, called SNPs (or single-nucleotide polymorphisms), can account for some of the differences in biological traits, in this case early menarche, between two individuals. These variants in turn can help scientists identify the genes and biological mechanisms controlling menarche timing.

Out of 42 SNPs associated with age at menarche in European women, 25 were also associated with the trait in African-American women, bolstering the evidence that these genes genetic variants are tied to menarche timing. However, they also found variants in eight regions of the genome that were more strongly associated with age at menarche in African-American women than in European-American women. Many of these regions contain genes that influence obesity, underscoring the link between body fat and early menarche. Other regions include genes associated with breast and other cancers.

Although this is the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind, the total number of data samples of African-American women available to the researchers was still fewer than are now available for European-American women. And yet the study demonstrates an important fact: by studying diverse ethnicities, scientists can refine their understanding of the role genes play in all populations.

Last year for Men’s Health Week, we focused on the 7 threats to men’s health. This year, we’re spotlighting the infographic below from Georgetown University’s School of Nursing & Health Studies, which provides some current statistics as well as ways men can work to effect change and maintain and improve their health.

One of the things we particularly like is how the infographic highlights a number of preventative tests for men. Regular health tests are important because they can help find problems before they start. They also can help find problems early, when chances for treatment and cure are better. By getting the right health services, screenings and treatments, men are taking steps that increase their chances for living a longer, healthier life.

Blood pressure
High blood pressure can cause damage to body organs.

• Age 20+: every year

Blood tests & urinalysis
Blood and urine are used to screen for diseases such as cholesterol, diabetes, and kidney or thyroid dysfunction before symptoms occur.

• Age 20-39: every 3 years | Age 40-49: every 2 years | Age 50+: every year

Electrocardiogram (EKG)
An electrocardiogram or EKG is used to screen for heart abnormalities.

• Age 20-39: baseline | Age 40-49: every 4 years | Age 50+: every 3 years

Physical exam
Physical exams provide an overall health status report.

• Age 20-39: every 3 years | Age 40-49: every 2 years | Age 50+: every year

Rectal exam
A rectal exam is used to screen for hemorrhoids, lower rectal problems, colon cancer and prostate cancer.

• Age 20+: every year

Sexually transmitted diseases
Sexually active adults at risk for STDs should be screened regularly.

• Age 20+: talk to your doctor

TB skin test
A tuberculosis skin test should be done on occasion of exposure or suggestive symptoms.

• Age 20+: every 5 years

Chest x-ray
A chest x-ray detects lung cancer and should be considered among smokers over the age of 45.

• Age 40+: talk to your doctor

Hemoccult
A hemoccult is a quantitative test for hidden blood in stool, a screen for early signs of polyps or colon cancer.

• Age 40+: every year

Testosterone screening
A testosterone screen checks for low testosterone.

• Age 40+: talk to your doctor

Colorectal health
A colorectal examination checks the rectum, sigmoid and descending colon for early signs of cancer.

• Age 50+: every 3-4 years

PSA blood test
Tests levels of prostate specific antigen for infection, enlargement, or cancer.

• Age 50+: every year (earlier if you have a family history of prostate cancer)

Bone health
Bone mineral density test.

• Age 60+: talk to your doctor

For more information on which screening tests to get, see the checklist on the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ): Men: Stay Healthy at Any Age — Checklist for Your Next Checkup

Via: Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies

The Social MEDia Course: The global format of my university course focusing on medicine and social media for medical students, physicians and also patients with Prezis, tests and gamification.

Webicina.com is my service that curates medical content in social media for free for medical professionals and e-patients.

PeRSSonalized Medicine is the simplest, free, customizable medical information aggregator covering over 80 medical specialties and conditions in 17 languages!

Scienceroll Search is a personalized medical search engine powered by PolyMeta search and clustering engine. You can choose which databases to search in and which one to exclude from your list. It works with well-known medical search engines and databases and we’re totally open to add new ones or remove those you don’t really like.

List of biomedical and scientific community sites: More than 30 communities with links, descriptions and screenshots.

List of Biomedical video sites: Almost 40 sites featuring scientific or medical videos and videocasts.

Medicine 2.0 Collection: I maintain the biggest collection of links and posts focusing on web 2.0 and medicine.

According to this week’s 23andMe update entitled “Release Notes: 7 June 2013,” (you must log in to view), “The computation time for DNA Relatives and Ancestry Composition has been growing.”

Going into greater detail at “DNA Relatives computations temporarily on hold,” 23andMe explains that due to the increased computational time, and in an effort to reduce the time it takes to generate DNA Relatives matches, updates are paused.  Accordingly, “[t]his means that you won’t be receiving new matches to your existing DNA Relatives list, and if you haven’t received your matches yet there may be some additional waiting time.”

It sounds as though this temporary pause will ultimately lead to faster results for 23andMe customers.

The full message is below:

“DNA Relatives computations temporarily on hold”

Posted by Christine M. in Relative Finder

Hi everyone,

As Mike mentioned in the June 7th Release Notes, the computation time for DNA Relatives has been growing.

Part of the effort to reduce the time it takes to generate DNA Relatives matches has required us to pause updates for this feature for the time being. This means that you won’t be receiving new matches to your existing DNA Relatives list, and if you haven’t received your matches yet there may be some additional waiting time.

While putting these computations on pause was the best option available while the update is in progress, we understand that it’s not ideal and we appreciate your patience.

We expect to re-enable updates to DNA Relatives by the end of next week, June 21st.

I will share updates on this thread as necessary.

Thanks,
Christine

Jun 13, 2013

Sign on the window reads, “10% off for rs1800497 TT“ … on account of the way their DRD2 receptors seem to be less responsive … which, naturally, makes them prone to needing to drink (buy) more to feel the same pleasure as CC people. It’s just the free market at work right?

From the press release:

Supreme Court Ruling Today Allows DNATraits to Offer Low Cost BRCA Breast and Ovarian Cancer Gene Testing in U.S.

In effort to increase access to potentially lifesaving BRCA1 and BRCA2 tests, DNATraits can now offer tests for $995, a fraction of the cost of similar tests prior to the court decision

HOUSTON — Jun. 13, 2013 – Thanks to today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision opening the door to greater access to genetic medicine by American patients and their health care providers, testing for genes specifically linked to breast, ovarian and other cancers will now be more widely available and at a lower cost than ever before.

DNATraits, a division of Houston-based genomics and genetics testing company Gene By Gene, Ltd., announced today that it will offer testing for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in the United States for $995.  Prior to today’s unanimous Supreme Court ruling, when exorbitant licensing fees kept DNATraits and others from offering BRCA gene tests in the United States, the cost for such tests was around $4,000.

“We’re pleased to make this important testing more widely available and accessible in the United States,” said Gene By Gene President Bennett Greenspan.  “Our highly automated CLIA-registered lab and efficient processes enable us to make genetic and genomic testing more affordable and accessible to more individuals, in the U.S. and worldwide.  And that’s our company’s mission, in a nutshell.”

The company’s announcement about the tests, which gained national attention when actress Angelina Jolie courageously revealed in May that being a BRCA1 carrier was among the factors in her decision to have a preventive double mastectomy, comes after today’s Supreme Court ruling in “Association For Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics.”

“We commend the Supreme Court for opening the door to greater technological innovation and access to genetic tools that promise to save and improve the quality of human lives in the United States,” Greenspan added.  “It’s critical that as an industry we are able to continue to engage in healthy competition to drive down the costs of these tests – because as more individuals have access to and undergo them, the more information we’ll have about many serious diseases that eventually may lead to cures.”

DNATraits has processed testing for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes for individuals living outside the U.S. since 2012.  Those genes are processed using traditional Sanger DNA sequencing, which is considered the gold standard for DNA analysis, at the company’s Genomic Research Center in Houston, a CLIA-registered lab which has processed more than 5 million discrete DNA tests from more than 700,000 individuals and organizations globally.

In addition to the BRCA gene tests, DNATraits offers a pre-natal array that covers 111 population specific diseases, as well as other not population-specific diseases, like Duchene Muscular Dystrophy.

Customer Inquiries

Individuals interested in learning more about either the BRCA1 or BRCA2 tests should ask their doctors for more information.  They and their health care providers can also visit the company’s website, www.dnatraits.com, or call (713) 868-1438 for more information.

About Gene By Gene, Ltd.

Founded in 2000, Gene By Gene, Ltd. provides reliable DNA testing to a wide range of consumer and institutional customers through its four divisions focusing on ancestry, health, research and paternity.  Gene By Gene provides DNA tests through its Family Tree DNA division, which pioneered the concept of direct-to-consumer testing in the field of genetic genealogy more than a decade ago.  Gene by Gene is CLIA registered and through its clinical-health division DNA Traits offers regulated diagnostic tests.  DNA DTC is the Research Use Only (RUO) division serving both direct-to-consumer and institutional clients worldwide.  Gene By Gene offers AABB certified relationship tests through its paternity testing division, DNA Findings.  The privately held company is headquartered in Houston, which is also home to its state-of-the-art Genomics Research Center.

 ###

Media Contact:

Kate Croft for Gene By Gene, Ltd.

Casteel Schoenborn

888-609-8351

croft@csirfirm.com

Sixty years after Crick and Watson showed us the double helix structure of DNA, the Smithsonian opens the exhibition “Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code,” showing us all how the genetic revolution continues to change our lives, our health and our understanding of the human story.

The exhibition — just opened at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — includes a rich collection of exhibits that explain the basics of genetics, as well as offer insight into the genetic secrets being unlocked by scientists now.

“Most people won’t know what ‘genome’ means when they walk into the building, but they will when they leave,” said  National Human Genome Project, Director Dr. Eric Green.

Back in April in comments he made on DNA Day, Green said that the exhibition would trigger curiosity about genetics and inspire people to think and ask questions about the science, ethics and societal implications surrounding what many have dubbed the era of the “genetic revolution.”

The exhibition, which is presented in collaboration with the National Human Genome Research Institute as well as with contributions from other private foundations and companies, including 23andMe, also looks at the impact genetic science has on individuals. One of the exhibits includes a collection of stories from 23andMe customers.

Neil Schwartzman

“I’m pleased as punch,” said Neil Schwartzman, who found his biological sister, mother, father and half brother using 23andMe. “I just wish my adoptive parents were alive so that they could come and see it.”

Neil’s story —as well as the stories of eight other 23andMe customers — is included in a portion of the exhibit that looks at how individuals have used DNA to discover something new about their ancestry and where in the world they can trace their roots. Researchers working with the Smithsonian also interviewed each of the individuals to learn more not just about what they discovered but what those insights meant to their own sense of self.

Neil, who was adopted, spent years trying to find out about his family. It wasn’t until he tested with 23andMe and found his sister Jolie that he got answers. The testing also informed him about his Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, as well as ancestry that he can trace back to Scotland and parts of Eastern and Northern Europe.

For Miguel Aguilera, another 23andMe customer, it was hard to top having his own story included in a Smithsonian exhibit.

“It’s really exciting,” said Miguel, who plans to travel to D.C. and attend an opening ceremony. “I think this is probably the closest I’ll come to ever being famous.”

Miguel, along with several other 23andMe customers, will attended an opening ceremony this week.

Miguel’s story is familiar to many immigrants. He came to the U.S. from Mexico, and his ancestry reflects the rich mix of cultures there. When he tested with 23andMe, he was able to see a visualization of the vivid mix of his own ancestry: European, Native American and African. He expected to find Native American ancestry, and ancestry traced to Spain and France, but Miguel said he was surprised to also learn that he had a smattering of ancestry from Africa, Sardinia and Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.

“I was surprised by that,” he said.

23andMe customer Monica De Armond, also participated. She too has a rich mix of ancestry. Her mother is Mexican-American and her father is African American. She wanted to explore her DNA mostly out of curiosity.

For Monica, the experience showed her the surprising interconnections between people of different ancestry, blurring some of the lines that sometimes divide people.

“It really opens up your notion of identity,” she said.

This Smithsonian exhibition was developed and produced through a partnership between the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the National Institutes of Health National Human Genome Research Institute, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The plan is to have the exhibition run through September 1, 2014, followed by a traveling exhibition over the next four years.

The rapid advancement in the science has outpaced many people’s understanding of genetics. The exhibition is meant to help people understand how the DNA inside every living thing on earth holds a complete set of instructions needed for that organism to grow and function. The intent of the exhibition is to explain that most basic kind of information as well as illustrate how scientists have identified thousands of genetic variants that contribute to disease, including different cancers and rare illnesses. The exhibit will show how the science is making health treatment more personalized and offering more insight into the human story — how our ancestors’ came out of Africa and populated the world.

For more information visit http://unlockinglifescode.org/.

Since last summer’s upgrade sale was such huge success, we thought we’d repeat history! We are offering discounts to our Y-DNA upgrade products just in time for father’s day. So, please spread the word and we’ll make this year’s upgrade sale even bigger!

ALL ORDERS MUST BE PLACED AND PAID FOR BY 11:59pm, JUNE 19, 2013, TO RECEIVE THE SALE PRICE.

Reduced Prices

From June 12, 2013 through June 19, 2013,  the following sale prices are available:

Y-DNA 12 to 25  was $49                Now $35

Y-DNA 12 to 37  was $99                Now $69

Y-DNA 12 to 67  was $189              Now $148

Y-DNA 25 to 37  was $49                Now $35

Y-DNA 25 to 67  was $148              Now $114

Y-DNA 25 to 111 was $249              Now $224

Y-DNA 37 to 67  was $99                Now $79

Y-DNA 37 to 111 was $220              Now $188

Y-DNA 67 to 111 was $129              Now $109

To order an upgrade at these special prices you may log into your personal page with your kit number and password. Click on the “Order Upgrade” button located on the right side of the menu bar.  Then click on the “Special Offers” button.

Have you been waiting to upgrade your Y-DNA results?  I’ve been sitting at 67 markers for a while now, it’s probably about time I upgrade to 111 markers.  Will you be upgrading?

I haven’t been able to read the article yet, but according to the website here is the description:

Blogged: 25 Top Genealogy Blogs to Help Speed Your Research!  Tony Bandy highlights twenty-five blogs you can dig your teeth into.

I’m honored by this, and I think it reflects the increasing interest in DNA and Genetic Genealogy that genealogists continue to express.  We’re approaching a critical mass at which point DNA must be part of every genealogists’ toolbox, and at least a consideration in any serious genealogical search.

This honor follows not long after yet another incredible honor, being named one of the Top 40 Genealogy Blogs for 2013 by Family Tree Magazine!  I was included in the “Tech support” category along with some other great blogs.  Actually ALL of the blogs listed are great blogs, and I’m proud to be listed among them.

I recommend that you check out each of these blogs and determine which ones you should add to your daily reading!

Earlier this week 23andMe appointed Andy Page as company president.

Andy brings to the job incredible business experience as well as a long history with 23andMe. He has watched the company closely since its founding and he has served on the board of directors since 2012.  During that time Andy has seen 23andMe grow and articulate its business model. He is both very familiar with what 23andMe does and what it needs to do to continue to be a leader in the personal genomics sector.

He also jumps on board just as 23andMe has hit a period of rapid growth. As president of 23andMe Andy will oversee not just our business strategy, but also our operations. He will report to CEO and Co-Founder Anne Wojcicki, who will lead 23andMe’s research organization and continue to shape the long-term vision of the company.

After talking to employees earlier this week, Anne put Andy’s new position into perspective in a press release.

“Today’s announcement broadens the management team and reflects both our extraordinary growth and future ambitions,” Anne said this week. “Several months ago, we announced a goal of attracting one million customers by the end of 2013. I believe this goal is a stepping-stone for empowering even more individuals to take greater control of their health through personal genetics. Looking to 2014 and beyond, I see the need to focus on this vision for the future as well as our business strategy to ensure the company scales effectively.”

For his part, Andy sees a lot of potential for the business.

“This company can be transformative on a global scale, making personalized medicine and real-time research a reality,” Andy said. “The company has made significant progress in achieving its potential, and working with Anne and the rest of the 23andMe team I look forward to building a successful company that improves health care and  advances the understanding of the human genome.”

Check out our press release here for more about Andy.

From the article by Kara Swisher:

The reason for the addition, said CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki, is to push for more customer growth — 23andMe is trying to reach one million members by the end of the year — and the scaling of its operations.

Page, who will report to Wojcicki, will be in charge of a wide swath of 23andMe, including product and engineering, marketing, finance, business development, laboratory operations and legal and regulatory issues. He will also be tasked with helping develop business strategy.

From the About Us page at 23andMe:

According to SBM, here’s what a massive scientific review of the various possible treatments has to say:

Exercise – strong evidence for effectiveness
Weight loss – moderate evidence for
Acupuncture – strong evidence against
Physical agents TENS, ultrasound, etc. – inconclusive
Manual therapy chiropractic, massage – inconclusive
Valgus directing force brace – inconclusive
Lateral wedge insoles – moderate evidence against
Glucosamine and chondroitin – strong evidence against
NSAIDs – strong evidence for
Acetaminophen, opioids, pain patches – inconclusive
Intraarticular corticosteroid injections – inconclusive
Hyaluronic acid injections – strong evidence against
Hyaluronic acid supplements – see above
Growth factor injections and/or platelet rich plasma – inconclusive
Needle lavage – moderate evidence against
Arthroscopy with lavage and debridement – strong evidence against
Partial meniscectomy in osteoarthritis patients with torn meniscus – inconclusive
Valgus producing proximal tibial osteotomy – limited evidence
Free-floating interpositional device – no evidence; consensus against

So knee sufferers, the bottom line seems to be, get some exercise and take painkillers if you need to. Dietary supplements, injections, alternative medicine BS and unproven surgical procedures seem to do nothing but cost you money. I’m particularly glad to see the scam that is glucosamine and chondroitin called out in the review as having strong evidence against them, I’ve written about that nonsense in the past several times having never seen any scientific report to suggest anyone is ever deficient or needs supplements.

What do you do if you’ve got osteoarthritis of the knee? is a post from the science blog of David Bradley, author of Deceived Wisdom Subscribe to our Email Newsletter

According to Orlando Portale, PMC’s chief innovation officer [1]:

We used a lot of evidence-based design principles to improve the patient experience and the staff experience. It is a radical departure in design.

For example, the 740,000-square-foot, 288-bed hospital has done away with traditional nurse stations. Instead, there are nurse stations outside of patient rooms, where they can do charting while keeping on eye on the patient. Staff are equipped with phones that run over the Internet, allowing them to get real-time patient information.

Additional innovations aimed at improving patient care include:

• Patient wrist-worn devices that measure vital signs and allow for continuous and remote wireless monitoring
• Infrared technology that illuminates faucets when someone enters a patient room, reminding them to wash their hands
• Hydraulic lifts built into the ceiling to help staff with heavier patients
• Standardized designs so the equipment is located in the same place in every room

Palomar Health Chief Nurse Executive Lorie Shoemaker said [2]:

Patients being awakened from much needed sleep to have their vital signs taken will become a thing of the past. Rather than checking vital signs every several hours, our participating clinicians will be able to obtain continuous measurements without disturbing the patient, and receive instant alerts if a patient’s condition begins to deteriorate. At the bedside, they can simply tap the ViSi Mobile monitor for an instant reading of heart rate and pulse, or they can check from a remote viewing device.

Palomar Medical Center (PMC) was featured recently in a new Bloomberg TV series called BRINK, which focuses on emerging innovators and their cutting-edge technologies that are transforming industries such as health care. Check out the video below.

Technologies that were taped for the show include: the ViSi Mobile System, a wrist-worn patient vital sign device; SafeMatch, a biometric iris identification system; RIVA, a compounding robot that prepares intravenous medications; and Xenex, a robot that disinfects hospital rooms using ultra-violet light.

References

1. Now Open, the Hospital of the Future. Palomar Medical Center. 2012 Aug 30.
2. Palomar Medical Center is first in nation to use wrist-worn patient vital signs device. Palomar Medical Center. 2013 Feb 25.

The Family Finder Transfer program gives those who have taken an autosomal DNA test with Ancestry.com or 23andMe the ability to import their autosomal DNA results to Family Tree DNA.

According to the website, purchasers of the Family Finder Transfer program receive:

• A myFTDNA 2.0 account (personal page), if a new customer;
• Autosomal DNA results uploaded to and stored on Family Tree DNA’s servers;
• Matching to all autosomal Family Finder results in our matching database;
• Ethnic origins results from our Population Finder program; and
• All standard tools and pages associated with the autosomal Family Finder test and the Population Finder program.

The uploaded files are batched once a week then run through the conversion program, and results typically take between 6-10 weeks based on volume.  Customers are notified by e-mail when their results are available.

Why Transfer Your Results to FTDNA?

If you’ve already tested at Ancestry.com or 23andMe, you might wonder if there are any benefits to transferring your results to Family Tree DNA.

There certainly are benefits; having your results in multiple databases increases your chances of finding close genetic matches, since there is not exact overlap in the three big databases (Family Tree DNA, 23andMe, and Ancestry.com).  Further, Family Tree DNA shares matching segment data with customers via the Chromosome Browser tool.  In other words, you’ll be able to see exactly what piece(s) of DNA you share with each of your matches, which can be very useful information!

We don’t know how long this sale will last, so be sure to transfer your raw data to Family Tree DNA as soon as possible!

The facts of my conception are that my father was paid to abandon me. There is no dignity in that. I suffered from debilitating identity issues, mistrust of the opposite sex, hatred and condemnation of the opposite sex, feelings of objectification – like I only exist as a play – toy for others, and feeling like a science experiment.

If people can take away something so precious as a mother or father and make us feel like we should be grateful for the loss, what else can people take away from us? How do you expect the next generation to fight for things like freedom, democracy, clean air, clean water, when something as precious and basic as your mother or father is stolen from you? Removed by the state… Removed by a fertility industry that forces you into existence and then doesn’t return your calls when you grow up and start banging on their doors asking for records… Removed by a commissioning parent, often your other biological parent who vowed to protect and provide for you, but only on the contingency that you show gratitude for your life and don’t ask questions about the other missing parent....

One of the United State’s most famous civil rights leaders was Malcolm X. The “X” he used to replace his last name was a direct criticism of slave – owners removing slaves from their spouses, parents and children, and being disconnected from their ancestry and heritage. “Who do you think you are” is a popular TV show where celebrities have their genealogy investigated. Rosie O’Donnell herself expressed a craving to “discover her family as fully fleshed out people and learn about their journeys”. The sheer existence of a term and concept like genealogy demonstrates that it is unfair to minimize and marginalize donor – conceived people’s curiosities about our genetic kin, and dismiss our desire for connection.....

Having a bloated industry where medical and legal professionals profit from separating children from their biological parents is problematic.

2376 Techniques that entail the dissociation of husband and wife, by the intrusion of a person other than the couple (donation of sperm or ovum, surrogate uterus), are gravely immoral. These techniques (heterologous artificial insemination and fertilization) infringe the child's right to be born of a father and mother known to him and bound to each other by marriage. 

I presented Webicina.com on the first day and gave the closing keynote on the second day entitled “From Doctor to Futurist”. Some of my key points:

• The future of healthcare will be based on patients who will be able to measure anything about themselves from blood count to ECG and even genomic data.
• We must prepare students and medical professionals for this digital world. This is why I launched a university course, an e-learning platform and wrote a book.
• My role as a medical futurist is to close the gap between e-patients and their not that web-savvy doctors; as well as between digital technologies and everyday medicine.
• Every medical student in the world must read e-Patient Dave’s book!

I had a chance to wear the Google Glass. It’s great but you expect more based on the promotional videos.

Dr. Laurent Alexandre wrote a section about my work in digital health in his book.

Tiantian Li, the managing director of the world’s largest medical community site of 2 million doctors in China, gave me a gift.

I gave a try to HapiFork that buzzes if you eat too fast.

See you next year in Paris!

The cancer centers are uniting to transform cancer research through collaborative oncology trials that leverage the scientific and clinical expertise of the Big Ten universities listed below. The consortium forms a powerful collaboration because of the solid research infrastructure already existing at each university. The consortium also leverages geographical locations and existing relationships among the cancer centers.

According to Noah Hahn, M.D., executive officer of the consortium, associate professor of medicine at IU School of Medicine and a researcher at the IU Simon Cancer Center [1]:

 A critical byproduct of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium will be the creation of a new arena for junior faculty cancer researchers to design and lead potential practice-changing cancer studies. Opportunities for junior faculty to lead clinical trials have been evaporating in recent years, but the consortium aims to intentionally promote junior faculty participation and leadership in all trials under appropriate senior faculty guidance and mentorship in an effort to address those decreasing opportunities.

Patrick J. Loehrer Sr., M.D., director of the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, added [1]:

Tremendous strengths exist in the cancer centers of the Big Ten. This is a rare opportunity for the universities to work together as part of a regional team science initiative to advance cancer research. The advantage of this, particularly during a time of austerity for research, is that we can build upon the strengths of the institutions and fortify some of the shortcomings. This allows us to be lean, efficient but, most importantly, collaborative.

The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium consists of the following universities and cancer centers:

• Indiana University (Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center)
• Northwestern University (Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center)
• Penn State University (Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute)
• Purdue University (Purdue University Center for Cancer Research)
• Rutgers University (The Cancer Institute of New Jersey becomes part of Rutgers on July 1)
• University of Illinois (University of Illinois Cancer Center)
• University of Iowa (Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center)
• University of Michigan (University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center)
• University of Minnesota (Masonic Cancer Center)
• University of Nebraska (Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center)
• University of Wisconsin (Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center)

The Indianapolis-based Hoosier Oncology Group will serve as the administrative headquarters for the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium. Since 1984, Hoosier Oncology Group has initiated more than 150 clinical trials with more than 4,000 patients.

References

1. IU Simon Cancer Center Joins Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium. Indiana University School of Medicine. 2013 May 31.

Then, there was the ludicrous attempt by Britain’s state-owned “Royal Mail” to rebrand itself for the “modern” age as “Consignia. And, who could forget the rebranding of the UK polytechnics as universities in the early 1990s. I learned recently that there are now University Technical Colleges (UTCs), which seem to be more akin to the old sixth-form colleges but offering curricula from the GSCE (high school level), through A-levels and above.

Within a company though there might be a range of products that get the re-branding treatment and it doesn’t necessarily always work. In the UK, we used to enjoy a Marathon (the nutty version of a Mars Bar, you might say), but then it was reformed as Snickers to align with Europe, the US and everywhere else. Opal Fruits were “made to make your mouth water” (they never did, just made you thirsty I seem to remember), but they became the far less mouth-watering Starburst.

Similarly, we used to have Jif bathroom cleaner (oh, and Jif lemon), but to give it a more Eurocentric name Jif cleaner became Cif, pronounced in the UK like the colloquialism for a certain sexually transmitted infection. The latter phrase commonly abbreviated STI, but previously STD (with the D standing for disease, not all infections present as disease) used to be called venereal disease, from the Latin Venus. Then there are the obfuscating name changes that attempt to escape a battered reputation, thus the nuclear waste site at Windscale essentially became known as Sellafield, British Rail with its alleged out-of-date pork pies and dry, curly sandwiches (that actually never were!) was split and became RailTrack and various carriers, one of which was stupidly called One for a time.

Windows 3 sounds archaic, 95 quickly dated, became 98, then the millennial and clichéd “Me”, XP, 7, 8 etc etc. Similarly, AT&T Broadband Internet became Comcast, Borland became the uninspiring Inprise and then back to Borland all within three years of the millennium bug. Freeserve was then the puerile Wannado and ultimately the product-free name Orange. Coco Pops in the UK became known as the Eurocentric Choco Krispies for a while and then back to the far wittier Coco Pops. Oil of Ulay became Oil of Olay. The stoic Norwich Union established in 1797 was subsumed under the dysaesthetic name of Aviva and many other banks and insurers went a similar route. I’ve previously reported on how the company Lucky Goldstar morphed into one of the most successful consumer electronics brands (LG, in case you didn’t guess). The list goes on.

Writing in the current issue of the International Journal of Business and Globalisation, Petra Ringeisen and Reinhard Hünerberg of the University of Kassel, Germany, have researched what kind of impact rapid rebranding as part of an international standardisation effort can have on a company’s bottom line. They found that brand names changes often annoy customers especially when they learn that the “new” name was in place in foreign climes for years and their “local” brand was simply a parochial anomaly.

But, people like their parochial anomalies, few people want to live in a homogenised global village, multicultural means diversity, not all the same. As such annoyance can lead to consumers abandoning a once much-loved brand in favour of a rival and initially a loss of profits for the name-changer.

Further research will show the ultimate fate of such brands, presumably, once the original name has been forgotten by the older consumers, the history will be unknown to the younger buyers, all other things being equal profits will climb again. How long that takes is a matter of opinion. I have never, knowingly bought and eaten a Snickers bar, although I probably had more than my fair share of Marathons as a British child of the 1970s.

Ringeisen, P. and Hünerberg, R. (2013) `Consumer response to brand renaming as part of an international standardisation strategy´, Int. J. Business and Globalisation, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp.456-469.

UPDATE: A misguided rebranding just in: allegedly, the UK’s Chartered Institute of Librarians and Information Professionals is planning to change its name to “The Knowledge People”. WTF? Not only is that pretentious but it doesn’t really tell us anything about what the organisation is, librarians and information scientists do not have a monopoly on knowledge, after all. Still with CILIP, but pronounce it chill-I.P.

Say my name, say my name is a post from the science blog of David Bradley, author of Deceived Wisdom Subscribe to our Email Newsletter

The course will function like a conference, but it takes place over three months rather than two days, and encourages the transformation from passive audience observer to active participant and thought leader. The themes to be addressed are: 1) Global Health Challenges. 2) Mobile Health Opportunities. 3) Entrepreneurship in Health Care.

The shoot was fun and we all enjoyed it. The video should be submitted in a few days’ time. I will, of course, publish it here. Until then, a few photos:

The event was an incredible success, with stellar speakers, inspiring and entertaining talks from Spencer Wells and Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and excellent organization and execution.

Below is just a brief summary of the highlights I believe are worth mentioning, but be sure to check out other posts that have or will come out soon, including this one from The Legal Genealogist, and this one from Dick Eastman.

(A side note: as I was sitting in the airport waiting for my flight from Newark to San Francisco, I looked up and saw a familiar face – Judy Russell from The Legal Genealogist! We shared the next two flights, although Judy was furiously dealing with an unfortunate hack attack on her website, which has since been resolved).

Spencer Wells, Ph.D., National Genographic Project

The day began with Spencer Wells, an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society and the lead for the National Genographic Project.

Dr. Wells discussed the history of the Genographic Project, including its launch in 2005 with the original Y-DNA and mtDNA tests, and the three-prong nature of project (research, public participation, and grants). He then discussed the project’s recently launched Geno 2.0 test (see here to purchase).

I’ve heard Dr. Wells speak several times now, and each time he has been engaging; this time was no different. If you ever get the opportunity, you will not be disappointed!

First Sessions

The first sessions were:

• “Chromosome Mapping for Genealogical Purposes” (Tim Janzen, M.D.)
• “Genetic Tools: What They are and When to Use Them” (Bennett Greenspan)
•  “The ABCs of DNA” (Judy Russell, J.D., CG, CGL)

I attended Tim’s talk, which was very good.  Chromosome mapping – essentially mapping every segment of your DNA to an ancestor – is a challenging and lifelong endeavor.  The benefits, however, are numerous and I recommend that everyone try some mapping as they explore autosomal DNA testing.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Ph.D.

Next up was Dr. Gates – “Skip” – with a discussion of his family, how he got started in genealogy and genetics, and the development of his many PBS series. It was a fascinating insight into Dr. Gates’ family history as well as the African American experience in general.

It was, without a doubt, one of the most interesting talks I’ve ever heard. At one point he mentioned that his father was the funniest man he ever knew, but it’s clear that much of that humor was inherited by Dr. Gates! At two or three points during his talk I literally laughed out loud, something I never do at lectures like this!  He received a standing ovation at the end of his talk; indeed, the crowd practically jumped to their feet.

Second Sessions

One half of the terrific audience!

In a cruel, cruel twist of fate, my talk began immediately after Dr. Gates’ talk. I began the talk with a comment to that effect, and I think that was sufficient to break the ice! I spoke about “Using Third-Party Tools to Analyze Your DNA Results,” the first time I’ve given this talk. I think it went very well; the 200-member room was mostly full and it was both live-streamed and recorded for purchase and the SCGS member archive. I’m hoping the reviews provide some useful feedback!

The other talks, both of which I would have liked to attend, were:

• “Finding Family with DNA Testing: An Adoptee Success Story” (Richard Hill);
• “DNA and Family History: Getting the Most out of 23andme’s Genealogy Features” (Joanna Mountain, Ph.D.)

Third Sessions

The third set of sessions were:

• “Genetic Genealogy: Beginner Basics” (Emily D. Aulicino);
• “Working with Autosomal DNA: Genealogical Case Studies.” (CeCe Moore);
• “Mitochondrial DNA: Tools and Techniques to Go Beyond the Basics” (Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL);

I attended CeCe’s talk, which was a great look at some real-life case studies and examples from her own research providing insight into the MANY uses of autosomal DNA.

Fourth Sessions

The final set of sessions were:

• “Famous DNA” (Katherine Hope Borges);
• “An Inside Look at AncestryDNA” (Ken Chahine, Ph.D., J.D.);
• “The Changing Y-DNA Haplotree and Its Impact” (Alice M. Fairhurst and David Reynolds)

I attended Ken Chahine’s talk to learn more about AncestryDNA’s most recent developments, and learned that he is an engaging and energetic speaker.

Ancestry.com

During the Ancestry.com presentation, Dr. Chahine shared number of things, including the following:

• Based on the graph Ken showed, at least 10,000 AncestryDNA tests are being processed every month;

• A modified website, with search functions, will be released to the general public in the next few weeks or month

• The ethnicity calculations at AncestryDNA are undergoing a complete overhaul and a major update will be provided to all customers later this year;

• The modified ethnicity algorithm will break West African ancestry into six different populations;

• The modified ethnicity algorithm will comprise 26 different regions (up from 22), and will use many, many more SNPs (AIMS) for the analysis;

• There are about 120,000 records in their database, and approximately 1,000,000 MRCA hits so far (I think that works out to about 4 hits per person on average?);

• I have to admit I was interested by the factoids about the MRCA hits! The most common decade for MRCA hits is 1690-1700 (what generation, on average, would that work out to?) with the vast majority of hits between 1650 and 1820. The most common locations for MRCA were Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, followed by a long list of other states and countries. I wonder, is Ancestry.com attempting to correlate this type of information about the MRCA with information such as segment size or other characteristics (maybe properties of the shared trees, locations of the segments, etc)? This could potentially be used to provide clues to the matches. I can envision something like this hint: “Since your tree and the tree of your match have significant Colonial America branches, and based on the amount of shared DNA, we recommend that you look for a match in the timeframe of 1680 to 1700, which is when approximately 85% of similar matches have identified their MRCA.” There’s (potentially) a lot of potential.

The talk was followed by a brief Q&A, during which several of the questioners were extremely rude. It was embarrassing, and I hope the Ancestry.com team members do not consider this conduct to represent the genetic genealogy community in any way!

The Genetic Genealogy Community

Aside from the terrific speakers, the highlight of this trip for me was seeing friends both old and new, and simply being surrounded by people interested in genetic genealogy. Although it’s likely that more than 1,000,000 people have had their DNA tested for genealogically-relevant information, we are still a close-knit community.

Thank you to the Southern California Genealogy Society for inviting me to DNA Day. It was well worth the long plane ride ahead of me!

For the live-updated, fully-labelled, interactive version of this graphic, click here.

By Alexandra Carmichael, Co-Founder of CureTogether

Nearly two years ago, CureTogether released a list of the top patient-rated treatments for vulvodynia, a common form of female reproductive pain that makes regular activities like wearing jeans or having sex extremely painful.

A staggering 20 percent of women will experience vulvodynia at some point in their lives, so we at CureTogether decided it would be helpful to repeat the analysis and release an updated list of treatments rated by women living with the condition.

People in the study said they found that non-drug interventions like physical therapy, ice and wearing loose-fitting clothes were effective treatments. Conversely, those in the study said some treatments like NuvaRing, Replens, Capsaicin cream, and Lanacane actually made the condition worse.

These are all treatments suggested and reported by patients, so some redundancy in the terms used is to be expected. In addition, the term “treatment” in this study refers to anything patients describe using to help them feel better whether it is an officially prescribed medical treatment or not.

Vulvodynia is a very common kind of female pain, but it is rarely talked about because many women are embarrassed by it. CureTogether is a free resource owned by 23andMe, and it allows people to share information about their health and treatments. In turn they can learn from others dealing with the same conditions.

CureTogether’s study compiled responses  over four years from 1,969 people with vulvodynia, who rated the effectiveness of 120 different treatments. We’d like to thank those who participated. And just as they shared their experience with treatments, we’re freely and openly sharing the results of the vulvodynia study. We hope this will help raise awareness and let people feel like they’re not alone.

This is part of a regular series of CureTogether research findings. CureTogether’s research findings are different than those made by 23andMe, which look at genetic associations with illness, traits and drug response. But as we continue our work with the CureTogether community, 23andMe hopes to incorporate more of this kind of self-reported information into our own research. CureTogether present its findings just as they are — patient-reported data — to stimulate discussion and generate new insights for further research.

Please tweet, blog, or pass this along to anyone who can benefit or is interested in vulvodynia. Thank you!

Here’s what Andrey Pavlov doggedly had to say about DMAA in a recent Science-based Medicine post:

“…there is no reasonable way that DMAA can be considered a natural or safe product for sale as a supplement under the DSHEA (US Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act). And even if it did meet DSHEA requirements, this is an excellent example of the dangers of the law in the first place that allow so-called natural compounds to be marketed without prior safety and efficacy testing. The authors recognize that in the vast majority of cases such compounds have no effect at all, whether positive or negative, and the primary harm is in wasting people’s money with claims that are tantamount to fraud. However, there are clearly cases where that is not the case and harm is established about as clearly as one could expect without people dropping like flies. And that doesn’t take into account the less severe or acute harms experienced by vast numbers of people taking untested supplements.”

DMAA supplements sometimes claim “geranium oil” or “geranium extract” as their source. There is no DMAA in geraniums it is added as a synthetic agent. The Wiki page for this compound makes for interesting reading.

Dietary DMAA, dimethylamylamine, death is a post from the science blog of David Bradley, author of Deceived Wisdom Subscribe to our Email Newsletter

Buzz blinds Dolby is a post from the science blog of David Bradley, author of Deceived Wisdom Subscribe to our Email Newsletter

The police may take DNA samples from people arrested in connection with serious crimes, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a 5-to-4 decision.

The federal government and 28 states authorize the practice, and law enforcement officials say it is a valuable tool for investigating unsolved crimes. But the court said the testing was justified by a different reason: to identify the suspect in custody.

“When officers make an arrest supported by probable cause to hold for a serious offense and they bring the suspect to the station to be detained in custody,” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the majority, “taking and analyzing a cheek swab of the arrestee’s DNA is, like fingerprinting and photographing, a legitimate police booking procedure that is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.”

Justice Antonin Scalia summarized his dissent from the bench, a rare move signaling deep disagreement. He accused the majority of an unsuccessful sleight of hand, one that “taxes the credulity of the credulous.” The point of DNA testing as it is actually practiced, he said, is to solve cold cases, not to identify the suspect in custody.

But the Fourth Amendment forbids searches without reasonable suspicion to gather evidence about an unrelated crime, he said, a point the majority did not dispute. “Make no mistake about it: because of today’s decision, your DNA can be taken and entered into a national database if you are ever arrested, rightly or wrongly, and for whatever reason,” Justice Scalia said from the bench.

A Department of Justice study estimated that around 900,000 requests for biological screening, mostly DNA testing, were backlogged nationally at the end of 2009, the most recent year for which data is available. Meanwhile, large numbers of kits from routine arrests may be making the problem worse, argued Brandon Garrett, a professor at University of Virginia School of Law.

“As taking more DNA from arrestees has increased, the backlogs have increased at the expense of testing DNA from actual crime scenes,” he said.

Garrett also said that simply adding a DNA sample from everyone who is arrested might even make it harder for police to identify criminals, increasing the likelihood of false positives without adding any perpetrators to the system.

“A lot of innocent people will have their DNA in these databases,” he said. “That dilutes the databases and weakens their power.”

Garrett is right. Forensic DNA testing looks at short sequences that are repeated over and over. These repeated regions are called short tandem repeats or STRs.  The places where these STRs occur are called loci.  There are many variations in the lengths of STRs (I may have 5 repeats at a particular loci and you may have 8 ) and by looking at many different loci scientists create a kind of profile or human bar code that is unique to each individual.  This technique is also used to determine parentage because you inherit half of your unique barcode from your mother and half from your father.

STR Data

After scientists analyze the DNA found at a crime scene, they compare it to the suspect's DNA to see if their barcodes match.  The more loci where the STRs match, the more likely that the DNA comes from the same individual.  Typically, to make sure that the barcodes matched, labs in the United States look at 13 loci.  Labs in the United Kingdom look at 10 loci.  If all 10-13 loci had the same lengths of STRs, it was said that the DNA was from the same individual.  The lower the number of loci, the less confidence the DNA is a match.  In other words the longer the barcode, the better the identification tool.

The problem comes from the fact that most DNA from a crime scene is not perfect.  It can be degraded or mixed with DNA from other individuals.  Sometimes labs can only match 9 loci to the DNA found at a crime scene.

Scientists are starting to question this assumption that 10-13 loci are enough to rule out the possibility of a random match to DNA other than the suspect.  In other words, if 10-13 loci are not enough to make a definitive barcode, then a 10-13 loci DNA profile can actually match more than one individual.  According New Scientist, a recent look into the possibility of random matches produced some serious results:

The first clue that something might be amiss came in 2005, when limited data was released from the Arizona state database, a small part of CODIS. An analyst who compared every profile with every other profile in the database found that, of 65,493 profiles, 122 pairs of profiles matched at nine out of 13 loci and 20 pairs matched at 10 loci, while one pair matched at 11 loci and one more pair matched at 12 loci. "It surprised a lot of people," says signatory Bill Thompson of UCI. "It had been common for experts to testify that a nine-locus match is tantamount to a unique identification."

The results from roughly 34,000 criminal drug cases were put into question earlier this year, when forensic chemist Annie Dookhan at the shuttered Department of Public Health Lab in Massachusetts was discovered to have falsified records on samples she was assigned to process. Instead, she forged signatures and did not perform tests she recorded as complete, according to investigations.  Suspicions may have first arisen due to her impressive output—she claimed to have processed 9,000 samples in a year, whereas colleagues only averaged around 3,000. As a result of her actions, a number of defendants may have been wrongly imprisoned, while others who may have been rightly accused were freed.

1. It’s equally challenging to persuade young medical students to use social media for professional purposes as to teach older physicians about the use of technology.
2. “If you want to teach me, you first have to reach me.” That is my motto, therefore as all the students this semester were on Facebook, I published challenge questions for bonus points every day on the Facebook page of the course. Students loved that and the winner didn’t have to take the exam.
3. I bring them the newest medical technologies such as AliveCor.
4. The course will be launched again in English and Hungarian this September.
5. We are working on another course, Disruptive Technologies in Medicine! Details soon!
6. This is still the world’s only comprehensive university course about social media.
7. 6 students also received the certification for finishing the online course.
8. A manuscript presenting the results of the surveys students filled in was submitted to the Journal of the American Medical Association.

An article in the Coast Guard’s On Scene magazine, describes the Instinctive Drowning Response like this and it’s worth reading in detail so that you can spot someone drowning when everyone else ignores the signs:

“Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled before speech occurs.

Drowning people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people’s mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.

Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.

Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer. Drowning people usually cannot reach out for a piece of rescue equipment.

From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.”

This doesn’t mean that a person that is yelling for help and thrashing isn’t in real trouble—they are experiencing aquatic distress. Not always present before the Instinctive Drowning Response, aquatic distress doesn’t last long—but unlike true drowning, these victims can still assist in their own rescue. They can grab lifelines, throw rings, etc.

Originally via Slate Magazine, but the quote is adapted from a US Coast Guard PDF here.

Drowning doesn’t look like drowning is a post from the science blog of David Bradley, author of Deceived Wisdom Subscribe to our Email Newsletter

Alan Brown, M.D., M.P.H, of Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, a grantee of the NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), said:

Prospective mothers should take common sense preventive measures, such as getting flu shots prior to and in the early stages of pregnancy and avoiding contact with people who are symptomatic. In spite of public health recommendations, only a relatively small fraction of such women get immunized. The weight of evidence now suggests that benefits of the vaccine likely outweigh any possible risk to the mother or newborn.

Brown and colleagues reported their findings online May 8, 2013 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry [1].

Although there have been hints of a maternal influenza/bipolar disorder connection, the new study is the first to prospectively follow families in the same HMO, using physician-based diagnoses and structured standardized psychiatric measures. Access to unique Kaiser-Permanente, county and Child Health and Development Study External Web Site Policy databases made it possible to include more cases with detailed maternal flu exposure information than in previous studies.

Among nearly a third of all children born in a northern California county during 1959-1966, researchers followed 92 who developed bipolar disorder, comparing rates of maternal flu diagnoses during pregnancy with 722 matched controls.

The nearly fourfold increased risk implicated influenza infection at any time during pregnancy, but there was evidence suggesting slightly higher risk if the flu occurred during the second or third trimesters. Moreover, the researchers linked flu exposure to a nearly sixfold increase in a subtype of bipolar disorder with psychotic features.

A previous study, by Brown and colleagues, in a related northern California sample, found a threefold increased risk for schizophrenia associated with maternal influenza during the first half of pregnancy. Autism has similarly been linked to first trimester maternal viral infections and to possibly related increases in inflammatory molecules.

Brown suggested:

Future research might investigate whether this same environmental risk factor might give rise to different disorders, depending on how the timing of the prenatal insult affects the developing fetal brain.

Bipolar disorder shares with schizophrenia a number of other suspected causes and illness features, the researchers note. For example, both share onset of symptoms in early adulthood, susceptibility genes, run in the same families, affect nearly one percent of the population, show psychotic behaviors and respond to antipsychotic medications.

Increasing evidence of such overlap between traditional diagnostic categories has led to the NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) project, which is laying the foundation for a new mental disorders classification system based on brain circuits and dimensional mechanisms that cut across traditional diagnostic categories.

The research was also funded by NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Source: NIH News

References

1. Parboosing et al. Gestational Influenza and bipolar Disorder in Adult Offspring. JAMA Psychiatry. 2013 May 8:1-8. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.896. [Epub ahead of print]
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On the first day, I’ll also give a presentation about Webicina.com. See you in Paris!

Every day, he tracks his mood and mental state, what he ate, and how much time he spent outdoors. Twice a week, he gets his brain scanned in an MRI machine. And once a week, he has his blood drawn so that it can be analyzed for hormones and gene activity levels. Poldrack plans to gather a year’s worth of brain and body data to answer an unexplored question in the neuroscience community: how do brain networks behave and change over a year?

Moreover, according to mobile health and wellness sensor reports, in 2017, 515 million sensors for wearable, implantable or mobile health and fitness devices will be shipped globally, up from 107 million in 2012!

We can expect that in a few years’ time, patients will be able to measure everything about themselves from blood count and blood glucose content to ECG and even genomics data. Are medical professionals, payers and pharmaceutical companies ready for such a world?

Of course, not, but I’m trying to prepare them offline and online.

Do you have any therapeutic ideas which might be curative for inoperable osteosarcoma of the pelvis with pulmonary metastases? Radiotherapy (72 Gy) and chemotherapy (EURAMOS-1 protocol) did not help.

I see more and more attempts at crowdsourcing which is not surprising as the increased use of social media platforms opened the way for communicating with like-minded people worldwide in no time. If you can share the video with oncologists you know, please do so.

The healthcare social media community has been discussing a study that concluded patients who wanted to participate in medical decision making had higher bills. It might predict that e-patients will have higher bills as well. Let’s take a look at it:

Analyzing the data, the researchers found that nearly all — 96.3% — wanted to receive information about their illnesses and treatment options, but that only 28.9% said they had a strong preference for making their own decisions about their care.

Those patients had longer hospital stays, by about a quarter of a day on average, than patients who preferred let their doctors take the lead. They also had greater hospital costs ($865 more, on average.)  By and large, people who were more likely to participate in medical decisions were better educated, and more likely to have private insurance coverage, than the rest of the patients who were surveyed.

You see? It says patients who had a strong preference for making their own decisions about their care. E-patients are partners with their doctors, not making medical decisions themselves alone. That’s the difference.

The Scanadu Scout will be able to measure a person’s heart rate & ECG, blood pressure, temperature, respiratory rate and oximetry (blood oxygen level) within 10 seconds. The stats are displayed and stored on your smartphone.

To bring the Scanadu Scout to the consumer market as a medical-grade device, the company has to file with the FDA. Scanadu’s Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for the Scout provides participants early access to an exploratory version of the device, and invites them to opt in to what will be a usability study. The exploratory version will be used as a research tool and collect data that will be submitted in a marketing application to regulatory authorities.

The 30-day campaign, which ends Friday, June 21, 2013, will offer a variety of perks from Scanadu. Supporters can reserve a first-edition of the Scanadu Scout for as little as $199 USD with an estimated delivery of March 2014.

Scanadu is a Singularity University startup based at NASA Research Park in Moffett Field, California. As such, the device is built on the Micrium platform, NASA’s real-time operation system for SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) on the Rover Curiosity. The device uses a micro-USB adapter that you can hook up to a USB port and can be fully charged from low battery in less than an hour. When using it a few times a day, it will last for about a week.

The Scanadu app will come in Android and iOS versions. It will support Bluetooth 4.0 Smart Low Energy (LE). For more on the Scanadu Scout, check out the video below.

Source: Scanadu

MINDDRIVE’S mission is to inspire students to learn, expand their vision of the future, and to have a positive impact on urban workforce development. The program is funded through the national sponsorships of Bridgestone, Hertz Corporation, SONIC®, America’s Drive-In®, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), VML, and KCP&L as well as through local foundations and individual contributors.

Two new reports call that conclusion, straightforward as it may seem, into question. One examined how the other nutrients present in egg yolks can actually protect against coronary artery disease [2]. The other is a meta-analysis of data gathered from seventeen discrete studies designed to determine if egg consumption is linked to a higher incidence of stroke or coronary heart disease [3]. Both studies concluded that eating whole eggs (as opposed to egg whites) is not bad for your heart. In fact, it’s probably good for you.

In 2012, researchers from Maria Luz Fernandez’ laboratory in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Connecticut demonstrated that eating three whole eggs per day, so 534mg of cholesterol, for twelve weeks increased HDL levels in people who were overweight or already showing signs of metabolic syndrome when compared to HDL levels in similar people who ate only egg whites [4]. This three egg a day regimen was part of a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. HDLs, or high-density lipoproteins, are the particles that are responsible for cholesterol efflux: they clear cholesterol from your blood and bring it back to your liver. They are the ones known as “good cholesterol” since cholesterol efflux prevents atherosclerosis, the buildup of cholesterol and fat in the arteries.

Because HDL particles are composed of cholesterol and various fatty acids, these researchers hypothesized that perhaps the particular fatty acids present in egg yolks gave whole eggs their ability to increase HDL levels. While the ratios of the different fatty acids did not differ significantly in the HDLs of the group that ate the whole eggs and the one that ate only egg whites, the people who ate the whole eggs had a 2.4% increase in cholesterol efflux over the egg white eaters. This may seem modest, but each percentage increase in cholesterol efflux has been found to reduce the risk of coronary artery disease by 30%. The specific fatty acids present in egg yolks are also known to promote anticoagulant activity, and may help prevent blood clots that way.

Frank Hu, a Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health, oversaw a meta-analysis of seventeen studies undertaken over the last forty six and a half years that examined the effect of egg consumption on health [3]. Nine studies focused on coronary heart disease, and eight focused on stroke. He and his group determined that the consumption of up to one whole egg per day was not associated with an increased risk of either heart disease or stroke. Interestingly, they also found that among diabetics egg consumption was associated with a 50% increase in heart disease risk, but a 25% decrease in stroke risk. They warn that this result needs to be confirmed with more detailed studies.

They conclude that although diet is an important determinant of serum cholesterol, dietary cholesterol has only a modest impact on plasma concentrations of LDL cholesterol — low-density lipoprotein, the “bad cholesterol” that is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke. Since eggs provide an inexpensive and low calorie source of many nutrients — proteins, minerals, vitamin D, and unsaturated fatty acids — they suggest that eating an overall well balanced diet, rather than simply cutting out eggs or egg yolks, is probably the best way to maintain heart and overall health.

References

1. Know Your Fats. American Heart Association. Accessed 2013 May 28.
2. Andersen et al. Egg Consumption Modulates HDL Lipid Composition and Increases the Cholesterol-Accepting Capacity of Serum in Metabolic Syndrome. Lipids. 2013 Mar 15.
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3. Rong et al. Egg consumption and risk of coronary heart disease and stroke: dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. BMJ. 2013 Jan 7;346:e8539. doi: 10.1136/bmj.e8539.
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4. Blesso et al. Whole egg consumption improves lipoprotein profiles and insulin sensitivity to a greater extent than yolk-free egg substitute in individuals with metabolic syndrome. Metabolism. 2013 Mar;62(3):400-10. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2012.08.014. Epub 2012 Sep 27.
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How fast is too fast for review of a scientific article? And who has the responsibility to ensure accuracy? Errors found in a widely acclaimed cloning study have rekindled those questions — and sent the lead author and the journal that published it scrambling to assure the world that the problems did not compromise the findings.

The paper, which was published online by the journal Cell on 15 May (http://doi.org/mkn), reported the creation of human embryonic stem-cell lines from cloned human skin cells. The lines are expected to answer fundamental questions about the way in which cells are reprogrammed and also to have potential therapeutic applications.

But last Wednesday, after an anonymous online commenter noted three pairs of duplicated images with conflicting labels in the paper, excitement turned to confusion — and a bit of déjà vu. The last time the same feat was claimed — by then Seoul University professor Woo Suk Hwang — duplicate images were noted anonymously and the breakthrough was later debunked. Nobody is claiming more than sloppiness in the present case, and the authors quickly stepped up to put the record straight....

But many also noted that the paper had been published with blazing speed — Cell accepted it just three days after receiving it and published it online 12 days later — and questioned whether such rapid publication is good for science. “Whatever the explanation is, it’s amazing that there is another issue with a paper in SCNT [somatic-cell nuclear transfer]. The four-day review process was obviously inadequate,” says Arnold Kriegstein, director of the stem-cell programme at the University of California, San Francisco.

"Anything other than a total ban on human cloning would be virtually impossible to enforce. Cloned human embryos created for research would be widely available in laboratories and embryo farms. Once cloned embryos were available, implantation would take place. Even the tightest regulations and strict policing would not prevent or detect the birth of cloned babies."

In a few years time, we will teach medical students how to deal with such technologies. I’m developing a new course for that as a part of the medical curriculum.

The award is in the shape of a pine tree and was created by the Swedish artist, Anna Lundin.

I’ve been teaching medical students and physicians about these topics for many years and they always came up with a final question: is there a practical book that could help us learn the meaningful use of social media? Now yes, there is!

I hope medical professionals will find it useful and e-patients will share it with their doctors.

Social media has been clearly changing the way medicine is practiced and healthcare is delivered. Medical professionals must be able to meet the special needs of technology-aware patients and use digital technologies in their work and communications properly. Each physician should find the tools that will assist them in their workflow, and patients need to be educated how to use the internet. It is the responsibility of medical professionals to contribute to this process. The constantly evolving digital world must be used in the practice of medicine to improve the care of patients. However, the only way to do so effectively is via evidence-based, meaningful and strategic use. Social Media in Clinical Practice provides practical guidance in this mission and is thus essential reading for all medical personal looking into approaching this for the first time.

Here is the table of contents:

1. Social media is transforming medicine and healthcare
2. Using medical search engines with a special focus on Google
3. Being up-to-date in medicine
4. Community sites Facebook, Google+ and medical social networks
5. The world of e-patients
6. Establishing a medical blog
7. The role of Twitter and microblogging in medicine
8. Collaboration online
9. Wikipedia and Medical Wikis
10.  Organizing medical events in virtual environments
11. Medical smartphone and tablet applications
12. Use of social media by hospitals and medical practices
13. Medical video and podcast
14. Creating presentations and slideshows
15. E-mails and privacy concerns
16. Social bookmarking
17. Conclusions

If you don’t get it, then I just have one thing to say and it’s: “A voiced alveolar stop and breathy-voiced low-back unrounded vowel, with advanced tongue root” – duuuuh…

(That latter words is described by James Harbeck in his accompanying article as aiming to sound as stupid as possible. Of course, the stupidity being communicated is not that of the articulator but of you, dear listener, or did you not get that either? Meh.)

Translating teenage grunts is a post from the science blog of David Bradley, author of Deceived Wisdom Subscribe to our Email Newsletter

Deceived wisdom about pruney fingers is a post from the science blog of David Bradley, author of Deceived Wisdom Subscribe to our Email Newsletter

Just a quick note about my next book, The Remedy, which will be out in early 2014, published by Penguin/Gotham. It’s a tremendously exciting true story that takes place in the last decades of the 19th century. It’s about the invention of modern medicine, the pursuit of scientific glory, and the attempt to cure the world’s most deadly disease, tuberculosis (also known, at the time, as consumption).

The book traces the career of Robert Koch, a provincial German doctor who rose, through sheer determination and scientific diligence, to be the greatest scientist of the day. Koch was a self-made microbiologist, and thanks to his exacting personality, he built a body of evidence that convinced the world of the Germ Theory of Disease: that there is such a thing as germs, and that they are the cause of infectious disease — the very diseases that plagued mankind in the 19th century, tuberculosis worst among them.

The book also follows the unlikely rise of another provincial doctor, this one in England, named Arthur Conan Doyle.

Conan Doyle, of course, is known today as the author of Sherlock Holmes stories, but he was trained as a physician. The book follows Conan Doyle’s early years as he struggled, equally, to build a career as a physician and a reputation as an author. And it investigates how he diligently followed the changes to the medical profession, in particular the Germ Theory. From his small office in southern England, Conan Doyle admired the work of Robert Koch in Berlin, and eventually adapted his science into his stories: most prominently, a new detective story featuring a character named Sherlock Holmes.

What these two historic figures didn’t realize is that they were on an unlikely collision course — they would meet in one of the greatest showdowns in science, as Koch delivered the antidote the world clamored for: a Remedy for tuberculosis.

The book will be out in early 2014. I’m terribly excited about it. It’s not yet available for pre-order, but will be soon. If you want to be notified when it is available, send your email here and I’ll let you know.

We found that current IVF rules on issues such as storage limits and destruction practices are intrusive and disrespectful. Mandatory time limits in some states compel destruction of stored embryos after ten years, for instance, while rules in other states prevent a surviving partner from deciding on the use or donation of embryos.

We don’t believe that embryos should be granted a moral or legal significance in and of themselves as distinct entities. Rather, their value is relational – embryos matter because of what they mean to those for whom they were generated. This meaning is intensely personal, and infinitely variable.

The meta-analysis combined the results of eight studies published between 1990 and 2012 from the United States, northern Europe, Australia, and Japan. Scientists found that a simple seven gram increase in daily dietary fiber — equivalent to one serving of whole wheat pasta plus two servings of fruits or vegetables — was associated with a seven percent decrease in first-time stroke risk [1].

Dietary fiber is the part of the plant that the body is unable to completely digest. Fiber-rich foods include whole grains, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds.

Dr. Victoria Burley, the project lead from the School of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Leeds said [2]:

Increasing your fibre intake doesn’t necessarily mean wholesale change to your diet. It might just mean switching from white bread to wholemeal, or from corn flakes to bran flakes. It’s a simple measure with a lot of benefits.

Want to increase fiber in your diet? For ideas, check out Mayo Clinic’s chart of high-fiber foods. For more high-fiber meal ideas, try the National Fiber Council’s Fiber Calculator.

How fiber works

Fiber moves quickly and reasonably easily through your digestive tract and helps it function properly. Fiber can lower blood sugar, cut cholesterol, and may even prevent colon cancer and help you avoid hemorrhoids. A high-fiber diet may also help reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

In the stomach and small intestine, fiber promotes a sense of fullness, traps cholesterol and fats, and slows absorption of sugars. This helps to regulate your weight, lower cholesterol and improve blood glucose levels. In the large intestine (colon), fiber causes fermentation, promotes growth of healthy bacteria, and absorbs water, adding “bulk” to stool. This enhances your immune system to fight infection and chronic disease, and promotes regularity and elimination, minimizing constipation.

For more on how fiber works, check out the infographic below from the National Fiber Council.

References

1. Threapleton et al. Dietary fiber intake and risk of first stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Stroke. 2013 May;44(5):1360-8. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.000151. Epub 2013 Mar 28.
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2. Eating more fibre may lower risk of first-time stroke. University of Leeds. 2013 Mar 28.

Have you ever read the DSM and thought you had EVERYTHING? Me too.

And that, sort of,  has always been a big problem … that it is really hard to separate the normal experience of anguish and suffering as part of our everyday mental and emotional lives from what is labelled a “disorder”. At the same time, however, patients, doctors and payors need some type of common reference so as to keep the diagnosis and treatment of mental suffering in-line with the way other medical illnesses are handled. So, everyone (in psychiatry, at least) knows the DSM will always be highly flawed and yet also highly necessary … so, you know, just try and live with it … but don’t expect, for a moment, to search for and find discrete genetic variants that correspond to DSM categories of mental disorders. No … because the DSM categories do not correspond well to the underlying biology of the CNS … the DSM does not “cut nature at its joints” so to speak.

Russ Poldrack provides a glimpse into what the future of diagnosing mental illness might look like using slightly more objective, quantifiable and biologically relevant measures of the brain’s physiological processes.

Also, I stumbled onto an awesome read about the creation of DSM-5 entitled, The Book of Woe

The overall thrust of the manual [DSM-5], the BPS complained, was to identify the source of psychological suffering “as located within individuals” rather than in their “relational context,” and to overlook the “undeniable social causation of many such problems.”  The APA could hardly deny any of this. As Regier had told the consumer groups on the conference call, the manual’s new organizational structure was designed to reflect “what we’ve learned about the brain, behavior, and genetics during the past two decades.” It doesn’t get much more “within the individual” and outside the “relational context” than that. (p. 239)

“Dereification is just as dumb as reinfication,” he [Allen Frances] told me. “A construct is just a construct – not to be worshiped and not to be denigrated.” Psychiatry, he was saying, has to live in the tension between the desire for certainty about the nature of our suffering and the impossibility of understanding it (or ourselves) completely. A DSM that tries to end this tension by turning itself into a living document was bound to collapse into chaos; that was the cardinal error of the incompetent DSM-5 regime. (p. 279)

“What [Dr. Thomas] Insel [Director of NIMH] heard “over and over again” on his tour was that psychiatrists were tired of being trapped by the DSM. “We are so embedded in this structure,” he told me. He and his colleagues had spent so much time diagnosing mental disorders that “we actually believe they are real. But there’s no reality. These are just constructs. There’s no reality to schizophrenia and depression.” Indeed, Insel said, “we might have to stop using terms like depression and schizophrenia, because they are getting in our way, confusing things.” Thirty years after Spitzer burned down DSM-II and built the DSM-III in its ashes, psychiatry might once again have to “just sort of start over.”" (p.340)

Yikes! after reading The Book of Woe, DSM-5 sounds, um, totally wack … if not a tool flagrantly designed to further commodify human suffering for the benefit of a medico-industrial complex. NIMH Director Thomas Insel’s recent announcement that, “NIMH will be re-orienting its research away from DSM categories.” suggests a future where diagnosis will based on biological measures and treatments are directed toward specific circuits.

Treatment for specific circuit dynamics sounds very promising. However, I thought Dr. Allen Frances, as quoted in The Book of Woe made a great point (p.346) that, “The trick is to develop a healing relationship, to care for the person not just the disorder, to diagnose and treat cautiously, and to see the healthy part of the person not just the sick.”

* Maybe that is the hope of this blog also … to take out and explore the intricate biological & molecular parts … but also to try and place them back into their original evolutionary, living, breathing, copulating (or more often the case of just thinking about copulating) “whole” human being.