Bambi, Bingo, Whatever. Leave My Deer Friend Alone.

MayorBob.

Posted to Etcetera on Sat Aug 15, 2009 at 09:38:29 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

Five years ago Janet Schwartz rescued a wild animal from certain death.  She took it in, nursed it to health, raised as a household pet and all was good.  At least that's what Schwartz thought until the British Columbia Ministry of Environment stepped in.  Now, the Ucluelet woman is being told she must part with her friend, a small black-tailed deer named Bimbo.  The ministry says it's illegal, if not unnatural, to live with wildlife in the house.  Schwartz says returning Bimbo to nature would be a death sentence.

(8 comments, 378 words in story) Full Story

You Just Can't Trust Biologists

novy.

Posted to SciTech on Mon Jun 29, 2009 at 12:14:50 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

What with anthropogenic global warming and evolution of species, tens of millions of people now think they understand science much better than scientists do. Sometimes they figure things that way because they trust their interpretation of God's infallible word, as translated into English, more than opinions of any number of scientists, but often enough they figure scientists just lie to them for political or religious reasons, or don't understand science quite as well as they do.

(35 comments, 511 words in story) Full Story

Breaking News: Swine Flu Hits Mexico, US. WHO Warns of Possible Pandemic

pO157.

Posted to SciTech on Sat Apr 25, 2009 at 02:19:11 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

The World Health Organization is warning of an outbreak of a never before seen type of swine flu in Mexico that has already sickened over a thousand and killed at least 68. At least eight cases have been reported in the United States thus far, none of them fatal.

(48 comments, 378 words in story) Full Story

Shut. Down. Everything.

pO157.

Posted to SciTech on Sat Feb 07, 2009 at 11:00:44 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

About two dozen dead birds washed up on the shores of Hong Kong recently. Some tested positive for H5N1, commonly known as the "Bird Flu." This story and other data has lead outside observers to openly wonder if China is covering up a bird flu outbreak within its own borders.

(9 comments, 418 words in story) Full Story

Possibly the only thing worse than Belgians on the Congo

pO157.

Posted to SciTech on Wed Jan 07, 2009 at 10:44:56 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

The World Health Organization has confirmed the start of a new Ebola virus outbreak in the Congo.

Ebola virus has plagued Africa since 1976. With a mortality rate of up to 89% (overall kill rate of 69.3%), the highly contagious disease is one of the few in the world that scares the jeepers out of scientists and physicians. Thankfully it has been relatively confined to the third world for the few outbreaks that have occurred since its discovery.

(24 comments, 248 words in story) Full Story

Banking On Stem Cells.

MayorBob.

Posted to SciTech on Thu Jan 31, 2008 at 11:37:26 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

Stem cells are medical science's new black.

(6 comments, 624 words in story) Full Story

Parasitic Diseases Common Among U.S. Poor

novy.

Posted to SciTech on Fri Dec 28, 2007 at 11:19:02 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

Dr. Peter Hotez, tropical disease expert at George Washington University and editor-in-chief of "PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases" writes that 1/4 of inner city black children in America have roundworms:

(76 comments, 248 words in story) Full Story

It's Not A Habit; It's A Brain Disease

MayorBob.

Posted to SciTech on Wed Aug 01, 2007 at 03:33:55 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

There is an attempt to promote the idea that addictions are diseases, specifically diseases of the brain. Recently, HBO aired a documentary and Time magazine ran an article spreading the "addiction as brain disease" gospel.  One of the primary advocates for this sea change in how we view addiction is Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).  Dr. Volkow's essential position is that addictions are not matters of will power or something that can be overcome if only we try to kick them hard enough.  From her perspective they are a matter of brain chemistry with all addictions being basically alike and, in fact, everyone having the ability to be addicted to something.

(9 comments, 389 words in story) Full Story

Simple miracle device saves lives

pO157.

Posted to SciTech on Thu Jun 14, 2007 at 08:35:37 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

"You have to suck pretty hard at first to get it moist, but after that it's easy," said 35-year-old Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen.

(8 comments, 274 words in story) Full Story

Mandatory HIV Testing Coming to the Garden State?

pO157.

Posted to Politics on Mon May 14, 2007 at 03:37:38 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

Ma'am, you'll have to take the test.

(35 comments, 171 words in story) Full Story

Serving Life In Solitary For Carrying Death

MayorBob.

Posted to SciTech on Thu Apr 05, 2007 at 02:19:08 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

If someone is diagnosed with a particularly contagious and deadly disease, it only makes sense to separate them from the general population as much as possible.  But you're dealing with a sick person, not a criminal,  So shouldn't they be treated as humanely as possible?  That question is being answered now in Phoenix, Arizona where a 27-year-old man with tuberculosis is staring at a future defined by the four walls of his padlocked prison room.

(15 comments, 545 words in story) Full Story

From Way Down South, Not So Very Far Off, Illegals Brought Us The Whooping Cough.

pO157.

Posted to Legal on Sun Dec 10, 2006 at 01:26:09 PM EST (promoted by 1fastdog). RSS.

"Whooping cough" causes about 30 to 50 million cases per year, worldwide, and kills about 300,000 (although no more than a few dozen annually in the US). However, it is preventable with vaccination and until recently was not a major problem in the United States. This may be changing as the pool of unvaccinated, illegal immigrants in the US grows to ever-larger numbers. With such numbers rising, the inevitable pointing of fingers is taking place.

Some blame schools for crowding children into cramped classrooms, some blame the fact that the whooping cough vaccine loses effectiveness over time and patients are not requesting boosters as often as they should. Others point out that this may be part of a larger trend of preventable diseases returning.

Then there are those that cast aspersions at illegal immigrants.

(10 comments, 544 words in story) Full Story