Forget the Gatorade

Soldiers at war are subjected to extreme conditions in addition to the bullets and bombs. I remember some of my dad's WWWII recollections centering on the crappy food, the waking up in puddles of water, endless marching in rainy, disgusting weather conditions, etc. I've heard true horror stories about the conditions soldiers endured during the Vietnamese conflict.

While research on replenishing energy is not new, the search is going new places. With our growing understanding about the power of oxidants (free radicals) to damage the immune system, investigators at Appalachian State University have received $1.1 million to look at the possibilities for quercetin, a yellowish-green pigment occurring naturally in red apples, red berries, red onions and other fruits and vegetables. Technically, quercetin is a phytochemical that contains lots of antioxidants. Some think it will produce viable solutions for protecting the immune systems of soldiers under pressure.

Using volunteer cyclists, university scientists are doing placebo control studies that test how effectively quercetin boosts the immune response of exhausted people (3 hours a day of cycling for 3 days in a row is supposed to simulate the type of stress a soldier is exposed to on an intensive, prolonged mission). Previous studies have looked at how certain drinks might help prolong the time to exhaustion--this one's about keeping soldiers healthier despite the extreme stress to their bodies. Too bad we'll never be able to eliminate the causes.

Avian flu--how much of a threat

I'm seeing articles and conferences and reports everywhere about the very real potential for a flu pandemic. The U.S. government is actually preparing plans that will designate who's considered essential (and will likely get vaccinated) and who isn't.

I wouldn't want to be the person assigned to this task. Here's the latest thinking of their strategy:

"...instead of giving medicine to first responders and health-care workers, as currently planned, it might be wiser to give the drugs to every person with symptoms and others in the same household."

The World Health Organization held a conference in Vietnam on what to do about avian flu. Vietnam's had 37 human cases, 29 of which were fatal. The European Commission banded together with the government of China and the World Bank at an avian flu conference to talk about how to collect money to fight this looming threat.

For more information, recent WHO avian flu statistics here and the CDC Q&A here.

With all these giant organizations collectivizing for the onslaught, it seems reasonable to be concerned. But I am going to hope--pray--that the bird flu will reveal itself as another Chicken Little alarm like the worldwide hullabaloo generated by Y2K fears. Perhaps our finest scientific minds working together on it with such fervor will indeed make it so.

Yet another way to engineer new tissues

I met the New Scientist folks at their booth at the BIO conference in Chicago this week--and look what they're telling us now!
Look out stem cells--here comes tissue printing. Seems scientists are able to literally print living cells onto "biopaper" and let them grow together to form new tissues--they seem to be attracted to one another and as they grow closer, begin to beat in synch.

They've already successflly grown things like arteries and bladders...now they're working on making the process faster and more efficient. Who knows how complex an organ this process will eventually be able to form? For those who know they're going to need a new organ sometime in their future (people with heart valve problems, bad hearts, failing livers), this could be truly exciting news.

Nasal congestion: CO2 to the rescue

Pumping carbon dioxide through the nose relieved seasonal allergic symptoms for a bunch of people in this recent study.

The study was small, but the results were dramatic.

Vaccine for HPV infection fights cervical cancer risk

About 20 million sexually active people in the U.S. are infected with the HPV (human papillomavirus). Symptoms may include genital warts--or no visible symptoms at all. Most will clear the infection on their own (in women, usually within 2 years), but 1/3 of the virus types can lead to cervical cancer.

If you know any young woman who's been frightened when a pap test revealed precancerous cells, you'll be glad to hear about this new HPV vaccine which experiments indicate can protect against cervical cancer for up to almost 5 years after the dose.

The killer is that men develop and carry this infection without symptoms. No tests have been developed for them because it doesn't seem to affect them long term. Estimates are that 80% of women will have acquired genital HPV by the age of 50. Ladies, if you thought getting a pap test was a waste, think again. If you're sexually active, please schedule one regularly.

He said, you said, I said

You know the old saying: You can make statistics say anything you want. In the case of research studies, the same thing is true--all you have to do is leave out one small but significant factor and the results you get won't be worth a dime...unless of course no one remembers to ask about that missing factor. If no one does, then you can probably sell millions of books and make money in a hundred other ways if your "discovery" is exciting enough.

Now take the idea--"proven" in study after study--that drinking moderately can be good for you. Here come some scientists who decided to ask the control non-drinking group why they don't drink. Ouch. Down the drain goes the lovely idea that drinking a little bit of alcohol every day is good for your heart.

Well, evidence is in that your heart is more than just an organ--it's the very control center of you. It has the power to raise or reduce your stress levels and can literally make you healthier when it's calm and peaceful.

So I say, if a little bit of alcohol makes you calmer and more at peace, go for it and the studies be damned.