Glacial melting threatens water supply

On "the Roof of Peru" the glaciers--which supply much of the country's fresh water for drinking and for growing crops--have melted by 30%. Temperature rises have been significant in only the last decade. The threat of global warming is no longer up for debate--it's real.

But as is often the case, because the poor and underprivileged will be the first to suffer the consequences, it's easy for the powers-that-be to ignore the issue. The Washington Post is courageously giving full exposure to the politics of climate change while it educates the rest of us about the scientific facts.

A doctor from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says "a body needs at least three hours of cooling _ preferably by air conditioning _ to survive excessive heat." So if you, like me, need it to be really cool at night, it seems maybe we're not just being so fussy after all.

But the problem with these heat waves is that the air conditioning we need is contributing to the excessive carbon dioxide our industrial world is dumping into the atmosphere--and which is the biggest cause of this warming trend.

I've heard it said on a Chicago radio station, "just do one or two small things today to reduce pollution." I like this idea. As with the millions of poor and hungry around the world, we as individuals cannot save everyone, but we can help a little. So today, walk to a store instead of driving your car (especially if you have a huge gas-guzzling machine). Today, make your air conditioning a degree or two warmer. Think about how precious water is--drink some right now, and maybe only flush the toilet every other time. Today, turn your lights off when you don't need them; use fewer whenever possible.

This way, even if we're not scientists trying to solve global warming in the laboratory, at least we can be a tiny bit less of the problem.

Surprise! Playing with kids affects their mental health as teenagers

Okay, they're just talking about kids with stunted growth in this particular study, but the principle is the same for all kids. Playing with kids--even just a couple of times a week makes a signficant difference in how happy/well adjusted those kids are when they get older. Report from the British Medical Journal here said nutritional supplements had no effect whatsoever.

You know, this is another one of those that falls into the "well, duh" category for me. Guys, it was in 1957 that Harry Harlow did the experiments with baby rhesus monkeys that proved they just wanted to be loved/touched and that even if you just gave them a cloth-covered wire mother, they developed more slowly, but still became more successful adults than babies who had only a wire mother to feed them.

I think we can stop spending money to prove that loving interaction between babies and their caretakers is the most powerful thing we can do to promote their future health.

Calcium has preventive and healing value in stroke

A second study has confirmed an earlier one indicating that high blood calcium levels are associated with better outcomes in ischemic stroke patients--and that, at least in rats, infusing a victim with calcium as a treatment seems to improve mortality rates.

Calcium is known to help fight osteoporosis, and it's thought also to have anticarcinogenic, antihypertensive and hypocholesterolemic properties. More here.

Amazing. I might just have to add this to my list of favorite substances, along with my first favorite nitric oxide. Calcium seems to another natural substance that does so many good things. But then we also hear about calcium deposits which, like the ill effects of NO, can result from too much of a good thing but is usually due to some other action--like deficiencies in magnesium or vitamin D. Here's more on calcium.

Well, don't have time to look up more about calcium today. Will put it on my watch list, though, and see what starts coming up.

Pacemaker technology extends far beyond the heart

Using electrical stimulation to regulate a heart that's not beating right (not fast, slow, or often enough) has been around for 50 years. Today's versions of pacemakers are miraculously non-intrusive compared to the massive boxes and tag-along trolleys of those first ones. Read a quick history here by a Staten Island physician.

Last year scientists began experimenting with using electrical impulse technology to "rewire the body" and relieve or at least ease some symptoms of epilepsy, depression, obesity, diabetes, and more. Though treatment with these devices is expensive and not without risks, the lack of side effects and the excellent results are very promising. One doctor speculates that within a couple of years electrical devices will replace stomach stapling as the treatment of choice for obesity.

Well, first we had diet pills (addictive or dangerous to the heart), then we had liposuction (ugh), then wiring jaws shut or bariatric surgery with liquid diets (often producing unacceptable levels of triglycerides and other problems--by the way, see earlier post about how profitable this surgery is for hospitals). After all this, it's good to hear of something that uses the methods our own bodies use. For those who struggle with obesity, this could be truly a godsend.

Needles help mother nature smooth skin

Stick needles into your face and lose your scars and wrinkles. Yes, you read it right. Not surprisingly, the story originates from Miami, one of the U.S.'s most popular vacation/retirement areas, where vanity--and wrinkles--are in abundant supply.

This new medical device punctures your skin with micro-needles to stimulate your body to produce collagen, which then fills in and smooths out the wrinkled and scarred areas. Painless, according to this report, the procedure is giving people dramatic results with few if any side effects. Acne scars seem to respond especially well to this approach.

I always love the medical lingo for things: the Medical Roll-CIT is "a percutaneous collagen channeling device for natural collagen induction therapy." Okay. The principle behind it is that your body naturally produces collagen in response to injuries (which needles punctures definitely are to your skin). The company claims you can go out in public within 5 days of the procedure.

Hold the doors open, Henrietta. Here come the baby boomers in force to get some o' that there fountain of youth they finally did discover...

Predicting stroke

A study in Spain is focusing on which inflammatory markers may be indicators of possible recurrence among previous stroke sufferers. Reseachers hope to find conclusively whether current medications actually decrease inflammation and whether this itself reduces the likelihood of another stroke or a heart attack (more here).

Stroke is the 3rd highest cause of death in Spain--first among women--and the cause of "more disabilities and premature deaths that...Alzheimer's disease and traffic accidents put together." Interesting juxtaposition of numbers, since those same statements held true in the U.S. according to 2002 figures.

Curious that in the U.S., a person's level of education has an inverse relationship to the frequency of having been diagnosed with hypertension and stroke (stats here).

Well, it's nice to know we're checking on whether the treatments we're giving are making any difference. Such studies don't always tell us we've been doing the right thing.

Nitric oxide cancer option good for dentistry, too

Yeah, anything that's better than current technology in the dentist's chair is fine by me. But this technique, which uses my favorite substance nitric oxide in what's called a "plasma needle," has far wider applications. Sounds good:

The team found that when the nitric oxide plasma is produced using small amounts of energy and applied in short bursts, it can kill bacteria while leaving other living cells unharmed."

Works in air--doesn't have to be in a solution (or your blood or tissue). "Surgery without cutting." Okay. I'm there. Thank you, science.

Fruit can reduce muscle inflammation

Cherries and other dark fruits seem to contain natural substances that reduce inflammation. Taken in generous amounts before, and even after, strenuous exercise brought on by unusual levels of activities (weekend gardeners and athletes), they have effects similar to NSAIDs such as aspirin.

Nature has the answers. This fact may lead to discovering a non- or low-calorie substance that will help slow down the horrendous increase in obesity and diabetes among many civilized populations. Read the details here.