Tag: medicine

Against Handshaking

Whatever the reason for handshaking, it isn’t needed. Like the Qwerty keyboard (which is designed to slow us down so that the typewriter doesn’t jam), it’s a relic of an older time that’s not only no longer needed but actually causes inefficiency. I can live with the keyboard. But I’d rather not have to catch another flu or cold from a handshake. The fact is that handshakes spread germs. You shake someone’s hand and then touch your nose or mouth and you can get sick. I don’t like getting sick. But to turn down a handshake is such an insult that there’s little choice. The hand is out there, in front of me waiting, so like everyone else I grasp it.

+1 bows would work better.

Carpal Tunnel exercises

A demonstration of effective stretches and exercises you can do that will greatly relieve carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis. Both my wife and I watched this video and started doing the stretches.

Creating iPS Cells

scientists learned how to create a pluripotent stem cell out of a human skin cell. this will allow to regrow body parts in the lab.

2014-01-29:Creating stem cells directly from blood cells, via an acid shock. Huge, huge implications.

shocking blood cells with acid could also trigger the transformation into stem cells

Electrolyzed Water

It’s 10x more effective than bleach in killing bacteria and it’s safe.

Methusaleh fruit flies

selective breeding over 28 years has resulted in flies that live 4.5x longer than normal. Over 700 genes have been identified as affecting longevity. The flies share 75% of human genes.

SRT1720

Mice given the new drug, called SRT1720, gorged on high-fat food for 4 months without gaining weight or developing diabetes, and ran 2x as far on a treadmill as their control-group counterparts. The effects of the compound are similar to those of resveratrol, a molecule found in red wine that has previously been shown to extend life span and have health benefits in mice. But SRT1720 is 1000x more potent than resveratrol, meaning that it could be taken in smaller doses.

Pathogen domestication

it turns out you can evolve pathogens towards mildness

Walking Desk

Other desk-bound workers have gone the build-it-yourself route. After hearing about Levine’s studies, Shimon Rura, a freelance software developer in Somerville, Mass., constructed a treadmill desk in his home office last year. He walks barefoot, checking his e-mail and chatting on the phone throughout the day. His preferred pace and duration: 2.4 kmh for 6-8 hours each day. His motivation: simple. “I felt I really wasn’t getting enough exercise”.

shimon’s treadmill desk gets a write up

Cell-Sorting Implants

1 usage of automation would be high-throughput screening of cancer cells in vivo. “If you can input devices and look for circulating tumor cells in blood cells, you can even think about screening out those tumor cells out. You can potentially use this as a way of slowing the spread cancers.”

implantable soon

Disease Theory of Religion

religious diversity causes people to keep themselves to themselves, and thus makes it harder for them to catch germs from infidels.