High Fructose Corn Syrup defended in embarrassingly brazen commercial

This commercial speaks for itself – Paid for by the Corn Refiners Association…..

Does the human race have a 50/50 chance of surviving the 21st century?

I have added a new book to my “hope to read soon” list.  It is titled, “Our Final Century,” by Martin Reese.  (Actually, I will probably read Our Final Hour, also by Martin Reese, instead.)  According to Amazon.com, “Sir Martin Rees FRS is the most eminent cosmologist in Britain, the Astronomer Royal and Professor at Cambridge. He lives in Cambridge.”

What he says in the book is quite distrubing.  Essentially, he puts the human race’s chances of surviving the 21st century at 50/50.

And I have to say, 208 pages in to Thomas Friedman’s ‘Hot, Flat, and Crowded,’ a 50% chance of human self-destruction in the 21st century is not implausible.

Here is the Amazon.com editorial review:

“‘It matters that one should understand the provenance of this important and disturbing book. It is not another futurological diatribe saying that the end is nigh, but a lucid, calm, profoundly well-informed work by a distinguished scientist, whose humanity - evidenced by a serious ethical commitment and a quiet sense of humour- balances the dispassionate logic with which he surveys his subject: the multitude of threats facing humanity in the twenty-first century from error and terror in the nuclear, biological and environmental spheres.’ Literary Review”

This just in, Brush Your Teeth! — Especially if you are female and pregnant

I wonder how many diseases and other medical problems are caused by weakened immune systems due to mouth infections related to poor oral hygiene.  Anybody?

Discovery Channel - Jan. 13, 2009 — Previously undiscovered bacteria usually found in the mouth could be responsible for up to 80 percent of early preterm labors, estimate doctors from Case Western and Yale Universities in a new study published recently in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

The research could help doctors prevent preterm births by encouraging oral hygiene or stop early labor from developing by prescribing targeted antibiotics.

“The earlier the woman goes into preterm labor, the higher the chance that she will be infected,” said Yiping Han, a doctor at Case Western University and the first author on the study.

“No Duh” of the day - Head-Banging Bad for the Brain

This finally explains what has happened to most of my long-lost friends - but I wonder about the quote below about headbangers looking dazed and confused.  Doesn’t he know what that smell is at concerts?

Head-Banging Bad for the Brain: Discovery News

Dec. 18, 2008 — Led Zeppelin’s immortal song ‘Dazed and Confused‘ might well have been a clinical observation on the state of their audience’s brains, say Australian researchers who have found over-enthusiastic head-banging can cause mild brain injury.

In a study published in the British Medical Journal this week, two University of New South Wales (UNSW) researchers concluded that head-banging to a typical heavy metal tempo could cause mild traumatic brain injury or concussion, and neck injury, particularly as the tempo of the music and angle of movement increased.

“Clearly it’s a serious issue,” said Associate Professor Andrew McIntosh, co-author and professor of biomechanics at UNSW.

“If you observe people after concerts they clearly look dazed, confused and incoherent, so something must be going on and we wanted to look into it.”

Enhancing Evolution - an ethical question from John Harris

I am not sure how I feel about this.  Bioethics professor, John Harris, really does make some good points in this synopsis, but I think I am going to have to read the book (Enhancing Evolution: The Ethical Case for Making Better People) to get a better feel for it.  I hope he delves in to the possible consequences of what he is proposing and what societies can do to prevent some of the worst.

What do you think?

Enhancing Evolution: Do We have a Moral Duty to Improve the Human Race? -A Galaxy Insight

If it is right to save life, Harris says, then it should also be right to postpone death by stemming the flow of diseases that carry us to the grave. And we should make any such technology available as soon as we can, even if it means there will be some “haves” and “have-nots”.

“Certainly, sometimes we want competitive advantage – but for the enhancements I talk about, the competitive advantage is not the prime motive. I didn’t give my son (Jacob, to whom the book is dedicated) a good diet in the hope that others eat a bad diet and die prematurely. I’m happy if everyone has a good diet. The moral imperative should be that enhancements are generally available because they are good for everyone.” The only other route to equality, he says, is to level down so that everyone is as uneducated, unhealthy and unenhanced as the lowest in society – which is unethical. Even though we can’t offer a liver transplant to all who need them, he says, we still carry them out for the lucky few. Much better to try to raise the baseline, even if some are left behind.”

Related articles by Zemanta

• Controversies In Bioethics

Top 10 News Stories You Know Nothing About

Every year, many very relevant news stories fall by the way side.  Many of them are rather important.  It often happens because it is a busy news day, and other times, news editors just decide that it is something they want to pursue.  Regardless, here is Time.com’s Top 10 Underreported news stories of the year.

#4.  Buried in October’s financial bailout package was a landmark provision, 12 years in the making, that for the first time requires insurance companies to provide equal coverage for mental and physical health. Bipartisan advocates say the new law could improve care — and reduce stigma — for the 80 million Americans suffering from mental illness and substance abuse. Many insurers largely favor the requirement, in part because research suggests a strong link between conditions such as untreated depression and physical ailments.

Is your brain hot? - Try yawning.

This one makes so much sense that I cannot believe someone did not come up with it sooner.  Just like your computer, your brain overheats.  When your brain overheats, you yawn!  That’s it.  Yawning is brain coolant!

Dec. 15, 2008 — If your head is overheated, there’s a good chance you’ll yawn soon, according to a new study that found the primary purpose of yawning is to control brain temperature.

The finding solves several mysteries about yawning, such as why it’s most commonly done just before and after sleeping, why certain diseases lead to excessive yawning, and why breathing through the nose and cooling off the forehead often stop yawning.

The key yawn instigator appears to be brain temperature.

“Brains are like computers,” Andrew Gallup, a researcher in the Department of Biology at Binghamton University who led the study, told Discovery News. “They operate most efficiently when cool, and physical adaptations have evolved to allow maximum cooling of the brain.”

Daddy Hogwash Remainders: December 11, 2008

Did our cosmos exist before the Big Bang?

Gmail adds SMS text messaging for some

Tivo now injecting ads on paused TV

Get moving on your health spending account

Brain enhancing drugs: Legalize ‘em, scientists say

Bush opens up on struggle with alcohol abuse

What recession?  Diamond sells for $24.3 million

Stewart and Huckabee Clash over Homosexuality

Colin Powell: Can we continue to listen to Rush Limbaugh?

Amazing 3D Human Anatomy from Visible Body

Chalk this one up to really cool things on the internet that no one knows about.  And it is free.

Visible Body beta Now Live!

The Visible Body beta is now live and available on the Web. The Visible Body application, featuring an interactive, 3D model of the human body, is the most comprehensive human anatomy visualization tool available today. Use it to explore body systems and structures, to help you visualize the anatomy affecting your health, or to help you study for your biology, physiology, or anatomy class.

Visible Body | 3D Human Anatomy.