Category: Body & Mind

Ovarian Cancer Testing Improved

The CBC is reporting that researchers at Yale have found a more effective way to detect ovarian cancer.

A new blood tests has been developed that Yale researchers say can detect ovarian cancer with 99 per cent accuracy.

The test uses six protein biomarkers to identify proteins in the bloodstream that signal an ovarian tumour is present in the body. The test is 99.4 per cent effective.

Previous tests for ovarian cancer only used four protein biomarkers and recognized only 15 to 20 per cent of new ovarian tumours.

HIV/AIDS Drug Patent Revoked

Doctors WIthout Borders has released a press release that says that an HIV/AIDS drug can now be made generically. This will lower the cost of the drug allowing more people access to it, this is very important for people living in the developing world. The company that held the patent, Gilead Sciences, claimed to have invented the drug tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), which has been discredited based on prior art.

In India, the Indian Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS opposed Gilead’s patent application in May 2006 on similar grounds to PUBPAT’s challenge in the US. The evidence on which the US based its decision could therefore lead to the Indian patent office rejecting the patent application. Similarly, in Brazil, a patent opposition filed by HIV/AIDS groups and a government pharmaceutical laboratory could also mean a patent might not be granted for TDF in Brazil.

If a patent is not granted in these countries, generic manufacturers could freely manufacture and export generic versions of TDF without restrictions, leading to greater competition and therefore lower prices.

Be Lazy When Waiting for the Bus

Waiting for a bus that never seems to come can be one of life’s more aggravating moments. No need to sit around getting all frustrated with underfunded services though. Thanks to the power of mathematics we now know that you should justbe lazy and sit and wait for the bus.

Scott Kominers, a mathematician at Harvard University, and his colleagues derived a formula for the optimal time that you should wait for a tardy bus at each stop en route before giving up and walking on. “Many mathematicians probably ponder this on their way to work, but never get round to working it out,” he says.

The team found that the solution was surprisingly simple. When both options seem reasonably attractive, the formula advises you to choose the “lazy” option: wait at the first stop, no matter how frustrating (www.arxiv.org/abs/0801.0297).

5 “Unusual” Reasons to be Vegetarian

A blogger has outlined the top reasons that he’s vegetarian. Like me, he loved to BBQ when he ate meat, but now the thought isn’t so appetizing. His reasons for being vegetarian are nearly identical to mine, so hopefully he can convince you to at the very least eat less meat.

Here’s a sample from his list:

I am boycotting the least efficient food product to create. Pound per usable pound, meat costs us 30 to 100 times more water than it’s nutritional equivalent in plant foods, not to mention the plants that are also fed to the animals (food consumption of animals is a heated topic because some farmers use recycled waste material with their feed to reduce their figures, so I’m not even going to try to add some figures here). Why isn’t meat more expensive if it costs so much to make? Read on to find out.

Apple Cider Vinegar Can Solve Nearly Everything

We’ve covered the wonders of vinegar before, and thanks must go out to all the commenters that left their tips on use to vinegar.

Now I’ve found out that apple cider vinegar picks up where regular vinegar drops off. I’ve never heard of this stuff until recently. I wish I could get past the smell so I can enjoy all the health benefits. Here’s a collection of things you can use apple cider vinegar for. Add your wisdom to the comments!

One reader reported that a shot of ACV saved him from going to the emergency room for heart pain. Apple Cider Vinegar also breaks down fat and is widely used to lose weight. It has also been reported that a daily dose of apple cider vinegar in water has high blood pressure under control in two weeks!