Doctors are baffled at the case of Nguyen Thi Phuong, a 26-year-old Vietnamese woman who says that an allergic reaction caused her skin to sag and wrinkle, effectively aging her 50 years in just a few days. More »

 

October 2031 : Mumbai : Superstar Shahrukh Khan has announced that he will quit smoking after the release of his Diwali offering `Z.100′, a sci-fi film, that is a sequel to his `Ra.One’ that released twenty years ago. The promise by the actor coincides with him being made the brand ambassador of an ambitious 200 crore rupees Government of India initiative to discourage youngsters from smoking.

Over the next few days, in the run-up to the release of `Z.100′, Shahrukh will do a series of interviews in which he will talk about how his latest production has one scene in which the character who plays SRK’s dad in the film, advises him to quit smoking because the cost of cigarettes has increased. In Bollywood circles, the tie-up with the government is being seen as a marketing masterstroke, that could also win the film the National award for socially conscious cinema next year.

“It is a socially responsible film,” said SRK at a press conference to promote `Z.100′. “I have always believed in conveying the right message. And therefore I am promising that I will quit smoking after the film is released. And you will be happy to know that I have already made a beginning. This year on World No Tobacco Day, I did not smoke all day.”

Why after the film is released, why not now, asked a scribe. “Darling, you also need to have a question to ask every press conference you see. Suspense bana rahega. Picture ke liye bhi accha hai,” SRK joked.

Anti-smoking activists have however slammed SRK saying, he made a similar promise in 2011, when `Ra.One’ was being released. “This is part of his marketing strategy. He promises to quit smoking and TV channels and newspapers run huge stories on it, as if it is a huge favor he is doing to the country.”

Meanwhile, full page ads have been put out by the Ministries of Information and Health that say `Shahrukh, Best of luck for `Z.100′. Hope it sets the box office on fire and not your cigarette’. Opposition parties which criticised taxpayer money being used for surrogate advertising of a film,  were pacified when SRK promised them that he will organize a special screening for them in Delhi.

Robotic Cell Factory This robotic cell factory can churn out 500 cell cultures a month. © Fraunhofer IPM
The tedious, carpal-tunnel-inducing pipette work of cell biologists may soon be relegated to robots, thanks to a new cell factory developed in Germany. This could free humans to perform new studies and ask new questions, as automated equipment takes over the time-consuming task of growing, feeding and observing cells in the lab.

Cell cultures are one of the most important tools in biology, used to study a huge host of diseases and cellular functions. But cells are delicate, and for now they must be cultivated by hand, grown in petri dishes and nurtured with a special broth until there are enough cells to transfer to even more petri dishes. The transfer is done via pipette so the cells aren't harmed.

Many robots aren't equipped with a gentle enough touch to pull this off, and the humid, warm conditions cells need to grow are not very friendly to electronics. But now, researchers at three different Fraunhofer Institutes have developed a system that can automate this entire process, using several different robots and machines.

One robot is designed to move around the first-generation cell cultures, called multititer plates, among various spots. Then an automated microscope checks the cells to assess their growth, adjusting the light and focus as needed, and the images are fed into a computer system. Special software determines how many cell colonies are present on the plates, and if there are enough, another robot is tasked with picking them up. Using a hollow needle, it chooses cells measuring between 100 and 200 micrometers and transfers them to a new container for continued growth.

The system can produce about 500 cell cultures a month, according to a news release from Fraunhofer. Biologists can even train the system to recognize certain cell types, based on their physical characteristics. The whole thing is big enough to fill a small lab.

Fraunhofer already has a cell factory of a different sort, producing sheets of human skin. That process is also controlled by robots and computers that monitor the cells' health and growth. But this new one is based on a modular design, so it can be adapted for various uses - for instance, if a lab only wants to automate one part of the cell culture process.

Researchers set up a prototype at the Max Planck Institute, where biologists will use it to determine protein functions, according to Fraunhofer Research News. Let's hope nothing goes wrong and the robots do not use their new skills to create a new legion of multicellular servants.

[Fraunhofer Research News]

My wife Lori Dorn, who has breast cancer, tells her story about a TSA agent at JFK on Thursday who required her to submit to a pat down due to her breast implants after she went through a backscatter X-ray scanner. She had an identification card for the implants that is used to prove that the implants are an actual medical device, but the TSA agent would not let Lori show her the card. The TSA agent was extremely rude, humiliating her in front of other travelers and showing zero compassion for her situation.

Here’s Lori’s write-up about the incident and a couple of lively discussion is taking place on Google+ here and here.

Lori has been posting updates on her twitter account: @HRLori

UPDATE: TSA has responded to the issue on the TSA Blog and has issued an apology to Lori.

More Coverage:
- New York Times (interviewed Lori)
- Associated Press
- Daily News
- ABC News
- NBC New York
- Daily Mail
- MSNBC Overhead Bin
- Boing Boing
- Gizmodo
- The Huffington Post
- Daring Fireball
- The Consumerist
- Techdirt
- The Hill’s Transportation Report + follow-up
- Drew Olanoff
- Drew Carey
- Reason
- The Stir
- Elliott
- Amy Alkon on MND

In the first part of a special BMJ series, Brian Deer exposes the bogus data behind claims that launched a worldwide scare over the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, and reveals how the appearance of a link with autism was manufactured at a London medical school

Truly horrifying considering the implications on millions of kids that were not vaccinated on the recommendation of this quack.

"A new report, released by the American Public Transportation Association, which surveys current research has found that people who live in communities with high-quality public transportation drive less, exercise more, live longer, and are generally healthier than residents of communities that lack quality public transit."

One of those studies with a 'duh' conclusion. But in this age of skepticism, every such study helps. As the study concludes, "this analysis can help transport and health professionals better coordinate their efforts to create communities where people can live long and prosper…. When all impacts are considered, improving public transit can be one of the most cost effective ways to achieve public health objectives."

" I just started thinking about how many things I’ve learned through my own personal working out (since I was a kid and playing competitive sports) as well as being a trainer (since 1998). So today I just wanted to share some of the things this 36yr old has personally learned about all things health and fitness….in no certain order"

"Mahbena had the bad luck to be born with arthrogryposis—a genetic condition that warps the joints in utero, causing them to form improperly—and the worse luck to be born in Zimbabwe, where disabled children are apparently thought to be cursed by witchcraft. According to the film’s Web site, “in their culture, you have to dispose of the ‘weakest link.’"

Check out this jaw-dropping list of the 10 Worst Sandwiches in America for a lineup of disastrous handheld mega-meals that'll bloat your belly and call for a loosening of belt buckles

James Cameron's completely immersive spectacle "Avatar" may have been a little too real for some fans who say they have experienced depression and suicidal thoughts after seeing the film because they long to enjoy the beauty of the alien world Pandora.

So that's what's sad about not eating. The loss of dining, not the loss of food. It may be personal, but for, unless I'm alone, it doesn't involve dinner if it doesn't involve talking. The food and drink I can do without easily. The jokes, gossip, laughs, arguments and shared memories I miss.

The most striking feature of the H1N1 flu vaccine manufacturing process is the 1,200,000,000 chicken eggs required to make the 3 billion doses of vaccine that may be required worldwide.

The loss of inhibition is the result of the brain’s traitorous tendency to shrink as we age. The frontal lobes in particular atrophy. The result is educed ability to inhibit irrelevant or unwanted thoughts. This loss of inhibition might explain other behaviors that crop up in many elderly, including “social inappropriateness.”

“People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn’t have a chance in the U.K., where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless,” the editorial claims. Of course, that same Stephen Hawking who wouldn’t have a chance in the United Kingdom was in fact born in the United Kingdom, has lived his entire life in the United Kingdom and lives there still today

What a Texas town can teach us about health care.

I’m not sure I knew the details of all these lives when I was 29, but I did begin to guess that happiness lies less in our circumstances than in what we make of them, in every sense.

So we don't need funding to prepare for a pandemic? "After meeting with Mr. Obama, Sen. Collins expressed concern about a number of spending provisions, including $780 million for pandemic-flu preparedness."

Despite all the recent Twitter-enthusiasm about this platform's unique power to alert millions of people in decentralized and previously unavailable ways, there are quite a few reasons to be concerned about Twitter's role in facilitating an unnecessary global panic about swine flu.

"The money that goes to these programs will mean new jobs. There are the additional people who'll be needed for administration, of course, as well as additional doctors and researchers."

"When my young sons were exploring the streets of Brooklyn, I couldn’t help but wonder how good crushed rock or dried dog droppings could taste when delicious mashed potatoes were routinely rejected."

A review of global studies into the impact of modern office design found the switch to open-plan spaces had been overwhelmingly negative, with 90 percent reporting adverse health and psychological effects.

Prostate cancer is one of those topics that guys hate to talk about. Who wants to think about a doctor’s finger up your bum, or the possibility of surgery and impotence?

Tariq Griffin entered the world at 12:17 a.m. on New Year's Day at Crittenton Hospital in Rochester, Mich. Twin brother Tarrance was born a bit earlier — 26 minutes to be exact. That means the boys have the unique distinction of having been born on different days, months and years.

Whether it's large or small goals, serious or humorous ones, bloggers around the world are posting lists of their New Year's resolutions — and health-related wishes often top the list.

The Los Angeles City Council has passed an ordinance prohibiting construction of new fast-food restaurants in a 32-square-mile area inhabited by 500,000 low-income people.

Waiters share insider secrets about restaurant -- from what days to avoid dining out to how much to tip.

"I asked Dr. Bowden, author of “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth,” to update his list with some favorite foods that are easy to find but don’t always find their way into our shopping carts."

A study in the February issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not.

How much a mother eats at the time of conception may influence whether she gives birth to a boy or a girl, a new report shows.

The BBC today reported that toilet bowls carry one-fifth the amount of germs of "some" keyboards.

It took 4 million years of evolution to perfect the human foot. But we’re wrecking it with every step we take.

At just 1ft 11 in tall, she is dwarfed by her neighbour's baby, but Jyoti Amge is 15 years old.

They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece — not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home.

Little did I know when I chose Lasik surgery that I would not end up satisfied like the friends and acquaintances who raved about their post-glasses existence. Instead, my days are complicated, since I am dealing with side effects that are far more bother

As a personal and mobile water purification tool, LifeStraw® is designed to turn most of the surface water into drinking water

adults living in ZIP codes with the highest property values were the slimmest, and those living in ZIP codes with the lowest property values were the fattest.

We offer free education, and don't worry about middle-class families getting benefits they don't need, because that's the only way to ensure that every child gets an education - and giving every child a fair chance is the American way. And we should guara

147 Tiny Tips to Live Healthier, Happier, Greener and Better

President Bush suggests uninsured children go to hospital emergency rooms for their care.

CNN fact-checking a movie/documentary? I guess, there aren't any government reports left.

Now do you really feel hungry?

What will the Indian government do next?