Stephan: We all know people who have had, or who have died from cancer. Here is some new research on treating cancer that may be relevant at this time to someone in our world. If so pass it on.
Citation: The academic citation for the research upon which this article was based can be found at: https://histotripsy.umich.edu/research/ryan-hubbard/
Study authors Zhen Xu and Tejaswi Worlikar tinker with an ultrasound array used to target tumors Credit: Marcin Szczepanski/Michigan Engineering
The idea of using ultrasound to non-invasively target cancer is an appealing one that is gaining real traction, on the back of studies demonstrating how it can more effectively deliver drugs, selectively take out cancer cells and heat and destroy diseased tissue. University of Michigan (UM) researchers have been exploring how it can combine with the body’s immune defenses to take out tumors through a one-two punch, with a new study on rodents returning some highly promising results.
The technique under development by the UM team involved using ultrasound waves delivered in microsecond-long pulses to targeted tissues. Called histotripsy, the treatment leads to the formation of tiny bubbles in the tissue, which quickly expand and collapse in a violent manner, with the resulting mechanical stress killing cancer cells and dismantling the tumor’s structure. The body is able to then harmlessly absorb the leftover debris.
This mirrors another technique we looked at from scientists in Israel in 2020, though in that method […]
Stephan: As you know if you read me regularly, I am extremely concerned about the bee crisis, the dramatic drop in the population of bees in the U.S.. Here is something you can do, if you do it now, that can help the bees. Please go to your city council, or town council, and ask them to not mow during the month of May, and don't mow your own lawn, and ask your neighbors not to mow. Why does this matter? Well, think about thi: Seventy-five percent of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts you and your family eat reproduce only with the help of bees. Get the point? By not mowing and letting plants grow in May the bees get a boost in the honey they can produce, and the hives are healthier. NO MOW MAY. Please do this.
A honey bee collects pollen. Credit: Kees Smans / Getty
APPLETON, WISCONSIN — For the third straight year, Joan Ribbons won’t mow her lawn for an entire month.
“I chose to participate because I’m an environmentalist and [I’ve] been aware of the plight of the bees because I’m a beekeeper too,” the Appleton resident said.
She’s talking about No Mow May, an initiative to let grass grow to help pollinators. It started in the U.K., and Appleton was the first city in the United States to join the effort back in 2020.
“If we let resources come to flower, then our pollinators that are coming out of hibernation will have plenty of food to eat and get off on the right foot,” Lawrence University Assistant Professor of Biology Israel Del Toro said.
At least 25 other cities are now taking part.
“The first year that we participated in No Mow May, we actually found a five-fold increase in abundance of bees in No Mow May lawns relative to mowed areas,” Del Toro said.
In Northeast Wisconsin, other cities like Green Bay, De Pere, […]
Stephan: Yet another demonstration of the failure of America's illness profit system. I don't know how it could be made any clearer that we may more than any other nation on earth for healthcare and yet get amongst the worst healthcare in the developed world. Yet other than Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren do you see members in Congress routinely advocating for universal birthright single payer healthcare?No you don't. Why don't you see and hear members advocating for this? Because much of the Congress in both parties, but particularly in the Republican Party is rented by the industries that make up the illness profit system and this corruption is so prevalent it is essentially invisible and considered ordinary business.
Mark Felix for The New York Times
Almost two months after President Biden promised to make lifesaving drugs against Covid widely available to Americans, the medications remain hard to get for many, despite supplies, leaving large numbers of Americans to face increased risks of avoidable death and serious illness.
That’s largely because, once again, a dysfunctional health care system that costs more and often delivers less than that of any other developed country has hindered our pandemic response.
As was the case with vaccines, the United States quickly snapped up these therapeutics and accumulated vastly more supply than any other country. These drugs do not replace vaccines but provide crucial extra protections for vulnerable people who number in the millions and who face increased risks as the few remaining public health protections are rolled back.
Paxlovid, an antiviral treatment developed by Pfizer, an American pharmaceutical company, is highly effective for reducing hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk patients, as long as it is started early. This is especially important for elderly or immunocompromised people, since their immune systems […]
Stephan: I have been telling readers that Covid is just the beginning. As climate changes viruses and bacteria mutate to survive those changes. As we treat with antibiotics superbugs emerge for the same reason. This is one of the reasons I advocate so strongly for universal birthright single-payer healthcare. Without consistent quality healthcare administered for wellbeing not profit pandemics are going to destroy our culture.
Credit: visivasnc – stock.adobe.com
LISBON, PORTUGAL — Antibiotics that are helping to treat patients with COVID-19 may actually be fueling a concerning rise in the number of superbugs infecting people worldwide. Researchers in the United States have found that cases of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections are going up in comparison to the last year before the coronavirus pandemic.
Concerningly, drug resistant infections which develop while a patient is in the hospital are soaring during COVID, and these infections are affecting those with and without the virus.
According to Dr. Karri Bauer and Dr. Vikas Gupta, approximately 1.2 million people died worldwide of an antibiotic-resistant infection in 2019. Estimates predict that number will be 10 times higher by 2050.
During the current health crisis, the researchers found that COVID-19 is challenging doctors who are trying to treat the virus without having their patients develop antimicrobial resistance (AMR) secondary infections. However, the study points to the increase in antibiotic use and disruptions in infection prevention and control practices as the two leading factors which are driving up life-threatening bacterial infections.
Stephan: Like everything else in American culture, the Covid data is strongly influenced by racism. Republicans are hysterical about not discussing the truth that racism has been baked into American culture since the nation's founding; they want to censor schools and libraries they so fear such a discussion. But we cannot get to equality until we do, and since we are becoming a majority-minority country I think it is time to face reality.
While reporting these statistics is essential, a new study suggests it may come with an unintended consequence: a backfiring effect among white audiences. The research, which was published in the journal Social Science & Medicine late last month, suggests that if white Americans read about racial disparities, it may reduce support for health policies like masking.
For people of color in the US, the results may feel familiar. As the lead researcher on the study, Allison Skinner-Dorkenoo, who is white, […]
