Endless life – what people won’t do to achieve it. Over twenty two hundred years ago the great Qin Shuangdi, the Tiger of Qin, unifier of seven kingdoms into the first Chinese empire, tried mightily to extend his life. The alchemists’ mercury pills did not work. Most historians suggest the attempt at immortality ended his reign, his […]
Replacement as Reinvention
Substitution Aids Success Aging is a script. You are its director. However, chance and fate may make the script unpalatable – or deplorable. With the appearance of chronic illness, patients frequently say “why can’t I do what I love?” The answer most often is to do something else. The body works through continuous reinvention. Bodies […]
Diets: What Don’t We Know
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has just come out with its latest dietary guidelines. Most of us won’t read them. Many of us should. Media attention immediately went to the cholesterol recommendations. No surprise there. That’s where “the money is,” in terms of drugs and the food industry. A few things which skipped attention you might consider […]
Can Bacteria Make You Fat? (3/1/15)
Bug-Brain-Waistline Forget the screaming headlines and the infomercials – dieting, weight gain and weight loss are not simple matters. Did the faecal transplant received from a daughter make a Rhode Island woman ravenous, rapidly fattening despite liquid diets, exercise and strict medical supervision? Are the supplements sold everywhere as probiotics the answer to irritable bowel […]
Why Colds Like The Cold
Cool Temperatures, Hot Infections Do cold viruses like cold weather? They certainly do. One reason is they replicate much better when you cool the nose. But why? What’s the mechanism for getting more colds when it’s cold? A group at Yale feels they have a partial answer. One part of the immune system does not […]