Monthly Archives: April 2012

This Weekend at The 2012 Congress for Curious Peoples: Panoramas! Baroque Television Evangelism! Human Zoos! Frederik Ruysch! Religious Theatre!

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This weekend at Coney Island! Hope very much to see you there.

SYMPOSIUM: THE 2012 CONGRESS FOR CURIOUS PEOPLE
Saturday and Sunday, April 21st and 22nd

SATURDAY APRIL 21st

11:00 – 12:00: Keynote Addresses

12:00 – 1:00: Lunch

1:00– 3:30: Immersive Amusements: Cosmoramas, Cycloramas and PanoramicIllusions: Panel discussion moderated and introduced by Aaron Beebe,The Coney Island Museum

4:00 – 5:00: The Business of the Dead: Frederik Ruysch as an Entrepreneurial Anatomist, Lecture by Daniel Margocsy, Hunter College

5:00: Christmas in America: Miss Velma and the Evangelist Spectacle: Screening of “Christmas in America,” an early 1970s television special by Miss Velma, early TV evangelist, introduced by Daniel Paul

SUNDAY APRIL 22

11:00 – 1:00: Religion and Spectacle: A panel with discussion moderated and introduced by Joanna Ebenstein, Morbid Anatomy Library

1:00 – 2:30: Lunch and Sideshow Visit

2:30 – 3:30: Traveling Ethnographic Shows and Human Zoos, a lecture by Elizabeth Bradley

3:30– 5:30: Theater Rethunk: An Alternative History of the Theatrical: Apanel with discussion moderated and introduced by Chris Muller

Tickets for the symposium are available here; for tickets to individual events and lectures, click here; 10-day Congressional Passes--which provide access to all events!--are available here. All events take place at 1208 Surf Avenue in Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York; you can map it here. See you there!!!

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Hidden Stories: What do Medical Objects Tell and How Can We Make them Speak? 16th Biennial EAMHMS Conference Berlin, September 13-15 2012

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I am very excited to announce the final lineup for this year's EAMHMS--aka European Association of Museums of the History of Medical Sciences-- conference taking place September 13-15 in Berlin, Germany at the fantastic Museum of Medical History at the Charité, pictured above!

Full details below. Hope to see you there.

Hidden Stories: What do medical objects tell and how can we make them speak? 16th Biennial EAMHMS Conference
Berlin Museum of Medical History at the Charité, Charitéplatz 1, D-10117 Berlin,
13 – 15 September 2012
The XVI EAMHMS Conference
European Association of Museums of the History of Medical Sciences
Berlin, September 13 - 15, 2012

PROGRAMME

Thursday, 13 September 2012: Beginning in the ‘Hörsaalruine’ of the Berlin Museum of Medical History

10.00 - 13.30 Arrival of Participants, Registration and Refreshments
11.00 + 12.30 Guided tours through the museum (a look behind the scenes)
14.00 - 14.30 Opening speeches

14.30 - 15.30 Session 1: Introduction, getting started …

  • Robert Ju?tte, Stuttgart (Germany): Exhibiting Intentions. Some Reflections on the Visual Display of a Culturally Purposeful Object
  • Thomas Söderqvist, Copenhagen (Denmark): Is the ‘things talk’ metaphor really useful? Or does it conceal a deeper understanding of our material interaction with things?

15.30 - 16.00 Coffee and Tea

16.00 - 16.15 Walk to the Institute of Anatomy (Oskar Hertwig-Lecture Hall)

16.15 - 18.15 Session 2: Object biographies (I)

  • Sophie Seemann, Berlin (Germany) A friend’s skull – gazing in a patient’s room in 1757
  • Christa Habrich, Ingolstadt (Germany): A Mystery of a Platinum-made Cystoscope
  • Lisa Mouwitz, Gothenburg (Sweden): Looking through the nail
  • Jim Edmonson, Cleveland (USA): The art of extrapolation: following the trail from patent number to a revolution in surgical instrument design and manufacture

18.15- 19.15 Guided tours through the Anatomical Teaching Collection or the nearby
Zootomical Theatre

19.30 - 23.00 Conference Dinner in the ‘Hörsaalruine’

9.00 - 10.30 Session 3: Object biographies (II ) – waxes

  • Marion Maria Ruisinger, Ingolstadt (Germany) Christus anatomicus
  • Sara Doll, Heidelberg (Germany) Models of Human Embryogenesis. The search for the meaning of wax reconstructions
  • Michael Geiges, Zu?rich (Switzerland) Wax Moulage Nr. 189. From teaching aid to the patients‘ story by an unusual research document

10.30 - 11.00 Coffee and Tea

11.00 - 12.30 Session 4: Teaching

  • Shelley McKellar, London (Canada) Challenging Students with Toothkeys and Scarificators: Experiences with Object-Based Teaching in History
  • Alfons Zarzoso, Barcelona (Spain) Teaching medical history through the material culture of medicine
  • Stefan Schulz, Bochum; Karin Bastian, Leipzig (Germany) Object-based, Research-oriented Teaching in Seminars and Exhibition Projects

12.30 - 14.00 Lunch, Coffee and Tea

14.00 Walk to the nearby ‘Museum fu?r Naturkunde’

14.30 - 15.30 Guided tours in smaller groups through the ‘Museum fu?r Naturkunde’

15.30 - 17.40 Session 5: Research

  • Thomas Schnalke, Berlin (Germany) Divas on the Catwalk. Some thoughts on research with objects in medical history
  • Claire Jones, Worcester (Great Britain) Identifying Medical Portraiture: The case of Andrew Know Blackall
  • Julia Bellmann, Heiner Fangerau, Ulm (Germany) Evolution of Therapeutic Technology: Industrial archives and collections as sources for historians of medicine
  • Benôit Majerus, Luxembourg (Luxembourg) The Material Culture of Asylums Supported by Verein der Freunde und Förderer der Berliner Charité e.V.
  • Nurin Veis, Melbourne (Australia) Stories from Asylums – Discovering the Hidden Worlds of the Psychiatric Services Collection

17.40 - 18.30 Transfer to the boat pier ‘Märkisches Ufer’

19.00 - 22.15 Spree Cruise (Berlin from the waterside) and dinner on board

Saturday, 15 September 2012: Final meeting in the ‘Hörsaalruine’

9.00 - 11.00 Session 6: Presenting

  • Hsiang Ching Chuang, Eindhoven (Netherlands) Contextualizing Museum Experiences Through Metaphors
  • Mienekete Hennepe, Leiden (Netherlands) Scary Things: Horrifying objects between disgust and desire
  • Bart Grob, Leiden (Netherlands) Medicine at the Movies
  • Tim Huisman, Leiden (Netherlands) Anatomical Illustration and Beyond: Looking at Bidloo and De Lairesse’s Anatomia humani corporis

11.00 - 11.30 Coffee and Tea

11.30 - 12.30 Final session

You can find a registration form here; Image sourced here. Hope to see you there!

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2012 Congress of Curious Peoples This Week at Coney Island!!!

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Hi All! Just a reminder that the 2012 Congress of Curious Peoples--a 10-day series of lectures and performances devoted to curiosity and curiosities broadly considered, and featuring sideshow acts, lectures, performances, and a 2-day scholarly-yet-popular symposium called The Congress for Curious Peoples--launches in earnest tomorrow night, with a lecture by the always amazing Amy Herzog.

This year's iteration of The Congress promises to be the best yet; it will include a 2-day symposium featuring panel discussions on topics such as pre-cinematic immersive amusements and religion as spectacle, with featured speakers that include Sara Velas of The Velaslavasay Panorama; Paul Koudounaris of Empire of Death; Colin Nightingale, Senior Producer of Punchdrunk, the company behind the mindbendingly amazing Sleep No More Sleep; and Colin Dickey, author of Cranioklepty. Also featured will be stand-alone lectures on the 17th century artist of fetal skeleton tableaux Frederik Ruysch and the phenomenon of ethnographic displays called "human zoos," a screening of an over-the-top early 1970s TV Evangelist Christmas spectacular, and introductory lectures by myself and Coney Island Museum director Aaron Beebe.

Full--and hopefully final!--lineup below; hope to see you at some--if not more--of the terrific events making up this year's Congress!

Monday April 16th
7:30 – (Lecture) Amy Herzog: Architectural Fictions: Economic Development, Immersive Renderings, and the Virtualization of Brooklyn (more here)
9:00 – (Performance) Shea Love and the Circus Emporium

Tuesday April 17th
7:30 – (Lecture) Philip Kadish: “Pinhead Races and the White Man’s Burden” (more here)
9:00 – (Performance) The Squidling Bros Sideshow

Wednesday April 18th
7:30 -(Lecture/Performance) ‘An Evening of Fate, Chance and Mystery’ with Lord Whimsy and Les the Mentalist (more here)
9:00 – (Performance) Jo Boobs

Thursday April 19th
7:30 – (Lecture/Demonstration) The Museum of Interesting Things, WHAT THE SAM HILL IS THAT! (more here)
9:00 – (Performance) The Curious Couple from Coney Island

Friday April 20th
7:30 – (Performance/Reading) A reading of VENUS by Suzan-Lori Parks. Directed by Donya K. Washington (more here)
9:00 – (Performance/Lecture) Sideshow Legend Jim Rose

Saturday April 21st
Super Freak Weekend at Sideshows by the Seashore (Continuous Admission, Tickets at the door); Colonnade of Curiosities in the Freak Bar
Congress For Curious People (Day 1 of a 2-day Symposium)

Sunday April 22nd
Super Freak Weekend at Sideshows by the Seashore (Continuous Admission, Tickets at the door); Colonnade of Curiosities in the Freak Bar
Congress For Curious People (Day 2 of a 2-day Symposium)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

FULL SYMPOSIUM DETAILS:
THE 2012 CONGRESS FOR CURIOUS PEOPLE
Saturday and Sunday, April 21st and 22nd

SATURDAY APRIL 21st

11:00 – 12:00: Keynote Addresses

12:00 – 1:00: Lunch

1:00 – 3:30: Immersive Amusements: Cosmoramas, Cycloramas and Panoramic Illusions: Panel discussion moderated and introduced by Aaron Beebe, The Coney Island Museum

4:00 – 5:00: The Business of the Dead: Frederik Ruysch as an Entrepreneurial Anatomist, Lecture by Daniel Margocsy, Hunter College

5:00: Christmas in America: Miss Velma and the Evangelist Spectacle: Screening of “Christmas in America,” an early 1970s television special by Miss Velma, early TV evangelist, introduced by Daniel Paul

SUNDAY APRIL 22

11:00 – 1:00: Religion and Spectacle: A panel with discussion moderated and introduced by Joanna Ebenstein, Morbid Anatomy Library

1:00 – 2:30: Lunch and Sideshow Visit

2:30 – 3:30: Traveling Ethnographic Shows and Human Zoos, a lecture by Elizabeth Bradley

3:30 – 5:30: Theater Rethunk: An Alternative History of the Theatrical: A panel with discussion moderated and introduced by Chris Muller

Tickets for the symposium are available here; for tickets to individual events and lectures, click here; 10-day Congressional Passes--which provide acce
ss to all events!--are available here. All events take place at 1208 Surf Avenue in Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York; you can map it here. See you there!!!

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Eastday-Tests on Everest team to help in lung physiology

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A TEAM of US scientists departed yesterday to conduct research on Mount Everest climbers in an effort to further knowledge of the cardiovascular system at extreme altitudes and help improve treatment for heart and lung patients.

Bruce Johnson, a consultant on cardiovascular diseases at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and leader of the group, said the study subjects will be a US team that plans to replicate the first 1963 ascent by a US team.

That expedition put five US climbers on the summit, two climbing the difficult and then-untested West Ridge route and the rest along the normal Southeast Ridge route which was used by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in their pioneering 1953 ascent.

Nearly 3,700 people have climbed Mount Everest, also known as Qomolangma, the world's highest peak at 8,850 meters, since then.

"We are interested in lung physiology in high altitude, which is similar to the lung physiology in heart failure patients," Johnson said

Johnson said each of the nine climbers, who are already at the mountain acclimatizing, will be fitted with equipment including a special wrist watch and an arm band that will allow their body to be monitored at a base camp laboratory.

The watch will measure the blood oxygen level and the specially designed arm band will show energy used and how many calories they burn.

Climbers will also be wearing the "Mayo platform," an instrument devised by the clinic that fits in a tiny pocket on the climber's clothing and will measure their cardiovascular activity, Johnson said.

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Eastday-Tests on Everest team to help in lung physiology

Tulane University Professor to Receive American Physiological Society’s Top Honor

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L. Gabriel Navar Recipient of Walter B. Cannon Award

Newswise SAN DIEGOL. Gabriel (Gabby) Navar, Ph.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Physiology, and Co-Director of the Renal and Hypertension Center at Tulane Health Sciences Center, will receive the American Physiological Societys (APS) Walter B. Cannon Award at this years annual meeting. It is the Societys pre-eminent lecture award and is designed to recognize an outstanding scientist for his or her contributions to the field. Dr. Navars selection acknowledges his significant contributions to the study of renal (kidney) physiology and its relationship to hypertension (high blood pressure).

Renal Physiology and Hypertension Dr. Navars early work focused on understanding basic interactions between the blood flow to the kidneys and the amount of salt and water excreted from the body, and eventually the interactions between blood pressure and the excretion of salt and water. Over time, he and others came to understand that the kidneys ability to regulate excretion of salt and water was very important in regulating blood pressure and that blood pressure was also important in regulating the bodys salt and water balance.

They also came to understand that the most important hormonal system involved in regulating salt balance in the body is the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Ultimately they discovered that this system affects salt excretion through multiple actions and that the RAS plays a key role in regulating blood pressure and, when inappropriately activated, causing hypertension. He and others have now focused their efforts on understanding how this system becomes disrupted in a way that leads to hypertension and, by interacting with other systems, causes injury to the kidneys and other organs.

These findings have been important in helping physicians, researchers, and others find ways to address the skyrocketing problem of hypertension. This disorder affects one in three American adults and can lead to heart disease and stroke, the first and third leading causes of death in the United States. In 2010 the cost of hypertension was approximately $93.5 billion.

A Career in Science and Service Dr. Navars original intent on entering college was to become a veterinarian but during his academic studies, he was greatly influenced by famed University of Mississippi physiologist Arthur C. Guyton who was the catalyst for the course change in his scientific career. Under Dr. Guyton, Navar went on to receive his Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi. He also spent a year at Duke University, where he learned techniques to study the function of individual nephrons in the kidneys. He held faculty appointments at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine and at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.

In 1988 he joined Tulane University School of Medicine where he has built a successful research program which has contributed significantly to fundamental research in the areas of renal hemodynamics, hypertension, and the RAS. Though the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 left a devastating impact on the Hypertension and Renal Center that Navar co-directs, the programs ultimately rebounded as robust as ever.

Dr. Navar is a former President of the APS and former Associate Editor of the American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology, and has been active on many of the Societys committees. In 2006 he received the Distinguished Mentor and Scientist award from the APS Women in Physiology Committee in recognition of his dedication and commitment to training young physiologists. He received the Ray G. Daggs Award in 2008 from APS for his service contributions to the Society.

Dr. Navar will be the 30th recipient of the Cannon Award which will be presented on Saturday, April 21. Immediately afterward he will deliver the Physiology in Perspective: The Walter B. Cannon Award Lecture. His lecture is entitled, The Wisdom of the Body Revisited: A Tribute to Walter B. Cannon and His Concept of Homeostasis as applied to Pathophysiology of Hypertension. The events are part of the 125th anniversary of the APS which is part of the meeting Experimental Biology 2012, being held April 21-25 at the San Diego Convention Center.

About the Cannon Award Walter B. Cannon was a renowned physiologist who is best known for his development of the concept of the emergency function of the sympathetic nervous system. This led to the development of the key physiological concept of homeostasis. Dr. Cannon was affiliated with the APS for nearly 40 years, including two terms as president (1914-1916). He is commemorated each year with the Walter B. Cannon Memorial Lecture, a plenary lecture given at the Societys annual meeting.

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Tulane University Professor to Receive American Physiological Society's Top Honor

Penn Medicine Study Calls for Range of Diagnostic Spinal Fluid Tests to Help Clinicians Differentiate Concurrent …

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NEW ORLEANS Teasing out the exact type or types of dementia someone suffers from is no easy task; neurodegenerative brain diseases share common pathology and often co-occur. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania are continuing efforts to differentiate diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) from frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), as FTLD is often clinically difficult to distinguish from atypical presentations of AD.

In a series of studies being presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Penn researchers demonstrated that, while tests created for AD are effectively diagnosing the condition when it's clear cut, additional tests are needed to address the many cases with mixed pathology.

"With the emergence of disease-modifying treatments for AD and other neurodegenerative diseases, it will be of utmost importance to accurately identify the underlying neuropathology in patients," said senior author John Q. Trojanowski, MD, PhD, professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and co-director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research at Penn.

In one study, the Penn team compared results of a test looking at levels of tau and amyloid beta (A) in the spinal fluid, using two different types of analytical platforms. They determined that values from the two platforms could effectively be transformed into equivalent units, and these values accurately distinguished AD from FTLD. A cutoff of 0.34 for the t-tau:A1-42 ratio had 90 - 100 percent sensitivity and 91-96.7 percent specificity to differentiate FTLD cases, respectively.

In another study, the team looked at patient cases with more than one underlying neurodegenerative disease and compared the accuracy of the biomarkers using clinical and neuropathological diagnosis. They determined that cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) A and tau assays provided a valid diagnosis of AD but, in mixed pathology cases where Alzheimer's was present along with other diseases (confirmed by autopsy), the testing strategies classified the diagnosis as AD alone.

"We need to develop better CSF diagnostic panels for the early diagnosis of neurodegenerative dementias, including those due to mixed neurodegenerative disease pathologies that commonly co-occur with Alzheimer's," said senior author Murray Grossman, MD, professor of Neurology and director of the Penn FTLD Center.

The two posters will be presented during the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting:

Tuesday, April 24, 2012 7:30 AM [P02.055] Comparison of Cerebrospinal Fluid Levels of Tau and A1-42 in Alzheimer's Disease and Frontotemporal Degeneration Using Two Analytical Platforms David Irwin, Corey T. McMillan, Jon B. Toledo, Steven Arnold, Leslie Shaw, Li-San Wang, Virginia Lee, John Trojanowski, Murray Grossman, Philadelphia, PA

Monday, April 23, 2012 10:00 AM [IN3-1.010] Improving Diagnostic Accuracy for Dementia: CSF Biomarker Cutoffs Based on Clinical and Neuropathological Criteria Jon B. Toledo, Philadelphia, PA, Johannes Brettschneider, Ulm, PA, Murray Grossman, Steven Arnold, Philadelphia, PA, William Hu, Atlanta, GA, Sharon X. Xie, Virginia M. Y. Lee, Leslie Shaw, John Trojanowski, Philadelphia, PA

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Penn Medicine Study Calls for Range of Diagnostic Spinal Fluid Tests to Help Clinicians Differentiate Concurrent ...

Nutrition: Nine questions every athlete should ask before taking a supplement

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Elite sport dietitian examines the benefits of nutritional supplements

Windsor, ON--Nutritional supplements claim to improve athletic performance, but not all supplements are created equal. According to Nutrition Australia life member Glenn Cardwell, athletes vary greatly in their response to training, environmental conditions, psychological barriers, and nutritional supplements, which makes it difficult to assess the value of proposed ergogenic aids. "Improvement is not proof that a supplement works. It may be just a convenient coincidence," says Cardwell, author of the forthcoming new edition of Gold Medal Nutrition (Human Kinetics, May 2012). "Proof only comes when the same result can be repeated time and time again."

Before taking a nutritional supplement Cardwell advises assessing its potential value by asking nine vital questions.

"Based on current knowledge, the best regimen for achieving optimal performance is to avoid excess body fat, drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration, eat enough carbohydrate to fuel your training program, eat adequate protein for muscle growth and repair, and eat for good health," Cardwell says. "Most nutritional supplements do not enhance sports performance in well-nourished athletes."

For more information on Gold Medal Nutrition, 5E or other nutrition resources, visit http://www.HumanKinetics.com or call 800-465-7301.

Product Description Gold Medal Nutrition is a comprehensive manual covering the areas that most concern athletes, including what and when to eat and drinkand why. The book explains how to use nutrition to maximize sport performance. It includes information on determining the best supplements to use as well as athlete-specific eating tips.

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Nutrition: Nine questions every athlete should ask before taking a supplement

Canadian nutrition label claims often wildly misleading, tests show

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OTTAWA Some of the world's biggest food brands and leading organic labels have understated the amount of bad nutrients such as fat, sugar and sodium in their products, or overstated the good ones, internal government tests show.

Kraft, Frito Lay, Unilever and Heinz are among the big names with a product that flunked Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) testing, conducted to see if nutrition claims on labels live up to their billing.

Loblaw's popular President's Choice brand had multiple "unsatisfactory" tests on products ranging from cereal to spaghetti.

Premium brands like Amy's Kitchen, Eden Organic, Natur-a, Kashi and Yves Veggie Cuisine also fell short on composition claims, as did Canadian food-makers like B.C.-based Sun-Rype Products Ltd. and Quebec-based Aliments Fontaine Sante.

Test results involving these and other companies, conducted between 2006 and 2010, have just been released under Canada's access to information legislation. CFIA previously released overall statistics about compliance rates for some product categories, but the earlier release did not contain individual test results and did not name specific brands or products.

The level of detail provided in the newly released documents shows labelling problems are widespread.

But most companies told Postmedia News that, when CFIA flags a labelling problem, they move quickly to change the labels. Some major operators even beefed up their own internal controls to better monitor their nutrition claims.

CFIA allows for a variance of up 20 percentage points on nutrition information found on food packages to account for natural variances in ingredients or deviations in testing equipment. Anything beyond that is considered unsatisfactory.

Companies tagged with unsatisfactory results say they're committed to providing accurate information. But natural variances in ingredients, including crop fluctuations with organic produce, or changes in a product's nutritional composition over its shelf life, means this is not a perfect science, they say.

Some consumers wonder whether they can rely on the nutrition information on food labels, since CFIA can only test a tiny fraction of the tens of thousands of products on store shelves in any given year. It's unclear whether CFIA's limited testing program is representative of the entire market or masks an even bigger program.

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Canadian nutrition label claims often wildly misleading, tests show

Role of Lipid Supplements from Fish and Plant Sources in Combating Effects of the Global Nutrition Transition

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SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Physicians and nutrition scientists from around the world gathered today in San Diego for a scientific symposium on the Global Nutrition Transition: The Role of Lipid Supplementation, a satellite symposium which focused on the essential role of fatty acids in human health, held in conjunction with the American Society for Nutritions Scientific Sessions & annual meeting.

The Global Nutrition Transition refers to the worldwide spread of modern industrialized dietary patterns to countries where these diets were previously unknown. In the last 30 years, there has been a U.S. and worldwide increase in hidden fat intake, largely from vegetable oils rich in omega-6 fatty acids which lead to imbalances in the concentrations of fats in cells within the heart, the brain, and immune system.

While the body needs small amounts of both types of fats, the proper proportions are key in supporting brain function, immune function and cardiovascular health, noted Dr. William Lands, one of the symposium speakers.

Researchers from the University of California San Diego reviewed the recent findings of specialized proteins called receptors for omega-3 fatty acids on the surface of immune cells.

Vegetable oils are full of omega-6 fatty acids, said Lands, and our diet is overloaded with them. Fried foods, baked goods, snack foods and sweets dump an abundance of omega-6 fatty acids into the body, said Lands, and at the same time, were not eating nearly enough omega-3s, he added. As a result, the ideal balance of omega-6 to omega-3 fats has been thrown way off and this imbalance may have widespread impact on human health across the globe.

We are seeing tremendous increases in partially hydrogenated vegetable oil high in trans fatty acid and imbalanced omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acid profile intake in South Asia, said Dr. Anoop Misra of the Fortis Hospital in Delhi, which is leading to an alarming rise in obesity and obesity-related diseases.

Since fatty foods are the primary sources of omega-6 fats in the diet, reducing total fat intake is one way to shift the balance. However, it is also important to supplement omega-3 fatty acids by eating fish or taking omega-3 supplements from fish, krill, or algae sources. The benefits of a total nutrition solution - which encompasses the inclusion of a range of plant foods, with an emphasis on low fat proteins and the rebalancing of healthy fats is a cornerstone in correcting the nutritional imbalances caused by the modern diet.

Conference speakers noted that supplements may play a role in improving the fatty acid balance in the diet when combined with lower total fat intake which can balance omega-3 and omega-6 concentrations in tissues.

The session was organized and supported by the Herbalife Nutrition Institute and DSM Nutritional Products. Ds. Misra is a member of the Herbalife Nutrition Institute Editorial Board. Among other products, Herbalife markets dietary supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids, as well as foods composed largely of low-fat proteins.

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Role of Lipid Supplements from Fish and Plant Sources in Combating Effects of the Global Nutrition Transition

Our View: Incentive of longevity payments no longer needed

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The check is in the mail for nearly 30,000 state workers who, on Friday, were issued cash bonuses for doing nothing more than showing up for work.

The April payment of the biannual longevity payments totaling $18.3 million is back in the news because the Legislature and administration continue to play the chicken and egg game.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who has often criticized the practice, contends the Legislature must first enact a measure canceling bonuses for nonunion supervisors and high-ranking administrators. Some earn salaries in excess of $100,000 per year and pocket tens of thousands more in bonuses. Once thats done, the administration can then, in future negotiations with employee unions, end this practice completely.

But lawmakers, and, most recently, Senate President Don Williams, D-Brooklyn, have told us that benefits for nonunion supervisors and administrators are based on the benefits negotiated with the unions. Union members earn bonuses ranging from a few hundred dollars to $1,000 or $2,000. Its the upper echelon bonuses that need to be canceled first, lawmakers claim, otherwise the state might be sued.

So, as state officials pretend to resolve the issue of which comes first, the chicken or the egg, taxpayers remain on the hook, paying more than $18 million Friday to 29,781 eligible union and nonunion state employees with 10 or more years of service. Theyll get another bonus in October as long as they keep showing up.

There was a time when longevity bonuses were needed to attract qualified workers to state service. But that time has long since passed and so has the need for an incentive.

Thats our opinion. Wed like to hear yours. Send your comments to letters@norwichbulletin.com.

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Our View: Incentive of longevity payments no longer needed

Raise a glass to longevity

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Oliver Krug, pictured on an earlier visit to Australia, was back in Sydney promoting the brand. Picture: Graham Hely Source: The Sunday Telegraph

AS it marches towards its 170th anniversary, Krug can proudly reflect on its standing in the world of champagne.

Sixth-generation Olivier Krug, on a visit to Sydney to reinforce the label's much-vaunted global reputation, consistently reminded the luncheon gathering of fizz fanatics at Quay that the foundation stone of its success has been the high bar it has set for quality.

Last year, for instance, Krug, one of the jewels in the crown of the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy liquor and luxury goods group, pulled the pin at the last moment on the release of its 1999 Clos du Mesnil bubbles which would have commanded about $1400 a bottle.

With 12,000 bottles having already been presold globally, this, in effect, meant Krug turning its back on an $18 million bonanza.

Although the wine had earlier been given the green light, a review six months later led to a re-evaluation that ended up knocking the release of the celebrated sparkler on the head.

Yes, it was a big call,Monsieur Krug admitted over superb gastronomic fare created by Quay's Peter Gilmore to complement the star-studded champagne line-up.

But it was the right call, as well, because we eventually agreed that the wine didn't quite measure up to the high benchmark we set for Clos de Mesnil.

The dilemma facing Krug is what to do with 1999 Clos de Mesnil maturing in the company's Reims cellars. More than likely, it will be earmarked for future non-vintage Grande Cuvee consideration.

Krug timed his visit to present the 2000 Clos du Mesnil ($1400), a rare 100 per cent chardonnay-based wine hailing from a 1.85ha vineyard in the heart of Champagne.

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Raise a glass to longevity

What the Longevity Economy Could Mean for You

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Aging Americans are often viewed as an enormous financial burden. They are racking up outsized healthcare and retirement obligations that are bankrupting the federal and state governments. Upwards of 10,000 baby boomers are reaching traditional retirement age each day, signing up for Medicare and Social Security, and for those with low incomes, using Medicaid services. Beyond lots of plans and even more talk, there is no overall government strategy in place to deal with these expenses.

[See Choosing Your Mutual Fund Lineup.]

But these very same people are also the dominant consumer-spending force in the U.S. economy and will continue to be for decades. In 2010, more than 32 percent of the nearly 309 million people in the United States were 50 or older. That's nearly 100 million people, with roughly 60 percent of them between the ages of 50 and 64, and 40 percent age 65 and older. Beyond lots of plans and even more talk, there is no overall business strategy in place to capitalize on this market.

"There's such a different orientation in dealing with these issues, depending on where you are," says Jody Holtzman, senior vice president for thought leadership at AARP. "In Washington, all you hear from the pundits is that they all sound like a bunch of Chicken Littles. The sky is falling. There's a fiscal train wreck coming. What they're really saying is that we can't afford all these old people."

But in the private sector, Holtzman adds, businesses and nonprofit organizations look at a market of 100 million people and see things differently. "There, you don't see this as a problem. You see it as an opportunity," he says.

Despite this different mindset, Holtzman says, businesses have tended to see older consumers as parts of different commercial silos and not as part of a powerful and unified new market. So, there are senior housing projects, lots of healthcare products, some efforts at age-friendly home remodeling, travel and leisure services, and a boatload of retirement investment services. But companies have been dealing with this in a compartmentalized way.

[See The Fiduciary Debate: Should You Care?]

For Holtzman, and naturally for AARP, it makes good sense to break down silo walls and help build a unified market for providing products and services to seniors. He and other colleagues have coined the phrase "longevity economy" to describe the age wave in business terms and generate some buzz.

Recognition is the first challenge, Holtzman says. This requires business to see the aging space in terms of a market, identifying the scale of opportunity and the consumption and financial variables that will drive business growth. "That very construct allows you to identify business opportunities that you didn't see before," he says.

"For small companies and particularly the venture community that will provide the capital for their growth," he explains, having this broader viewpoint is needed "for them to move from simply opportunistically focusing on an individual opportunity to seeing this as a larger investment theme, and to be proactive about it."

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What the Longevity Economy Could Mean for You

Black men show big gains in longevity | How long will you live?

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Black men in South Florida have made tremendous strides in longevity, according to new estimates released Thursday. Those born in 2009 could expect to live 7 years longer than those born two decades earlier.

But researchers with the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation who calculated lifespans in every U.S. county in 1989, 1999 and 2009 also said there was troubling news. The numbers show women's lifespan gains have slowed to a crawl nationwide. Also, how long one might live varies hugely among counties in the same state, hinting at differences in healthcare access.

Florida, for example, claims the nation's highest life expectancy: the 85.9-year lifespan projected for white females in Collier County, which includes Naples. Then there's rural Baker County, up in the state's upper northeast corner, where black men are estimated to live 62.4 years 23.5 years less than Naples' white women.

In four Florida counties, all in the Panhandle, women's longevity estimates dropped by several months from 1989 to 2009 a trend echoed in hundreds of counties nationwide. Dr. Ali Mokdad, the head of the institute's U.S. County Peformance Research Team, said this means girls born in these places three years ago will live shorter lives than their mothers.

"This should be a wake-up call for all of us, and should rally people in their communities. These are disparities we should not ignore," Mokdad said from Atlanta, where the data were released at a health care journalists' conference.

The biggest culprit? The institute team, based at the University of Washington in Seattle, blamed health risks stemming from poor lifestyle choices: smoking, alcohol abuse, obesity, poor diet and lack of exercise.

South Florida public health experts agreed. "Unfortunately in our healthcare delivery system today, we focus more on medical intervention than health promotion," said Cecilia Rokusek, executive director of education, planning and research for Nova Southeastern University's College of Osteopathic Medicine. People need to begin working on healthy aging in midlife or younger, not in their 80s and 90s, she said.

Rokusek thinks the increase in healthcare education targeting minorities over the past decade helped boost black male longevity. Those alive in 2009 are now projected to have an average life expectancy of around 73 years in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, above the state average.

Dr. Richard C. Palmer, of the College of Public Health & Social Work at Florida International University in Miami, said black men also benefitted tremendously from better blood pressure drugs, as they are more likely to be hypertensive. But he noted that many minorities and people living in rural areas continue to have shorter lives than their white or urban counterparts, an observation born out in the new estimates.

In his own research, Palmer found rural doctors were less likely to discuss health prevention with their patients. And life experiences can affect health habits: "One black man, who remembered segregation as a child, told me he wouldn't go to doctors as an adult because he didn't trust them," Palmer said.

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Black men show big gains in longevity | How long will you live?

Book review: 'DNA USA' explores genetic roots

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"DNA USA: A Genetic Biography of America," by Bryan Sykes, Liveright Publishing Corporation, $27.95, 354 pages (nf)

Bryan Sykes newest book, DNA USA, explores the varied genetic heritage of people who call the United States of America home.

For three months, Sykes, an internationally renown human geneticist from England, traveled the U.S. from sea to shining sea, interviewing a variety of people, taking DNA samples, conferring with colleagues and drawing some broad conclusions about DNA in the U.S. population.

His interviews and sampling ranged from Native American to African-American to blue-blood New Englanders.

In addition to scientific background and history of DNA research, Sykes shares how the study of human DNA has become useful in helping to track down ancestors.

He gives a brief history of four genealogical DNA testing firms established in the last 13 years his own business, Oxford Ancestors in England, Family Tree DNA, Relative Genetics and Sorensen Genome Institute in the U.S.

Sorensen Genome Institute, now Sorensen Molecular Genealogy Foundation, is a Utah business established in 1999 and a collaboration between James Sorensen and Brigham Young University professor, Scott Woodward.

Sykes writes in a fluid, storytelling style that is reader-friendly, and explains his work in laymans terms.

The book is divided into three sections, which the author calls movements, comparing DNA study to discovering the parts of a symphony. The text is a mixture of science, history and travelogue but never loses sight of the book's focus of DNA research in the U.S.

A number of black and white photos documenting Sykes cross-country journey illustrate the book. Charts, images of DNA patterns, an appendix, endnotes, and an index are also included.

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Book review: 'DNA USA' explores genetic roots

Posted in DNA

DNA expert testifies to jury hearing murder trial

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The examination of a flashlight found DNA linked to both a murder victim and the woman accused of killing him.

The jury in Christina Asps first-degree murder trial heard from another DNA expert Thursday.

Asp is accused of killing 63-year-old Gordon Seybold, whose remains were discovered after his house burned to the ground in March 2008.

Her then-boyfriend, Norman Larue, is also charged in the case and is expected to go to trial later this year.

Derek Sutherland of the RCMPs forensic identification laboratory in Edmonton told the court about tests done on a large flashlight taken by police from an Edmonton hotel room where Asp and her boyfriend stayed in April 2008.

Forensic experts swabbed two areas of the flashlight looking for DNA one at the junction of the flashlights head and handle and also on the handle itself.

The area between the head and handle tested positive for blood, the court heard.

The blood was a mixed sample containing DNA profiles for more than two people, Sutherland said.

The major DNA sample was linked to Seybold.

The odds of the DNA belonging to anyone else are one in 29 billion, Sutherland said.

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DNA expert testifies to jury hearing murder trial

Posted in DNA

Enzymes Grow Artificial DNA

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Nature | Health

Certain artificial genetic polymers, or 'XNAs,' could bind and inhibit proteins, including those involved in macular degeneration, or resemble Earth's earliest genetic molecules

April 19, 2012

By Helen Shen of Nature magazine

Nearly all organisms share a single genetic language: DNA. But scientists have now demonstrated that several lab-made variants of DNA can store and transmit information much like the genuine article.

Researchers led by Philipp Holliger, a synthetic biologist at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK, say that the alternative molecules could help others to develop new drugs and nanotechnologies. They publish their results today in Science.

DNA is made up of nucleic acid bases -- labeled A, C, G and T -- on a backbone made of phosphates and the sugar deoxyribose. The artificial polymers, dubbed XNAs, carry the normal genetic 'alphabet' on a backbone made using different sugars. Scientists have previously developed XNAs that recognize and bind genetic sequences for experimental and biomedical applications, but is it difficult to make them in large quantities.

"Any time you want another XNA molecule, you've got to make more, but you can't copy what you already made -- until now," says Gerald Joyce, a biochemist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.

Holliger and his team engineered enzymes that helped six types of XNA to assemble and replicate genetic messages. The enzymes transcribed DNA into the various XNAs, then back into new DNA strands -- with 95% accuracy or more.

"This is a huge step," says Eric Kool, a chemist at Stanford University in California. "I would have predicted this method would work to some extent. I just didn't know how well."

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Enzymes Grow Artificial DNA

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Researchers make alternatives to DNA and RNA

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LOS ANGELES DNA and RNA molecules are the basis for all life on Earth, but they dont necessarily have to be the basis for all life everywhere, scientists have shown.

Researchers at the Medical Research Council in Cambridge, England, demonstrated that six synthetic molecules that are similar to but not exactly like DNA and RNA have the potential to exhibit hallmarks of life such as storing genetic information, passing it along and undergoing evolution. The man-made molecules are called XNAs.

DNA and RNA arent the only answers, said Vitor Pinheiro, the postdoctoral researcher who led the study, which was published this week in the journal Science.

Manipulating XNAs to behave like DNA and RNA could help scientists design better drugs, Pinheiro said.

It could also shed light on how life emerged on Earth, and on what living things might look like if they exist beyond our planet.

Everyone wants to know what aliens would use for DNA, said Steven Benner, a biochemist at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Gainesville, Fla., who has synthesized artificial DNA but was not involved in the new study. Lab experiments tell you about the possibilities in the universe.

In natural life on Earth, the nucleic acids DNA and RNA are formed by sugar molecules deoxyribose in DNA and ribose in RNA that link to phosphates to form a backbone onto which the four nucleotide bases attach to form a chain.

Genetic information is stored in the order in which the bases known by the chemical letters A, C, G and T are strung along the chain.

DNA forms the template that holds all the information needed to create an organism. RNA takes that information and translates it into proteins, the basic building blocks of biology. (Viruses, which some scientists consider to be a life form, use only RNA.)

To build alternatives to DNA and RNA, scientists often fiddle with one component or another and see how the changes affect genetic function.

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Researchers make alternatives to DNA and RNA

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Biology professor gets grant to catalogue Indonesian species

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Assistant Biology Professor Eric Smith received a $725,000 grant from the National Science foundation to catalogue new species in Indonesia, according to a press release Thursday..

Smith begins work later this year as the lead investigator with a team of researchers, which will include UTA students. The grant funds the project for three years.

Alumnus Michael Harvey, now a Broward College associate professor, will join Smith as co-principal investigator.

Harvey and Smith traveled to Indonesia in 1996 while attending UTA to study amphibians and reptiles. The two published scientific papers about the new species they discovered.

We calculated we were getting a new species of reptile or amphibian every four hours, Smith said in the release. So thats how much work the area needed. Its a huge place and it will take a long time to explore what is there.

Some of whatever the research team finds in the upcoming trip will come to UTA for further study.

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Biology professor gets grant to catalogue Indonesian species

Anti-aging medicine, anyone?

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22-Apr-12, 2:14 PM | Euan Paulo C. Aonuevo, InterAksyon.com

LifeScience Center faciities

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InterAksyon.com The online news portal of TV5

MANILA, Philippines - Anti-aging need not be cosmetic.

This is according to a boutique medical-cum-wellness center, which promises to change Filipinos' views on health care.

The LifeScience Center for Wellness and Preventive Medicine is promoting anti-aging medicine as an alternative to the disease-based approach of the medical community.

"It is something that we never had in the Philippines before. It is something that should be a cornerstone of medical practice. It is how you know which patients will respond to which medications, which patients could get which disease," said Benedict Francis Valdecanas.

This runs counter to the perception that anti-aging medicine is purely aesthetics, especially in a country where the practice has been associated with celebrity-focused, and -endorsed, cosmetic surgeries.

Valdecanas said anti-aging medicine uses some of the most advanced scientific and medical technologies to provide "customized" medication, allowing individuals to slow down their internal clocks.

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Anti-aging medicine, anyone?

'Grey's Anatomy', 'Scandal' boost ABC to second place on Thursday

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Grey's Anatomy helped ABC ascend to second position in primetime last night, Nielsen overnight data reveals.

Season eight of the medical drama continued with 9.7m and a rating of 3.2 18-49 adults at 9pm, a rise of 10% week-on-week.

On a roll, political thriller Scandal climbed to 7.4m (2.1) in the 10pm hour. Only 8pm's Missing (7.1m/1.3) lost viewers for the Alphabet Network.

American Idol's 14.6m (3.9) was easily enough for Fox to win another Thursday night.

CBS finished third despite airing only one new show, with Rules of Engagement amusing 7.7m (2.2) at 8.30pm.

NBC had a poor night, as 8pm's Community (2.9m/1.3) and 10pm's Awake (2.7m/0.8) underperformed.

Meanwhile, 30 Rock was the exception to the rule on the Peacock Network, creeping up to 3.2m (1.5) at 8.30pm.

Swiftly returning for new episodes, The Vampire Diaries (2.2m/1.0) and The Secret Circle (1.1m/0.5) dipped over on The CW.

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'Grey's Anatomy', 'Scandal' boost ABC to second place on Thursday