Imagine you’re a firefighter trying to prevent a house from burning to the ground. After many hours of hard work you’ve rescued the family, saved their pet chinchilla and extinguished every visible ember — a job well done. Wouldn’t it be strange if the blaze came roaring back the following day?
cancer
In the human body, there are roughly two trillion cell divisions every day. Molecular mechanisms to ensure that DNA is replicated properly are very accurate, but mistakes are inevitable. Most of the mistakes don't change anything but some cut the brake lines that control cell division -- and these can lead to the development of cancer cells. Dr. Chris Gerry explains, in Part 2 of his series on the complexities of cancer.
Curing cancer is a misleading term. Cancer is far too complex to be treated as a single disease. Doing so would be akin to coming up with a pill that cures all viral infections -- something that's all but impossible. In his second of a multi-part series on the issues and obstacles facing cancer researchers, our new Senior Fellow Dr. Chris Gerry discusses the multiple challenges that must be overcome, and a new paradigm for treating the disease at the genetic level.
Get this: 5G activists say that wireless technology causes cancer; cardiovascular disease; DNA damage; learning and memory deficits; impaired sperm function and quality; miscarriage; neurological damage; obesity; diabetes; as well as autism; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); and asthma in children. That's a pretty scary list. A nuclear bomb can't even do all that.
Proposition 65, which began its miserable life as The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, now has little to do with safe water or safe anything else. It's a bad joke to scientists, a plague on California businesses, and a goldmine to attorneys. Coffee went onto the list and now it's off. Why? Good question.
Roaming through your body is a group of specialized immune cells which act stealthily and authoritatively. They "ask" other body cells to show them identification ("papers please!"). If they fail to provide adequate ID those cells are killed on the spot. No questions asked. Scientists are now recruiting these cells to help in the fight against cancer.
Providing healthcare by region increases experience and improves outcomes. But what happens when you have a complication ... and your doctors and regional care is a few hours away?
Should we turn our nose up at using a dog's keen sense of smell as a cancer screening tool? Or to help identify relevant biomarkers that scientists should be isolating for diagnostic purposes?
Brand names are meant to communicate trust that products are of a certain high quality. But healthcare is not a product in that way, and once again hospital's branded with a flagship's name often produce results that are not as good as the flagship itself. Let the patient beware.
Though recent and alarming headlines are touting a global superbug, it can be hard to discern fact from fiction. Should we be worried? Let's take a look and find out.
Given therapeutics in the cancer category dominate the list is not so surprising, given the hefty price tag they yield. Where there is a great return there tends to be a great investment.
Expectant parents are bombarded with costly propositions. Diverting attention to all the "what ifs" can be distracting, as compared to "what actually is." Storing their infant's cord blood can be preoccupying. But is it worth it?