Type 2 Diabetes and Alzheimer's Linked

Name: Brenda

Current Event Posting #1

Topic: Health

Publication Name: MSNBC

Length:208 words/1 page

Health experts have already been thinking Diabetes and Alzheimer's disease are related somehow in a way. And recently, at a School of medicine they discovered one reason why the two might go together. It turns out that some genes that are controlled by insulin, also control the buildup the material in the brain that causes Alzheimer's. The buildup is often the first sign of Alzheimer's disease. The variables they came out with are out of 24 million people that have diabetes, 5 million have Alzheimer's.

Conclusion:

I believe that they still have room for finding out more about this situation. To me personally, since I have a person really important and close to me that has Type 2 Diabetes, I hope that they find a different way to control your blood sugar. Since the insulin controlling it is causing the buildup to the materials causing Alzheimer's. This helps experts target new ways of controlling and curing diabetes. For Type 2 Diabetes, it is possible to get rid of it by a having a controlled diet of eating about 1800 calories per day and exercising everyday. This way, you can decrease your medicine intake and also decrease the buildup.

Justice Department finds significant cheating on FBI test

Wil

Current Event Posting: #1

Topic: Leaders (State, federal/national)

Writer: Carol Cratty

Publication Name: CNN

Date of Publication: September 27th, 2010

Length: 228 words/1 page


Main Ideas:
In this article, it briefly explains how 22 FBI appointed officials were accused of "improperly taking" or cheating on the entrance test. Even though the test was open book, the employees were instructed to complete it for themselves and prove that they did. Most of those were accused used and shared other answers, and manipulated a computer system flaw to reveal answers. Many of the officials and employees most likely cheated because they wanted to choose the easy route, instead of honestly being graded for their performance. Most of these cases occured in the Distict of Columbia, and the investigation is ongoing.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, this article points out the corrupt agencies and groups linked to our government and leaders. Although there were very few cases, it still is a problem, because these people are needed to be some of the most honest people in America. Choosing the easy route seems to be a common choice for even the officials of the FBI.

Opinion:
In my opinion, I honestly think it's a big deal that a few employees of the FBI cheated on entrance exams. If they felt the need to cheat, then most likely they don't belong in the FBI. These are the people that are needed to carry out serious investigations and if they cheat and aren't honest, how can their investigations be proven true?

Malware Hits Computerized Industrial Equipment

Mallory

Current Event Posting Number 1

Topic: Technology

Writer: Riva Richmond

Publication Name: The New York Times

Date of Publication: September 24, 2010

Length: 509 words, 1 page

Main Ideas: Stuxnet marks the dawn of a new era. This malicious software program has infiltrated factory computers around the world, and is the first such attack on critical industrial infrastructure. Security experts initially believed Stuxnet’s primary purpose was espionage because of its ability to steal documents for industrial control systems. A newer more in depth study of this extremely large and complex program, shows that it can also make changes to those systems. Experts are unsure of Stuxnet’s original purpose, however many believe the malware was created to attack an Iranian industrial facility and it could have the potential to do some serious damage. “The True end goal of Stuxnet is cyber sabotage. It’s a cyber weapon basically,” said Roel Schouwenberg, a senior antivirus researcher at Kaspersky, a security software maker. “But how it exactly manifests in real life, I can’t say.” All evidence leads experts to believe that it was most likely staged by a government or government-backed group. The malware was first discovered in July, at least several months after its creation. Since it was first released, there have been 15 reports from around the globe.

Conclusion: In the end, most people will not be infected by the malware, and most commercial antivirus programs can detect and remove it. The question remains who made this piece of malware, because with the amount of funding and time required, this can’t just be a teenager in his basement.

Can Psychedelic Drugs Help with Cancer and PDSD?

Galen
1
Topic: Health
Pub Name: Can Psychedelic drugs treat depression?
Writer: Anne Harding, CNN
Pub Date: September 27th 2010
Length: 1684 Words

It may seem odd that a psychedelic drug associated with hippies from the 60s and 70s might help cancer patients and those suffering from post-dramatic stress disorder. Yet in the past month, studies have been published on the benefits of Ecstasy and psilocybin or "magic mushrooms" in people with these conditions. Although these drugs may be dangerous in the wrong hands, if taken under professional supervision along with therapy, researchers say, just a few doses can help patients experience therapeutic breakthroughs that would have otherwise taken many months or years. Actually in the early 1960s, a team of researchers who were led by psychologist Timothy Leary looked into the effects of psilocybin and LSD in a series of experiments at Harvard University. But research came to a halt after drugs were adopted by college students and hippie communities.

In conclusion, I believe these drugs may release some of the stress and pain put upon those who are not as fortunate as I to be in good health. I am not ignoring the potential consequences of the actions that may follow putting hallucinogens out into the public world. Yet in the right hands, these drugs may be of powerful help. It is worth a try.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/08/24/psychedelic.drugs.depression/index.html

New Weapons in the Fight Against Cancer: Can Our Own Bodies Hold the Key?

Journal: Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals
Date: Sep 19, 2010
Length: 6 pages
Title of Article: Phase II Trial of Dendritic Cells Loaded with Antigens from Self-Renewing, Proliferating Autologous Tumor Cells as Patient-Specific Antitumor Vaccines in Patients with Metastatic Melanoma: Final Report.


Article Summary
Cancer has become one of the most widespread and widely studied diseases of our time. It occurs when cells inside the body acquire a series of mutations that give them the ability to divide uncontrollably. However, such mutations appear in our cells with surprising regularity. The reason that every single human does not end up dying of cancer by their early thirties is the fact that our immune system can spot these mutated cells and kill them before the cancer has a chance to grow. Cancer arises when the immune system fails to react to the mutated cells, allowing them to grow out of control. At first, these cells stay in one area, where we can target them with radiation, chemotherapy, or surgery. However, cancer cells can also metastasize, or spread to other areas of the body, where they are often out of reach of drugs and surgery.

But not out of reach of the immune system. The only problem is that, if the cancer has metastasized, that means that the immune system cannot recognize it as harmful. Researchers at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian have devised a way to "teach" the patients own immune system to recognize the cells from their particular tumor as enemies in a lab, and then transfer those immune cells back into the patients body so they can fight off the cancer, even if it is out of reach of most traditional therapies. Essentially, the scientist have learned to create a personalized vaccine against the particular tumor in a person's body.

This study is the first to show that a cancer vaccine of this type is sucessful at forcing a cancer that has metastasized into complete remission, not just temporarily improve a patient's condition. However, this study has only tested the therapy in melanoma (a specific type of cancer) patients.

Conclusion/Personal Thoughts
This article is part of a growing trend of studies pioneering the use of our body's own natural defences to fight cancer. It seems that such treatments are clearly within the realm of possiblity, and they are certainly less damaging to the human body than the radiation and chemical treatments that are commonly used today. However, since these treatments are so new, and take advantage of processes that we do not yet fully understand, I am sure that there are also many things that can go wrong with this kind of treatment. For example, the immune system could become accidentally programmed to kill healthy cells, killing the patient as surely as the cancer. I suggest that, because of the dangers and uncertanties involved, this type of therapy only be used on patients who have no other options. We should test the water carefully before jumping in with both feet. But I think that this technology will soon become part of the growing arsenal of weapons we will use to fight cancer in the future.

Are sports drinks part of a healthy teen lifestyle?

Carly

Current event posting No. 1

Topic:Health

Title: Are sports drinks part of a healthy teen lifestyle?

Author: Sarah Klein

Publisher:Health.com

Date of publication: September 27th 2010

Length: 1 Page

Advertisements for sports drinks have featured world-class athletes such as Michael Jordan and LeBron James. The message is clear: if you want to be a good athlete then you must drink a sports drink. This marketing strategy has worked so far. According to a new study in pediatrics, teenagers these days who are more active in sports and other physical activities are more likely than their less active peers to want to drink a sports drink. While other teens who are less active and watch t.v. a lot are more likely to drink sodas. Consuming sports drinks and other non-carbonated drinks are linked to eating more fruits and vegetables. Especially among girls. Fruit and vegetable counts dropped drastically when the soda consumption rose. These results are shocking. Researchers say that candy colored sports drinks as a healthy alternative to soda. Dehydration is a very common hazard and a very important health issue. Sports drinks may encourage teens to drink more liquids so they wont be dehydrated.

Conclusion

Sports drinks are still bad for you. They may not be as bad as sodas but they still have plenty of sugar in them that is bad for you. A person who bikes for 90 to 180 minutes who drinks water only drinks 50% of it but if you gave the bike rider a sports drink then they drink 90% more of the sports drink then they would water. Researchers have said that the teens who often drink sports drinks that they don't exercise nearly enough to need it to hydrate.

Children raised by gay couples show good progress through school

Samantha

Current event posting No. 1

Topic:Social Science

Title:Children raised by gay couples show good progress through school

Author: Adam Gorlick

Publisher:Standford News Services

Date of publication: august 30, 2010

Length: 1 Page 

Main Ideas:

There exist an old debate about gay couples and their roles as parents.

 It is generally believed that their children might not be able to adjust nor succeed in societies 

dominated by traditional families. However,  a Stanford Sociologist,  Michael Rosenfeld  sustains 

that children being raised by same-sex couples have nearly the same educational achievement as 

children raised by married straight couples. 
 
In his article published on August in the journal Demography, Rosenfeld used  data from the 2000 

Census to estimates the rates at which kids raised by gay and heterosexual couples repeated a 

grade during elementary or middle school. According to his findings Parents' income and 

education are the biggest indicators of a child's success. Children raised by parents who 

are the same gender is not in itself any impediment to do well in school. 

 
Conclusion.

This is a relevant article for several reasons. One, it adds new evidence that reliable; 

this findings are generalizable for the population since it is based on the US census. 

Two, it refutes a popular myth that children raised by same-sex couples cannot adapt

 socially compared to a children raised by a traditional family.

 Third, I believe it is important to break down stereotypes in society to reduce discrimination 

against minority groups, like the gay population. 

 

Source: http://news.stanford.edu/pr/2010/pr-gay-study-083010.html

Blog Posting Number 1

Topic: Education

Texas ed board adopts resolution limiting Islam

Writer: April Castro

Publication Date: September 24, 2010

Length: 695 words 2 pages

Overview/Main Idea

On September 24^th, the Texas board of Education agreed to sign a resolution, which limits the amount school textbooks, can say about Islam. The vote was won 7-5, and was hotly debated. Many locals, as well as critics, see this as the ideological Board of Education attempting to politicize education in Texas. The resolution does not bind future boards, as they will still be able to make their own choices about the social studies texts, however many have spoken out and said how this was a blatant example of how the board is pushing out Islamic beliefs I favor of Christian ones. The resolution makes history books void in Texas if they grant more lines about Islam then about Christianity. Two republicans went against their party on the issue, but due to missing members on both sides of the board, the vote was decided 7-5. The law also states that all new publications must meet the standards that have been established, otherwise they shall be deemed void.

Conclusion:

This is seen as clear discrimination against Islam, as well as favoritism among Christianity in a political office. For years the Board of Education has been a battle between Conservative Christians, and liberal mad dogs, each criticizing each other for creating separate social dilemmas. The board of education is upholding what they believe is best for the Lone Star states education, but it s easily seen that there are clear idealistic and theological motives behind this resolution.

In My Opinion:

I completely disagree with the resolution. I agree that all religions should be mentioned equally, however discrimination is unacceptable no matter the circumstances. This resolution shows that the Texas Board of Education is pushing their discriminatory beliefs into the education system. This not only creates future discrimination, however it also creates a lack of knowledge among the next generation, who are then misinformed and do not know how to deal with Muslims and their traditions.

Paul
Current Event Posting Number 1
Topic: Tech
Writer: Amy Gahran
Publication Name: How to Make Your Cell Phone Greener
Date of Publication: September 24, 2o10

Main Ideas:

Almost all cell phones are made of a rare mineral (tantalum) found in central africa that is very valuable and causes violence in this region of the world causing human rights issues. The modern day smart phone takes lots of energy, sometimes the phone's battery will only last one day unless it has a complicated energy-saving strategy. The making of the cell phone takes 16 Kg of CO2 emissions by it self and over the life time of the phone it will cause about 94 Kg of CO2 emissions. To help lessen these emissions, cell phone companies have started to come out with phones that have a solar panel on them and phones that are made out of recycled materials, same with the shipping materials used to transport them. Besides buying new eco-friendly phones, people can use texting more and talk on land lines instead of talking on their cell phones.

conclusions:

This article is talking about the environmental impact that cell phones have and how cell phone companies are trying to help lessen the impact on the environment. This article also gives some good pointers on how you as a consumer can help by doing small things like texting or using land lines instead of using your cell phone to help lower the emissions caused by cell phones.

opinion:

This article is true in how cell phones are not great for the environment but they should have used a little more math to show how big the world cell phone use is and how much CO2 emissions that causes. I think the governments of the world should do more to regulate the emissions caused by cell phones and the violence that goes along with the production of the phone to help preserve lives.

Ending the Ebola Death Sentence

Alex

Current event posting #1

Topic: Health

Title: Ending the Ebola Death Sentence

Author: Michael, McCullough

Publisher: Canadian buisness

Date of publication: 9/13/2010

Length: 1 Page

Summary: The U.S army in partnership with a canadian biotech firm, are developing a cure for Ebola. Ebola is an extremely deadly disease that kills 9 in 10 of its victims. This disease is especially severe in Africa. this new drug works by using RNA interference, which basically turnes off the harmful genes that allow the disease to spread. In animal testing, on rhesus monkeys, the survival rate rose from 20% to 100%. The Government is hoping to put the new drug in every hospital, especially in Africa soon.

Conclusion: 9 in 10 die from Ebola. the U.S Army and a canadian Biotech lab have found a cure. The cure cause survival rates to rise to 100% in test subjects.

Opinion: i am glad that they have finally found a cure to this deadly disease and they will save a great many lives.

An Arizona Act of Kindness, Leaving Water for Immigrants, or an Offense?

Conor Kennedy

Blog Posting Number 1

Topic: U.S. Government

Title: An Arizona Act of Kindness, Leaving Water for Immigrants, or an Offense?

Writer: Marc Lacey

Publication Date: September 26, 2010

Length: 950 words 3 pages

Overview/Main Idea

2 years ago Daniel J Millis and 14 others who volunteered for a tucson based organization that provided aid to immigrants crossing the U.S. Mexico border, was arrested and cited for littering. They were placing water jugs and food near the border so immigrants could survive the grueling heat. The judge convicted him of defacing the refuge with their water jug drops. Early this month, the United States Court of Appeals ruled that it was "ambiguous as to wether purified water in a sealed bottle intended for human consumption meets the definition of garbage" With a vote of 2-1, a three judge court overturned Millis's conviction. The Fish and Wildlife Service continues to forbid anyone to leave water gallon jugs in the refuge. They say that this will only encourage immigrants to cross the border. But the issue rises that from 2002-2009, 25 illegal immigrants have died passing through the refuge's rolling hills that are home to dangerous animals, rolling hills and insane temperatures. The death toll throughout southern Arizona has totaled to 1,715 and with this year's hot temperatures, the death rate is increasing exponentially at a record breaking pace. Also, the Border Patrol has installed rescue beacons along the border to allow immigrants in distress to call for help. The federal government acknowledges that additional steps are needed to keep deaths down on its land, but an aid group, Humane Borders has a permit to keep several large water drums on the refuge allowing immigrants to drink water. People may say that the water jugs spoil the enviorment but Millis says he has collected as many jugs of water as he has left behind.

Conclusion:

Although he may be egging on the immigrants to illegally cross the border, he is also saving many lives by providing them with a much needed source of water. The charges that Millis and his organization were faced with were wrong and unfair. People who are against this issue argue that the water encourages the immigrants to cross the border illegally and also the water jugs are left to be trash. He may be encouraging the immigrants to illegally cross the border, but the source of water that he provides with them is a difference in life and death.

In My Opinion:

The acts that Millis and his organization are committing are in my opinion, completely legal and thoughtful for those who are crossing the border illegally. When someone dies on U.S. soil, it is accounted for and makes the U.S. look bad. So when these immigrants are given water, they are able to survive the harsh heat and begin their new lives. Millis's organization is doing a tremendous job at saving the lives of the immigrants. In 2008, 31,500 people died crossing the border, and in 2009 ever since they started providing water to them, 20,000 people died crossing the border. Groups like Millis's need to rally together and start providing enough water to save all the immigrants who need it.

Can computers take the place of teachers?

Shinjo

1

Technology/Science

pub name: can computers take the place of teachers?

Writer: Sugata Mitra

September 26 2010 11:48 am EDT

length:707 words

After reading the article about education I think I can see the next big change in the educational system. The article talks about how computers teach children in rural countries and how this information has been used to create programs in the USA to better the teachers ability to educate children. They found that a computer could actually replace a teacher and all that would be required would be a mediator to help clarify this mediator doesn't need to be intelligent but just needs to be present. Knowing this TED a non profit organisation has set up "eMediators" this program has had good results with the schools that participate with TED. It works over Skype the students using the program to video chat with retired teachers to receive help. The results were better performance out of the children they found that this program would more then likely be effective universally. They feel that with these procedures it is now possible to formulate a whole new way of educating children across the world.

My conclusion is that this is the future of education I believe that as the world moves into the computer age so will every thing else which includes education. One more reason is that its much more convenient and following a trend I think that this is one of the things that will come with the times.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/09/26/mitra.technology.learning/index.html

Making Electric Cars Safe and Sound

Mason
1
Technology/Science
Pub Name: Making Electric Cars Safe and Sound
Writer: Matthew Knight
Pub Date: 23 September 2010
Length: about 650 words

Electric cars are much cleaner than regular cars, but because electric cars are silent, it is posing a new problem for the safety of pedestrians. Pedestrians need to hear the noise of an engine stopping or accelerating when they are crossing the street. There is a noise making device that will be added to electric cars that have close to silent engines. Also, the manufactures need to produce a noise that isn't annoying to listen to. Toyota has started selling a noise making device which fits into the hybrid Prius model in Japan, and they want to start selling the device in the United States. Research is now coming out of Northern America but Japan is the only place Toyota has started selling some kind of noise device. They say that people might be able to come up with their own noise to be made into one of the devices. Now, another appeal of electric cars is being able to make your own customized sound.

Conclusion: This will decrease the number of deaths significantly by electric cars. Hopefully, this noise making device will come out sooner than expected, and the people of Palo Alto will be able to install the device into their Prius's themselves. Also, it would be a good idea to put the device into the car before it is sold.

Eat em' Like Junk Food

Linnea

1

Health
Told To Eat Its Vegetables, America Orders Fries
Kim Severson
New York Times
September 24, 2o1o

America hasn't been eating enough vegetables. That is the main consensus of doctors and health experts all around the country. Many Companies have tried to market vegetables to kids like candy, in hopes that this will cause them to make a change and start eating some. In fact the baby carrot industry spent a whopping $25 million on an advertising campaign. This campaign has slogans such as "Eat em' Like Junk Food" and included a large variety of adds. They even placed a few vending machines with all kinds of vegetables in schools. In hopes that this might help motivate kids to make healthier choices. In east Manhattan there was an action of "heirloom vegetables" which sold for $1000 a crate. Though unconventional the focus was again to make vegetables a more important part of life and to encourage people to eat and buy them. However, these actions don't seem to be doing much, in fact it has been around two decades since people started focusing on healthy vegetable diets. There have been stricter dietary guidelines in school, years of health education for children and much much more yet there seems to be barely any effect. All in all we have seen barely any growth in the industry, despite all the efforts to make America eat healthy there seems to be no effect.

Can A Bigger Alcohol Tax Reduce Disease/Crime?

Zoe
Current Event Posting Number 1
Topic: Health
Writer: Carina Storrs
Publication Name: CNN/Health.com
Date of Publication: September 24, 2o10
Length: 915 words/3 pages

Alcohol is a major cause of death in the United States and it contributes to many preventable deaths by disease, car crashes, injuries and crimes. A higher alcohol tax would affect all Americans-- college students, alcoholics and even recreational drinkers. How? Making alcohol more expensive could decrease all of the alcohol related deaths and crimes. People all over the US won't want to pay such high prices so they won't buy alcohol. Studies show that after alcohol tax increases in 1983 and 2002, the related deaths and crime rates went down. In conclusion, increasing tax on alcohol can save a state $214 million in health care costs and bring in $249 million in revenues, and lower alcohol consumption by a whole 5%. In my opinion, the theory sounds like it would work, but there are a lot of risks too. Crime rates could increase because more people would have to resort to theft to acquire alcohol. Adding more risk to an already risky substance could only make things get farther out of hand.

Taesu

#2

Politics

The Tea Party Movement Is More Mainstream Than Obama

Mary Cate Carry

US News

September 24, 2010

2 Pages

A. The Tea Party is a a political party that began about a half a year ago. This group criticizes the government's plans to refinance mortgages. They want to begin a new party in Senate. They are currently trying to get more influence in the Senate and in House of representatives by voting for republican candidates. The party has 10 objectives: identify constitutionality of every new law, reject emissions trading, demand a balanced federal budget, simplify the tax system, audit federal government agencies for constitutionality, limit annual growth in federal spending, repeal the health care legislation passed on March 23, 2010, pass an 'All-of-the-Above' Energy Policy, Reduce Earmarks, and lastly- reduce taxes. This movement is happening all over the united states.

B. All in all, the party has a large agenda and has a lot of work to do. The party is getting especially popular now because of the economy and because the ideas of the party are ideas that the citizens can relate to. If all goes well, and many of the candidates backed by the party get voted, this could happen in the near future.

C. In my opinion, the party seems friendly now but sooner or later something is going to turn the majority of the population again the party. The party is going to change in some way. Its either going to be zealous right party or it is going to be moderate.

Nicholas

Current Event Posting Number 1

Topic: Technology/Science

Title: Reprogrammable Card Can Be Many Credit Cards In One Writer: Rebecca Boyle

Publication Name: Popular Science Date of Publication: Sept 17, 2010

Length: 362 words/1 page

Main Ideas

Same magnetic strip that works on all magnetic-strip readers, new card, credit cards are becoming gadgets. Dynamics Inc. presented new programmable credits cards that are not far off in the future, at the recent DEMO tech conference. These cards have two new features that greatly help everyday citizens like you and me. First off, it has the capability of toggling between multiple accounts on one card or even between credit and debit. This helps because users now don’t have to lug around multiple credit cards from different accounts, allowing users to have a less packed wallet. The card is able to toggle back and forth between accounts using tiny buttons on the card face. Users use these buttons to go back and forth between accounts. The selected account had a light illuminated next to it to notify the user of which account is in use. Secondly, it has good security as well. The same type of keys that allow users to toggle back and forth between accounts also require customers to insert PIN numbers on the face of the card before it can be activated. The card also ahs a tiny display that obscures part of the account numbers for added security. Lastly, as an added bonus, these cards are fully waterproof and function on a lithium-polymer battery.

Conclusion

These new credit cards are a promising technology for the future. Useful capabilities allow users to toggle between accounts as well as proving added security to the users of the cards. Waterproof technology and battery operation give users more convenience. In conclusion, these credit cards are not far off in the future and will greatly alleviate inconveniences for users.

Opinion

In my opinion these credit cards are a very promising piece of technology. However, there are still some features that need to be ironed out. A battery-operated cards pose the possibility of running out of battery and not being able to use your credit card. Then what? Also if these cards are stolen you lose all of you accounts, not just one. Although these cards have a major upside, there are still some aspects about it that aren’t great.

iPhones Help The Disabled

Taesu
1
Technology/science
"iPhones help the disabled" by Kristen Guilfoos
NewsChannel 10 and Cnn, Sept 7, 2010

a. This article pertains to an application on the iphone that helps autistic or physically handicapped people communicate with other people. They are able to use this app by getting an iphone and buying the application. Then they would open the app and use it in the way most comofortable to them. The reason this technology was developed was so that kids who could not voice themselves are able to by using their phones. This technology is being developed and is being tested in Amarillo Texas. This application is being tested as I write this blog and it has been proving very good and a lot less costly then the computer version. (10,000 dollars compared to the app which is 200)

B. What i can conclude from this article is that technology is quickly advancing. Also, that the iPhone is becoming more and more useful in society. The autistic citizens will be able to voice their once silence voice.

C. In my opinion apple should have done this earlier when the iphone first came out. I think that, however, that it is great that it is coming out now. Also its a great thing because the technology of today permits the portability of expensive software that would usually require computers and expensive gear.

Study: Elderly lung cancer patients should get standard chemo too

Nadia
Current Event Posting Number 1
Topic: Health
Writer: Miriam Falco
Publication Name: CNN
Date of Publication: June 5, 2010
Length: 431 words/ 1 page

Summary: Lung cancer patients should be getting a more effective treatment of chemotherapy, according to a new study that was held on June 5, 2010 at a cancer conference. The new study presented at the conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists also known as (ASCO) in Chicago, has shown that elderly patients have lived longer, and cancer-free when they had gone through the new treatment of chemotherapy. "These results demonstrate that a more intensive regimen given to younger patients can be effective and tolerable in this (elderly) group," stated, the leader in reserach,Dr. Elisabeth Quiox. Patients that are younger than the age of 70 are offered a standard chemotherapy, which includes a combination of two drugs. Unlike the younger patients, elderly patients are given only one chemotherapy drug (which does not include a combination), since doctors fear that they may not be able to tolerate or handle the side effects of the drug. Researchers located in France have studied that, 451 patients between the ages of 70 and 89 are all diagnosed with "advanced non-small cell lung cancer", which is the most common form of lung cancer.

Conclusion: In conclusion, the elderly patients were divided into two groups. Half of the patients were given the more "effective" form of chemotherapy, which is the combination of two drugs, paclitaxel and carboplatin, while the other half were given a single chemo drug -- either gemcitabine or vinorelbine.

In my opinion, in which outcome provides the best care for the patient, that should be the treatment used for all patients, no matter what the side affect. If the side affect is too strong for an elderly, then obviously the smart thing which should NOT be done is giving the elderly patient a/the drug which will clearly have bad side-affects that the patient cannot handle

Zombies Take over Baltimore University curriculum

Adrian

1

Education

Zombies take over Baltimore University curriculum

Jonathan Shorr

BBC News

7 September,2010

184 words

The kids at Baltimore university, Zombies taking over the university of Baltimore. They started to make class more interesting and have kids join the movie class. Most of the student wanted off-the-wall courses to get them interested in it.In Baltimore University. The classes have already started and kids have already started to join it. In conclusion i think the classes are bit weird but it will get kids interested in it. Also the curriculum might bring more up comung actors for horror films to be excited about this.

Judge Keeps Ban on Stem Cell Funds

Sonal

Current event posting number: 1

Topic: Science

Title: Judge Keeps Ban on Stem Cell Funds

Writer: Reuters

Publication Name: New York Times

Date of Publication: September 7, 2010

Length: 386 words, 1 page

Although the Obama administration was hoping to legalize federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research, Royce Lamberth, a U.S. District of Columbia judge, refused to lift the ban on September 7, 2010. Lamberth says it is morally wrong to destroy human embryos since it would be killing innocent lives who have the potential to bring positive change to the world (I.e. finding a cure to a disease, help bring peace). He also argues that this is unfair for scientists against stem cell research because of the expansion of the National Institutes of Health for stem cell research. On the contrary, the Obama administration researched that legalizing the funding could bring many job opportunities for up to 1300 Americans. Moreover, this would be beneficial to many patients who are at risk for dying because the stem cell research would help to understand how to transform cells into desired tissue types and treat a variety of diseases such as Parkinson's, Cancer, etc. The Obama administration may file an appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to lift the ban.

Conclusion:

Obama has been trying to pave the way for stem cell research ever since he took office in 2009; it was one of his first acts. This would help the economy under recession by bringing over a thousand jobs to Americans. However, Royce Lamberth rejected this request because he believes killing embryos for stem cell research is unfair and morally wrong. Obama will probably continue to persist for the legalization of federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research.