Kylie Simonds, of Naugatuck, Connecticut, was in fifth grade last year when she took a standard classroom assignment — create something to solve an everyday problem — and turned it into something that could help thousands of kids with cancer.
“I came up with it from when I had cancer,” Kylie told ABC News. “When I had chemo, I had to pull around the big IV pack, so I came up with this backpack.
“I remember tripping over all the wires, getting tangled up and having to drag this big thing around,” said Kylie, who underwent months of chemotherapy, radiation and surgeries to beat rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare childhood cancer she was diagnosed with three years ago, at age 8.
“I would have loved this thing for myself,” she said.
The backpack prototype, which won Kylie four awards at a statewide invention convention, includes details like a drip bag protection cage so kids can move around without fearing they will puncture the medicine bag and an IV controller built into the bag to control the bag’s flow rate.
“I worked with my mom and dad to actually make it and my nurses and doctors gave me some tips,” Kylie said. “They were saying it has to be light and portable and there has to be something that protects it if you sit back, so I thought of the metal cage that protects it.”
Have you noticed that Congressional Republicans have been especially silent on the serious Ebola outbreak in Africa. Not a sound, not a murmur, not even a sigh to show their feelings on the subject as thousands die from the potentially global crisis.
Then a few days ago when the president acted by sending 3,000 military personnel to Africa to help fight the deadly disease, Republicans have, all if a sudden, awaken from their slumber. They found their voice and are, of course, finding fault with the president for not acting sooner.
Republican House Faker John Boehner couldn’t contain himself as he announced from the podium that… wait for it… Obama should be blamed for not acting sooner. Thus, insinuating that the vastness of the outbreak is due to the supposedly slow response from the president.
“I think this Ebola outbreak in Africa is a serious problem and I’m a bit surprised the administration hasn’t acted more quickly to address what is a serious threat, not only to Africans but to others around the world,” Boehner said at a news conference.
Some Republicans want the administration to do more. Sen. Rob Portman (Ohio) called on the administration to conduct mandatory screenings of individuals exhibiting Ebola symptoms at U.S. ports of entry.
But Boehner wouldn’t comment directly on the proposal floated by Portman, his close friend and fellow Buckeye. Instead, he suggested reporters pose questions to Homeland Security Chairman Mike McCaul (R-Texas), who’s holding a hearing on Wednesday.
“I think in the coming weeks,” Boehner said, “you will see the Congress and the administration figure out how do we best contain this very horrible disease.”
Is soda really bad for you? Yes. Very bad. All of it: Pepsi, Coke, Sprite, Seven Up, Mountain Dew, Root Beer. It’s all bad for you. How do you know? Pick up a can or bottle and read the ingredients. 2-methylimidazole. Do you know what that is? You’re not supposed to know. You’re not supposed to read the ingredients.
Let’s start with how much sugar there is in soda. Except they don’t say sugar. Aspartame, cyclamate, saccharine, acesulfame-k, sucralose, by any other name it’s sugar and it’s all nutritionally empty and it all contributes to obesity and diabetes. And it’s addicting. Those soda execs are no dummies.
Consider also that all colas contain phosphates or phosphoric acid. Too much of these can lead to heart or kidney problems and trigger accelerated aging.
The artificial sweeteners don’t break down in our bodies. They end up in waste treatment facilities and then in our waterways. The bromated vegetable oil in Mountain Dew (called BVO) is an industrial chemical known to cause memory loss and nerve disorder.
Aspartame raises blood glucose levels and when your liver has too much glucose, the excess becomes body fat. Non diet sodas can cause fat build up around your liver and your skeletal muscles.
Aluminum cans are lined with a resin called bisphenol. It’s known to interfere with hormones and linked to obesity, diabetes and some kinds of reproductive cancer.
The caramel coloring in brown colas contains 2-methylimidozole and 4-methylimidazole. They have been found to cause cancer in animals.
There are so many other things you can drink besides soda. Is the health risk worth it? Read the ingredients on your next can of soda. Do you know what they are? Do you know what effect they have on your body? Do you trust the big soda companies to have your best interests in mind?
By now, I’m sure you’ve seen many of your friends and family do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. You’ve probably seen your favorite actor, musician or athlete do it too. In fact, there is a good chance that you have also completed the Challenge. Your Facebook time line is probably clogged with people pouring ice cold water on themselves. Are you bored of it yet? Well don’t be.
Despite the fact that you have seen it everywhere, many don’t know how it became about ALS and even more don’t know the correct way to complete the challenge.
This is Pete Frates. He was 27 when he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He was 27 when a doctor looked him in the eyes and told him he has a disease that was a death sentence and has no cure and no course of treatment.
You wouldn’t blame the guy for giving up. You wouldn’t blame him for feeling sorry for himself or being angry. That’s not what happened though. You see, Pete was a hard nosed baseball player. He was the captain of the Boston College team. Giving up wasn’t something he was accustomed to. So he charged at the problem and began speaking and raising money for the ALSA which is an association that aides research in the hopes of finding a cure for ALS.
It was Pete’s friends that had seen others doing this ice bucket challenge to benefit various charities and decided to do it in honor of Pete. Well, it took off and now Pete has achieved what he set out to do. Pete is the reason that since July 29th of this year, ALSA.org has raised $31.5 million. And just to point out how incredible that actually is, that’s 16 times more than what the foundation received in the same time period last year.
Still, we can all do better. There are still many who don’t quite grasp how the challenge works. If you are nominated to complete the challenge, you are expected to dump a bucket of ice water over your head AND donate an amount of your choice to The ALSA . You can choose to not dump the water over your head and donate no less than $100. Either way, the foundation should be receiving a donation.
The whole point of dumping the ice water is to add a little fun to donating for a good cause. It keeps the cause circulating and getting bigger because each person nominates 3 others to complete the challenge.
I have to admit, I was one of the people who did not believe this challenge was helping anyone because I just didn’t understand it, but now that I do, I am amazed by how such an amazing cause has spread like wildfire. And it’s all thanks to a wonderful man names Pete Frates and his awesome friends. Thanks Pete!
This really brings it all back to reality. A lot of people have taken this challenge, some being successful others, not so much. But when David McClain accepted his challenge, it was something special.
For the past 12 years, David has suffered the debilitating effects of Lou Gehrig’s Disease, rendering him unable to speak and paralyzed from the neck down. But David is a trooper and the ice bucket challenge is obviously nothing compared to what he’s been through over the last decade.
Using a voice synthesizer David volunteered to take the challenge, asked all his Facebook friends to do the same.
A 19-year-old Chicago teen may one day hold the key to curing colon cancer.
If his previous successes are any indication, Keven Stonewall is well on his way to becoming the kind of scientist who leaves a lasting impact in the realm of cancer research.
In his senior year of high school, this young man from the city’s South Side was already working on a potential colon cancer vaccine at a Rush University lab, DNAInfo reports.
“My friends, family members have died from cancer,” Stonewall said in a VNM video. “A lot of people are impacted by cancer. So I felt it was my role to step up and do something about it.”
At first, his friends mocked his dedication to science. When they were out on vacation, he was holed up in his lab.
“I was one of the few kids who were engaged,” Stonewall said. “At first they were making fun of me, like ‘Come on man, why you want to be in the lab all day?’”
But after realizing that his lab time was producing real results, his buddies turned around. In fact, they confessed they were inspired by him.
“Now a lot of my friends are that much more motivated to do better,” Stonewall said. “I can make a difference in someone’s life without even knowing it.”
A 19-year-old Chicago teen may one day hold the key to curing colon cancer.
If his previous successes are any indication, Keven Stonewall is well on his way to becoming the kind of scientist who leaves a lasting impact in the realm of cancer research.
In his senior year of high school, this young man from the city’s South Side was already working on a potential colon cancer vaccine at a Rush University lab, DNAInfo reports.
“My friends, family members have died from cancer,” Stonewall said in a VNM video. “A lot of people are impacted by cancer. So I felt it was my role to step up and do something about it.”
At first, his friends mocked his dedication to science. When they were out on vacation, he was holed up in his lab.
“I was one of the few kids who were engaged,” Stonewall said. “At first they were making fun of me, like ‘Come on man, why you want to be in the lab all day?’”
For his experiment, Stonewall injected a special high concentration of cancer-treating drug mitoxantrone into younger and older mice. He then injected the mice with aggressive colon cancer cells. After three days, Stonewall noticed that his experimental vaccine was 100% effective on young mice — their tumors were gone and they showed immunity to colon cancer. But the older mice were still afflicted by the cancer cells.
His lab director at Rush University, Carl Ruby, said that Stonewall’s experiment helped scientists realize that they needed a special vaccine for older subjects.
I. I believe. I believe that. I believe that we. I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!
In case you’ve been living under a rock, that is the battle cry of the American Outlaws. They are the official fan club of the United States Men’s National Team. You can find them all over the country. The group has 125 official bars, nation wide. If you are in the big apple, you can find these hooligans at Dempsey’s on West 34th street. But if you’re in Brazil this month, you will find a whopping 590 of these die hards.
In fact, it’s been said that the United States has the most supporters in Brazil other than Brazil themselves. If, that doesn’t make you feel proud, check your pulse.
This American team should not have made it out of the “group of death” according to experts, but they did. They sought revenge against Ghana for knocking them out in two previous cups, and got it. They almost beat Portugal but ended up with a heart breaking tie. And of course, they lost a 1-0 game to a German team that is capable of scoring often. The effort was good enough to get them out of the group.
Next is Belgium. And if you’re an American, then you should be very sure of what you are doing on Tuesday at 4:00. You have to understand that when it comes to sports, or pretty much anything, America is anything but an Underdog. However, in the World Cup, that is exactly what they are. Still, they are forcing teams to take them serious. With youth on their side and their country behind them, they believe they can do the impossible. Beat Belgium and go on to win 3 more games, to capture the Cup.
Now if you are one of the few that hasn’t flocked to places like Grant Park in Chicago or Madison Square Park in NYC or a bar like Dempsey’s, then my guess is that you really just aren’t into soccer. That’s fine, because this isn’t about soccer. It’s about screaming your f**king head off for the red white and blue. Americans don’t agree on anything. Not war, religion, politics or even sports teams. But when those players put on those jerseys with the US Soccer logo, we can agree on them. And we can cheer for them
So on Tuesday, leave work a little early. Go find a bar or a deli or a restaurant or a park or a doctors office waiting room or a barber shop
or any place with a TV, because I guarantee that they will all be showing the game. Sit down or stand up and cheer for Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Graham Zusi, Tim Howard and the rest of the Red White and Blue to do something it has never done in the men’s World Cup. Win the whole damn thing!
Spread out your morning calories for better fat-burning and faster weight loss.
Eating frequently throughout the day is nothing new. “Grazing” and “mini meals” were once all the rage for those who wanted to control hunger, lose weight, or simply eat healthier. Recently, health gurus have been encouraging a slightly different take on this approach. Now, it’s all about breakfast.
We all know breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day. Drummed into our heads since we were kids, eating in the morning will jump start our metabolism and provide some much needed nourishment after a night of “fasting.” For dieters, it can be doubly important. Two breakfasts could be the key to better fat-burning and weight loss. Here’s why:
Breakfast # 1: Begin Burning Calories
Contrary to popular belief among coffee lovers, it’s carbohydrates, not caffeine, that your body needs in the morning.* Not a lot, but just enough to get you going. A small bowl of high-fiber cereal (healthy carbs) with low-fat milk (lean protein) is enough to start your engines and begin burning calories. Anything too heavy in the carb department, like a stack of pancakes, will have the opposite effect — you’ll be sent back to sleepy land once your insulin levels plummet.
Breakfast # 2: Crush the Cravings
Mid-morning food cravings are typical for everyone, especially dieters, and can lead to poor choices like a dip into the office kitchen’s donut box. The ideal second breakfast is a combination of healthy protein and high fiber to quell any hunger and encourage continued weight-loss. A turkey sausage patty on a whole grain English muffin is perfect. A smear of spicy mustard, which research suggests might increase metabolism, will boost to your body’s ability to burn fat.
Get Lean for Lunch
Eating two small healthy breakfasts will keep you happy until lunch. Too many dieters live for their lunch break, eat too quickly, and still end up unsatisfied. But if you’ve got two excellent breakfasts under your belt, your diet lunch will be a breeze to stick to and you’ll be set up for an alert and energized afternoon.
Sources:
*Pasman W et al. “Effect of two breakfasts, different in carbohydrate composition, on hunger and satiety and mood in healthy men”
Yale scientists have successfully used an arthritis medication to fully regrow the head and body hair of a almost totally hairless 25-year-old man.
Researchers administered the drug tofacitinib citrate to the unnamed patient, who suffered from the autoimmune baldness disease alopecia universalis.
Within eight months, the man had regrown scalp and facial hair he’d not had in seven years.
‘The results are exactly what we hoped for,’ said Brett A. King, M.D., senior author of the paper, published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. ‘This is a huge step forward in the treatment of patients with this condition.’
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Unbelievable: Yale University researchers correctly guessed that a rheumatoid arthritis drug called Xeljanz could successfully regrow hair in a patient with the autoimmune disease alopecia universalis, which causes hairlessness over the whole body. This 25-year-old took the drug and by the end of eight months had all the hair back on his head, body and face that he hadn’t had in years
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Huge success: The drug had successfully been used before on plaque psoriasis, which the 25-year-old Yale patient also exhibited, but had never been used to treat alopecia in humans
The man was referred to Yale Dermatology in New Haven, Connecticut to deal with an autoimmune disease that coincided with his alopecia, plaque psoriasis, according to a department news release.
Believing both his ailments could be alleviated with the same drug, researchers administered tofacitinib, made by Pfizer under the brand name Xeljanz, which is already FDA approved for the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis.
According to Science World Report, the drug had successfully been used to treat psoriasis in people and alopecia in mice.
But the results were nonetheless shocking.
Photos of the man show him go from totally bald on top of his head to sporting a lustrous mane of blond locks.
ALOPECIA: A COMMON, HARMLESS, BUT DIFFICULT AFFLICTION
Alopecia is a hair-loss disease that affects, men, women and children.
The onset is often sudden, random and frequently recurrent.
Although the disease does not damage a person’s physical health, it can have severe effects on quality of life and emotional health through its impact on confidence and self-esteem.
Alopecia affects around 1.7 per cent of the population, with men and women equally affected.
About 25 per cent of people affected have a family history of the condition.
The exact cause of alopecia is not known, although experts generally agree it is a disease of the immune system.
There is believed to be a genetic component and in some cases it is linked to stress.
In alopecia, the immune system attacks the affected hair follicles by mistake.
That halts hair growth and causes hairs to abruptly shed.
There are several different types of alopecia, ranging in severity. Alopecia Universalis is the total loss of hair across the body, while Alopecia Totalis is loss of hair on the head alone.
The vast degree of sufferers will experience some re-growth, some complete re-growth.
‘There are no good options for long-term treatment of alopecia universalis,’ said King. ‘The best available science suggested this might work, and it has.’
The patient took 10mg per day for two months followed by 15mg per day for another three months.
By the end, he’d completely regrown scalp hair, developed eyebrows, eyelashes and facial hair, armpit hair and other hair.
‘By eight months there was full regrowth of hair,’ said co-author Brittany G. Craiglow, M.D. ‘The patient has reported feeling no side effects, and we’ve seen no lab test abnormalities, either.’
According to King, scientists believe the drug works by turning off the immune attack on hair follicles.
The authors said the drug helps in some but not all instances of psoriasis.
And now this. Something we’ve all been doing since the beginning of time is now bad for us. We’ve all been told to thoroughly wash our food before cooking or eating, but according to a new study conducted by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the United Kingdom, washing raw chicken before cooking could potentially kill you!
When washed, campylobacter from raw chicken can be transferred into water droplets, which may splash onto neighboring surfaces, hands, clothing, and cooking utensils. If the campylobacter bacteria are ingested directly or via unwashed cutting boards and utensils, they can cause campylobacteriosis, characterized by symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, cramping, and fever.
Though some people experience no symptoms from campylobacter, in rare cases, the bacteria can spread to the bloodstream and cause a life-threatening infection. This infection is more likely to occur in people with weak immune systems, young children, and the elderly.
Campylobacter can also be a precursor to other conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, reactive arthritis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome, a debilitating disease of the nervous system.
Too much sitting is bad for you, we all know that. It causes obesity, heart disease and now, researchers have found a link between too much sitting and some forms of cancer.
In a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers report that people who spend more hours of the day sitting have up to a 66% higher risk of developing certain types of cancer than those who aren’t as sedentary.
These results go beyond the advice by most health professionals for everyone to become more physically active. In reviewing 43 studies in which volunteers were asked about their daily activities and their cancer incidence, the investigators found that the link between sitting and cancer remained strong no matter how physically active the participants were. In other words, even people who worked out regularly but who spent more hours on the couch watching TV, for instance, showed higher rates of cancer than those who didn’t sit as much.
Sedentary behavior was associated with a 24% greater risk of developing colon cancer, a 32% higher risk of endometrial cancer, and a 21% increased risk of lung cancer. When the researchers delved deeper into different types of sedentary habits, they found that watching TV was linked to a 54% higher risk of colon cancer and a 66% greater risk of endometrial cancer. For every additional two hours that participants spent sitting during the day, their risk of colon cancer rose by 8%, and their risk of endometrial cancer went up by 10%. They didn’t find a link between sedentary behavior and other types of cancer, including breast, prostate, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The findings, says Dr. Graham Colditz, of Washington University School of Medicine, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study, highlight the difference between being physically active and being sedentary. It’s not enough to just be active—it’s also important to sit less. But most public health messages aren’t stressing the distinction. “People are not talking about sitting time in the same way as physical activity,” he says. “Guidelines say limit the time spent sitting without drilling into how long or what types of sitting they are talking about.”
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