Is it getting easier for patients to make the right health decision today, compared to 50 years ago? It should be, considering the huge advances in medical knowledge since that time. But unless you’re blessed with the Wisdom of Solomon, these advances may merely help you exchange one disease for another. Or, as one wise sage remarked, “Life would be easier if there were no ‘buts’.”

Langmuir

In a discovery that may help speed use of “cell therapy” — with normal cells or stem cells infused into the body to treat disease — scientists are reporting development of a way to deliver therapeutic human cells to diseased areas within the body using a simple magnetic effect. Their report appears in ACS’ journal Langmuir.

Environmental Science & Technology

Risks related to the critical nature of arsenic — used to make high-speed computer chips that contain gallium arsenide — outstrip those of other substances in a group of critical materials needed to sustain modern technology, a new study has found. Scientists evaluated the relative criticality of arsenic and five related metals in a report in the ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology.

ACS Nano

Scientists are reporting development of a new form of buckypaper, which eliminates a major drawback of these sheets of carbon nanotubes — 50,000 times thinner than a human hair, 10 times lighter than steel, but up to 250 times stronger — with potential uses ranging from body armor to next-generation batteries. Their report appears in the journal ACS Nano.

Journal of the American Chemical Society

Scientists have developed a new kind of tiny motor — which they term a “microrocket” — that can propel itself through acidic environments, such as the human stomach, without any external energy source, opening the way to a variety of medical and industrial applications. Their report in the Journal of the American Chemical Society describes the microrockets traveling at virtual warp speed for such devices. A human moving at the same speed would have to run at a clip of 400 miles per hour.

How much Tiger is in your tank as you start the day? Not much, if you’ve been tossing and turning at night due to sleep apnea. Or if your partner has shaken the foundation with his or her snoring. Insomnia and snoring affect millions of North Americans and can be associated with serious health problems. Now, a natural remedy, “Bell Sound Sleep”, helps this troubling dilemma.

Why did this patient and her partner repeatedly suffer yeast infection in spite of treatment?

Was my suggestion several years ago of ways to fight the obesity epidemic provocative? Since nothing was working, I proposed using money as an incentive, and tax the obese. After all, for centuries money has been a great motivator. In fact, those with millions sometimes cheat, steal and lie to get more. But no one thought I should be awarded the Nobel Prize for this idea. 

LONDON, ON,  A settlement has been reached which, if approved by the courts and fully implemented, will resolve Vioxx claims across Canada.

MONTREAL, - TELUS is making access to reliable, verified Canadian healthcare information online a snap with myhealthreference.com. myhealthreference.com, a new health reference internet portal, is designed to help Canadians find the relevant information and tools they need to take better care of their health and the health of their loved ones.

TORONTO, Bayer Inc. announced today the Health Canada approval of Xarelto® (rivaroxaban tablet) in the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in whom anticoagulation is appropriate.(1)  Xarelto® is the first once-daily oral anticoagulant for this indication that does not require routine coagulation monitoring. Xarelto® is also approved for the prevention of venous thromboembolic events (VTE), or blood clots, in patients who have undergone elective total hip or total knee replacement surgery and has become the number one dispensed anticoagulant prescribed by Canadian orthopedic surgeons in this indication.(2)

Is there anything more to be said about the multiple benefits of Aspirin? After all, it’s been a star for over 100 years and stars are supposed to eventually burn out. But in spite of its longevity, researchers keep findings new ways that Aspirin fights common diseases. It truly is the miracle drug of the last century.

Scientists are reporting development and successful laboratory testing of an electrochemical sensor device that has the potential to measure blood sugar levels from tears instead of blood — an advance that could save the world’s 350 million diabetes patients the discomfort of pricking their fingers for droplets of blood used in traditional blood sugar tests. Their report appears in ACS’ journal Analytical Chemistry.