Enlarged Heart
The differences between a normal human heart and one enlarged by alcoholism and high blood pressure. Covered in scar tissue, the enlarged organ is nearly twice the normal size. Such alcoholic cardiomyopathy weakens the heart so that it is unable to pump blood adequately
As submitted by barelytherebutforeverhere:
Hey, I’m trying to raise awareness about CLL, a type of cancer that my Pop Pop was recently diagnosed with. If you and your followers could please take 2 seconds to check out my website it would mean the world to me <3 It’s the first post on my blog. I’m sorry it wouldn’t let me post the url in your ask :(
Any way that I can help! I checked it out myself and I’ve been planning on donating my hair as soon as it’s long enough. Thank you for the link and I hope your Pop Pop does well in chemo!
Check it out guys!
Trazodone, a common antidepressant, at 100x magnification, by Lars Bech of Naarden, The Netherlands.
For the last two days I have had the pleasure and honor of meeting and listening to some of the most talented doctors talk about their research in developments in oncology at MD Anderson, the largest cancer center in the world. Just to sum up what they said: “mind blowing!” I wish I could translate it here for you, but it’s unbelievably complex and lengthy. Plus, I still don’t understand it all.
Dr. Ron DePinho, the new President of MD Anderson, offered us some very important insight I believe we all should carry with us daily:
The immune system doesn’t recognize cancer as foreign.
We don’t feel it and tumors continue to grow in our bodies. Therefore, it’s important to be screened regularly for all types of cancer.
Melanoma is caused by childhood sun exposure.
Seriously. That’s it. And that’s why we see it in 30 and 40 year-olds. UV rays are an environmental hazard we can control, and we should be vigilant with sunscreen. Good parents will demand their kids wear sunscreen EVERYDAY all the time. In Australia, kids aren’t allowed to go to school without a hat. Screening for melanoma has proven to decrease the mortality rate by 50%. Melanoma is the fastest growing cancer for women next to lung cancer.
Hopefully they will start a campaign so that the safety of sunscreen is engrained in our culture. Think about seat belts. Everyone hated them and refused to put them on. Now they’re mandatory and second nature for most of us.
The risk factors for cancer:
- Age. The longer we live, the more at risk we are to develop cancers.
- Environmental factors. UV rays are the most harmful. Pollution in the US is not as bad as you would think.
- Obesity. (More below)
- Smoking. Kids are born now with receptors that breed their addiction.
- Chronic stress.
“It is an embarrassment we aren’t more aggressive with tobacco control,”
stated Dr. DePinho, who pledges to lobby for legislation in Texas.
“It is unethical not to give your children the HPV vaccine,“
said the father of 2 and doctor who has seen a rapid increase in head and throat cancers from the virus. Thankfully pap smears allow doctors catch cervical cancer (caused by HPV) at an early stage so it can be treated.
Obesity will surpass smoking as a cause of cancer by 2020.
From what I gathered, the consumption of too many calories and processed sugars overloads your circuits, deactivating important mechanisms of your body. MD Anderson will launch an online cookbook and has already made major efforts to educate the public on the importance of nutrition.
Ways you can prevent cancer:
- “Do what your mother told you.” - Eat write, exercise, get enough rest.
- Control the things you can, like UV exposure, smoking, etc. Household chemicals and pollution are not as bad as you would think, but keep in mind what you need and don’t.
- Get enough Vitamin D. You need a 1000 units/day, which generally can be 10-20 minutes outside without sunscreen. (More here.)
- Get screened regularly. Don’t neglect going to see the doctor. Your visit is pennies on the dollar in relationship to what you will pay for treatment.
MD Anderson services adults and children in so many ways we don’t realize!
They have entire buildings dedicated to prevention. You can get your regular checkups here so they will also include screening in your assessment.
MD Anderson is making major strides for kids in their Children’s Hospital. THEY WILL SEE ANY CHILD DIAGNOSED OR SUSPECTED OF HAVING CANCER WITHIN 24 HOURS OF CALLING. (No matter where it was discovered or when it was diagnosed). Their new “hospital within a hospital” will centralize all of the treatments needed to make care more efficient and provides a fully accredited school that can give high school diplomas.
The mission of MD Anderson is: “Making Cancer History,” meaning eliminating the disease so our children read about it in books and never know the pain of it. Although they are the best in the world, they are working towards this goal everyday. It’s inspiring and I’m so happy to be a part of their team to educate the public and support their efforts.
EVERYONE IN THE WORLD IS AFFECTED BY CANCER IN SOME WAY.
We might have it or our loved ones do. There is never an effort - financial or otherwise - that is wasted in the fight against this disease.
(Via MTM)
Drug Discovery Lab to Open in 2014
Purdue Univ. will take another step forward as a leader in pharmaceutical development efforts with construction of the new Drug Discovery Building. The $25 million facility, which is scheduled to open in 2014, was celebrated during an event in the university’s Stewart Center.
“Purdue research has been at the forefront of drug discovery, and this building is another step in assuring that we attract top scientists to further our efforts in finding solutions to real-world problems,” says Purdue President France Córdova. “Purdue is committed to becoming one of the top destinations for drug discovery.”
Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Drug-Discovery-Lab-Under-Construction-042012.aspx
I’m experiencing a sudden, unexplained desire to move to the midwest…
Anatomy of the Ear by Victor P. Eroschenko.
Mitomycin, an anti-cancer drug, at 10x magnification. By Margaret Oechsli, of Jewish Hospital, Louisville, Kentucky. Won 7th place in the 2008 Nikon Small World Competition.
In this scanning electron micrograph, a small cancerous tumor covered in microvilli, microscopic hairlike structures which enable absorption and secretion, is shown within a human lung. (via National Geographic)
Mast cell within collagen fibers in a human eye with conjunctivitis, at 7000x magnification.
by Donald Pottle of The Schepens Eye Research Institute
![neurolove:
“No Lie MRI”
Feedthecrows asked me through a submitted question, “[I] have heard sociopaths are psychopaths that [haven’t] been caught, do you think that their brainwaves will catch them?” It’s a great question, and it starts to get at the ethics of MRI. Can we use MRI as a diagnostic tool for psychiatric disorders? Could we scan the brains of people and be able to tell if they are psychopaths by their brain images?
I would argue that we aren’t there yet. MRI is a great tool, and it helps us to see where in the brain different disorders might manifest (which could help develop treatments), but I don’t think MRI can diagnose disorders. It can merely observe them.
Along the same lines, can we use MRI to tell what people are really thinking and if they are telling the truth? I have attached an image from the homepage of No Lie MRI… which claims that MRI can be used as a lie detector test. I think theoretically, this is interesting. Brain regions involved in memories are different than those used in creating a story (or lie), BUT what if a person has told a lie so many times that they are pulling it from memory? Or what if the memory is so faint or so emotionally involved that it activates regions that we think would be involved in lying? I think that this raises a lot of ethical questions and quite frankly, as someone who does MRI research, I think we just simply are not there yet. But maybe in the future… who knows? Anything is possible.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyzjhr1P7P1qb6etto1_400.png)
“No Lie MRI”
Feedthecrows asked me through a submitted question, “[I] have heard sociopaths are psychopaths that [haven’t] been caught, do you think that their brainwaves will catch them?” It’s a great question, and it starts to get at the ethics of MRI. Can we use MRI as a diagnostic tool for psychiatric disorders? Could we scan the brains of people and be able to tell if they are psychopaths by their brain images?
I would argue that we aren’t there yet. MRI is a great tool, and it helps us to see where in the brain different disorders might manifest (which could help develop treatments), but I don’t think MRI can diagnose disorders. It can merely observe them.
Along the same lines, can we use MRI to tell what people are really thinking and if they are telling the truth? I have attached an image from the homepage of No Lie MRI… which claims that MRI can be used as a lie detector test. I think theoretically, this is interesting. Brain regions involved in memories are different than those used in creating a story (or lie), BUT what if a person has told a lie so many times that they are pulling it from memory? Or what if the memory is so faint or so emotionally involved that it activates regions that we think would be involved in lying? I think that this raises a lot of ethical questions and quite frankly, as someone who does MRI research, I think we just simply are not there yet. But maybe in the future… who knows? Anything is possible.
There are way more blood types than you think
Turns out we aren’t limited to the usual A, B, AB and O blood types. Researches have discovered two new proteins on red blood cells that confirm the testable existence of two new blood types. This discovery will decrease the risk of incompatible blood transfusions for tens of thousands of people. Amazingly these two blood types bring the total number of recognized blood types up to 32. These rarer types are recognised by the present of substances that tell your immune system to send out antibodies (antigens).
I was just reading a yahoo article about signs of aging well, and they actually somewhat touched on the biological roots of aging:
More specifically, the sequences of DNA attached to the ends of chromosomes known as telomeres-which allow cells to divide without losing genetic coding-are thought to be inherited.
I was actually impressed. Just when I was losing faith in them.
