INTERESTING TIMES

It's a free, online, educational event about how to interpret and act on your own genotypes.  There will be some fascinating lectures here, and some very basic ones.  I definitely want to hear the one about ketogenic diet.  You can sign up here.

EDIT: I did listen to one lecture per day, or at least part of each one.  Genetics and Epigenetics since it became a thing have been an interest of mine.  The programs were oriented at the general public, and I garnered no new information.  I was hoping that it would go a little deeper and nerdier for me.  Would be very useful for folks who are just getting introduced to the significance of modern science with regard to their genetic makeup and health.  Lots of correlates.  Very interesting.

The funny thing is that the clinicians all say the same thing, that your SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) for the most part won't do you harm if you keep your general level of physical health strong.  There's a lot of redundancy build into human genetics and systems.  If someone forgets to cross a T somewhere in your genetics, you'll probably be fine, long as you don't wear yourself to a frazzle, skip sleep, and consider trips to the refrigerator to be adequate exercise.

He's a relatively new (2 years) massage therapist located in Oak Ridge TN 37830, but I must say he did right by me.  He's recently married and his wife Stefanie Cooke is also a LMT.  Bill does deep tissue massage without fancy tricks, no trigger points or talk of fixing your energy.  He joked in fact that he just puts all his energy into giving a good massage.  And he does.  He works mostly with the athletes at the University of TN (my alma mater).  My terminally knotted right shoulder has been un-knotted since he worked it into submission.  I did not expect that.  My shoulder has been bunched for over 30 years, and through countless massages and other therapies.  I did have a couple of days of recovery but it was worth it.  Thank you Bill for going for the gusto.  You can get an appointment with him or his wife at Oak Ridge Sports & Therapeutic Massage, 865-4six6-0six95.  Worth every dollar.

The National Institutes of Health, 10 large drug companies and seven nonprofit organizations announced an unconventional partnership on Tuesday intended to speed up development of drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease, Type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

During the course of a five-year, $230 million effort, the participants will share data in regular conference calls and meetings, working together to determine which findings are likely to lead to effective treatments. They will make their findings and data publicly available.

...What concerns me about this is the emphasis on drugs. There are better ways to adjust physiology than taking in foreign substances. And there are more useful things we could study. Like food, and exercise, and how to they affect our biochemical and electrical mileau. Sex, we should throw more money at studying sex and how it affects neurotransmitters. On the effects of chewing gum and on understanding the endocrinology of sexual preference. And on why our hearts slow down as we age, and a million other questions. I'm just curious: I really want to know the answers. I wish that the money spent on medical research was directed more by altruism and less by profit motive.

SOURCE
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/health/nih-joins-drug-makers-and-nonprofits-on-stubborn-diseases.html

Medical researchers have discovered a new disease that has no symptoms. It is impossible to detect, and there is no known cure. Fortunately, no cases have been reported thus far.
--George Carlin

The Cochrane folks have determined that mammography is no longer indicated as cancer screening for women of any age! Here's the brochure: http://www.cochrane.dk/screening/mammography-leaflet.pdf. You can get them in any language at: http://www.cochrane.dk/.