New Scientist...

Stem cell cocktail could treat spinal injury

http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=4d4f529c767b6ed7bcc3a807d40f43cc

Stem cells given with a finely tuned mix of growth hormones and anti-inflammatory drugs may aid recovery after spinal injury

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Absence makes the heart grow weaker

http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=02521ba62d4ba351bfe03c3afda756fe

Isolation can increase the blood pressure of older people just as much as smoking or a sedentary lifestyle, making them vulnerable to heart disease

(no subject)

Whilst looking for some information about the medieval conference at Kalamazoo, I stumbled upon this post from Ancrene Wiseass:

The Fruits of Entitlement

...

I learned about this horrifying story--the result of a toxic mixture of entitlement and race, gender, and class issues--via medievalist. On March 13, white members of the Duke University lacrosse team apparently strangled and raped at least one of two black women they hired as exotic dancers for a party after shouting racial slurs at both women and threatening to rape them with a broomstick. The woman who's spoken out is a single mother of two who is working for an escort service in order to pay her way through college at the neighbouring, historically black N.C. Central University. The lacrosse team has closed ranks and refuses to offer any information about the incidents: Durham authorities have had to order DNA tests for all team members in order to discover who was directly involved in the crime and are asserting that they'll also bring charges against those who stood by and did nothing.

Rachel of Alas, a Blog is urging other bloggers to post about this in order to make sure the news gets out. "Why?" you might ask. Because, as Rachel points out, major media outlets like ABC are glossing over the most heinous aspects of this hate crime, and as Word Munger notes, are reporting on how it negatively affects Duke's lacrosse team "at the height of its season." Yeah. Because that's what we ought to focus on here.

( Read more... )