The Medical Thread

I meant that it's NOT instantaneous. Like instead of getting an ambiguous result and saying "Let's try a few more times," when the results finally came in you could definitely say that someone was entirely/almost entirely sterile.

New scans refute old diagnosis of King Tut's, other pharaohs' health

I find it funny how I, despite having no medical experience whatsoever, has no trouble talking or listening about nasty things, especially medical related, while eating anything. Of course, I like to be a decent human being, so I don't start that kind of talk, but when someone does start that kind of talk and there is nobody present who finds that kind of talk objectionable, I like to listen to them and even actively participate in it.

Say, what are some nasty medical things that make one hard to eat something?

Dysentery

No, I meant as something so gross that you don't want to talk about it while eating.

I can't think of anything, but then I'm probably about as not squeamish as you are.

Oldest DNA ever found sheds light on humans' global trek

Thermal paper cash register receipts account for high bisphenol A (BPA) levels in humans

Baby cries show evidence of cocaine exposure during pregnancy

Probably. I mean, I can look at the picture of diarrhea poop while eating curry just fine, so...

Genomic data support early contact between Easter Island and Americas

Finally: A missing link between vitamin D and prostate cancer

Bile-making microbe fights off germ behind chronic diarrhea

Highly effective new anti-cancer drug shows few side effects in mice

Human skin cells reprogrammed directly into brain cells

Humans were living at extreme altitudes 1000 years earlier than thought

Reminiscing can help boost mental performance

Precise, programmable biological circuits

Synthetic biology on ordinary paper, results off the page

Now I'm thinking about a story where a person slowly turns all of his cells into neurons, getting immensely intelligent in the process. It would probably kill him pretty quickly without support though.

Besides, "More neurons" does not necessarily equal "More intelligence". It could also cause "autism" or "epilepsy".

Technically. But my option is more fun as a story. Also, doesn't high intelligence correlate with autism anyway or the other way around?

Autism is a spectrum disorder. It is typically a associated with the Rainmen, but you're just as likely to find Simple Jacks.

Not the most tactful metaphor but you get my drift

New insight on why people with Down syndrome invariably develop Alzheimer's disease

To beat malaria and dengue, vaccinate the mosquitoes

Vaccinate the mosquitoes, eliminate the vector

My god, that's crazy enough to work! Why did nobody think of that earlier?

That does sound like a brilliant idea.

How exactly would they vaccinate all those mosquitoes, though?

Sound Waves Break The Blood-Brain Barrier

That seems like a misuse of the word "vaccine" - it has a specific meaning that can't be applied to animals without an adaptive immune system. What that article describes seems more like setting up another pathogen against Plasmodium.

Maybe they're looking for "immunize" instead?

How does age determination via teeth work? And how accurate and/or reliable is it?

I think that dental dating is based on oxygen isotopes within the tooth enamel, which are then analysed and can even reveal where the subject grew up based on the type of water in the enamel.

edited 25th Oct '14 8:13:13 AM by Greenmantle

Nose cells help paralyzed man walk again

Molecular beacons shine light on how cells 'crawl'

So it's radiological stuff? Do any non-radiological methods exist?

O-Isotopes aren't actually a radiological test, since they don't involve radioisotopes. C-14 would be a radiological method.

As for teeth, it's done with animals - I dunno the exact processes.

Scientists Turn Stem Cells Into Cancer-Destroyers