Monday, December 18, 2006

Insurance Firms Agree to Back E-health Standards. All 1,300 members of the America's Health Insurance Plans trade association have agreed to support selected industry standards in personal health record systems for their combined 200 million clients. [Computerworld Breaking News] 9:48:35 PM    comment [] Economix: What Money Doesn’t Buy in Health Care. What was in many ways a great display of American medicine was also an example of what’s wrong with our health care system. By DAVID LEONHARDT. [NYT > Health] 9:46:15 PM    comment []

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Washington Post in the Sky with Diamonds Check out this pharma-neuro story from the Wapo. While the news seems heaven-sent for depression-sufferers, the writer seems a tad Tangerine Dreamy. Sampling a product mixed with Diet Coke and Mentos maybe? Plumbing the depths of depression Ketamine, sweet ketamine, answer to our glutamatergic dreams. In the long November night of the soul, in the ever-dark downpour of depression, it turns out that there might be a better umbrella than Prozac and Zoloft and Paxil and their serotonin-loving ilk. Of course, when it comes to antidepressants, nobody really knows anything, anyway, so why not go with ketamine, a mild hallucinogen known to club freaks as Special K? Yes, yes, break out the male Wistar rats and the injection needles -- researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health announced a study recently in which 18 chronically depressed patients infused with low dosages of ketamine improved within two hours. Seventy-one percent improved within a day, and nearly 30 percent were depression-free by that time. In 24 hours! These were people who had been dealing with depression from three to 47 years. They had failed to respond to just about every drug on the market. Most of them stayed depression-free for up to a week. Chronic depression, one of the most common, debilitating diseases known to mankind, blown away like a flower petal on a passing breeze... Good stuff comes further including why Glutamate plugs into so many of the Dragon Dens and Dark recesses of our brains and tilts at, rotates and rebalances the Windmills of our Minds. Or something like that. h/t boing2 [∞Fouroboros] 9:01:58 PM    comment []

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Generation Y Discusses the Baby Boom. Which companies will profit from current trends in baby boomers? [The Motley Fool] 4:37:19 PM    comment [] Video games aim to spice up old people's lives (AFP). AFP - A 93-year-old resident at an old-age home plays tennis against the wall of his bedroom, using a touch-sensitive glove and wearing a virtual helmet. [Yahoo! News: Technology News] 4:29:19 PM    comment []

Saturday, September 16, 2006

The Rise of the Machine (and the social issues that will emerge). The power of NewsmapAs I perused newsmap today (thank you SEGATECH!), I came across the article which discusses the first thought controlled prosthesis and I am struck by how rapidly things can change.The First Thought Controlled ProsthesisThis first merge between human thought and a robotic prosthesis suddenly blurs the line between human and the machinery/robotics that until this point have been distinctly separate from us.As we discuss the history of computing, my computer science class has been talking about the next evolution in computing.And then it happened under our nose. So, I posted this question for next week's computer science consideration: An article appeared today about the first thought controlled prosthesis that has been created by the military. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.bionic14sep14,0,5964038.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlinesAs we have begun to discuss biologic computing, I have the following question.How will we classify things as human Cool Cat Teacher Blog, September 16, 2006. [Conversation] [Stephen's Web ~ by Stephen Downes ~ Edu_RSS Most Recent - RSS old] 4:14:47 PM    comment []

Monday, September 11, 2006

Remote Control for Health Care. Remote-monitoring systems will allow those with chronic health problems to have their conditions constantly monitored as they go about their daily lives. By BARNABY J. FEDER. [NYT > Technology] 7:34:51 PM    comment []

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

A Bold Salute to Basic Science. Howard Hughes Medical Institute has created a research center that seeks to deepen understanding of the brain and consciousness itself [BusinessWeek Online -- ] 8:23:22 PM    comment []

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

A Conversation With Mary V. Relling: Saving Lives With Tailor-Made Medication. Mary V. Relling advocates pharmacogenetics, the use of high-tech genetic testing to custom-make drugs to patients’ individual needs. By CLAUDIA DREIFUS. [NYT > Health] 6:25:25 PM    comment [] Essay: Choosing a ‘God Squad,’ When the Mind Has Faded. The demand for dialysis brings new strains to Medicare’s budget and prompts the question: When is it ethical to stop the treatment? By BARRON H. LERNER, M.D.. [NYT > Health] 6:19:48 PM    comment []

© Copyright 2006 Judy Smith. Last update: 12/18/2006; 9:48:39 PM.