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No More Poppies Needed to Produce Narcotics

Scientists have found a way of transforming ordinary sugar into hydrocodone. This will lead to a cheaper way of manufacturing opiates. Unfortunately, it will also make things easier for drug traffickers selling a cheaper product, Yeast changes sugar into pain killer. This takes out the entire one year growing season for poppies and the factory process itself. At present, 4,400 gallons of yeast is needed to produce a small amount of hydrocodone. Work will proceed to improve this. With yeast as the catalyst, it looks like plant-based medication manufacturing is under threat. Yeast has snippets of DNA added to reprogram cells into target compounds. Notably, a third of the world's supply of the medication artemisinin is already produced from modified yeast. Artemisinin needs six genes while hydrocodone requires 23. Some genes from rats arehydrocodone. put into the yeast to make A "halfway-house" way of manufacturing pain killers is possible. A strain

Vaccine for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a widespread complaint. It is usually a malady of the elderly, but the young can succumb to it too. About the only treatment available is replacement of joints with artificial ones and analgesics. A team at the University of Queensland has taken a new approach. They have developed a vaccine. Many diseases are caused by the body attacking its own tissue. Arthritis is one of these. If the immune response is suppressed, inflammation decreases. This is how the new vaccine works. All Westerners have high inflammation levels. This may be a good thing to fight injuries. However, continued long term inflammation does damage to the body. Once switched on and the immediate danger solved it needs to be turned off. The new method involves taking a sample of the patient's immune cells which are then modified in the lab. This is injected back into the patient. The immune system no longer sees the modified peptide as foreign. Other problematic

Menstruation is Not Happening at a Younger Age

Just when a girl has her first period is genetically based. It is determine by more that 100 parts of the the human genome. It is not affected by more good food, etc., as was once believed. Furthermore, good food intake is not making girls menstruate earlier. Going into adulthood sooner is a danger to health. The chances of getting type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and breast cancer is increased. These findings come from an international study carried out in 166 institutions. It seems that diseases are usually limited to a few parts of the genome, while menstruation involves a surprisingly large number. It is whole-body function. Indeed, one's physical and social surroundings could also play a part in triggering genes. Yes, a better diet has lowered the onset of menstruation from 17 years of age in the 1800s to 12.5 years in the 1960s. Since that time, however, it has remained at that point. It must be noted that many diseases that delayed the onset of

Drug Companies and Pharmacists Want More Regulation

It is always a worry when drug manufacturers and pharmacists force themselves on decision-making bodies. Self interest rules both groups. Drug manufacturers want to increase sells and raise prices by " hook or by crook ". Pharmacists want to hold onto their monopoly provided first by a piece of paper provided by a college and secondly by the government paymaster. Pharmacists are like real estate agents - there is one on every street corner. In a competitive market this shouldn't be the case. Skills learned at university in chemistry is never used. Everything today is prepackaged. An unskilled person could do the job. They even want to do the work of doctors extending prescription repeats. The Victorian Pharmaceutical Misuse Summit includes the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia. They want to bring in a medication monitoring system to reduce the number of drug overdoses. Being cynical, confiscation would be an ideal tact to increase sales. But aren't over

Calls for Change in Pain Relief May Not Be Possible

When you go into hospital for an operation you either get a "feel good" pain clinician who believes that no one should be in pain when medications are available, or you get an "ethical" physician who gives pain relief when he/she deems it to be "right". The problem is moral judgement differs from person to person. Another issue is - Can pain be a disease in itself? Some calculate the failure to treat pain in working days lost. The problem is, taking analgesics will reduce some pain from the flu, for example, but you are still too sick to work. Furthermore, taking high levels of analgesics can make for a euphoric state where one does not want to work. Looking at it in terms of days lost is questionable. Specialists are also calling for pain relieving medications to be shipped in large amounts to poorer countries where medical treatment is not widely available. Considering the drug problem in virtually all countries, this may not be a good thing to do. I

Tree Grows Inside a Man

A man had severe pains in his chest and began coughing up blood. Doctor Vladimir Kamashev x-rayed the man's chest and had a big shock. He had to call his assistant for a second opinion. The assistant confirmed the doctor's diagnosis. The man had a fir tree growing inside him. Fungus can grow inside a human body but it was not believed that plants could take root and grow there. Surgeons removed a young five-centimeter fir tree from the man's chest. Needles from the plant dug into the capillaries and caused bleeding. The man consequently coughed up blood. Obviously a small "cutting" from a fir tree was inhaled. It found sustenance inside body tissue. What is surprising is that a biopsy of the plant showed the fir needles to be green, so the tree somehow got enough sunlight to survive. Parts of the plant have been preserved for further study. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/Adventure

Blaming Rewiring of the Brain for Chronic Pain is Too Simplistic

What a cop out, medical "professionals" are now saying chronic pain is caused by a mixed-up brain. This cannot be the case when you have an open wound and it really hurts. They are saying we should not feel any pain at all. People with leprosy feel no pain and look what damage they do to themselves. Pain is functional. It stops one using a limb when there is damage to it. Otherwise, it wouldn't heal properly. Most back pain is caused by damage to the spine that cannot be detected with current technology and knowledge. Those "in the know" are now saying the brain rewires itself when there is an injury so that when the damage is repaired pain still continues. If this is the case then it is very selective. Why doesn't this happen when you cut your finger? We know if a limb is lost pain can continue, but saying the brain rewires itself after an injury is far too simplistic. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspo

Rat in Charge

"Since we agreed to stop fighting you've become a real pain George." http://vistacomputersolutions.blogspot.com/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Funny Animal Photos