U.S. apologizes for '40s syphilis study in Guatemala

WASHINGTON (AP) - American scientists deliberately infected prisoners and patients in a mental hospital in Guatemala with syphilis 60 years ago, a recently unearthed experiment that prompted U.S. officials to apologize Friday and declare outrage over "such reprehensible research."

The discovery dredges up past wrongs in the name of science - like the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study in this country that has long dampened minority participation in medical research - and could complicate ongoing studies overseas that depend on cooperation from some of the world's poorest countries to tackle tough-to-treat diseases.

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12 medical myths even most doctors believe

(by Dr. Joseph Mercola) - With all the medical misinformation we're currently exposed to on a daily basis, it's disappointing to see CNN waste time and space on yet another entertainment-style fluff piece, discussing "health myths" that have no real bearing on your health whatsoever.

Because, believe me, there is no shortage of real health myths that can, and do, have a massive impact on tens of thousands if not millions of people.

Here is my list of the top 12 health myths, none of which CNN bothered to mention...

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WHO swine flu experts 'linked' with drug companies

(BBC) - Key scientists behind World Health Organization advice on stockpiling of pandemic flu drugs had financial ties with companies which stood to profit, an investigation has found.

The British Medical Journal says the scientists had openly declared these interests in other publications yet WHO made no mention of the links.

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States want to share patient prescriptions

LOS ANGELES (AP) - While a state online drug database went into effect last year to thwart addicts who bounce from doctor to doctor to feed a habit or make a small fortune peddling meds, there's now a push to extend it beyond state lines to snare so-called doctor shoppers and curb drug abuse.

Forty states have passed legislation to allow prescription drug monitoring programs, but only 34 are operating.

Under the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act signed by President Bush in 2005, more than $50 million has been appropriated to states for programs where doctors and other authorized users, such as police in some cases, can access patient records.

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Proposal: All New Yorkers become organ donors

NEW YORK (CBS) - New York State Assemblyman Richard Brodsky nearly lost his daughter, Willie, at 4 years old when she needed a kidney transplant, and again 10 years later when her second kidney failed.

"We have 10,000 New Yorkers on the list today waiting for organs. We import half the organs we transplant. It is an unacceptable failed system," Brodsky said.

To fix that, Brodsky introduced a new bill in Albany that would enroll all New Yorkers as an organ donor, unless they actually opt out of organ donation. It would be the first law of its kind in the United States.

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The upside of America's obesity problem

From the AP:

Too fat to fight? Many American children are so overweight from being fed french fries, pizza and other unhealthy foods at school lunchrooms that they cannot handle the physical rigors of being in the military, a group of retired officers say in a new report.

National security is threatened by the sharp rise in obesity rates for young people over the last 15 years, the group Mission: Readiness contends. Weight problems are now the leading medical reason that recruits are rejected, the group says, and thus jeopardize the military's ability to fill its ranks.

In a report released Tuesday, the group says that 9 million young adults, or 27 percent of all Americans ages 17 to 24, are too fat to join the military. The retired officers were on Capitol Hill advocating for passage of a wide-ranging nutrition bill that aims to make the nation's school lunches healthier. ...

... The Army is already doing its part to catch the problem earlier, working with high schoolers and interested recruits to lose weight before they are eligible for service, says U.S. Army Recruiting Command's Mark Howell. He added that he had to lose 10 pounds himself before he joined the military.

"This is the future of our Army we are looking at when we talk about these 17- to 24-year-olds," Howell said. "The sad thing is a lot of them want to join but can't."

"Sad"? Sad that these kids will die of heart attacks in their 60s rather than getting blown to bits by an IED in some Third World country that never posed a threat to us?

Judge invalidates human gene patent

(NY Times) - A federal judge on Monday struck down patents on two genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer. The decision, if upheld, could throw into doubt the patents covering thousands of human genes and reshape the law of intellectual property.

United States District Court Judge Robert W. Sweet issued the 152-page decision, which invalidated seven patents related to the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, whose mutations have been associated with cancer.

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Flu shots for nursing home workers futile: study

(National Post) - A new Canadian-led study has added to a simmering scientific dispute over flu-shot campaigns, concluding that immunizing nursing-home workers does nothing to cut the number of confirmed influenza cases among the homes' elderly residents.

Coming at the end of the largest flu-vaccination campaign in Canadian history, the review of previous studies calls for stepped-up research into alternative, lower-tech ways to combat the virus, such as improved hand washing.

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"Death panels" will save money

The Medicare Advisory Board will essentially have the power to decide which treatments will be covered under "Obamacare." The less-than-surprising admission is made by Keynesian economist Paul Krugman:

In other words, this "death panel" will get to decide who lives and who dies. Welcome to rationed health care.

Wanted: Your help choosing health care refrom t-shirt slogan

The current regime in Washington would like your help in choosing a catchy t-shirt slogan to help commemorate health care "reform" and convince the masses that what was crammed down their throats is actually good for them. The choices range from the classic, like the already hackneyed "Change" mantra, to the contemporary, such as "Health reform is a BFD." Oh, yeah, they really take this stuff seriously.

Vote for your favorite here.