fluttza.com Blog

Apparently the new trend in high(er) education is to combine alcohol with highly-caffeinated energy drinks.  Oh well.  But those in the University of Florida’s (UF) College of Public Health and Health Professions took an interest in studying the actual effects of this trend….

Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Ovarian Cancer Institute have been experimenting with magnetic nanoparticles focused on attracting cancer cells so that they could be separated from healthy cells and removed from the site.

Though Slowcooker by Margriet Foolen doesn’t exactly fit easily into interior design categories, it did happen to win Wallpaper’s Best Domestic Design 2010.  Personally, I think it’s great that its good looks are matched by its utility and I can’t wait to purchase one!

Though the link between mothers who smoke during pregnancy and babies who succumb to sudden Instant death syndrome (SIDS) has been made, one more piece of research has demonstrated specifically how the smoke impacts the fetus.

“Pharmacological treatments for schizophrenia remain unsatisfactory, so clinicians and researchers like myself have started to dig in another direction,” says Professor Ina Weiner, lead researcher. “The big question asked in recent years is if schizophrenia can be prevented.”

Since last week, when I wrote about certain blood pressure medications and their positive effects on memory, there have been a few new studies published relating the effects of medication and diet on blood pressure and dementia.  Just so that you’re not thinking deja vu all over again at what seems like a repetition of yesterday’s news, I thought I’d prepare a short summary of how these studies interrelate and what they mean to us.

Ladies, are you overly shy? Can’t get up the nerve to talk to that cute guy in your building, much less look him in the eye?

Without having to jump through the usual hoops required by the US Food and Drug Administration for approval, the medical device company, Medtronic, gained approval of its Melody transcatheter pulmonary valve through a “Humanitarian Device Exemption.”  This device could save those with pulmonary valve failure many open heart surgeries… and Medtronic has other heart valve devices lined up.

The medical diagnosis of toilet seat dermatitis is a real one, but if it hasn’t come to your attention, it may be because most cases are found in underdeveloped countries… until recently.

If the Crying Girl DVD isn’t your average chick flick, it’s because the intended audience doesn’t consist of chicks.