According to a story in the Associated Press, The U.S. government is still working to make up its mind of whether plastic additives, like Bisephenol A, are dangerous.  This is after the European Union cast judgement on this issue years ago and U.S. retailers, like Wal Mart, have already begun pulling these products from their shelves. Government toxicologists have reiterated safety concerns about a chemical used in baby bottles …[more]

A recent surgeon's conference presentation covered in the New York Times is warning plastic surgeons to pick their patients carefully: Despite the financial incentive to take on any patient, facial plastic surgeons, who only do cosmetic enhancements from the neck up, say that operating on someone who has unreasonable expectations can have stark consequences for their livelihood and reputation: Doctors may have to do revision surgery. P…[more]

According to a recent article the New York Times, vaccination rates in the U.S. set a record in 2007.   This suprised me given the number of articles that I've read recently tying vaccination concerns and measles outbreaks.

I woke up on Saturday morning to the confusing news that something had happened overnight with John Edwards, and it was bad.  At the grocery store, I bought a New York Times and discovered that he'd confessed to an affair in 2006 and was denying having a child with the woman. My first thought: I want my money back.  I really liked John Edwards.  I like the hometown boy makes good story, the central focus on poverty, keeping Katrina a…[more]

It's interesting to see the "medical establishment" starting to use the tools of social media to share their perspective.  I recently ran across this blog from Nicholas Jacobs, FACHE - President & CEO of Windber Research Institute and Windber Medical Center in Western Pennsylvania.  He's also recently written a book about taking the "Hell Out of Healthcare."

A friend sent me this story on a teen cancer blog nearby in Vancouver, Washington. She blogs about living with and getting treatment for osteosarcoma.  I thought it was an interesting example of how widespread that cancer blogging has become.  Check out the story on the blogger in the Columbian here.  Check out the teen's blog, Lizstrong, here.

Sad news, Randy Pausch, the professor with pancreatic cancer who created a sensation with his last lecture has died.  You can read his story here in the Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-randy-pausch-last-lecture-dead-080725-ht,0,146067.story  I was enormously moved by Randy's blog and, later, his lecture.

I came down with a sore throat, extreme tiredness, and a really nasty, grassy taste in my mouth recently.  I scheduled a doctor's appointment and googled "bad taste in mouth," not expecting the results to be particularly worthwhile. (They were'nt, though it does provide a lot of good reasons to go to the doctor.)  I was worried about Strep because I was recently exposed to it, and with a baby at home and one on the way, I didn't want the whole family getting sick.&nbs…[more]

I thought I'd share some of the ideas that we have on the short-term horizon for new features and feature improvements at Trusera.  I'd love your thoughts or additional ideas.  If you don't see your idea on the list, don't be concerned, but let me know! Here are some of the features on our radar screen: Notifications: We've been working on creating email notifications of activity in your network.  For example, when a friend publishes a story …[more]

We had a substitute teacher in my Yoga class recently. Like a child who's routine has changed or a mouse with moving cheese, I did not adjust well to this. My class is very early in the morning, so I think I'm working mostly from the early, animalistic base of my brain at that hour. I wondered to myself if our local correctional institute had a Yoga Teacher Training program, harumphed a lot, and then left early. I left, for the first time ever, more stressed…[more]