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POPSWhich Health Quiz is Right for You? Tara Parker Pope follows up on a NYT story this week which exposed the business model of Real Age, a popular online health quiz. What most people didn't know was that their answers were being sent to drug marketers. She makes the very good -- and obvious point -- that if you take a health quiz online, it should be one backed by scientific validity. Do you take health quizzes and do you find them useful?
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POPSiPhone as Medical Assistant Check out this columnist's interesting take on the medical device applications that were introduced at last week's Apple announcement. Do you use your iPhone or PDA for health and wellness purposes?
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POPSCelebrity Diets Perfect for Recession? Gwyneth Paltrow has become quite the lightening rod these days for all matters of lifestyle advice. She's been mocked for sharing tips on fashion, exercise and eating, the latter two of which have provoked interesting responses. This author claims that she might be the perfect spokesperson for recession health given her emphasis on spartan and highly selective eating in addition to relentless exercise. What do you think? Is she -- and other like-minded celebs -- marketing a lifestyle or contributing something more valuable?
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POPSThe $200 White House Vegetable Garden The Obamas are planting a vegetable garden on the White House lawn in an effort to publicize healthy eating. The seeds and mulch will cost $200 and they'll be able to harvest spinach, chard, collards and cilantro, among other things. Do you think this will educate the public about more healthful options or go largely unnoticed?
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POPSShould Farm Animals Receive Antibiotics? Here's a controversial issue for you: as resistance to antibiotics grow (see MRSA), should we stop giving antibiotics to farm animals as a prophylactic measure? That's the subject of a new bill proposed by Rep. Louise Slaughter (D) and Sen. Kennedy. Opponents of the bill argue that without antibiotics, industrially raised farm animals will be more likely to get sick, thus raising the price of meat. They also argue that there's no conclusive evidence that antibiotics in farm animals is causing widespread resistance. New York Times columnist Nick Kristof recently wrote a compelling op-ed about this very subject here: http://tinyurl.com/bc82va. What do you think?
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POPSShould Health Insurance Benefits be Taxed? It's a rare occasion when the Heritage Foundation agrees on tax policy with The New Republic, but that's what's happening in the current debate over whether or not to tax health insurance benefits. I've clipped the related blog entry from the Heritage Foundation explaining why this is a truly bipartisan opportunity to reform health care. Here is the link to Jon Cohn's very similar argument at TNR: http://tinyurl.com/crokz5. You'll notice they have different ideas about what should be done with the income from new taxes. What do you think?
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POPSSurgeons Twitter from the Operating Room The surgeons at Henry Ford Hospital are Twittering again from the operating room. This time it's during a robotic-assisted hysterectomy. When I asked the hospital's manager of web services why they were using the technology -- which broadcasts short messages to a web audience in real time -- he said they hope to inform the public about new procedures and treatment options. You can follow along by going to twitter.com and searching for HenryFordNews. Do you think that's an effective way to inform the public?
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POPSMore News on Vitamins and Minerals Last week I wrote about how new, major studies of certain vitamins showed no evidence that they prevented cancer or chronic disease. (That story is here: http://tinyurl.com/dcsk5u). But the results of two studies released this week were more promising where vitamin D and calcium are concerned. Vitamin and mineral research is very complicated -- with results weighed differently depending on the study methodology -- but as a consumer, it's to your advantage to know about the latest research and make decisions based on all of the information.
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POPSWhat's In Your Drinking Water? I'm certainly late to clipping this, but just stumbled on a great graphic from Good Magazine about how pharmaceutical drugs end up in our drinking water. It's based on a report last year that showed traces of prescription drugs in the drinking water of major cities. Here's one link to that story: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-03-10-drugs-tap-water_N.htm. (Full disclosure: I have written for Good before.)
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POPSHow Much is a Kidney Worth? This doctor uses the recent divorce case between a man and his wife, to whom he donated a kidney and now wants it back (or $1.5 million), to broach the topic of money and medicine. I didn't feel like the question posed -- has money clouded our vision in medicine? -- was entirely answered, but I'm hoping you'll have some thoughts. If so, please add comments below.
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POPSA New Kind of Indian Call Center Call centers in India usually field inquiries about bank statements and computer problems, but a new center is answering taboo questions about contraception and reproductive health.
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POPSDo We Need a Food Czar? Nick Kristof has a compelling op-ed about the possibility of replacing the role of agriculture secretary with something more expansive and forward-thinking. He, along with dozens of other foodies/food issues experts, persuasively makes the case that we need to reexamine food policy in this country since it's inexorably linked to health, energy and climate change issues. But I'm also recommending this op-ed because it has quirky details, like the fact that Kristof receives an annual payment to not grow crops on a family farm in Oregon. I would have never guessed!
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POPSHow to Live Forever -- or at Least to 100 This Newsweek article is packed with information on new studies and technologies that aim to extend life and delay the aging process. If these treatments become somewhat affordable, would you use them?
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POPSTough Economic Times? Become an Egg Donor According to this Wall Street Journal article, some fertility clinics are seeing an increase in the number of women who want to donate their eggs or become a surrogate for couples who cannot conceive. The president of an agency in Chicago says past increases have also correlated with the employment rate.
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POPSBreakthrough in Flood Tolerant Rice Those of you concerned about genetically-modified food will find this story interesting. After 13 years of research, a UC Davis scientist was able to isolate a gene in rice that is responsible for flood tolerance. Using a technique known as "precision breeding", researchers were able to create new varieties of flood-tolerant rice without using genetic modification. This announcement comes at the same time the GAO released a report on genetically-modified food in the US, which found that "unauthorized releases" of GE crops have occurred and will happen in the future. Both of these stories address an increasingly important topic: food security and food safety. You can read the GAO report here: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0960.pdf.
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POPSThe Posh Hospital Stay For those with private insurance and deep pockets, a hospital stay can be luxurious. Take for example the valet parking, patient concierges and granite counter tops featured in this story about first-class hospitals. Advocates say the perks help relieve stress, but they also put the hospital companies a cut above the rest.
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POPSPost Your Health Care Grievances Here Health care reform is a top priority for many Americans and President-elect Obama's transition team has harnessed that interest and put it online in the form of blogs, videos, comments and word clouds. At Change.gov, as this Washington Post story describes, everyday citizens can post comments about their health care experiences. They can also watch videos of former Senator Tom Daschle (point person and potential HHS appointee) discuss those comments. The site's web team has put together a smart "word cloud" which allows you to see which terms are most frequently used in the comments. You can see that here: http://change.gov/page/-/images/wc_healthcare_full.PNG.
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POPSThe Cost of an Organic Thanksgiving There's no conclusive evidence to support the idea that organic food is healthier for you than non-organic alternatives. But if you were thinking of choosing organic for this Thanksgiving, take a look at the breakdown of costs, courtesy of SmartMoney.com (and the Well blog at NYT.com).
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POPSThe Big Three Bailout and Health Care Wondering how much the Big Three are paying in health care costs? This post by a blogger at the think tank New America Foundation has some details, and a link to a CNN video on the subject. Bottom line? GM pays about $1,500 for health care per vehicle.
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POPSDo You Find This Ad Offensive? There's a big story on the intersection of social media and health today. Unlike some of its competitors, Johnson & Johnson has been experimenting with advertising directly to consumers with Facebook applications and YouTube videos. But a video ad promoting Motrin for moms who carry their babies in slings sparked an uproar from connected consumers. I'm curious to know what you think --- is this video really offensive? It's clipped above.
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POPSBloggers on Health Care Reform Wondering how Senator Max Baucus' plan was received by leading health care reform thinkers/bloggers? The New America Foundation, a non-profit think tank, has rounded up some high-profile blogs and commentary.
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POPSGoogle Maps the Flu No doubt you've already seen this story online, but since I have a keen interest in using technology to map or graph one or more trends in a predictive or user-friendly way, I wanted to share this story about Google's Flu Trends. The web tool allows users to track flu-related searches by state to see if the flu is on the rise locally. Though this tool is in its initial stages, the idea behind it has been validated by another study showing that internet searches may correlate with flu outbreaks. Check it out here: http://www.google.org/flutrends/
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POPSObama Faces Competition for Health Care Plan The big news in health care policy this morning is that Senator Max Baucus has debuted a new plan that's similar to Obama's in many ways with one major exception: it requires everyone to buy insurance. This will no doubt rankle those on the right who loathe the idea. It'll be interesting to see which other members of Congress roll out plans in the coming weeks and months. To read Baucus' plan, follow this link: http://finance.senate.gov/healthreform2009/finalwhitepaper.pdf
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POPSOne Test to Rule Them All? The Wall Street Journal has an interesting report about a new test that can look for a dozen viruses, including the common cold. It's innovative, but expensive at $300 to $400 a pop and takes several hours to process. Would that matter to you if it meant you could get a definitive diagnosis?
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POPSMental Health to Improve After Obama Win? In a testament to how much people had invested in this election, I've seen a handful of articles in the past few days talking about how an Obama win will relieve or increase stress amongst Americans. A lot of the reporting is anecdotal, as is the case with this story, but I thought it was an interesting idea. Those who feel relieved are hoping to reestablish trust with leaders over the economy and also see an Obama win as opportunity to improve race relations. Do you feel less stressed out now that the presidential election has been decided?
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POPSStar Restaurateur Becomes Marathoner I really enjoyed this mini-profile of Joe Bastianich, the business partner to chef Mario Batali. After years of eating at Batali's pace (and gaining 45 pounds), he decided to train for a marathon. While he could manage the grueling training schedule, he just couldn't give up his favorite foods. So his marathon "diet" has included rib-eyes, cured pork jowl and wine. Would you run a marathon if it meant you could still indulge in a few vices?
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POPSWell-Traveled Leaders More Qualified? This op-ed ran in the Los Angeles Times last week, but it only just came to my attention. The author makes the argument that presidents and vice presidents should be required to travel abroad before being elected to office. Regardless of your political views, do you think travel should be an important qualification for a president?
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POPSTed Turner Launches New Sustainable Tourism Strategy What exactly is sustainable tourism? While many have tried to clarify the concept, it often seems like a collection of vague ideals. But today Ted Turner and a newly founded coalition of 27 organizations have put forth specific criteria. It includes jobs for locals, including in management positions; support for local entrepreneurs; and protection of important archeological, historical, spiritual and cultural sites. Do you think these guidelines will help protect destinations and the people who live there?
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POPSWorld's Greenest Museum It took 10 years to build and cost $500 million, but the California Academy of Sciences finally unveiled its new green home. The single building hosts a planetarium, natural history museum, aquarium and four-story rain forest. Some of the green components include floor to ceiling windows that provide natural lighting; a "living roof" with solar panels and native plants; and insulation made of recycled blue jeans.
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POPSDevastation of World's Coral Imminent? According to a new study in Geophysical Research Letters, the world's coral could be devastated by rising CO2 levels. This isn't just an issue for science --- the tourist economy in various countries would also be devastated if coral reefs were to vanish. I've written about this before here: http://www.forbes.com/2008/03/06/travel-sustainable-coastlines-forbeslife-cx_rr_0307travel.html. More recently, I wrote about endangered natural wonders and the business of tourism here: http://www.forbes.com/travel/2008/09/15/travel-endangered-ecosystems-forbeslife-cx_rr_0915travel.html.
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POPSFrench Cuisine Worthy of World Heritage Recognition? Some French chefs, with support from President Nicolas Sarkozy, are spearheading a movement to have French cuisine recognized as a world heritage cuisine by UNESCO. The United Nations body is known for recognizing sites like Machu Picchu, the Great Wall of China, and even storytelling of Kyrgyzstan, but it has yet to recognize a cuisine. Do you think it should?
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POPSAirline Fees Here to Stay This article dispels any notion that the airlines might be persuaded to roll back fees now that the price of oil is dropping. Their logic? Air travel has been a stagnant business for years and unbundling -- or charging for what was once free -- is breathing new life into the airline business.
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POPSThousands Stranded as UK Tour Operator Goes Bust Compared to what happened on Wall Street today, the news that the third-largest UK tour operator collapsed last week seems insignificant. But within the British travel industry, it's becoming a huge deal. Many are blaming a weakened travel market and high oil prices, and according to this article, this won't be the last firm to go under.
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POPSNo More Billboards in Xi'an This from the blog of Intelligent Travel: the city of Xi'an has plans to remove billboards from the capital's walls. The move is part of a larger effort to restore Xi'an's heritage by controlling development and population growth.
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POPSFarewell to Coney Island's Astroland Coney Island's Astroland, one of the city's historic (and affordable) attractions, was shut down yesterday. It meant different things to different people and this story brings that out well.
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POPSThe New Yorker's Summer Staycation I've been hearing about staycations all summer long. As a rule, I've been trying to avoid the very trendy word. But this tongue-in-cheek story about regular New Yorkers enjoying their staycation is the perfect read for a Friday afternoon right before a holiday weekend marking the end of summer.
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POPSArtificial Sand Dune to House New Museum According to this blog post on Gizmodo, the new Museum of Modern Arab Art in Doha, Qatar is being built in an artificial 350,000 square foot sand dune. It won't be completed until 2011, but in the meantime take a look at the mock-up.
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POPSHot Destination: Lagos, Nigeria I haven't read much about travel to Nigeria, save George Packer's great article in the New Yorker (see here: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/11/13/061113fa_fact_packer) about the city's informal economies. A New York Times reporter recently surveyed the city's nightlife, malls and substandard housing and found a huge gap between the wealthy and poor. I think it will be awhile before it becomes a real destination, but it should be interesting to see how travel there increases in the coming years.
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POPSImage of the Day As the blog Jaunted points out, one of the great reasons to travel is to see something unusual or unexpected. The above image is just one example of quirky public art created by an artist in France. Check out the full gallery here: http://www.filthyluker.deviantart.com/gallery/
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