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POPSThe Birth Control of Yesteryear
Unlike many other medicines of its time, silphium was not thought of as a mere folk remedy; Scholars and doctors of the day openly praised the plant's effectiveness as a contraceptive. Ancient Rome's foremost gynecologist– a physician named Soranus– wrote that women should drink the silphium juice with water once a month since "it not only prevents conception but also destroys anything existing." Alternatively, a tuft of wool could be soaked in the juice and inserted into the vagina as a pessary. During laserwort's heyday, Rome's birth rate decreased considerably despite increasing life expectancy, plentiful food, and relatively few wars or epidemics, and some historians cite this as evidence of the herb's effectiveness. Unfortunately, modern science will probably never determine whether the fennel's extract was really an effective form of parenthood prevention, nor will it measure laserwort's merit as a medicine. By the end of the first century AD, following a fifty year decline in s
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POPSWhite House Releases Climate Change Report - But Only Under Court Order Once again, the Bush administration has to be forced to do their damned job. Among the findings: “An increased frequency and severity of heat waves is expected, leading to more illness and death, particularly among the young, elderly, frail and poor.” It added that deaths from cold would decline, but said uncertainties on both projections made it impossible to characterize the overall risk. It gave high odds (essentially a two out of three chance) that Lyme disease and West Nile virus would have expanded ranges because of warming. The report gave the same odds that some food- and water-borne diseases would also increase among susceptible populations, but said “major human epidemics” were unlikely as long as public-health systems remained effective. Sounds like they should get right on that -- which, of course, was the problem.
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POPSBurma's Junta Counts Its Fake Votes, Millions In Peril
GRAPHIC PHOTO A US diplomat based in Rangoon claims the figure may be as high as 100,000 dead. The junta trumpeted what it claimed was a "massive turnout" in its constitutional referendum on Saturday, as thousands of tonnes of food, medical supplies and emergency relief specialists waited on tarmacs around the world for permission to enter the country. "Diarrhoea rates are very high in many of the affected townships; for children under five, diarrhoea is a disaster, adding, malaria and dengue were endemic to this region. United Nations agencies are concerned that there are hundreds of thousands of traumatised, injured people and that if they do not get medical treatment, they will die. Doctors in one hospital were treating up to 5000 outpatients a day, said Unicef's health chief in Rangoon. "They are exhausted. They are working long hours and they really need support. "They are full of patients and they cannot be treated properly due to a lack of human resources and drugs."
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POPSFlu comes fresh from Asia every year. The flu virus tends to die out every winter outside the tropics. It also seems to mutate in hot rainy weather, the conditions that can be found in the 'rainy seasons' that occur throughout the Asian tropics. Because of the movement of the rainy seasons, the virus can stay 'live' all year round.
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POPSVulnerability of Web and World A world without internet is almost inconceivable, In an article in Gigaom, however, 10 ways of how it might die are described. Even the survival of our whole world on the long term is unsure. An article in Discover discusses "20 ways the world could end". All these desasters are listed below.
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POPSDoctors without borders Also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres they take health care where it is needed, anywhere in the world. Politics is not an issue. They provide medical care, and health services to people who are victims of war, starvation and disease, who otherwise would have had no hope.
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POPSSage Francis There is definitely some truth to this statement. I think we really need to look at how the pharm. company does business and with whom.
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POPSDelegates discuss combating TB,AIDS, combination Unlike the threat of 'bird flu,' this is here Now. 1/3 of the worlds 40 million AIDS patients have Tuberculosis. Aids is transferred through transfer of body fluids. TB causes Blood to be ejected with tissue from the lungs. TB tests often do not detect the disease in AIDS patients. The TB vaccine was developed 85 years ago, and testing methods were developed 120 years ago. The U.S. and other donor countries have been accused of backsliding on commitments made last year to step up the fight against TB. Most of the cases are in Africa-At the moment. Funding will no doubt increase when the combination crosses the U.S. Border.
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POPSPast MegaDeath; Glimpse of Future? Cut down your forests, over farm, or over populate, build new dams, and you create ideal conditions to increase rodent population and then Hanta comes along to re-balance the system and strikes humans too!
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POPSDoctors Without Border/Medecins Sans Frontieres? In emergencies and their aftermath, MSF provides essential health care, rehabilitates and runs hospitals and clinics, performs surgery, battles epidemics, carries out vaccination campaigns, operates feeding centers for malnourished children, and offers mental health care. When needed, MSF also constructs wells and dispenses clean drinking water, and provides shelter materials like blankets and plastic sheeting.
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POPSTake VITAMIN D3, the life you save may be your own. I have also read, it can help in fighting flu epidemics. The following from this site: www.sunarc.org Vitamin D is also beneficial in reducing the risk of respiratory viral diseases such as influenza, the common cold, and bronchitis. A study in New York State with black women in their 60s found that 800 IU of vitamin D3 per day reduced cold and influenza rates by about 60%, while 2000 IU per day reduced the rates by more than 90%. The RDA (400 IU/day) was based on the amount of vitamin D in a teaspoonful of cod liver oil, which is sufficient to prevent rickets but not much more. The body can make 10,000 IU per day in the summer sun, so there is no problem with taking 2000 IU per day most of the year. There are also benefits of vitamin D in reducing the risk of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and metabolic diseases. I've enjoyed researching vitamin D after retiring from NASA Langely in 2004. Visit my web site at www.sunarc.org
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