Here's what it's like when President Obama gets mad

(Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Then-President-elect Barack Obama with his personal assistant Reggie Love before a flight on November 10, 2008.

When he's mad, President Barack Obama gets eerily quiet. 

Supreme Court Can't Save Obama care

By Christopher Flavelle

After Wednesday's oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court, the odds that Obamacare will survive its latest legal challenge appear slightly better than even. But instead of relief, the law's supporters should take a moment to reflect on the deeper problem for the Affordable Care Act: its persistent and widespread unpopularity. Reversing that will do more to protect the law than any court decision.

Phones to be used to test for HIV soon

Dar es Salaam. Are you worried about how to tell your HIV status or that of your partner? Are you troubled by the idea of voluntarily visiting a health centre to test your HIV status or that of your partner?

Now, there’s good news for you—especially if you have a smartphone. Very soon, you will be testing your HIV status or that of your partner through your mobile phone.

You will not have to visit any hospital to know whether you are HIV-positive or negative, thanks to US medical researchers who have developed a low-cost smartphone accessory that can perform a point-of-care test that simultaneously detects three infectious disease markers—HIV and syphilis—from a finger prick of blood in just 15 minutes. The device replicates, for the first time, all mechanical, optical, and electronic functions of a lab-based blood test without requiring any stored energy. The necessary power is drawn from the smartphone.

A team of researchers, led by Samuel Sia, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia Engineering, has found a way to turn a common smartphone into a quick and easy device to conduct field tests for HIV and syphilis.

According to a report published yesterday by Science Translational Medicine, by using an attachment that costs Sh61,200 ($34) to make —a far cry from the standard Sh30.6 million ($18,000) for diagnostic tests — blood drops are tested for the antibodies in minutes instead of hours.

When plugged into a smartphone’s audio jack, scientists said, it mimicked the enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay (ELISA), a well-known test for HIV, and “performed almost as well”.

The initial study, involving 96 women in Rwanda, is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. During the field testing in Rwanda, health care workers were given 30 minutes of training, which included a user-friendly interface to aid the user through each test, step-by-step pictorial directions, built-in timers to alert the user to next steps, and records of test results for later review.

Following the field study, the vast majority of patients (97 per cent) said they would recommend the dongle because of its fast turn-around time, ability to offer results for multiple diseases and simplicity of procedure.

Experts hope that this lab-on-a-chip device could be a helpful tool, especially in places where field clinics are set up to help remote or underserved populations.

Clinical trials

The team, led by Samuel Sia, an associate professor of biomedical engineering, is aiming for larger clinical trials first. “Our work shows that a full laboratory-quality immunoassay can be run on a smartphone accessory,” said Sia. “Coupling microfluidics with recent advances in consumer electronics can make certain lab-based diagnostics accessible to almost any population with access to smartphones. This kind of capability can transform how health care services are delivered around the world.”

The study was funded by a Saving Lives at Birth transition grant—which is backed by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Gates Foundation, the government of Norway, Grand Challenges Canada, the World Bank and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation.

Congratulations: 56-year-old gave birth to her first son

Tami Truna holding her first son Channel 2 News

Despite years of false attempts, Tami Truna didn't give up and at the age of 56 she finally gave birth to her first son; “God presented me with this son” she said.

Pregnancy over age of 50. After years of repeated attempts, at the age of 56, Tami Truna gave new meaning to the expression "If At First You Don't Succeed–Try, Try Again", as she gave birth to her first son at Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot. 

The baby was delivered by cesarean section, weighing 3.1 kg. The Kiryat Malakhi resident who grew up with 9 siblings has dreamed since childhood to have her own large family but unfortunately was not able to become pregnant.

“I made a decision to have a break”, she said “but my niece pushed me to continue trying; shortly after we discussed about it, I got pregnant.”

Pregnancy over age 50 has, over recent years, become more possible for woman, due to recent advances in assisted reproductive technology.

Prof. Zion Hagi of Kaplan Hospital says “pregnancy over the age of 50 is not easy, in fact it is quite dangerous – but in this case we understood we have a deal with first son delivery after years of attempts, thus the benefits outweigh the risks.”

Terrified Baby Impala Becomes Young Cheetahs’ First Hunting Lesson

Professional guide and lodge owner Mikey Carr-Hartly was on safari in Kenya’s Masai Mara, when he witnessed a remarkable encounter between a cheetah family and a young impala.

“We were in an area of the southern Mara called Majani ya Chai, not far from Sala’s Camp,” said Mikey. “It’s the ideal habitat for cheetah because of the croton thickets on the edges of the plains, which provide great cover for hunting animals.”

After scanning the area, Mikey finally spotted a female and two older cubs lying on a termite mound in the shade of a croton thicket.

“It was hot, and we were not sure if the mother would bother hunting, but we decided to stick around to see if she would get up and move around.”

About half an hour later, the mother sprang up and bolted across the plain like a bullet into the thicket. She had spotted a baby impala and was on its trail.

To our amazement, instead of immediately killing the terrified animal, the female cheetah chased the young impala back across the plain, all the way to her clumsy teenagers who were still waiting by the termite mound.”

The younger cheetahs have not quite learned how to hunt, and this was obviously one of their first lessons.

She released the impala to the teenagers, who were bewildered and confused about what to do next. They first looked at each other, as if deciding, and finally, they gave chase

“It was a cat and mouse situation,” said Mikey. “The bumbling cheetahs followed, tripped, waited and then followed the terrified animal again, before they eventually killed it.”

As cruel as this seems, it’s an important process for the cubs to learn how to chase and ‘ankle tap’ their prey, as well as the technique of suffocating the animal quickly.

“This will be essential for their survival in the future.”

Fifty-year-old bereaved mother gives birth

Malka Haham, who lost her two sons two years ago in horrific road accident, recently gave birth to twin boys

Malka with Yotam and Yoav z"l Haham family

Two years ago, Malka Haham's world collapsed. Her two sons Yotam (26) and his younger brother Yoav (22) were crossing Jabotinsky Street in Petah Tikva, when a bus hit them, killing them instantly. 

It was the latest in a series of fatal accidents involving pedestrians and busses that had occurred following the decision to open the public transport lane, despite safety concerns. Fifteen pedestrians had already been killed crossing the street before the accident, and shortly before the Haham brothers were killed, Transport Minister Yisrael Katz was warned that another fatal accident was a matter of time, yet decided not to take any action.

A week later, the accident happened. Within a few minutes, a happy family of five had been reduced to a grief stricken one of three, Malka, her husband Yehuda, and their teenage daughter Amit.  

Shortly after the mourning period, Malka decided to launch a campaign to close the lane and have those responsible for the carnage that resulted from the reckless decision to open the lane brought to justice. So far the campaign had had mixed results. After a few more accidents, the lane was finally closed, but so far, no official has suffered any consequence. 

Yehuda feeding one of the twins Ronen Mayo

A year later, she decided that since she could still conceive, she wanted to have another child. Yehuda supported her decision, but her daughter Amit was very much against it, saying it felt like her mother was trying to replace her brothers. She is still ambivalent about the fact that at sixteen she has become a sister to two baby brothers.  

Yehuda and Malka are still getting used to doing what they haven't been doing for over a dozen years, such as getting up in the middle of the night and changing nappies. "As first it was a shock", said Yehuda, but we have created a routine that works for us, and in fact it has brought us closer together".  

Malka admits that although most of her family, friends and acquaintances are happy for her, she has heard comments that she is trying to replace the sons she lost. "Nothing could be further from the truth", she says. "I know I'm living a complex situation, but have no regrets". "Oue newborn sons can never replace Yotam and Yoav, nor would I want them to be weighed down with such a burden". "Our late sons will always be with us and part of us,, I know its complicated, but it feels right, I feel I've succeeded in restoring some degree of balance to my life".

The duties of motherhood have not diminished Malka's determination to see those she holds responsible for the death of Yotam and Yoav pay for their negligence and irresponsibility.  

The #1 reason people die early, in each country

The #1 reason people die early, in each country

You're probably aware that heart disease and cancer are far and away the leading causes of death in America. But globally the picture is more complicated:

The above map shows the leading cause of lost years of life by country (click to see a larger version). The data comes from the Global Burden of Disease study, whose 2013 installment was released just a few weeks ago.

It's worth stressing that "cause of lost years of life" and "cause of death" aren't identical. For example, deaths from preterm births may cause more lost years of life in a country than deaths from heart disease even if heart disease is the leading cause of death. Deaths from preterm births amount to many decades of lost life, whereas heart disease tends to develop much later on.

But that makes the fact that heart disease is the leading cause of lost life in so many countries all the more striking, and indicative of those countries' successes in reducing childhood mortality. By contrast, in many lower-income countries, the leading cause is something like malaria, diarrhea, preterm birth, HIV/AIDS, or violence, which all typically afflict people earlier in life than heart disease or stroke. We've made considerable progress in fighting childhood mortality across the globe in recent decades, but there's still much work left to be done.

Utafiti waelezea sababu za saratani

Kifaa cha kubaini saratani

Utafiti mpya unasema aina nyingi za ugonjwa wa saratani ni matokeo ya bahati mbaya, kuliko malezo ya vinasaba, mazingira na mtindo wa maisha.

Watafiti nchini Marekani walichunguza aina 31 za saratani na kugundua kwamba theluthi mbili zilisababishwa na mgawanyiko holela wa seli. Kwa mgawanyiko wa kila seli kuna hatari ya mabadiliko yanayoweza kusababisha saratani.

Wanasayansi hao wanasema kuimarisha mtindo wa maisha na mazingira kunasaidia kudhibiti magonjwa kama ya saratani ya ngozi na saratani ya mapafu.

Source: BBC

Ebola crisis now 'stable' in Guinea, WHO says

Ebola patients are taken to dedicated treatment centres across Guinea

Continue reading the main story

Ebola outbreak

• Orphans in pictures
• Cuban model
• Ebola's undertakers
• The basics

The Ebola outbreak is now "stable" in Guinea, where the latest crisis began, the World Health Organization says. There were still some flare ups in the south-east, but things were improving in other prefectures, WHO co-ordinator Dr Guenael Rodier told the BBC.

More than 5,400 people have died in the latest outbreak, with Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia the worst hit. The outbreak can be ended by mid-2015 if the world speeds up its response, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said.

                         But he warned that although the rate of new cases was slowing in parts of West Africa, Mali - where six people have died and a seventh case has been reported - was now of deep concern. And the head of the UN Ebola mission, Anthony Banbury, said the world was "far away" from beating the virus. There have been more than 15,300 reported cases of Ebola since the outbreak began earlier this year, the WHO says.More than 1,200 people have died of Ebola in Guinea alone. However, Dr Rodier said that the situation in Guinea was now "relatively stable".

"When you look in more detail, you see that it's still quite active in the Guinea forest area [in] the south of the country," Dr Rodier said.

However, he added that the situation was "actually improving in a number of prefectures, especially Conakry", where there was a fairly good understanding of how the disease was spreading.

The WHO has faced criticism that it was too slow to respond during the start of the crisis.

However, Dr Rodier said it was the first time there had been such a serious outbreak in West Africa, adding: "Lessons have been learned."

Refused entry

Guinea has not been as badly hit by Ebola as neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Eight months since the outbreak was first declared, some still do not believe Ebola is a real disease, and health teams trying to trace new potential cases are still being refused entry to some villages, says the BBC's Tulip Mazumdar in the capital Conakry.

The latest Ebola outbreak has killed more than 5,000 people

Meanwhile, a group of 30 health workers from the UK's National Health Service have flown to Sierra Leone to help treat Ebola patients.

They are also expected to train local staff at treatment centres across the country.

Ebola is spread only through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person showing symptoms, such as fever or vomiting.

People caring for the sick or handling the bodies of people infected Ebola are therefore especially vulnerable.