Science, Technology & Health: December 2012 Archives
We live in amazing times. This is the first I've heard of it, but doctors are using deactivated HIV to treat cancer by reprogramming immune systems.
Doctors suggested they sign Emily up to a clinical trial that would use a disabled form of HIV to carry cancer-fighting genes into her T-cells (disease fighting cells). The hope was that this would re-programme her immune system to recognise the cancer cells and start killing them. ...Several weeks after her T-cell infusion, they were able to conduct a bone marrow test to find out if the therapy had worked.
'Three weeks after receiving the treatment, she was in remission,' said Dr Grupp.'Emily completely responded to her T-cell therapy. We checked her bone marrow for the possibility of disease again at three months and six months out from her treatment, and she still has no disease whatsoever. The cancer-fighting T-cells are still there in her body.'
He added that they need to see the remission go on for a couple of years before they can think about whether she is cured or not.
But, after spending years in treatment, Emily went home in June and now enjoys going to school, playing football and walking her dog Lucy.
What a wonder that a horrible plague like HIV could be turned into something good.
A great piece from Lifehacker on how to use psychological tricks to avoid gaining weight during the holidays. My favorite is this plate trick:
One study conducted by researchers Brian Wansink and Koert van Ittersum, revealed that a shift from 12-inch plates to 10-inch plates resulted in a 22% decrease in calories. Assuming the average dinner is 800 calories, this simple change would result in an estimated weight loss between 10 to 20 pounds over the course of one year. Smaller plates lead to fewer calories thanks to a powerful optical illusion known as the Delboeuf Illusion.The illusion works because we think things are smaller when we compare them to things that are larger. So if you put a piece of food on a large plate, your mind will tell you it's a small portion and thus you put more food on the plate. However, if you put that same piece of food on a small plate, your mind will tell you it's a large portion. The image below describes the Delboeuf Illusion and how it applies to food.
I'm definitely going to try using the small plates for meals for a while!
Rand Simberg is my favorite space policy expert and blogger and he has create a (small!) Kickstarter project to get his book edited and illustrated: Safe Is Not An Option: Our Futile Obsession In Spaceflight. I gave $5 and I encourage you to also.
I've written about how our safety-obsessed culture is crippling space exploration before, so I'm excited to read Simberg's book.
(HT: GeekPress.)
