Calcium Supplements May Not Be Heart Healthy

that dietary calcium in the form of supplements, but not calcium-rich foods, might have a harmful impact on the heart.

The study couldn't prove the supplements help cause heart trouble, but its authors believe the finding should give consumers pause for thought.

"When it comes to using vitamin and mineral supplements, particularly calcium supplements being taken for bone health, many Americans think that more is always better," said study lead author Dr. Erin Michos.

"But our study adds to the body of evidence that excess calcium in the form of supplements may harm the heart and vascular system," Michos said in a news release from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

She is associate director of preventive cardiology at the school's Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease.

About 43 percent of American adults now take a supplement that includes calcium, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. And more than half of women over 60 take calcium supplements to reduce their risk of osteoporosis.

In the new study, Michos' team analyzed data from 10 years of medical tests on more than 2,700 adults in a U.S. government-funded heart disease study. Participants ranged in age from 45 to 85, and they were questioned on their daily diet and the supplements they took.

Participants also underwent CT scans aimed at measuring calcification of their arteries -- a known heart risk factor.

After adjusting for factors that included education, exercise, weight and income, the research showed that people in the top fifth in terms of calcium intake -- from whatever source -- had a 27 percent lower risk of heart disease, compared to those in the bottom one-fifth.

However, that statistic looked at total calcium intake in people who took in the nutrient from food and/or supplements.

Going a step further, Michos and her colleagues separated out calcium intake by source.

They found that people who took calcium supplements had a significant increase in the risk of plaque buildup in their arteries, as well as in their odds for heart disease, compared to people who didn't take the supplements.

http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/news/20161011/calcium-supplements-may-not-be-heart-healthy

Universal Health Insurance in India: A way to go forward

Rudolf Virchow a German pathologist, public health activist and politician stated in 1849 that Medicine is a social science and politics is nothing else but medicine on a large scale. As we know now, health is not just about diagnosing ailments, hospitals and social services; it is an issue of social justice.

Getting good health care is not a privilege; it is considered a fundamental right. A humane society must be able to provide basic health access to its citizens irrespective of their paying capacity.

All across the world, public seeks health care either through a government facility or private sector or a combination. Socialized medicine (state medicine) is a term used for a health care delivery system wherein government takes up the responsibility of providing health care to its citizens at tax payers’ cost. This is also called Public –funded health care. The latter can be largely delivered in 2 ways: One, where the government takes up the charge of providing health care by directly administering clinics, hospitals and other facilities. Cuba is a classic example in modern times. The communist country has government-run facilities. There is no private medical sector in Cuba.

The second method is provision of health care through health insurance. Canada is a classic example where government ensures health insurance for everyone and patients can go to a government or a private facility.

In last 6 decades, India has struggled to make progress in improving health access for its people. Healthcare financing in India has been poor, it spends just 4 percent of its national budget on health. Notwithstanding its burgeoning population, vast geographical area, illiteracy rate and poverty, Indian government has been able to take health care to rural populace through sub-centers, primary health centers, and community health centers. At the same time, private medical sector has also developed significantly. However, unique challenges still remain.

Thus, it is obvious that government of India remains committed to universal health access for its citizens. India is signatory to W.H.O.’s Alma Ata (1978) convention of “Health for All by 2000 A.D.” and subsequent Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as envisioned by W.H.O. in the year 2000.

Indian central and state governments have so far chiefly focused on owning and administering their own health care delivery system. However, government-run dispensaries and hospitals and health programs have delivered sub-optimal results. The public perception about governmental hospitals is also poor.

One alternative which has remained largely unexploited is providing health coverage via health insurance. 

The government rather than necessarily running its own health facilities may consider providing health insurance to its citizens. Time has come that India catches up with this alternative model of allocating resources and funding to its public health programs.

When Mr. Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister last year, he envisioned health insurance for everyone. His ambitious National Health Assurance Mission (NHAM) is likely to be launched in coming days. This will bring much needed promise to the evolution of health insurance model in India. To be rolled out in phases, it may take a decade before the scheme can be actually offered to everyone.

National Health Assurance Mission (NHAM) is one example of Government-sponsored Health Insurance schemes (GSHISs). The Congress regimen in 2008 had launched an ambitious Rastriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY). It focuses on providing inpatient coverage to families living Below Poverty Line (BPL). With a mere registration fee of Rs. 30, RSBY provides cash-less health insurance to BPL families up to Rs. 30,000. The entire premium is paid by the state (25%) and central (75%) governments. 

With the introduction of NHAM, RSBY will be gradually merged into NHAM.

Government-sponsored Health Insurance schemes (GSHISs) are not new to India, but surely the evolution has been slow. Employees’ State Insurance Scheme (ESIS), Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) schemes are in vogue since decades. ‘Mediclaim’ was a private voluntary health scheme launched in 1986 by government insurance companies. In the last decade, a few states have successfully launched health insurance schemes: AarogyaSri (Andhra Pradesh), Vajpayee Arogyashri (Karnatka), the Chief Minister Comprehensive Health Insurance (Tamil Nadu) and RSBY Plus (Himachal Pradesh). The most crucial advantage of government sponsored health schemes is that they are primarily targeted at poorer people, 

thus enabling a bottom up approach for health for all.

Compared to USA where 75 % of people have health insurance, the most common mode of payment for medical services in India is still ‘out of pocket’. Thus, there is ample scope for health insurance in India. With government’s push for universal health coverage, this market is likely to grow in coming years. Government sponsored Health insurance is likely to be the dominant theme, but private insurance companies can also play a crucial role. Not only they will bring in the much needed investment, their entry will bring better practices, competition and a global insight. Health insurance is currently limited to indoor treatment. There is a need of coverage being extended to outpatient treatment and procedures too.

Health insurance is not without challenges in India. In our country, there is already a high level of medical malpractice. The unfettered continuation of such unethical practices may bleed health insurance schemes. Then there is lack of standardization of medical treatment regimens and practices in India, creating challenges for the insurance companies when it comes to reimbursements.

Medicine cannot just continue as a private matter, it must evolve into a social institution wherein it can serve the basic needs of the society. Universal health assurance hopefully will accelerate the process for India in the direction.

http://indianexpress.com/article/blogs/universal-health-insurance-in-india-a-way-to-go-forward/

What Is Health Insurance?

What Is Health Insurance?

Health insurance is a type of insurance coverage that covers the cost of an insured individual's medical and surgical expenses. Depending on the type of health insurance coverage, either the insured pays costs out-of-pocket and is then reimbursed, or the insurer makes payments directly to the provider.

In health insurance terminology, the "provider" is a clinic, hospital, doctor, laboratory, health care practitioner, or pharmacy. The "insured" is the owner of the health insurance policy; the person with the health insurance coverage.

In countries without universal health care coverage, such as the USA, health insurance is commonly included in employer benefit packages and seen as an employment perk. Is health insurance coverage a human right or another product one can buy? In some countries, such as the United Kingdom or Canada, health care coverage is provided by the state and is seen as every citizen's right - it is classed along with public education, the police, firefighters, street lighting, and public road networks, as a part of a public service for the nation.

Health insurance documents In other countries, such as the USA, health insurance coverage is seen somewhat differently - with the exception of some groups, such as elderly and/or disabled people, veterans and some others, it is the individual's responsibility to be insured. More recently, the Obama Administration has introduced laws making it mandatory for everybody to have health insurance, and there are penalties for those who fail to have a policy of some kind.

Everybody at some time in their life, and often on many occasions, will need some kind of medical attention and treatment. When medical care is required, ideally the patient should be able to concentrate on getting better, rather than wondering whether he/she has got the resources to pay for all the bills. This view is becoming more commonly held in nearly all the developed nations.

Managing diabetes - researchers from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portlant, Oregon, found that diabetes patients need continuous health insurance coverage for the long-term proper management of their disease .

Since the late 1990s, millions of US citizens have found themselves with absolutely no health cover at all. A collection of several different studies and surveys puts the number of "uninsured" Americans at over 50 million; tens of millions more have inadequate insurance.

A Commonwealth Fund 2011 report informed that 26% of all US citizens of working age experienced a gap in health insurance coverage; many lost their health insurance when they either became unemployed or changed jobs.

Children in the USA with private insurance are considerably more likely to have a primary care physician in America compared to those with public insurance or no insurance at all, according to a study carried out by researchers at the Children's Hospital, Boston. The authors added that levels of treatment in emergency departments varied significantly, depending on what type of health insurance they had.

Americans with long-term or serious illnesses are the least able to pay for their medical bills among the leading developed nations in the world, a Commonwealth Fund International Survey reported in November, 2011.

The Affordable Care Act made it possible for young adults aged between 19 and 25 to join or stay on their parents' health plans in 2011. A Commonwealth Fund report informed that 13.7 million young adults remained or got onto their parents' health plans; this included 6.6 million people who would not have been able to do so if the Act had not been signed.

According to an eHealthInsurance survey carried out in 2010, the average monthly premiums among its customers were $167 per month for an individual, with an average deductible of $2,632. Family plans cost an average $392 per month with a $3,531 deductible. Two broad types of health insurance or health coverage Broadly speaking there are two types of health insurance:

Private health insurance - the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) says that the US health care system is heavily reliant on private health insurance. 58% of Americans have some kind of private health insurance coverage.

Public (government) health insurance - for this type to be called insurance, premiums need to be collected, even though the coverage is provided by the state. Therefore, the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom is not a type of health insurance - even though it provides free medical services for its citizens, it does not collect premiums - it is a type of universal health coverage.

Examples of public health insurance in the USA is Medicare, which is a national federal social insurance program for people aged 65+ years as well as disabled people, and Medicaid which is funded jointly by the federal government and individual states (and run by individual states), SCHIP which is aimed at children and families who cannot afford private insurance, but to not qualify for Medicaid. Other public health insurance programs in the USA include TRICARE, the Veterans Health Administration, and the Indian Health Service.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/health-insurance

Experts consider medical care standards for civilians in space

Perhaps the answers to these questions can be found in existing medical care standards - such as those of the commercial aviation industry and the ones that NASA use for traditional space missions.

Now, in a new study published in the journal New Space, two experts - Stefan Neis and David Klaus, from the University of Colorado Boulder - review the current medical care standards of the civilian aviation industry and traditional space exploration sectors and consider them against the challenges posed by various types and phases of flight.

Scott Hubbard, a professor in aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University, CA, and editor-in- chief of New Space, says:

"Medical constraints are the most important discriminators in determining who in the general population can be a spaceflight participant. This original article adds critical new knowledge to an emerging discipline."

Different types of space flight will require different medical standards

Among the factors to be considered in developing medical care standards for civilian space flights are that suborbital and orbital flights pose different risks and challenges to the human body and will likely require different codes of medical practice, skills, equipment and materials.

For example, the medical needs of suborbital civilian travel may be primarily for motion sickness and pain medication, oxygen masks and perhaps pressure suits.

Longer-term, however, orbital tourist flights will likely demand higher levels of medical care, including flight staff trained in emergency equipment and treatment. There may also be a need to deliver care from a spacesuit to others in spacesuits.

These considerations are over and above the rigorous medical exams that space tourists will have to undergo before they can even qualify to travel on a space flight.

In their review, the authors point to the factors that the NASA medical standards address in order to provide the proper level of care for different space missions. They suggest these should also be considered when establishing medical standards for commercial spaceflight. The factors include, for example:

The providers of medical care and what level of training they have

The type and duration of the mission and its objectives

The pre-flight health status of those on board

Medical risk of illness or injury

The level of accepted medical risk

Time required for return to Earth and fallback location for more definitive medical treatment.

Experience in commercial aviation brings other lessons

Experience in commercial aviation brings other lessons that we can learn and apply to space tourism, note the authors. In their study, they review medical standards of the United Nation's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and European Civil Aviation Regulations (EASA).

In summarizing their thoughts on lessons that can be learned from the civil aviation industry, the authors point to a comprehensive list of equipment, consumables and outfitting that should be considered for civilian spaceflight.

These include first aid kits, emergency medical kits, automated external defibrillators (AEDs), oxygen masks and supplemental oxygen. Also, at least one traveler on a space flight should be trained in basic emergency medicine response.

Ability to offer treatment in spacesuits may also be a consideration; for example, if someone needs emergency care when carrying out a mission outside the spacecraft or if there is a need to offer treatment in a depressurized cabin.

Other points to consider include how to restrain and deal with unruly passengers, effects of potential radiation exposure, using telemedicine and provision of conference facilities to discuss diagnostic and treatment decisions with ground experts, and basic or advanced surgical and dental care.

On suborbital flights, there may not be a requirement for advanced medical and surgical care as there is the opportunity for a relatively quick return to Earth. However, this may not be an option in long-term orbital missions, so higher levels of care will be required "and will likely need to be automated to some degree," note the authors.

There are also commercial implications to consider once spaceflight is opened up to paying passengers. For example, in providing medical care for their passengers, commercial airlines must not only balance immediate risks and the direct costs associated with possible diversions to alternative medical care, but also the knock-on effects on other passengers and the overall risk to the flight.

Baseline level of care possible - but 'no single comprehensive level can be defined'

Public expectations of passenger care may also gain influence. In commercial aviation, airlines are acutely aware of how their handling of major and minor events play out in social media.

The authors conclude from their review that a baseline level of care can be developed for the commercial human spaceflight industry, but note that:

"Given the complexity and variety of commercial space mission scenarios, it is not likely that a single, comprehensive level of care requirement can be defined."

Astronaut experience with diagnostic equipment can also bring lessons to enhance training back on Earth. In 2011, for example, Medical News Today learned how use of ultrasound tools in space helped to inform training of medical students and also how to treat Olympic athletes.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/288036.php

Paid sick Leave may Reduce Financial Burden for Cancer Patients

Published in JAMA, the study found that cancer patients who received paid sick leave from their jobs were much more likely to retain employment following treatment and have less financial worry than those without paid sick leave.

At present, around 40% of employees in America do not receive paid sick leave; it is not mandated under the Family and Medical Leave Act and Affordable Care Act, and paid sick leave does not form a part of health insurance coverage.

However, study coauthor Dr. Christine Veenstra, clinical lecturer at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, notes paid sick leave could help ease financial problems experienced by many cancer patients.

"Paid sick leave allows patients to take the time they need for cancer treatment but still keep getting a paycheck," notes Dr. Veenstra.

For their study, the team set out to assess the job retention and personal financial burden of 1,300 patients who had been diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer.

Through surveys that were mailed to the patients and follow-up telephone calls, the researchers gathered information on their employment, access to paid sick leave and the personal financial circumstances 4 months before cancer treatment and 12 months after.

Patients with paid sick leave nearly twice as likely to retain job

Among 567 of the respondents who were employed, 56% had access to paid sick leave.

The researchers found that only 55% of patients who were employed at the time of cancer diagnosis retained their jobs after cancer treatment; those who received paid sick leave, however, were almost twice as likely to have kept their jobs as those without paid sick leave.

After adjusting for influential factors, such as income, health insurance and education, the team found only 33% of patients without paid sick leave retained their jobs, compared with 59% of those who received paid sick leave.

As well as having access to paid sick leave, patients who kept their jobs were also more likely to be male, white, married, more highly educated, have a higher income, have private health insurance and be free of other illness.

What is more, compared with patients who had access to paid sick leave, those who did not receive paid sick leave had a much higher financial burden; they were more likely to have difficulties making credit card payments, for example, and were more likely to have reduced spending on food and clothing and recreational activities.

The team believes their findings indicate paid sick leave may be of significant benefit to employees diagnosed with serious health problems. Dr. Veenstra says:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/304388.php

How To Find Private Health Insurance

Private health insurance is the main source of health coverage for the majority of people in the United States. Approximately 58% of all Americans have private health care coverage. For elderly citizens and eligible children and families from low-income households, public programs are the primary source of health cover. Public programs include Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP. TRICARE and the Veterans programs also provide some coverage.

If you are not covered by a publicly funded program, or if your coverage is only partial, you will need to have some kind of private health insurance.

Since the turn of the millennia, millions of Americans have found themselves with no health cover at all. Most studies place the number of "uninsured" at over 46 million. Tens of millions more have inadequate insurance.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

n March 23rd, the US health care system underwent the beginning of a major reform, which may have changed the way many people go about getting health cover. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act included a mandate that every American must have medical provision, or pay a fine. Some details of the Act are still awaiting a Supreme Court ruling.

The provisions of the Act roll out over the next few years. Some provisions came into effect within months of the Act being signed into law. Most of the changes so far have affected seniors, children, those with pre-existing conditions, and young adults. Within the next few years, there will be new programs that include co-ops and online exchanges.

In 2014 a provision comes into effect, called Promoting Individual Responsibility, which says that the majority of citizens must purchase health insurance - if they don't, they could face having to pay a fine. Buying health insurance on your ownHealth insurance documents If you are not covered through your employer, or part of a COOP, and are not eligible to state funded programs, you will probably have to buy health insurance as an individual.

When selecting the right insurance option, the purchaser needs to be aware of various factors. For example, should the plan include prescription coverage or not? A female of childbearing age is more likely to opt for a plan that covers pre-natal visits.

Pre-existing conditions - there are now government-assistance programs, as well as new provisions in the new legislation to help those with pre-existing conditions get cover. Pre-existing conditions, for people aged under 19, are no longer permissible reasons refuse coverage in family plans. If you want to enroll somebody under 19 on their own, in some cases they need to be part of an open enrollment period.

Insurance companies today are required to spend a good portion of the money they collect from their insured contributors on health care.

For those who cannot afford the price of health care insurance, there will be financial assistance in 2012.

Offspring over the age of 19 and under 26 may now be added to their parents' insurance plan. Matching your needs with what is available Deciding on what best suits you, your current circumstances, plus those of your family's, may seem confusing and daunting. Experts advise purchasers to think carefully about what is ideal for them before proceeding with a purchase. The following points need to be considered carefully:

One plan or separate plans - adding a spouse or offspring to a plan may be ideal, but not always so. In some cases, shoppers may find better deals by checking what is around first. It is important to balance to benefits offered against the amount that has to be paid out in premiums, in every case.

Is your doctor included? - if you are considering an interesting plan, make sure your doctor or clinic is listed in their network of healthcare professionals. Otherwise, you may either have to change doctors, or pay out-of-pocket for the one you prefer.

Only choose relevant options - do not choose a plan with options you do not need, in order to keep your premium costs to a minimum. If the purchaser or spouse is a female over 45, it is unlikely maternity coverage is a top priority. Even prescription plan coverage most likely will not cover all drugs, especially the newer, more expensive ones.

Big premiums today, or in the future? - if you have little disposable income and enjoy good health, you might find it more convenient to opt for a high-deductible plan to start with, that has progressively lower monthly premiums with the passing of time. If your health care requirements are high now, a low-deductible plan to start with may be a better choice.

WHY IS IT SO HARD TO GET RID OF GARLIC BREATH?

You can tell your partner ate a garlicky meal a full day after the fact, even though he swears he brushed his teeth—twice.

That’s because minced or crushed garlic (the manner in which we normally eat it) releases four volatile sulfur compounds to which our olfactory systems are particularly sensitive.

The biggest culprit is allyl methyl sulfide, which metabolizes more slowly than the others, keeping it at a higher concentration in the body for a longer period. After ingesting garlic, the potent compounds are absorbed into the bloodstream, then become vaporized while going through the lungs. The result: bad breath.

Doctors reported on this phenomenon for the first time in 1936. A patient given garlic soup through a feeding tube had garlic breath hours later, even though the food never touched his mouth.
“Twenty-four hours after consuming garlic, you can still smell it,” says Sheryl Barringer, a professor of food science at Ohio State University and author of a 2014 Journal of Food Science paper on how various foods react with sulfur volatiles.

A patient given garlic soup through a feeding tube had garlic breath hours later, even though the food never touched his mouth.

To mitigate the strength and duration of the offending compounds, munch on an apple or raw mint after a garlicky meal, Barringer says. The polyphenolic compounds in both are proven to neutralize the garlic volatiles. Eating parsley or drinking milk, especially with your meal, will also help tame garlic breath, as will green tea and lemon juice.

But flossing and brushing your teeth are just as important. “If there are still tiny particles stuck back there, you will continue to have garlic breath,” Barringer says.

http://www.popsci.com/why-is-it-so-hard-to-get-rid-garlic-breath

WHAT CAUSED THIS BAFFLING EPIDEMIC OF HALLUCINATIONS?

It's a local news story that Stephen King could take notes from: Five people fell ill and started hallucinating, one after another, following contact with one woman who started seeing things in the dead of night.

The caretaker of a 78-year-old woman called the police in North Bend, Oregon's pre-dawn hours to report people vandalizing her vehicle, KVAL news reports. The cops came and went, finding nothing, only to be called back at 5:30 a.m. for a similar complaint. The officers suspected she was hallucinating, and took her to the hospital, where she was given a clean bill of health and discharged.

But as the day wore on, everyone who'd come in contact with her started showing similar symptoms of mental distress: Both deputies, the 78-year-old woman, and a hospital employee all had to be hospitalized for similar symptoms.

That afternoon, a hazmat team descended on Oregon's Bay Area Hospital, and the home where it all started, decontaminating vehicles and clearing the emergency room. They turned up nothing. "No source of the contamination has been found," Sgt. Pat Downing told KVAL. "The vehicles, equipment and uniforms have been checked with no contaminates identified or located on or about them." Not a blip in the patients' blood samples, either.

What could cause five unrelated people, who'd spent only a few minutes together in total, to break into a rash of hallucinatory episodes after coming into contact with one another? Popular Science played detective with Professor James Giordano, Ph.D. at Georgetown University Medical Center's Department of Neurology and Biochemistry on how hallucinations work, and how this case could have unfolded.

Environmental or psychotic? Drug-induced hallucinations tend to be visual in nature, while those that are auditory are usually psychotic in nature, says Giordano. You can have mixed hallucinations that are visual and auditory, or tactile, such as feeling hands on your shoulders, skin crawling, or being covered in armor, but visual, acute-onset hallucination symptoms as the sheriff's department describes are usually triggered from something outside. Mushroom spores, aerosolized psychotogen, hallucinogenic drugs, and it wouldn't have to be that the patient's LSD got away from her — even some drugs used to treat Parkinson's can have hallucinogenic effects.

But 10 hours after the first call, the hazmat inspection team found nothing. "If that was ruled out, and there’s no contaminant, the plot thickens."

Hallucination or shared delusion? It's known as the "campfire effect." One person hears a bump in the night, and everyone around the fire is on edge, sure that every squirrel is Sasquatch. This group-think phenomenon could put all five patients in this story in the same hallucinatory boat — if it weren't for their job descriptions requiring them to battle much more pressing mental states than someone panicked about car vandals. "Do you really want to think these police officers and medical professionals are suddenly very, very susceptible to having these types of induced delusions?" asks Giordano. "Probably not."

He does concede that stress or physical demands, such as being extremely dehydrated, caffeinated, or exhausted, could prime a mind for a breakdown. Is it possible two police officers and a hospital employee were all just having a really bad day? "If the situation is stressful enough, that it’ll really sort of play on somebody’s mind strings. Here’s an individual who’s having vivid hallucinations," Giordano says. "If they’re describing the hallucinations, particularly if they’re being very vocal about it... The idea that they may be having simultaneous experiences can happen." Witnesses, for example, swearing that they saw someone on the grassy knoll. But it's very uncommon. "Is it possible? Yeah. Probable or likely? No."

Folie à deux, or "madness of two" This is the least likely answer, but interesting to consider: People living in close proximity for long periods of time could start to experience one another's delusions as their own shared belief system. A child under the care of a mentally ill parent might believe that people are living under their house, for example. But this theory requires all five people to be isolated and living together or interacting every day for a long time — something that didn't happen, unless the local news reports left out a major detail.

Working hypothesis Based on the limited details, Giordano says his gut goes back to a contaminant. "Although they said there was nothing there, the likelihood is that they missed it." It could have been a very small concentration of a highly potent drug, carried on the patients' persons from home to hospital. The five might have been exposed to a drug that altered their brain chemistry, and then were influenced by the previous patients' experiences to follow the same path.

"Absent that, things get a little 'whoa,' what’s going on here. What we do know is that the brain’s an interesting place."

http://www.popsci.com/what-could-have-caused-this-tiny-hallucination-epidemic?dom=psc&loc=contentwell&lnk=what-caused-this-baffling-epidemic-of-hallucinations

GENE EDITING SHIFTS FOOD POSSIBILITIES FORWARD

The aisles of your corner grocery may look mundane. But as you walk past the stacks of cherries and blueberries, the ears of corn and bottles of white wine, consider that you are witnessing a race against time.

Every day, our planet grows a little hotter and a little more crowded. Every day, we need to grow and distribute more food in the face of more hostile conditions. Every day, scientists race to develop tougher crops that can withstand growing heat, drought and ferocious storms to feed a growing population.

“Our existing varieties of crops, our existing seeds, are not necessarily well-adapted to the new environment,” said Glenn Denning, a professor of development policy at Columbia University. “We have to look elsewhere.”

The race never stops. It plays out year after year, in our laboratories, on our farms, and along the aisles of our supermarkets. We have managed to stay one step ahead largely due to human ingenuity.

The quest for a more perfect crop is about to take a quantum leap. Scientists have developed a breakthrough technology that will allow us to develop new crops built for a harsher climate.

It’s called gene editing and it could prove vital to our survival in a warmer world.

For most of human history, genetic engineering meant breeding uncommonly tasty fruits and vegetables. Take corn. Over generations, we fashioned corn from a similar plant that sported fewer kernels, each hidden beneath a hard shell.

Today, we don’t need to wait for desirable mutations. We can borrow beneficial traits from other species. Scientists installed DNA from a bacteria known to kill insects into the genetic blueprint of corn. The resulting crop could fend off pests.