JawsBlog

Here’s a story the anti-vaccine crowd is sure to jump on:

“Finland Suspends H1N1 Vaccine

The Finnish National Institute for Health (THL) proposed suspending vaccinations for H1N1 swine flu, due to suspected links to increased narcolepsy in children and adolescents, the body announced this week.

Six cases of narcolepsy, a chronic disorder causing excessive daytime sleepiness and extreme fatigue, have been reported after patients had been receiving the Pandemrix vaccine.

Six cases of narcolepsy is consistent with annual averages, reports THL, but all of these patients were affected after being vaccinated, and there are nine additional cases that have not yet been confirmed.

Now since this is a mainstream media article versus a scientific publication, there are some questions that definitely need to be answered.

Was the diagnosis of Narcolepsy made by combination of history plus multiple sleep latency test?

Were any of said patients displaying any symptoms preceeding vaccination?

Did these individuals have either lumbar punctures or blood tests performed to detect the HLA-DQB1*0602.marker?
[This while not a diagnostic tool per say would however provide interesting immunological evidence]

What makes this all interesting, is that increasing research seems to be pointing towards Narcolepsy having an auto-immune origin in the body. In the simplest terms, individuals with narcolepsy commonly lack hypocretin/orexin [hcrt/ox] producing neurons. The lack of hcrt leads to a disruption in the normal neuro-chemical functioning of the brain which leads to the symptoms of the disorder. [A discussion of which is beyond the scope of this blog--however I can provide references]

Computers to translate world’s ‘lost’ languages after program deciphers ancient text

Sounds neat to me.

Who really cares what it’s really for? The thing looks awesome and if it works could be a big leap forward technologically speaking.

Mysterious X-37B unmanned space shuttle set to be launched by U.S. tonight… and they won’t say what it’s for

Israel supermarket spoof parodies Dubai killing

The ad, which hasn’t even been released yet, has already started to go viral.

No word from the police chief yet in Dubai on the subject.

Went to the Met today…just because I’d not done so in way too long (and because I wanted to!)

I was deligted to find out that when I arrived at the museum there is a special exhibit right now on [the] “Art of the Samurai”

It was awesome! The blades on display from the samurai swords were simply breathtaking in their craftsmanship. The suits of armor were also impressive too!

The second treat that awaited me was a special exhibition of a painter whom I did a huge project on in 8th grade: Diego Velazquez.

Again–to see these works in person was a huge reward for me. Then I got to take in some other works of art of course–as it’s an amazing collection on display.

My only regret is that the Islamic Art wing is still closed for renovation–as I’m curious to see what that collection looks like!

Though I’ve only skimmed it so far, the Curious Jew has a great post-up
:
Being Gay In The Orthodox World: A Conversation with Members of the YU Community

NAsA is about to start experimenting the effects of cosmic radiation on monkeys.

NASA has been doing similar experiments on mice and rats for a few years now–so this shouldn’t come as much of surprise. (It’s actually really cool how the experiments are set up as well)

An interesting examination in the differences in the sentences received by Plaxico Burress and Dante Stallworth.

Stallworth plead to DUI manslaughter, while Burress plead to felony gun possession.

This is from my cousin, “The Curious Jew”:

“Some people trip out on drugs, alcohol or acid. I trip out by wandering through New York”– In Which Chana Goes to Williamsburg (And Scandalizes Everyone)

Grass-fed cows are not just healthier to eat…but they’re also more eco-friendly!

More talking, more problems: ‘Cell phone elbow’ damages nerves.

Funny thing is, I’ve sort of noticed this with myself. For the limited amount I use my cell phone, I often find myself changing hands frequently. Granted, I’m working on recovering from a pinched nerve in my neck (the source of my pain)

‘Power’ move by male students ruffles U. of C..

Interesting idea in theory. At most schools there’s a large number of groups devoted to women (or as some of the groups would preferred it spelled “womyn”), so why can’t there be a similar group for males?

This is going on the assumption that’s it’s not just a chauvinist group–rather perhaps one that foruses on some of the issues that men face (both health wise and socially)

Something that has long been hypothesized in the field of Sleep Medicine, may actually turn out to be true:

Narcolepsy Is An Autoimmune Disorder, Stanford Researcher Says

Now it’s going to be really interesting to find out how the specified T-cells know to “target” the hypocretin/orexin neurons in the brain.

This is very cool!

If this (actual) headline/story was the other way around–wouldn’t there be “Blue-ribbon committees” and special programs set up?

FT: Men bear the brunt of US jobs lost

Friday night 4/4/09 Larry King Live

Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey get serious about autism! Questions – and answers -about vaccines from experts on both sides of the controversy.

My sources tell me that the second half (9:30ish) of the show will actually feature a real expert on the subject–who will likely deliver a Dr. House-esque smackdown to the silly theories of Carrey and McCarthy. (Okay, well maybe the expert will have to be a bit more diplomatic, but still…)

“The US Treasury secretary talks about permanent action and we, at our spring council, were quite alarmed at that . . . The US is repeating mistakes from the 1930s, such as wide-ranging stimuluses, protectionist tendencies and appeals, the Buy American campaign, and so on,” he told a European parliament session in Strasbourg. “All these steps, their combination and their permanency, are the road to hell.” –Mirek Topolanek, Czech PM, current EU Leader

The man has a point on the one hand. On the other hand, it probably wasn’t the most diplomatically tactful thing to say either.

Discuss….

Apparently more people are choosing chicken as a main protein source rather than beef.

As a Kosher consumer, I doubt I’ll notice any market driven changes in the prices at the butcher shop

Speaking of which…I think I’ll have chicken for breakfast tomorrow.

Sadly, on the list of parties who lost money at the hands of Madoff’s ponzi scheme were Brandeis (despite some original reports to the contrary).

Others who lost money include Sandy Koufax, the Wilpons, many charities/non-profits and others.

The whole list is available here (in PDF)

Personally, I always find it fascinating to see how things are made. This fascination dates back to my childhood, when I watched Mr. Rodgers, who’d show videos of how different things were created.

Here’s a piece on how a football is made

Perhaps Congress won’t be spending $700b after all.

It makes sense from the Banks’ perspective too. The new regulations will wind up costing the banks more money in terms of compliance.