Infertility - it’s something that has affected millions of people around the world.

And the National Infertility Association and Fertility LifeLines™, a free patient resource provided by EMD Serono, want to hear their stories. They are  holding the first-ever In The Know Short Film Competition.

Have you got a story to tell about dealing with infertility?

Anyone touched by infertility can enter the In The Know Short Film competition by  submitting a creative, inspirational short film about their path to parenthood (or the journey of someone close to them).

These films will be reviewed by a panel of judges. Competition finalists will have their films screened at a festival in New York City this fall where a winner and runners-up will be chosen and awarded prizes.

The winner will receive $1,000 and two runners-up will each be given $500.

The deadline to submit entries is August 1, 2009

You can find the full guidelines at Fertility LifeLines .

Okay, so you’d have to be pretty much living on Mars not to have heard about the sad passing on of Michael Jackson. Within seconds of the news, the internet’s social media exploded with discussions.

Of course, the mainstream media was in hyper action.

It was like the rest of the world suddenly ceased to exist. The problem in Iran, the President’s health care and climate care reforms, even the death of another well known Hollywood actress Farrah Fawcett was pushed aside to make way for the death of Michael Jackson.

Yes, it was very sad. Yes, the world lost a great musician. But all the media coverage and constant innuendos about the cause of death is just too much. Let the man rest in peace.

Let his fans, friends, and family mourn his passing. Let us just enjoy and celebrate his music.

On that note, I offer you one of my favorite, but lesser known,  Michael Jackson songs…

Star Trek fans will remember Dr McCoy’s cool medical tricorder that could name medical ailments without even laying a hand on the patient.

But that was television and in reality, we all knew that the tricorder didn’t exist.

But now it’s starting to look as though it does.

Meet the Standoff Patient Triage Tool (SPTT), a 15-by-8-by-6-inch (or about 38-by-20-by-15-centimeter) machine that according to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate can gauge a person’s pulse, body temperature and muscle movement from up to 40 feet away.

Using the same type of laser technology already in use on airplanes and in acoustic speakers and landmine detectors, the SPTT quickly measures vibrations in the human head and chest and use the data to calculate vital signs.

Imagine the possibilities of such a machine. According to the DHS, this machine could potentially take only 30 seconds to do what it normally takes a medic three to five minutes per person.

(image source)

Bad for your health and bad for the environment.

But for some reason that doesn’t seem to deter the one billion or so people around the world who smoke.

Governments have tried to encourage smoker’s to stop with ‘quit smoking’ programs. Many countries and cities have banned smoking from inside public buildings. But unfortunately that has resulted in increased cigarette litter outside the same buildings that ban smoking.

So what to do? The World Health Organization has designated today World No Tobacco Day and are focusing on health warnings on tobacco product packaging as a way of encouraging smokers to quit.

But does it work? Or do dedicated smokers wear blinders that give them tunnel vision and stop them from seeing the graphic and often disturbing pictures that now are strategically placed on the front and sides of cigarette packs ?

Smokers, what do you think?

Are these graphic photos effective or a waste of money?

Drug companies are always keen to get on the bandwagon when it comes to diseases that affect millions. Makes sense, I guess. After all, when you running a business, you want to create product that will be used by the masses.

Unfortunately, that leaves a lot of rare and neglected diseases (around 6,000 according to the NIH) under researched and under treated because they only occur in a small percentage of the population.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) is hoping to change this with a influx of funds - to the tune of $120 million over five years - through a new program called Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND)

This program has been set up to support and encourage researchers in government, academic, and companies to focus on the often called ‘orphan diseases.’

But will this work?  After all, the funding really is only a drop in the bucket when you consider that it costs around $1 billion to take a drug to market.

However, when the bucket is empty, every drop counts.

(news and image source)

I find it really frustrating that all the great travel giveaways and sweepstakes seem to be only for US residents. Time and again, I get sent emails, newsletters, and discover in my RSS feeds links to great contests and giveaways that tell me I could win ‘a safari in Africa’ or a ‘month long vacation in Italy.’ I look, I salivate, and then I have to click away as I read once again ‘U.S. Residents only’.

And so it goes with this Green Vacation Sweepstakes on offer in celebration of the first annual nationwide Solar Day 2009 being held on 21 June 2009. Not to be confused with  Earth Day, Solar Day was created to help educate the public on solar energy benefits and options.  Held on the first day of summer, Solar Day 2009.

Sounds like a great idea. But what sounds even better is a chance to stay at the first LEED Gold hotel (and solar-powered) Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa in American Canyon, California, just south of the town of Napa for three days. If you like wine and spas  (and who doesn’t), this would be a great place to be based while your exploring all the green, solar and sustainable wineries that are located around the valley.

That’s what you could win if you entered Solar Day’s Green Vacation Sweepstakes.

So what are you waiting for? Enter now…

http://www.solarday.com/

What do you do when someone you love is in need of a heart and healthcare red tape is getting in the way? Well, if you are former CNN reporter Veronica De La Cruz,  you use Twitter and other social media networks to get the word out.

Veronica’s brother Eric is suffering from severe cardiomyopathy (a disease that enlarges the heart and makes it incapable of pumping blood effectively) and  desperately needs a heart transplant. But because he registered for Medicaid in a state (Nevada) that has no transplant center, authorities will not put him on a list for a heart transplant in another state. It’s bureaucratic red tape at it’s worst and highlights America’s flawed healthcare system.

The irony of it all is if Eric was living in another state -one that had a transplant center - he would already be on transplant list.

Veronica and her family have been lobbying the government in an attempt to get them to look at this flaw in the healthcare system but time is running out.

So Veronica is reaching out to people through Twitter to rally support to break through the red tape and get her brother on a transplant list.

Want to help? You can use the power of social media to bring new pressure on authorities in this matter by twittering about Eric’s plight (use hash tag #ERIC), lobbying the government (addresses and a form letter are here), and maybe even donating a dollar or two.

(image source)

How long ago did you first start learning CPR?

Were your CPR instructors strict about the number of compressions and breathes to do? Did they stress the need for ‘x’ number of compressions followed by ‘x’ number of breathes? Did you have trouble finding the carotid pulse? Difficulty getting the breathes in?

Well, you can relax. Things have really changed since the early days of CPR training.

Why?

Well, it turns out that the frequent stopping to breath air into the victim isn’t actually best action. Research has shown that even a second of pausing in compressions can cause a 1% reduction in the likelihood of getting the heartbeat to return.

So if you haven’t updated your CPR knowledge lately, it might be time to do so.

Start by checking out the new first aid guidelines that the American Heart Association put out last year. Based on the research over the past few years, they are now suggesting that the ‘mouth to mouth’ part of CPR is unnecessary.

In fact, they have moved to a ‘hands-only’ CPR technique for bystanders which focuses on two steps involving calling 911 (in US) and then pushing hard and fast in the center of the chest.

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But instead of just reading the guidelines put out by the American Heart Foundation, now would be a good time to update your knowledge with a CPR/First Aid course.

You can find a CPR class near you using the American Heart Foundation’s ECC Class Connector which lists all the CPR, First Aid, AED and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC) classes in the United States.

Unless you are living in the back of beyond, with no internet, television, or newspaper access, you would have heard about the recent outbreak of swine flu in Mexico. This morning, when I collected the newspaper from the gate, I discovered it’s even made it’s way to New Zealand (via airline passengers).

So it’s best not to assume that because it seems to have originated in Mexico, it would stay only in Mexico. Everyone  needs to be aware of and prepared to deal with the possibility that it could arrive in their corner of the world.

Here’s the best way to keep up to date of what’s happening…

1. Learn key facts about Swine Flu and what to do to protect yourself can be found at the Center for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) website. Traveler’s should keep an eye on the CDC Travel Notices. Currently there is one Travel Health Precaution listed for Mexico.

2. Visit the WHO Disease Outbreak News Center and use the  WHO Global Disease Alert Map to see where Swine Flu has spread…

This HealthMap correlates information from numerous news feeds and uses it to map out disease outbreaks.

3.  Set up Google News Alerts with the keyword ’swine flu’ to get up-to-date information emailed to you. Of course, if you are only interested in your country or location, you can add keywords to narrow the alert.

Google Alerts via kwout

4. Keep up-to-date via twitter. Many people seem to think that twitter is just a fun and social network system but it can also be a useful and informative tool in finding out what’s happening.

Reliable resources who are twittering about Swine Flu…

• HealthMap
• SwineFlu 2009 and CDCemergency (CDC twitter)
• whonews (WHO twitter)
• DHSJournal (Homeland Security)

(virus image from CDC)

Did you know that…

• The meat industry generates nearly 1/5 of the man-made greenhouse gases that are accelerating climate change worldwide, far more than transportation.
• About 40 calories of fossil fuel energy go into every calorie of feed lot beef in the U.S.(2) Compare this to the 2.2 calories of fossil fuel energy needed to produce one calorie of plant-based protein.
• The estimated 634 gallons of fresh water required to produce one 5.2 ounce hamburger would be enough for a four-hour shower. Compare this to the 143 gallons of water required to produce the same quantity of tofu.
• 2/3 of Americans are overweight or suffer from obesity. 6 Studies show that individuals on vegetarian or low-meat diets have significantly lower body weights and body mass indices.
• Chronic preventable conditions like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer kill 1.7 million Americans each year, 70% of all deaths in the U.S. Diets abundant in red and processed meats have been linked to increased cancer risk, especially of the digestive tract; while diets high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

(source)

Given these facts, it’s not surprising that many experts are now suggesting that reducing meat consumption will not only lessen fossil fuel dependence but also help reduce chronic preventable conditions -cancer, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease - that are decreasing the life expectancy of people around the world.

In fact, there’s a campaign happening right now that’s urging President Obama to call on all American’s to go Meatless on Mondays.

Of course, national meatless days are nothing new. President’s Wilson, Truman, and Roosevelt all instituted them to alleviate worldwide food shortages and ensure food for troops overseas.

But this newest campaign, ‘Meatless Mondays’, envisions the White House issuing meatless menus and recipes every Monday to inspire Americans to cook and eat healthier meals.

Interesting concept but I can’t help but wonder what the meat industry lobby will make of it all.