Just a quick post today, because, after seeing this, there’s not a whole lot to say. Well, I could go on and on, but this is truly one of those cases where pictures really are worth a thousand words…and then some.
ABC News has an amazing slide show of medical abnormalities and medical miracles. We’ve featured a few here at Healthbolt, like Tree Man, the two-faced baby, and the world’s largest and shortest men, but there are many, many more. Warning, though: viewer discretion is definitely advised, especially if you don’t want to get knee-deep in discussions of “why does that …read more

A whole bunch of random goodness for you this week around the blogosphere. So fun to see all our health compadres kicking out great articles. Hope you find something particularly useful. Enjoy!
A new blog that’s taking the world by storm, Weighting Line has a very interesting perspective on 6 ways to commit discrimination against the obese. Is blaming global warming on them one of those ways?
And speaking of weight, if you’re new to the weight loss game, but you’re looking to hook up with a gym, how do you know which one is the right fit? The fabulous MizFit explores …read more

Meet Mathew Rudes, a 21 year old college student due to graduate with honors from the University of California Los Angeles this spring and will attend law school in the Fall.
But Mathew is not your average college student. He wrote a book before he was 11 years old and was valedictorian of his law and government magnet high school in North Hills, Calif.
And he did all this despite being inflected with a severe form of Marfan Syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes the mutation of the fibrilin1 gene. This mutation causes the body’s connective tissue of the eyes, blood vessels, …read more

First there was the Tree Man. There there was the baby with two faces. Now, backwards, upside-down feet? Oh yeah.
Now let’s be clear that we are in no way, no how poking any kind of fun at these poor people. But it’s just amazing to see the different ways the body can betray itself, is it not? Of course it is.
So next up in our Weird Deformity Breakdown is Jingle Luis, a 15-year-old girl from the Philippines who was born with feet clubbed so badly they twist backwards and upside down (see a photo slideshow at MSN.com)
Today, Jingle had surgery …read more

Image details: Question mark with the Earth as a dot served by picapp.com
Happy Earth Day, everyone!
We’ve been reminded quite a bit today about being green and caring for our Earth. So here’s my question: Can the Earth continue to care for us?!?
Over the weekend, Edna Parker of Illinois (the oldest known currently-living person) celebrated her 115th birthday. Also recently, Barbara Walters did a special on living to be 150. While this is fascinating and the idea of living past 100 sounds intriguing, when it comes right down to it, how will our world be able to support such an aging …read more

If you think that Alzheimer’s is a disease that only attacks older people, then think again. It seems that you can get it at any age, even as a child.
I first learned about this last month when I read about Leah Garfitt, a six year old child who has Niemann-Pick Type C disease (NPC), a genetic disease that causes large amounts of fatty substances to build up in the liver, spleen, bone marrow and brain resulting in symptoms similar to Alzheimer’s.
Niemann-Pick Type C is very uncommon disease with only 500 known cases worldwide. So it’s not surprising that most of …read more

Photo Credit
Okay, maybe not in your head, but definitely on it. Because if you are one of the nearly 50% of Americans suffering with dandruff, you’ve got enough white in your strands to put a Northeastern blizzard to shame.
Contrary to what you’ve been told, however, dandruff is not caused from a dry scalp. In fact, those with oily scalps are even more susceptible. Here’s the scoop:
Dandruff is caused by a naturally-occurring microscopic yeast called Malassezia. Malassezia’s job is to feed off the oil your scalp produces to keep itself hydrated. Under normal circumstances, this yeast gets washed off in the …read more

 At Wake Forrest University, Dr Anthony Atala is manufacturing body parts.
Sounds to me like something out of a horror or science fiction movie but it’s not. Regenerative medicine, the ability of the body’s cells to re-grow, is making amazing breakthroughs.
And at the forefront is Dr Atala and his team. So far they have grown 18 different types of tissue from blood vessels and heart valves to muscle tissue. But their pride and joy so far is the work they have done with the human bladder.
In 2006, a patient at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia was transplanted with a regenerated bladder …read more

Having trouble finding the perfect gift for your loved one?
How about giving something truly unique and totally you – your DNA.
Here’s three ways to do that:
DNA Portrait
Imagine your saliva being transformed into a work of Art. That’s the concept behind DNA 11, a  company that offers DNA portraits based on a persons unique genetic code. No two pictures will ever be the same. And you’ll be seen in a whole new light. 
MyDNA Fragrance
Get your own individualized perfume or cologne made based on your genetic code.  Interesting idea, but not sure that DNA has any part in creating an amazing perfume. But there will be a part …read more