There’s a new kid in town and it’s name is Medpedia.
It has been described as the ‘world’s largest collaborative online encycopedia of medicine’ and it’s easy to see why. The brainchild of James Currier, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Medpedia is being developed in conjunction leading Medical Schools (Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, and Michigan) and leading global health organizations such as the American College of Physicians (ACP), the Oxford Health Alliance (OxHA.org), the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies, (FOCIS), and the European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA).
Medipedia promises to deliver free relevant, reliable, and up-to-date medical information written and edited by volunteer …read more

Have you seen the photos of one-month-old Lali Singh, the baby girl born with two faces? (Here is a slideshow of baby Lali, from Yahoo Health in case you haven’t).
Isn’t this the most unusual thing? I hate to say that anomalies such as Siamese twins are status quo these days, but truly, we’ve seen plenty of those images and, while still engrossing, they don’t shock us quite as much as maybe they used to.
But this! Two faces on the same head? Amazing!
Aside from ears, baby Lali has two sets of every other facial feature: eyes, nose, and lips. She suffers …read more

Welcome to The Sunday Sidebar where some of the more bizarre and entertaining stories found through the week are highlighted for your reading pleasure. So grab a coffee, sit back, and read away…
Babies not Eco-Friendly ?
Seems that some people think that babies are simply not eco-friendly and need to either be banned or taxed.
Meet the women who have decided to ’save the planet’ by not having babies. According to one of them ‘Having children is selfish. It’s all about maintaining your genetic line at the expense of the planet.’ Me thinks that maybe the child has had a lucky escape. …read more

Me gusta!
Scientists Create (heh) White-House Friendly Stem Cells
Where there’s a W, there’s a way. Scientists have developed cells that look and behave just like embryonic stem cells, but they’ve managed to do it without any actual embryonic source. The cells were created using human skin cells. What’s truly disappointing about this is that in addition to the fact that no embryos were used, no cloning was involved, either. Fine, fine. We’re going to have to get our festive scientific melodrama elsewhere…
Sugar Increases Your Sex Hormones
This isn’t a good thing. Fructose and glucose have been shown to turn off the gene …read more

Good morning, everyone. Here’s a batch of inspiring health news. It happens!
New Kit Could Nix the Foodborne Pathogen Problem
Current detection kits take six days to yield results. Foodborne pathogens have been a huge problem this year, particularly with spinach and beef. A new kit in development will shorten that time to 5 hours.
Muscular Dystrophy: Amazing Development Could Offer Cure
Myotonic dystrophy is the most common form of muscular dystrophy in adults, and scientists have successfully reversed it in a new murine study.
New Meningitis Vaccine Could Stop All Types, Safe for Kids
Researchers have developed a child-safe vaccine for all four strains …read more

The cure.
Listening to Beethoven Eases Depression
But listening to Ja Rule cures it. No, no. Iranian researchers who treated depressed patients with sonatas saw measurable improvement in their patients.
Hypnosis an Effective Surgery Tool
Women who underwent hypnosis before their breast cancer surgeries experienced less pain, nausea, drug use, and emotional trauma than women who met with a therapist before their surgeries. Apparently, hypnosis is incredibly effective for addressing many health issues – and there are the studies to back it up. Did you know that? I didn’t know that. The problem is that hypnosis has the Woo factor.
Curvy Women Are …read more

Remember that thing we used to do called the Morning News Fix? Good godlet, we’re neglectful. What’s up, kids? My toe is intact, my move is complete, and the cat says mew. Let’s get down to business, because we’re gangsta like that:
Mixing Vodka and Red Bull Is Unhealthy
More importantly, it’s disgusting. As usual, the health is really beside the point, isn’t it? Anyway, Fox is all in a tizzy about this study that shows college kids who drink caffeinated beverages mixed with alcohol are not only more likely to wear graphic tees with skulls and have skunk stripe highlights, they …read more

The government has a long history of successful anti-drug campaigns.
Lots of Kids Do Drugs
In a new report, researchers found that hundreds of thousands of children do drugs – from cigarettes and alcohol to marijuana and cocaine – on any given day. In fact, 1.2 million teenagers light up cigarettes every single day. If only they wouldn’t have given up on those D.A.R.E. shirts.
Worst States for Women’s Health
The gimlet eye of science has swept from Kentucky and its hillbilly heroin to the absolute worst states for women’s health. Among them: Indiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana. In everything from diabetes to …read more

Topps Hits Bottom
And the Obvious Headline Award goes to…me. Score! Quick update on the big beef recall: Topps is shutting down. In other meat news, experts are urging pregnant women to eat more fish despite the concerns about toxic contamination. (Oh, and for all my sickos, peep this.)
Kentucky Is Being Annoying
Several Kentucky counties are suing Purdue, the maker of OxyContin, or “hillbilly heroin”, because that state’s facilities are overwhelmed with oxycodone addicts. The problem is most severe in Pike County with 40 fatal overdoses. Recognizing that litigation cures problems, Kentucky government officials also plan to sue themselves for being douchebags. …read more

“Why Are Our Kids Obese?” Scientists: “Um, Isn’t It Obvious?”
Scientists have released a study that essentially says kids are obese because, given our lifestyle, it would be weird if they weren’t. The environment children grow up in is all but designed to support obesity. The major problems: long school days with almost no emphasis on physical activity and the incessant marketing barrage of “fun” processed foods and drinks aimed exclusively at children.
‘Economy Class Syndrome’ Fear Is Overblown
The chance of developing a fatal blood clot in your cheapster seat is pretty low for most people. While it’s still a good …read more