• bad XMRV, first discovered in 2006, is infectious and linked to two diseases – prostrate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome. But evidence is still inconclusive.
• worse Preliminary evidence suggests the disease is transmitted through blood just like HIV. Unlike HIV, it’s not currently checked for in the nation’s blood supply. Great. source

• 106k number of people currently on waiting lists for a new organ, mostly kidneys
• 92% of people who die yearly waiting for organs they were waiting for others to donate
• $$$ what could encourage more organ donations for people who need them source

• 80% of prescribed nitroglycerin had no FDA testing source

• 500,000 free female condoms source

• 50 foods that contain hydrolyzed vegetable protein recalled source

• It slices, it dices, it helps Asperger’s patients … Oxytocin, a hormone often important to childbirth for females, has been shown to significantly help people suffering from Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism. It helped, specifically, with social situations. For example, they were more willing to look at other people’s faces for 90 minutes after taking the hormone. This is a huge breakthrough for an often-challenging disease. source

• 57M number of people that got swine flu in the U.S. since the outbreak began last April
• 257k number of people that had to be hospitalized as a result of a strong swine flu case
• 12k number of people that died as a result of getting swine flu, which isn’t really that bad

A little perspective on H1N1:

• 35,000 people usually die from the flu yearly

• » Demographic changes: H1N1 is an odd outbreak, because while it has killed far fewer people than a traditional outbreak, many of those people are younger than 65, a change from traditional influenza, which is often deadlier for the elderly.
• » Did swine flu replace the normal flu? One of the things that researchers found was that most people who they tested with flu symptoms had swine flu, not a normal strain. Which suggests that the swine flu outbreak may have neutered a normal flu season.
• » More’s still on the way: We’re still not out of the woods yet. Flu activity, whether H1N1 or traditional, is still expected for several more months. As long as we don’t have to pull Dustin Hoffman to save the day again. source

• 70 million out of 120 million doses have been used source

• Apparently, the supremely Australian animals were suffering awful bouts of facial cancer. It was threatening the species. However, they discovered the source of cancer, and it’s a lesson that can be taken directly to humans. source

• 800,000 piggies got recalled source