Category Archives: News

Political News: Joe Biden Wins Michigan Primary On March 10 (The Telegraph)

Joe Biden won Michigan’s Democratic primary on Tuesday, extending his lead over main rival Senator Bernie Sanders. Michigan is a key general election battleground, and one which Sanders narrowly won in 2016 against Hillary Clinton.

In 2020, the state emerged as a battleground for black and white blue-collar voters as well as suburban moderates. The Democratic contest has effectively become a two-horse race between Biden and Sanders The former vice president’s victory in Michigan, as well as Missouri and Mississippi, dealt a serious blow to Sanders, who is urgently seeking to jump-start his flagging campaign.

Health Studies: “Spirulina” Improves Cardiovascular (CVD) Risk Factors, Aids In Weight Loss (BMJ)

From a BMJ Open Heart online study (March 8, 2020):

BMJ Open Heart JournalOverall, the evidence in the literature suggests that spirulina improves several well-established CVD risk factors including hyperlipidaemia and seems to provide benefits around weight loss. 

Although caloric restriction and exercise are the mainstay treatments for obesity, spirulina has shown significant benefits in aiding weight loss. The phycocyanin in spirulina contains a light-harvesting chromophore called phycocyanobilin, which is capable of inhibiting nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate hydrogen (NADPH) oxidase, a significant source of oxidative stress in adipocytes playing a key role in inducing insulin resistance and shifting adipokine and cytokine production in hypertrophied adipocytes. Thus, by suppressing adipocyte oxidative stress, spirulina may lead to systemic anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitising effects.

BMJ Open Heart Journal Study of Spirulina Health benefits March 2020

Spirulina is both a salt and fresh water blue-green algae, which is being increasingly studied recently. Spirulina was initially classified under the plant kingdom due to its rich plant pigments and its ability to photosynthesize, but was later placed into bacterial kingdom (cyanobacteria) due to its genetic, physiological and biochemical makeup. Spirulina grows naturally in high salt alkaline water reservoirs in subtropical and tropical areas of America, Mexico, Asia and Central Africa.

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“Politics Monday”: Tamara Keith And Amy Walter On Coronavirus Outbreak, Michigan Primary (PBS)

NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Lisa Desjardins to discuss the latest political news, including how the 2020 Democratic presidential primary has changed since Super Tuesday, why Michigan is such an important state for former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders given its 2016 history and the politics of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Tributes: Swedish-Born French Actor Max Von Sydow Dies At 90 – “The Exorcist” & “Star Wars”

From a Deadline online article (March 9, 2020):

Max Von Sydow The ExorcistBorn in Lund, Sweden, von Sydow studied at Stockholm’s Royal Dramatic Theatre before getting his start in the film business through his work with mentor Ingmar Bergman. The pair’s credits included world cinema classic The Seventh Seal, in which he portrays a man who plays a chess game with Death, the Oscar-nominated Wild Strawberries, and the Oscar-winning The Virgin Spring.

Max von Sydow, the Sweden-born French actor whose credits included Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, William Friedkin’s The Exorcist, and the role of Emperor Ming in Flash Gordon, has died at the age of 90.

The actor’s 65-year career spanned acclaimed arthouse, Hollywood blockbusters, and television. In recent years, he played Lor San Tekka in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the Three-Eyed Raven in Game Of Thrones, and voiced a character on The Simpsons.

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Studies: “Ultra-Processed Foods” Are 58% Of All Calories In U.S., & Obesity Epidemic’s Major Cause

From a The Guardian online article (Feb 12, 2020):

What characterizes ultra-processed foods is that they are so altered that it can be hard to recognize the underlying ingredients. These are concoctions of concoctions, engineered from ingredients that are already highly refined, such as cheap vegetable oils, flours, whey proteins and sugars, which are then whipped up into something more appetizing with the help of industrial additives such as emulsifiers. 

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From a MedPage Today online article (March 7, 2020):

The top ultra-processed foods by calorie intake were breads, beverages, cakes, Ultra-Processed Diet and Unprocessed Diet Infographiccookies and pies, salty snacks, frozen and shelf-stable dishes, pizza, and breakfast cereals.

Altogether, ultra-processed foods accounted for 58% of all calories in the U.S. diet and nearly 90% of all added sugars.

They divided foods into four categories:

  • Unprocessed or minimally processed foods: Fresh, dry, or frozen fruits or vegetables, grains, legumes, meat, fish, and milk
  • Processed culinary ingredients: Table sugar, oils, fats, salt, and other substances extracted from foods or from nature and used in kitchens to make culinary preparations
  • Processed foods: Foods manufactured with the addition of salt, sugar, or other substances of culinary use to unprocessed or minimally-processed foods, such as canned food, simple breads, and cheese
  • Ultra-processed foods: Formulations of several ingredients that — besides salt, sugar, oils, and fats — include food substances not used in culinary preparations, in particular, flavors, colors, sweeteners, emulsifiers, and other additives used to imitate sensory qualities of unprocessed or minimally-processed foods and their culinary preparations or to disguise undesirable qualities of the final product

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Health Talk: “Colorectal Cancer” & Importance Of Screening (Mayo Clinic)

 

On the Mayo Clinic Radio program, Dr. John Kisiel, a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist, discusses colorectal cancer and the importance of recommended screening tests.

This interview originally aired March 7, 2020. Disclaimer: Mayo Clinic has a financial interest in Exact Sciences.

Among cancers that affect men and women, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most cases of colorectal cancer begin as small, noncancerous (benign) clumps of cells called polyps. Over time, some polyps become colon cancer. Because these polyps may be small and produce few, if any, symptoms, health care providers recommend regular screening tests to prevent colon cancer. These screenings identify and remove polyps before they become cancerous. March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness month, a time to educate the public about the importance of colorectal cancer screening.

New Exhibitions: “The British Galleries” Reopens At The Metropolitan Museum Of Art (Mar 2020)

The British Galleries Metropolitan Museum of Art Reopens March 2020The British Galleries are reopening with almost 700 works of art on view, including a large number of new acquisitions, particularly works from the 19th century that were purchased with this project in mind. This is the first complete renovation of the galleries since they were established (Josephine Mercy Heathcote Gallery in 1986, Annie Laurie Aitken Galleries in 1989). A prominent new entrance provides direct access from the galleries for medieval European art, creating a seamless transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

The British Galleries Metropolitan Museum of Art Reopens March 2020A highlight of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 150th anniversary in 2020 is the opening, on March 2, of the Museum’s newly installed Annie Laurie Aitken Galleries and Josephine Mercy Heathcote Gallery—11,000 square feet devoted to British decorative arts, design, and sculpture created between 1500 and 1900. The reimagined suite of 10 galleries (including three superb 18th-century interiors) provides a fresh perspective on the period, focusing on its bold, entrepreneurial spirit and complex history. The new narrative offers a chronological exploration of the intense commercial drive among artists, manufacturers, and retailers that shaped British design over the course of 400 years. During this period, global trade and the growth of the British Empire fueled innovation, industry, and exploitation. Works on view illuminate the emergence of a new middle class—ready consumers for luxury goods—which inspired an age of exceptional creativity and invention during a time of harsh colonialism.

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Studies: Elderly In 3rd Highest Level Of Exercise Reduce Brain Shrinkage, Aging By 4 Years (AAN)

From a March 5, 2020 American Academy of Neurology release:

American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Logo“These results are exciting, as they suggest that people may potentially prevent brain shrinking and the effects of aging on the brain simply by becoming more active,” said study author Yian Gu, Ph.D., of Columbia University in New York and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

“Recent studies have shown that as people age, physical activity may reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Our study used brain scans to measure the brain volumes of a diverse group of people and found that those who engaged in the top third highest level of physical activity had a brain volume the equivalent of four years younger in brain aging than people who were at the bottom third activity level.”

Older people who regularly walk, garden, swim or dance may have bigger brains than their inactive peers, according to a preliminary study to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 72nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, April 25 to May 1, 2020. The effect of exercise was equal to four fewer years of brain aging. The study used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to measure the brains of people with a range of activity levels, including those who were inactive to those who were very active. The scans showed less active people had smaller brain volume.

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