It’s easy to say that we should have found a cure by now. We have little bits of crucial information that could be pushing us closer to a cure. Still, we’re left without certainty that this awful monster will ever be curbed.

This is precisely why you want to be a…naked mole rat.

Sure, that doesn’t really make sense but, in terms of cancer, naked mole rats are the creatures to be.

Scientists at the University of Rochester have been studying these ugly little rodents for about 30 years. They’ve been manipulating their cells in an attempt to give them cancer. (Nice, huh?) The interesting point is this: they don’t get cancer.

According to the research that was published in Monday’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, these animals have a specific gene that will not allow cells to over-reproduce. This gene is called p16 and it makes cells “claustrophobic” so that when the cells begin to reproduce at alarming rates, they just stop when they get too close. In this way, the tumors never even become tumors because they can’t grow.

Because this is at the beginning stages, it’s hard to tell where this discovery will lead us. Obviously, we would all love a way for this to be harvested in humans. It sure would be weird though to know that your life saved by something as ugly as this.

As American health authorities are bracing for what they believe could be one of the worst pandemics in many years, most Americans aren’t giving it the time of day.

According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll from Aug. 19, more than 60 percent of Americans are “not too” or “not at all” worried about the swine flu. The poll also suggests that three-quarters of Americans have faith that the government will handle this flu situation appropriately and will take care of U.S. residents.

We’ve seen evidence of authorities preparing to deal with this. Many state public school systems have decided to make an H1N1 shot mandatory for all students, and many universities are planning ahead for many students to be missing school during flu season.

The University of South Florida has mandated that each teacher must have a plan for continuing education if a health or natural emergency occurs. Along with that plan, each classroom has a large bottle of hand sanitizer and a laminated poster with tips for educating students know what to do in order to minimize the spread of the H1N1 virus.

Authorities are taking necessary precautions to keep the swine flu under control. Now, if only the rest of the country would take the necessary precautions to keep it under control, maybe this flu season won’t be a detrimental as the professionals are expecting.

According to Newsday, about three million students will be offered the flu vaccine on their very own campus. All of this is an attempt to keep the swine flu at bay.

Apparently, no one is interested in having an swine flu outbreak among the children of our nation. What a big surprise.

The Federal government is planning on shipping out the H1N1 vaccines in mid-October, and many school boards are planning on snapping as many up as possible.

Some school boards have even begun preparation for dealing with what may be the most widespread school vaccinations since the polio outbreak.

While the government continues to wait for the results of the tests on these new vaccines, online seminars have already started to train schools on how to run school vaccinations.

People are definitely planning ahead.

As for the possibility of your child getting vaccinated in his or her school, it’s still under debate.

Children are at the top of the list for the shots and the shot will be available to all children in a timely manner.

There are an equally large amount of school districts and states that have decided to try alternatives instead of directly giving all of their vaccines to their public school students.

Among the leading states interested in offering in-school vaccines is South Carolina. The hope there is to have at least one vaccination center in each of the state’s 85 school districts.

Another great idea school districts have come up with is mandating hand washing. I’m wondering if maybe we could make that a federal law. That would definitely help keep the swine flu under control.

Granted, others buy organic goods for the lack of pesticides and chemicals used in the growing process, and while that may sound great and healthy, people must realize that certain foods need to be treated before consumption due to naturally occurring health concerns.  The dangers of organic peanut butter are a great example of where consumer education is key. Malignant bacteria in peanuts can cause health problems.  Consumer education is important because relying on generalizations to classify food as healthy or not can backfire.

Companies also don’t make much money on their organic lines, often because of higher prices.  Conventionally processed foods that offer the same nutrient quality are more appealing to those on a budget, especially during economic hardships, such as the one the world is currently experiencing.

Organic foods often don’t contain some of the more processed derivatives that most conventional foods do, which make them a preferable option, such as being free of high fructose corn syrup and trans fat.  

It is important for consumers to understand what they buy, and in many cases the difference between organic and conventional is nothing more than price.

Take for example what the FDA revealed on Tuesday. According to CNN, the FDA has warned the public not to use products that claim to be steroids or contain “steroid-like substances.”

Another Shocker: Many brands and products are actually “unapproved and misbranded.”

As we learned recently with the Ziacam situation, the FDA doesn’t necessarily approve everything that’s available over the counter. This time, the threat is out to American Cellular Laboratories Inc. CNN reports that the FDA wrote a letter to this company to make it aware that the products it’s labeling as “dietary supplements” directly violate the actual meaning of “dietary supplements,” as provided by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

This act defines a dietary supplement as a product that contains one or more dietary ingredient like vitamins, minerals, herbs and amino acids. There are nine products that are affected.

Along with those nine products, the FDA wants to send a nice little reminder to everyone to be careful about what you believe.

This isn’t to say that the products that aren’t quite dietary supplements are completely unhealthy, but it’s always best to make sure that any product is FDA approved. Homeopathic remedies don’t have to be approved by the FDA, so it’s important to do your own research before deciding to take anything.

Final Shocker: You have the final say in the supplements that you take.

Our bodies require certain types of bacteria in order to function properly.  There are various colonies and subtypes of bacteria, like acidophilus, that line our intestinal tracks as well as all of our wetwork piping. This makes it important to distinguish between the good and the bad.  

Bad bacteria can cause infections and lead to sickness, but a lack of good bacteria can cause bodily dysfunction, which can also lead to the same.

Good bacteria are more commonly known as probiotic bacteria, and are found in all dairy products.  Several yogurt brands now feature higher levels of probiotics for digestive health.  What many don’t understand is a highly efficient and functional digestive system not only helps with keeping nutrient flow proper and food digestion optimal, but it can boost the immune system.  Proper replenishment of these bacterial colonies is essential following sickness, cleansing programs and anti-biotic treatments.

Children as young as 3 to 5 years of age also benefit from probiotic supplementation, according to a health report, leading to less chance of sickness.  The results are similar in children as many clinical studies have found in grown adults: proper nutrition from all macronutrients, vitamins, minerals and maintenance of the healthy bacterial flora that aid in our bodily function help reinforce our health.

It’s such a permanent aspect of life now that the military is planning for a possible outbreak of the flu in the fall. According to CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr, the military wants to “establish regional teams of military personnel to assist civilian authorities.”

In April, a vaccine for the swine flu began to be developed after discovering that the vaccine that had already been developed was for H5N1, a strain of the bird flu.

With its recent development, the U.S. is now developing guidelines for who should receive the vaccination.

Reuters suggests that health care workers, pregnant women and patients with asthma and diabetes will probably be most recommended for the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. The vaccine has been purchased by countries all over the world and will hopefully minimize any potential outbreaks in the future.

As for the military’s “plan”: it remains unknown. The proposal is waiting for approval from Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

With the death toll rising, the H1N1 swine flu strain is unfortunately not a joke. We can’t predict the severity of the next flu season, but we can rest assured knowing the necessary steps for prevention are being taken.

The cost of treating obesity-related diseases and health problems has increased to staggering proportions, with some estimating it to have reached as high as $147 billion in 2008.  That’s an increase of $73 billion from 1998, showing not only that our country’s obese population has increased, but has done so rapidly, rising 37 percent from 1998 to 2006.  

Obese people on average spend 47 percent more on health related medical costs than those who fall under a normal weight classification.

The news underscores the problem the country has faced in recent years with its battle against obesity and associated health problems such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and type-II diabetes, more commonly known as metabolic syndrome-X.  These are pretty common health problems that can lead to a variety of future health concerns like congestive heart failure and heart attacks.  Fortunately, all of those problems can be reduced or ‘cured’ by removing the key cause: obesity.

There are attempts from the government to aid in the fight against obesity by increasing taxes on certain items, like sugar-loaded drinks, and encouraging smaller portion sized meals.

Whether or not the effect will be as hoped, it seems a greater intervention to slow the obesity pandemic is required, because people are simply not able to save themselves from the attack of a cheeseburger.

I’m talking about reasons I haven’t been afraid of the swine flu since word first broke out — no pun intended — about the virus several months ago. But according to a recent report from the Associated Press, maybe I’m wrong to keep my worries at bay.

The AP reported that in the latest projection, health officials have said up to 40 percent of Americans could contract the swine flu virus this year and next. That’s almost half of the entire U.S. population, which is now well above three million. Now that’s a disturbing prediction.

The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control report that the virus has killed around 300 Americans so far, with about 1 million actually having become sick from it. Many have simply come down with a “mild case of the swine flu.”

I really don’t know what to think, honestly, even at this point. I just keep thinking back to a few years ago when all the news reports kept saying we would all — as in the entire planet — die from the bird flu. I can still picture all those people wearing ghastly white face masks and blue suits medical suits. I was scared about that so-called pandemic then, but all that noise died down rather quickly, with very few deaths, especially in the U.S., at all.

I’m wondering (rather hoping) if this swine flu will be the same.

The gene is known as TOMM40 and could predict the age of a person when Alzheimer’s begins to set in within a five-to-seven-year window, but only among people over 60, as the Duke University Medical Center research team reported.

At first thought, this sounds like wonderful news, right? I actually lost my great-grandmother five years ago to Alzheimer’s, and watched my grandmother, her daughter, experience the loss that comes with a loved one getting the disease. It was painful for me to watch as the days would pass, my great-grandmother forgetting her daughter’s name, her daughter’s face, and eventually, the whole family.

Any new information on this disease would be helpful. At least a family could prepare for it, if this gene does prove to be what researchers believe.

But what about the down sides to the discovery of this gene and its potential abilities?

If people are able to be tested for developing Alzheimer’s, essentially, and say a person is tested and is found to have potential for developing Alzheimer’s at some point, won’t his or her insurance skyrocket? Of course. Is this fair? I think not.

What if the test produces false results and a person who would never actually develop the disease is told he or she will at some point. That’s some pretty serious information to take to heart, not to mention the affect on the person’s family, and all based on probability, even as high as that number may be in the case of this gene, which they say would provide a “highly accurate prediction of the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.”

As with much new information and technological advancement, this could be both a gift and a curse.