Greg Schiano Interviews for Michigan Coaching Job

Jim Carty reports on MLive.com that Rutger's head coach Greg Schiano was interviewed for the head coaching job at the University of Michigan. Considering all the hoopla surrounding Les Miles, this is welcoming news. He may not be Les, but at least he ain't Ferentz!

BREAKING NEWS: Michigan Interviews Schiano

Scientists Hope for Pain-Free Cancer Treatment

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have uncovered a breakthrough in cancer treatment.

A very preliminary study involving gene therapy for the treatment of cancer has discovered the possibility of pain-free chemotherapy. The revolutionary type of gene therapy (known as RNA interference and developed in 2002) allowed scientists to "silence" certain cancer-promoting genes within a tumor. This made cancer cells up to 10,000 times more sensitive to anti-cancer drugs! In addition, because scientists were able to specifically target cancer-promoting genes, significantly smaller doses of anti-cancer drugs were required for successful treatment.

Scientists believe that the more effective, low-dose cancer treatment will virtually eliminate the painful side effects commonly associated with chemotherapy.

Animal studies are now underway to see if the preliminary lab results can be replicated.

For the full story visit Red Orbit.

Study: THC in Marijuana Cuts Cancer Risk in Half

A recent study at Harvard found that marijuana use is helpful in reducing the growth of cancerous tumors. The reason? THC. The compund responsible for the "high" in marijuana was found to significantly reduce the growth of lung tumors by almost half! The animal studies conducted also found that THC is effective in preventing the spread of cancer.

This is not to say that smoking is harmless - many cigarette and marijuana smokers will attest to the fact that smoke in your lungs can cause many other ailments such as chronic cough, asthma and emphesyma.

That said, this study adds to the list of others which have found that THC is in fact beneficial. Personally, these studies further lend creedence to my belief that marijuana is in fact a miracle drug.

Read the full press release below.

Press Release
Source: American Association for Cancer Research
Date: April 17, 2007

The active ingredient in marijuana cuts tumor growth in common lung cancer in half and significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread, say researchers at Harvard University who tested the chemical in both lab and mouse studies.

They say this is the first set of experiments to show that the compound, Δ-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), inhibits EGF-induced growth and migration in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expressing non-small cell lung cancer cell lines. Lung cancers that over-express EGFR are usually highly aggressive and resistant to chemotherapy.

THC that targets cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 is similar in function to endocannabinoids, which are cannabinoids that are naturally produced in the body and activate these receptors. The researchers suggest that THC or other designer agents that activate these receptors might be used in a targeted fashion to treat lung cancer.

"The beauty of this study is that we are showing that a substance of abuse, if used prudently, may offer a new road to therapy against lung cancer," said Anju Preet, Ph.D., a researcher in the Division of Experimental Medicine.

Acting through cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2, endocannabinoids (as well as THC) are thought to play a role in variety of biological functions, including pain and anxiety control, and inflammation. Although a medical derivative of THC, known as Marinol, has been approved for use as an appetite stimulant for cancer patients, and a small number of U.S. states allow use of medical marijuana to treat the same side effect, few studies have shown that THC might have anti-tumor activity, Preet says. The only clinical trial testing THC as a treatment against cancer growth was a recently completed British pilot study in human glioblastoma.

In the present study, the researchers first demonstrated that two different lung cancer cell lines as well as patient lung tumor samples express CB1 and CB2, and that non-toxic doses of THC inhibited growth and spread in the cell lines. "When the cells are pretreated with THC, they have less EGFR stimulated invasion as measured by various in-vitro assays," Preet said.

Then, for three weeks, researchers injected standard doses of THC into mice that had been implanted with human lung cancer cells, and found that tumors were reduced in size and weight by about 50 percent in treated animals compared to a control group. There was also about a 60 percent reduction in cancer lesions on the lungs in these mice as well as a significant reduction in protein markers associated with cancer progression, Preet says.

Although the researchers do not know why THC inhibits tumor growth, they say the substance could be activating molecules that arrest the cell cycle. They speculate that THC may also interfere with angiogenesis and vascularization, which promotes cancer growth.

Preet says much work is needed to clarify the pathway by which THC functions, and cautions that some animal studies have shown that THC can stimulate some cancers. "THC offers some promise, but we have a long way to go before we know what its potential is," she said.

Kids Who Take Sexual Abstinence Classes...

A newly released study has found that kids who take abstinence classes... (you ready for this?)... DON'T ABSTAIN!

And to think that Bush and Company puts in $176 million dollars of tax payers' money ANNUALY toward a program that everyone but the ignorati knows doesn't work.

The study found that those who attended abstinence classes averaged the same number of sexual partners than those kids who did not. In addition, the onset of sexual activity was no different. The abstinence class participants had sex at about the same age than the control group - 14 years and 9 months.

It should be obvious what BushCo will do in response to this new study - intimidate the researchers to shut their mouths, attack the credibility of the researchers, re-word the data in their favor and pump more money into abstinence programs.

For the full report go here.






















Picture credit: David Honig
hypnocrites.blogspot.com

Cute and Unlikely Animal Pairings

Who Really Killed JFK?

.... a man by the name of E. Howard Hunt knows.

Read the condensed answer here.
Read the full length explanation here.

The full length article was written by Erik Hedegaard for Rolling Stone.

Bill O'Reilly is Fucking Insane

Bill O'Reilly (God I can't even spell his name without cringing) once again shows the world why he is an evil, racist, fascist douchebag.

I am not the type of person that believes its right to wish harm on any individual BUT, would I really be so sad if this guy had a massive heart attack and died? Not exactly. I'm sure his own family holds the same sentiment. I mean, can you imagine having to sit at the dinner table with this guy?

In his latest rant, Fucker (as I like to call him), had Geraldo on his show to talk about two girls who were killed by a drunk driver. The man responsible for the crime was an illegal alien, mind you - so you can venture to guess where the 'discussion' went.

Anyway, with as much sensitivity as Fucker is capable of having (i.e. none), he turns the issue into one about illegal immigration because as everyone knows, brown people are responsible for all crime in this country.

Thankfully however, Geraldo (of all people), calls Fucker out on his Xenophobia. Bill O'Reilly flipped out - so much so that I was half expecting him to pull a Wayne Brady and choke a bitch (who unfortunately would have been Geraldo). I tend to believe that Geraldo was at the ready and had calculated the most efficient way to grab the nearest chair and swing had Fucker attacked - although, Evil probably doesn't go down that easy.

Anyway, say a little prayer, make the sign of the cross and hit PLAY to watch the video below which not surprisingly, has been making the rounds.