Updates on Swine Flu

Everyone's probably getting sick (pardon the pun) of hearing about swine flu, so I'll keep this brief. The CDC chart now includes 279 cases. No new deaths. H1N1 is now in 36 states. CNN reports that swine flu is no worse than regular flu. So swine flu isn't as deadly as SARS. However, my fear is that swine flu may come back with a vengeance this fall and wipe out many people who may normally be protected by the flu vaccine. I hope and pray that this doesn't happen.

Sleep Habits and Susceptibility to the Common Cold

The Archives of Internal Medicine has an article titled, "Sleep Habits and Susceptibility to the Common Cold." This study found that "Poorer sleep efficiency and shorter sleep duration in the weeks preceding exposure to a rhinovirus were associated with lower resistance to illness."

This study evaluated 153 healthy adults who volunteered to let this happen to them: "participants were quarantined, administered nasal drops containing a rhinovirus, and monitored for the development of a clinical cold (infection in the presence of objective signs of illness) on the day before and for 5 days after exposure." I wonder how many of those 153 adults were medical students. When I was in medical school, some of my colleagues were volunteering themselves for studies that involved biopsies of their leg muscles. Medical students will volunteer for anything, won't they!

Rhinovirus causes the common cold, but I wonder what this reflects about our immune system's response to other viruses like influenza and swine flu.

Jumbo Amazon Kindle?

Rumors and floating around. Will we see a jumbo version of the Amazon Kindle? I'm still waiting for the color version.

Technology Review Digital

Technology Review is now available in an environmentally-friendly format: digital. As an MIT alum, I get this periodical for free. At one point, I used to get two copies (that's because I'm also married to an MIT alum). I think it's time for us to go green. Time to sign up for the digital version.

The most recent edition has this on the front cover: "Can Technology Save the Economy? Yes. But take a deep breath."