Your Average Girl

♥ Jun 4th, 2012

mimirscopybook:

A couple of monkeys quenches their thirst as another takes a dip on a hot summer afternoon on the outskirts of Jammu, India, Friday, May 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

I really think a monkey could do anything…ANYTHING

♥ Jun 4th, 2012

ucsdhealthsciences:

How Infectious Disease May Have Shaped Human Origins Inactivation of two genes may have allowed escape from bacterial pathogens, researchers say
Roughly 100,000 years ago, human evolution reached a mysterious bottleneck: Our ancestors had been reduced to perhaps five to ten thousand individuals living in Africa. In time, “behaviorally modern” humans would emerge from this population, expanding dramatically in both number and range, and replacing all other co-existing evolutionary cousins, such as the Neanderthals.
The cause of the bottleneck remains unsolved, with proposed answers ranging from gene mutations to cultural developments like language to climate-altering events, among them a massive volcanic eruption.
Add another possible factor: infectious disease.
In a paper published in the June 4, 2012 online Early Edition of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an international team of researchers, led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, suggest that inactivation of two specific genes related to the immune system may have conferred selected ancestors of modern humans with improved protection from some pathogenic bacterial strains, such as Escherichia coli K1 and Group B Streptococci, the leading causes of sepsis and meningitis in human fetuses, newborns and infants.
“In a small, restricted population, a single mutation can have a big effect, a rare allele can get to high frequency,” said senior author Ajit Varki, MD, professor of medicine and cellular and molecular medicine and co-director of the Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny at UC San Diego. “We’ve found two genes that are non-functional in humans, but not in related primates, which could have been targets for bacterial pathogens particularly lethal to newborns and infants. Killing the very young can have a major impact upon reproductive fitness. Species survival can then depend upon either resisting the pathogen or on eliminating the target proteins it uses to gain the upper hand.” More here
In the above photo, Escherichia coli bacteria, like these in a false-color scanning electron micrograph by Thomas Deerinck at UC San Diego’s National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, cause a variety of often life-threatening conditions, particularly among the young. Varki and colleagues suggest a genetic change 100,000 or so years ago conferred improved protection from these microbes, and likely altered human evolutionary development.

you had me at “bottleneck.”

♥ Jun 4th, 2012

ucsdhealthsciences:

Rattlesnakes Strike Again in San Diego, Bites More Toxic UC San Diego Health System Toxicologist Offers Venomous Bite Advice
Each year, approximately 8,000 Americans are bitten by venomous snakes. On average, 800 or so bites occur annually in California, home to an abundance of snake species, but only one family is native and venomous: rattlesnakes.
“This is the time of year when we see a rise in snake bites,” said Richard Clark, MD, director of the Division of Medical Toxicology at UC San Diego Health System.
Toxin levels in rattler venom vary from year to year and season to season, but typically venom is weaker in winter and stronger in summer because snakes are more active, fighting for food and territory.
“We really don’t know why the venom is becoming increasingly potent. Some speculate that with the modern world encroaching on nature it could be survival of the fittest. Perhaps only the strongest, most venomous snakes survive,” said Clark. “The anti-venom is costly at around $2,500 a vial. Patients may need a series of anti-venom shots and insurance does not always cover the treatment.”
The majority of the injuries are on hands, fingers and feet, and the most typical result is swelling and tissue damage that looks like blisters or frost bite.
Symptoms of severe bites can include: extreme pain at the location of the bite, nausea and sometimes diarrhea, followed by swelling in the mouth and throat, making it difficult to breathe. Within minutes, victims can get lightheaded, collapse and go into shock.
“Many of our snake bite victims show symptoms of severe weakness, trouble breathing and low blood pressure,” said Clark who is also medical director for the California Poison Control System (CPCS), San Diego Division. “For anyone who suspects a bite, their next move should be to a hospital emergency department.”
With some rattlesnake bites, no venom is injected into the wound, but because it is impossible to know if venom has or has not been injected, getting medical treatment quickly is important.
What to Do?
If bitten by a snake, go to the emergency department or a nearby health care facility immediately.
There are potential risks to applying ice, using a tourniquet or suctioning the wound. For the direct application of ice, the main concern is the risk of a frostbite-like injury. If tourniquets are applied too tightly, they will decrease blood flow to the affected area and might also concentrate the venom, increasing local tissue damage. Suctioning the wound is ineffective in removing venom because the venom is usually injected too deeply into tissue. When people use their mouths to suck the bite site, they can actually make things worse by introducing harmful bacteria.
If in a remote area when bitten by a rattler, first immobilize the wounded area, especially for a hand or arm bite, then proceed slowly to a vehicle. Moving slowly will keep the heart rate low and help prevent the venom from spreading.
If bitten on the leg or foot, it might be necessary to use that limb to get to the vehicle, unless someone can carry the victim. If walking is necessary, it is very important to move slowly. Drive to the nearest phone, call 911 and wait for assistance. If there is no phone nearby, proceed to the nearest hospital.
The California Poison Control System (CPCS) is available at 800-222-1222, 24 hours a day, seven days a week for immediate expert help and information in case of poison exposure, including snake bites.

Because I would be someone to die from a snake bite.

♥ Jun 4th, 2012

The Tangential: The Reality TV Guide to Handling Panic Attacks →

thetangential:

• Are you suffering from shortened breath and a racing heart? Congratulations, you’re about to get a lot of a-tent-ion! Good thing you prepped by wearing kohl eyeliner and dignified panties, just in case you end up passed out in a sexy doctor’s hands.

• Don’t be scared. It’s ok to have panic…

Oh man… snickers.

you’re a burden in my hand

Interesting. I’m a loser because I’ve been in school for two years. Really, I am so sorry that I have not lived up to your grandiose expectation of whatever image you have em blazed in your head. My bad. If it really such an issue for me to be “in my place” and doing what I feel is necessary to better myself, let me just drop out of reality and be like you. I am sure it is much easier to sit around and make excuses and blame everyone else for my shortcomings. You’re so “golden,” controlling everyone else’s lives for our own good; what would we do without you? Look at you, always the hero saving the victims…

please, don’t “continue” to do me any favors.

Love, the Conceited and Negligent

♥ Jun 3rd, 2012

“vampire of Venice.”

Clearly, some people need to go back and read Paul Barber’s The Real Vampire.
Believe what you will, but a brick to the mouth does not scream “nachzehrer” to me.