even though political affiliation is not a protected class like race, gender, sexual orienation, or disibility, bioethicists think that the good doctor is skating very close to the ethical line–”By insisting he does not ask his patients about their politics and has not turned away patients based on their votes, the doctor is “trying to hold onto the nub of his ethical obligation” says william allen, professor of bioethics, law and medical professionalism at the university of florida’s college of medicine who was interviwed by the la times.

of course, doctor cassell says he’ll treat any person that crosses the threshold but he’s  not sweatin’ those that don’t. once they do enter the office, they have access to ‘research’ the doc has collected under a sign that says “This is what the morons in Washington have done to your healthcare. Take one, read it and vote out anyone who voted for it.”

tell us what you think: [polldaddy survey="2E5B5EABE15E84BB" link_text="take an sb survey"]

image courtesy of admond

don’t say we’ve never reported on news you can use.  next time you’re at the market, consider this: scientists have confirmed that um, fatty foods are addictive.  a study of rats showed that just like cocaine and heroine, the reapeated consumption of high fat, high calorie foods can lead to addictive behavior–it overloads the pleasure zones of the brain and just like drugs, people who eat these types of foods need more and more of it to get ‘high.’

the researchers say that we have even come to make our food drug-like–just like people learned to make the coca leave into cocaine, we’ve created similar food-drugs like high fructose corn syrup–we “eat unconsciously and unnecessarily…[and]…eat like a drug abuser [uses drugs].”  the researchers were quick to caution that just because a rat got fat on junk food doesn’t mean human behavior is exactly the same but that it gives a clue as to how humans will respond. but i think  they added the cancer warning to saccharin after a rat test, something tells me we should  take heed.

photo courtesy of stoned59

what’s the reason for the focus on men’s focus on the breasticle area?

blame it on the media, so says plastic surgery consultant rajiv grover. he says “Many men are feeling the pressure from men’s magazines that weren’t even being published five or six years ago…In addition, they are just realizing that they can get something done about it.” surgeons also think the increase in obesity could be to blame. another doctor, malcom roth says “Obesity impacts the size of a man’s breasts…I caution any patient before they get surgery to make certain they have exhausted all possibilities to try to correct with other means, like trying to lose weight.”

for the record, we believe david beckham. his wife victoria’s breasts? that’s a different story.

who knows, maybe someday soon she can become a fashion designer or better yet, this guy’s manager. she certainly can’t do any worse than these people.

photo via the associated press.

the conservatives are worried the kit will make egyptian women more likely have sex before marriage. said abdel moati bayoumi, a prominent egyptian religious scholar “I think this should absolutely not be allowed to be exported because it brings more harm than benefits. Whoever does it (imports it) should be punished.” others, like author and blogger marwa rakha, think the kit can empower women, giving them options in a culture that allows men to do as they please but not women. “It sticks it in the face of every male hypocrite,” she said.

sex before marriage in many parts of the middle east is still considered a no-no with women going as far as having their hymen reattached to avoid punishment. i say if a $30 (us) dollar kit, gross as it may be, helps women avoid punishment or worse yet, death, then that’s a product that the market needs.

photo courtsey of heo2035

scientists have concluded that the once thought useless/gratuitous (vestigial) appendix is useful afterall. immunologist william parker a researcher at duke university medical center found that the appendix serves “as a vital safehouse where good bacteria could lie in wait until they were needed to repopulate the gut after a nasty case of diarrhea.”  parker and his colleagues also found that “appendicitis, or a potentially deadly inflammation of the appendix, is not due to a faulty appendix, but rather to cultural changes associated with industrialized society and improved sanitation.”

what’s this got to do with brody jenner?  dude turned 26 last week and spent his birthday on a gurney in the hospital–he had his appendix removed.  you’ll probably see his ordeal chronicled next season on the hills.

photo via people by er / flynet

the advisory panel went on to say that many patients who take drugs like percocet and vicodin for long periods of times often need higher and higher doses to achieve the same effect.

the first thing i heard about michael jackson was that he had suffered a heart attack.  apparently, he died from cardiac arrest –they’re not the same thing.  according to webmd, “sudden cardiac death (scd) is a sudden, unexpected death caused by loss of heart function (sudden cardiac arrest). it is the largest cause of natural death in the U.S., causing about 325,000 adult deaths in the united states each year.”  a heart attack is caused by a blocked artery preventing fresh, oxygenated blood from getting to the heart.

the risk factors associated with cardiac arrest are what you would imagine (e.g., poor diet, family history, lack of exercise) so please take care of yourself.  also, note that a person can survive cardiac arrest if treated immediately (90% survival rate) but “the rate decreases by about 10% each minute longer it takes to initiate therapy.”

for more information, please refer to the american heart association.

photo courtesy of sony music

i guess they’ll  get a discount on baby vitamins and geritol.

photo courtesy of papertygre