Today's News Weekend Edition: Monday, October 22, 2012
Research
U of M researchers conduct nutrient profile survey
To increase revenue, ethanol producers have been removing corn oil either from the bran and germ prior to ethanol fermentation or by centrifuging corn syrup. The U of M Animal Science Department recently completed a nutrient profile survey of 159 distillers grains samples, and the second survey completed in 10 years. The survey provides a good glimpse into the changes that have occurred in the ethanol industry over the last 10 years, and the impact these changes have on current distillers grain co-products.
The Prairie Star
http://www.theprairiestar.com/news/livestock/the-new-distillers-grains-and-what-it-means-for-producers/article_024f9350-16f8-11e2-aa5e-001a4bcf887a.html
“Thunder God Vine” shows promising results against pancreatic cancer
Ashok Saluja and his team at the U of M’s Masonic Cancer Center may have found a new strategy to treat pancreatic cancer more efficiently. In testing the Thunder God Vine, the results were astonishing: laboratory mice with pancreatic cancer treated with the new compound show no signs of any cancerous tumors 40 days after discontinuing treatment.
Inventor Spot
http://inventorspot.com/articles/thunder_god_vine_shows_promising_results_against_pancreatic_canc
Study shows diet soda destroys metabolism and appetite
A University of Minnesota study of about 10,000 adults showed that gulping down just one sugar-free soda a day is linked to a 34 percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome. The resulting symptoms, such as belly fat and high cholesterol, raise your risk for heart disease. Researchers also found that consuming diet soda ruins metabolism, causing one to eat more.
Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/article/diet-soda-makes-you-fat-by-wrecking-metabolism-and-appetite-say-studies
Researchers developing guidelines for cancer patients
Researchers led by Maki Inoue-Choi, PhD, RD, research associate in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at the U of M, looked at the number of former cancer patients who followed health guidelines put out by the American Institute for Cancer Research. Surveying the women’s body weight, dietary intake, level of physical activity, and other lifestyle traits in 2004, researchers concluded that meeting the dietary recommendations did not affect the number of deaths.
Daily Rx
http://www.dailyrx.com/elderly-cancer-patients-live-longer-maintaining-healthy-lifestyle
Study: ‘Poop transplants’ may help battle bacterial infections
According to a recent study, so-called “poop transplants” may help people battle a particular kind of bacterial infection. The process, also known as “fecal transplants,” may not sound too appealing, but its effects are proving to be beneficial. University of Minnesota Medical School gastroenterologist Alex Khoruts explained that there is simply no question that the process works.
Inquisitr
http://www.inquisitr.com/370884/study-poop-transplants-may-help-battle-bacterial-infections/
Business and Politics
U of M Senate pushes for voter ID education
The University of Minnesota Senate suspended its rules to pass a resolution encouraging education on the voter ID amendment before the Nov. 6 election. The resolution, which was written by members of the Senate’s Equity, Access and Diversity committee, outlines the University Senate’s stance, showing that voter ID is a matter of students’ rights rather than a partisan issue. The University Senate passed a similar resolution in May opposing the marriage amendment.
Minnesota Daily
http://www.mndaily.com/2012/10/22/university-minnesota-senate-pushes-voter-id-education
U of M professor a part of panel discussing nation’s economic inequality
Joe Soss, professor of public affairs, political science, and sociology at the U of M, was a part of a four-person panel discussing economic inequality in the U.S. on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Soss’s presentation focused on the percentage of American’s living below the poverty line.
Tennessee Journalist
http://tnjn.com/2012/oct/21/roundtable-spotlights-economic/
People and Lifestyle
Director of U of M Center for Aging comments on aging of baby boom generation
Hearing problems and the threat of hepatitis C and attendant liver complications are perhaps the largest looming problems for the 76 million baby boomers facing the indignities of aging. According to Dr. Robert Kane, director of the U of M’s Center for Aging, the biggest hazard for this fiercely youth-obsessed generation might be psychological.
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/174859471.html?refer=y
Boomers truckin' into old age.
The generation that walked on the wild side in its youth faces health issues. The good news is that many of the ailments have more effective treatments than ever - if boomers will acknowledge the reality of aging. Actually, the biggest hazard for this fiercely youth-obsessed generation might be psychological, said Dr. Robert Kane, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Aging.
Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/174859471.html?refer=y
Retired U professor offers back-to-school nutrition advice for parents
Dr. Joseph Keenan, retired Professor of Family Medicine at the U of M, recently offered some back-to-school nutrition advice for parents.
Health News Digest
http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/Food_and_Nutrition_690/What_s_New_At_The_Supermarket_Fruits_Kids_Will_Eat.shtml
Commentary and Opinion
Rep. Joe Walsh's abortion comment is stunning in its ignorance
The medical ignorance of some politicians — particularly in regard to women’s reproductive health — continues to astonish me. The latest example of such ignorance comes from Rep. Joe Walsh. Citing unnamed “advances in science and technology,” he told reporters Thursday night that abortion is never necessary to save the life of a woman. The idea there is some kind of modern medical technology or procedure that has made full-term pregnancies suddenly perfectly safe for all women is news to Dr. Carrie Terrell, an ob-gyn and chief of staff at the University of Minnesota Medical Center.
Minn Post
http://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2012/10/rep-joe-walshs-abortion-comment-stunning-its-ignorance
Updates and Events
U of M concert showcases Argento’s music
The U of M’s School of Music featured the works of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Dominick Argento Saturday night. Argento was a faculty member at the U of M School of Music from 1958 until 1997.
MPR
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/10/20/arts/u-of-m-argento-concert/
SF Gate
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/U-of-Minn-concert-to-showcase-Argento-s-music-3966335.php
UMD medical school receives record $1.6 million gift
An anonymous gift of almost $1.6 million will allow the U of M Medical School’s Duluth campus to further achieve its missions of providing physicians to rural communities and training American Indians to be doctors, according to the school’s dean. How the money will be used hasn’t been determined, but to put it in perspective, the school’s annual operating budget is $9 million.
Duluth News Tribune
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/247130/