US Deaths from opioid overdose tripled between 1999 and 2006 according to CDC Data. The drug leading the charge for the grave was methadone.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/709744?src=mpnews&spon=12&uac=89474MT
I talked to a junkie on bus#9 the other day who had been through hell but not died. He had a good idea what his protocol would be for getting people unhooked from methadone. It involved taking pts through a series of other high powered drugs, each to be given for a time period just short of the dependence/addiction-inducing timeframe. He was sure his method would work.

On Saturday night I accidentally deleted internet explorer from my computer, and spent all day Sunday internet-free. I now understand that I am an addict, and I need to take measures to moderate my internet usage. I got so much done on Sunday!!! It was wonderful. =-]

What does pituitary mean, from the Latin? (think onomatopoeia...)
to spit mucus
ptuo = to spit, pituita = mucus

What do you call a hormone that acts on neighboring cells?
paracrine

Are pituitary hormones steroid, steroid type, or peptide hormones?
peptide, all of them are

What do you call the loss of lateral visual fields?
bitemporal hemianopsia

Damage to what part of the pituitary causes diabetes insipidus, and which hormone is lacking?
( self quiz from SSL's notes )

The other night Suz and I watched Supersize Me. It was more interesting than I expected. If you haven't seen it, basically the movie tracks a healthy young man (Morgan Spurlock) who decides to experiment on himself by eating only McDonald's food for an entire month. His girlfriend is a vegan chef, so he normally eats mainly vegetables. But it becomes apparent that part of his motivation is a certain relish for big greasy burgers.
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This is old news, but new to me. A vaccine called TA-CD has been developed that is made of a combination of cocaine and deactivated cholera toxin. By injecting both into a person at the same time, an immune reaction is induced by which the body makes antibodies against the cocaine itself. The body remembers cocaine as an "invader" and produces massive amounts of antibodies anytime cocaine is detected.

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We have now officially lost the original sacrament of tobacco. The new product is an electronic device that emits a "nicotene-infused mist", coming to you from Beijing, so that you can quit smoking. Yeah. It even looks like a cigarette.

SOURCE:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29435175/

Today Suzanne talked with her father and her sister and found out more about the circumstances of her birth. Her mother's blood type was B-. Her father's, O+. Suzanne was a second child. So her mother was Rh-, her father Rh+, and her sister was born before they knew to test mothers and babies for Rh compatibility. Or at least before they did it in Globe. Nowadays every Rh- mother with a possibly Rh+ fetus is treated with a drug that prevents her from mounting an immune response, and protects future babies. But Suzanne's mother had no such medical advice, for her girls born 1943 and 1955.

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ScienceDaily (Nov. 28, 2008) — Obesity gradually numbs the taste sensation of rats to sweet foods and drives them to consume larger and ever-sweeter meals, according to neuroscientists. Findings from the Penn State study could uncover a critical link between taste and body weight, and reveal how flab hooks the brain on sugary food.
( notes )

New research has shown that kids who have high IQ's at the age of 10 are more likely to be alcohol dependent at age 30. The effect is stronger in women than among men. In young girls, 15 more IQ points adds up to a 38% increased risk of alcoholism. Boys with 15 more smart points only have a 17% higher risk of being a boozer. This is not what the scientists expected. That is why science is done: to find out, not to prove your assumptions. Clarification for those who misread the title behind the cut: the 1970 British cohort study is of children who were BORN in 1970; this is new science based on an old foundation.
( smart kids more likely to become alcoholics )

The lady featured in this article was working as an addictions counselor for $20/hour with just a bachelor's degree, and landed a client who really was dangerous.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/08/10/ST2008081000071.html

The kitten requires attention to dine. She meows whenever I am in the kitchen, and then chatters at me until I follow her into the pantry, where her food is on a high shelf. She looks back over her shoulder and entices me to go with her, and once on the shelf she dines eagerly while I pet her. I don't understand why she has such glee at getting attention precisely while she is eating. She just does.
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