Bring on the chocolate vaccine!

A very clever scientist, Peter Burkhard, PhD, from the University of Connecticut, is busily researching the very real possibility of a vaccine to treat/prevent nicotine addiction.

The science is actually very logical. If the immune system has circulating antibodies to nicotine, then anytime you light up, the antibodies will bind to the nicotine molecules entering your system, deactivating them. The nicotine will not be able to stimulate neurochemical receptors in the brain and you won’t experience any kind of a “high”. The vaccine, if it works, could save 7 million lives each year.

What isn’t logical is why they haven’t prioritized a chocolate vaccine first. 22% of the world’s population smokes, but 60% of the population are female. Clearly the research is being run by men who do not suffer the cravings, desire, guilt, weight loss attempts, more guilt and finally obesity, diabetes and death from chocolate addiction.

Come on clever people, rally together and help solve chocolate addiction!

Rats beware! Study suggests rats who don't cut down on their aspartame intake could suffer from brain cancer

As if the health concerns for rats weren't bad enough, what with death by haemorrhagic disorders (overdosing on warfarin aka "Rattex"), trauma, being eaten by your own mother and an overall life expectancy of of 2 to 3 years, now new research shows that rats with a penchant for coke light could suffer from brain cancer. As for the humans, the FDA has told us that as long as you keep your daily limit below 75 cans of Coke Light, you'll be okay. 

Life causes cancer.

It never fails to astonish me that whenever some poor sod is diagnosed with cancer, the conspiracy theorists, and worse yet, psychobabble brigade pounce upon the opportunity to air their opinions. Barring a few well described hereditary cancer mutations, the formula for cancer is simple: some undefined genetic risk and an undefined trigger. If you're a smoker, we'll blame it on that. If not, medical science is confounded. Yes it could be the air we breathe, the water we drink, the bottle we drink it from, the thousand or so carcinogens we are exposed to before we're even born. I would recommend avoiding inhaling asbestos, getting HIV or smoking. But other than that we need to accept just how little we actually know and stop blaming people for factors beyond their control. The fact is that life causes cancer.

Do as I say, not as I do...

I love everything about this image. She's got inner poise, can get away with wearing white (without spilling anything on it) and has perfectly toned triceps. She looks so calm and in control. And isn't that the point of all of this? I certainly don't have her slender toned legs, I can't wear white, and my yoga mat needs some dusting. Life isn't this perfect. Yoga is sweaty. White pants attract attract dirt. But this doesn't mean we can't be inspired. Mental and physical wellness is a journey, but sadly the gap between this image and real life sometimes seems insurmountable.