CDC: Kidney transplant spread HIV from live donor!

(AP) A New York City patient was infected with the AIDS virus through a kidney transplant from a live donor, in what health officials are calling the first confirmed U.S. case since the 1980s.

The case is considered extremely rare, but some health officials noted that there is no strict policy for when live donors should be tested for the AIDS virus before a transplant.

In reporting the New York case on Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that organ donors have sophisticated tests for HIV within a week of surgery.

In this case, the male donor was tested for HIV about 10 weeks before he donated a kidney and the results were negative. Health officials believe he was infected between that test and the 2009 surgery; he reported having unprotected sex with another man during that time.

Neither the donor nor the recipient knew they had HIV until about a year after the transplant, according to the CDC report. No other details about the donor or recipient or their relationship were released.

Health officials say both are receiving HIV treatment.

"We don't know how frequently this is happening and we need better surveillance," said Dr. Matthew Kuehnert, a CDC official who co-authored the report.

At least one similar U.S. case has been reported in the media. An Orlando woman last year filed a lawsuit, saying she was infected with HIV through a 2007 kidney transplant in Florida. However, CDC officials say they have not been asked to investigate and could not confirm the report.

Italian doctors reported a case in 1989.

Living donors are routinely screened — as are organs from deceased donors — for HIV, hepatitis and other infectious diseases. Testing for HIV began in 1985.

Kidneys from live donors are becoming increasingly common. In 1988, about 32 percent of kidney transplants came from live donors. By last year, it was more than 46 percent, according to federal data.

The report is being published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.


*WOW! This will scare the mess out of people that really need a kidney! This is unbelievable! How is it that a  person goes in and gets a kidney from a live donor, and yet there is no policy for when the live donor should be tested for the AIDS virus before the transplant? Shouldn't they have a strict policy for testing live donors for the AIDS virus?  You would think there would be a test of this sort, due to everyday society.  The way we see it, society has messed up ways of going about things such as this, and with that, certain people get the short-end of the stick due to the mess-ups of society. WOW!

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Nate Dogg, whose hooks boosted rap hits, dies!

(AP) Singer Nate Dogg, whose near monotone crooning anchored some of rap's most seminal songs and helped define the sound of West coast hip-hop, has died at age 41.

Attorney Mark Geragos said Nate Dogg, whose real name was Nathaniel D. Hale, died Tuesday of complications from multiple strokes.

Nate Dogg wasn't a rapper, but he was an integral figure in the genre: His deep voice wasn't particularly melodic, but it's tone — at times menacing, at times playful, yet always charming — provided just the just the right touch on hits including Warren G's "Regulate," 50 Cent's "21 Questions," Dr. Dre's "The Next Episode" and countless others.

While Nate Dogg provided hooks for rappers from coast to coast, the Long Beach, Calif., native is best known for his contributions to the West Coast soundtrack provided by the likes of Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, the Dogg Pound and more. Nate Dogg was even part of a "supergroup" featuring Snoop Dogg and Warren G, called 213.

Nate Dogg also put out his own solo projects but was best known for his collaborations with others.

He had suffered strokes in recent years.


*RIP Nathaniel D. Hale "aka" Nate Dogg*

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Hollywood A-listers urge Obama to support gay marriage!

(The Ticket) Just weeks after the Obama administration announced it would no longer legally defend the Defense of Marriage act, some of the president's biggest Hollywood supporters have signed a letter urging him to go a step further and legalize same-sex marriage.

Anne Hathaway, Martin Sheen, Jane Lynch and Ellen DeGeneres are among the actors who have signed an open letter sponsored by Freedom to Marry, a New York-based advocacy group working to promote marriage rights for same-sex couples.

Citing Obama's decision on DOMA last month, the letter calls for Obama to exhibit similar leadership on same-sex marriage rights.

"Whether to end discrimination in marriage is a question America has faced before, and faces again today… It is a question that calls for clarity from the president," the letter reads. "We ask you to complete your journey and join us, and the majority of Americans, who support the freedom to marry."

The letter was also signed by NFL linebackers Scott Fujita of the Cleveland Browns and Brenden
Ayanbadejo of the Baltimore Ravens; entertainment moguls David Geffen and Bob Wright; former NAACP chairman Julian Bond; and Facebook co-founders Chris Hughes and Sean Parker. Hughes, who is openly gay, previously worked for Obama's campaign in 2008, heading up its enormously successful new-media efforts.

The letter comes as Obama prepares to launch his 2012 re-election campaign, in which he will no doubt count on entertainment types as an important source of financial and public support. But the president's relationship with Hollywood has noticeably cooled since 2008, as celebrities have openly expressed their discontent with Obama in part because of his position on same-sex marriage.

Just last month, Matt Damon railed on Obama in an interview with CNN, bluntly saying he has not done a good job as president. Meanwhile, Lynch, the openly gay star of "Glee," called Obama a "huge disappointment" for his handling of gay rights.

Obama has long said that he supports civil unions as an alternative to marriage for gays and lesbians—putting him to the right of former Vice President Dick Cheney, who has endorsed same-sex marriage. But in

December, Obama admitted his views on gay marriage are "evolving" and said he would continue "to wrestle" with the issue.

Last month, the Justice Department dropped its attempts to defend the constitutionality of DOMA in court—with Attorney General Eric Holder saying in a statement that Obama had personally concluded the law was "unconstitutional." Many gay rights supporters view that position as an opening—though it's unclear how far Obama will be willing to go ahead of what could be a tough re-election campaign.


*It's obvious that the President is very busy with what he may deem as more important things. I think (hollywooder's) have to understand that just because they are famous, doesn't mean they get first dibs on the issues they care about. Bottom line; this is an issue and many people are on edge about gay rights and gay marriage as it stands. However; (hollywooder's), should realize that the President's job consist of addressing many issues, and not just one particular issue like "gay marriage.". At the end of the day, President Obama has to pick his battle and this obviously isn't one of them at the moment. All in all, "FALL BACK HOLLYWOODER'S and let the President do his job and you worry about doing yours.*


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U.S. millionaires say $7 million not enough to be rich!

(Reuters) A million dollars ain't what it used to be.

More than four out of ten American millionaires say they do not feel rich. Indeed many would need to have at least $7.5 million in order to feel they were truly rich, according to a Fidelity Investments survey.

Some 42 percent of the more than 1,000 millionaires surveyed by Fidelity said they did not feel wealthy.

Respondents had at least $1 million in investable assets, excluding any real estate or retirement accounts.

"Every person in the survey is wealthy," said Sanjiv Mirchandani, president of National Financial, a unit of Fidelity. "But they are still worried about outliving their assets."

The average age of respondents was 56 years old with a mean of $3.5 million of investable assets. The threshold for "rich" rose with age.

"They compare themselves to their peer group ... and they are also thinking about the long period they will have in retirement and want more assets" to fund their lifestyle, said Michael Durbin, president of Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services.

Still, millionaires are slightly more optimistic now than they were in 2009, when 46 percent did not feel wealthy.

Respondents were also more optimistic about the U.S. economy. While they thought the current U.S. economy remained very weak, they think it will improve by the end of this year.

Fidelity noted the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans hold more than 55 percent of the nation's wealth.


*Well, well now this is really something! This article is dead on as many millionaires don't feel rich. Many are blowing through their money like water. As the economy stays in a weak state, many people are feeling the pinch. Everyday necessities are going up in price, and people are spending more to live. However, if your sitting on cash and don't have to worry about eating, then I say you are rich. You're rich in being blessed where, others are scraping their piggy banks to eat everyday. In this day and age the fact that you have money, should be a blessing instead of complaining that it's not enough.*


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The "it" school for our next Einsteins!

(MercuryNews.com) On a typical day at Harker School in San Jose, students are pondering special relativity and mastering multivariable calculus. They're building circuits, splicing genes and, perhaps, dissecting a cat.

Walls are decorated with paintings of epithelial cells. A tall Foucault's pendulum swings from one corner, knocking down a Stephen Hawking doll. Bright blue banners, celebrating victories in science contests, hang from balconies.

But Anita Chetty's classroom is quiet. That's because she's busy planning a research symposium, featuring Sun Microsystems founder and Harker parent Scott McNealy, and she will soon be thinking about the next field trip on invasive species -- in the Galápagos Islands.

Having trouble keeping up? So is much of the rest of the country when it comes to teaching science.

Harker, a young enterprise bankrolled largely by Silicon Valley's newest immigrants, where tuition costs $35,000 a year, is the only school with two finalists at this week's final round of the coveted Intel Awards, the nation's most elite high school science competition.

And to think Harker didn't even have a high school when most of its juniors and seniors were born.

With 20 Intel semifinalists and four finalists in six years, and many other prestigious science titles already to its credit, Harker is fast becoming the "it" school for aspiring researchers, a springboard to a life of inquiry.

How do they do it?

"I don't know what the judges are looking for. I really don't," said Chetty, who chairs Harker's high school science department and helped design the school's research focus. "We are just capitalizing on everything that Silicon Valley has to offer."

Eyes on the prize

Successful students enthusiastically spread the word, then more seek to compete. This year, 80 students applied to the Intel, Siemens, Synopsis and other contests.

For every Texas high school

linebacker who dreams of the NFL, there's a Harker student who will be a first-round intellectual draft choice for Harvard or MIT, on a mission to a Nobel Prize, Fields Medal or MacArthur "genius" grant.

"It's so much fun just to constantly be learning something new every day," said Nikhil Parthasarathy, 17, an Intel finalist for his work researching irregular structures of distant galaxies. He and Rohan Mahajan are representing Harker at the competition in Washington, D.C.

If a student wins a lucrative prize, some of the money gets reinvested in the school, purchasing university-grade research equipment, from a gas chromatograph for analyzing compounds to a spectrophotometer to measure concentrations of chemicals.

"Our students know they're standing on the shoulders of others," said Chetty, a Fiji-born biologist who in 2006 won a Nobel Educator of Distinction award from the Nobel Prize family. "I tell the kids: 'The equipment you're using -- we earned it. Someone else, now at a university, won it for us.'

"It's taken 10 years to finally get here, but we now have all the pieces in place."

Magic formula

Prize-winning research is no longer the kind of undertaking that a student can do at home. Long gone are the days of iconic "October Sky" projects, where boys stood in a field and shot off rockets.

But unlike Harker, most schools don't offer advanced research programs. They may be too far away from university labs or strapped for funds. Their teachers often are too exhausted by the volume of day-to-day work to offer extra help.

Nationally, there is growing concern about the future of American innovation. "We need to teach our kids that it's not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair," President Barack Obama said at his State of the Union address.

Harker has identified a magic formula: dedicated parents, smart students, a rigorous curriculum, creative faculty and the strong support of local universities. And considerable sums of money.

The student body is 70 percent Asian, half of that number being Indian. Harker parents are well-educated professionals, with expectations of high acheivement.

There are four advanced degrees in the families of this year's two finalists: two Ph.D.s and two master's. Both sets of parents are first-generation Indian immigrants.

"Our parents have an innate respect for teachers," Chetty said. "I might be sitting in front of a parent with four or five patents to their name, but they hold me in such high esteem.

"They understand that hard work is the key ingredient to success, and they instill that in their children," she said. "And they know sometimes you fail first. Those are the two ingredients for good scientists."

Sunday lab work

Mahajan, 17, learned about disappointment firsthand -- two weeks into his summer internship at UC Santa Cruz, where he sought ways to improve the efficiency of photoelectrochemical cells. After an initial success, his technique failed. So he had to start over and redesign his project, which involved hot furnaces and toxic gases.

"I was under real time pressure," he said. "I think it inspired me. The new one was a lot more complicated and even better than the original project. I started working a lot harder. So it ended up being a good thing."
His fellow finalist Parthasarathy got interested in astrophysics after a summer program at NASA Ames

Research Center in Mountain View. Although his original research at UC Santa Cruz was done by late summer, the writing of his Intel essays and research paper had to be squeezed into a schedule already packed with tests, tennis practice and Saturdays at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where music theory class starts at 8 a.m.

"Sundays, maybe I watch TV," he said, then laughed. "Not really."

Such research is possible because of Harker's unusual academic curriculum. Students who do well in summer school can study AP physics, chemistry or biology as mere sophomores and juniors. This frees up time for electives like organic chemistry, biotechnology, astronomy and electronics.

It even offers two classes specifically devoted to research: "Research Methods" and "Advanced Research," where they learn how to accept constructive criticism.

"Harker is really willing to make a class for anyone, especially in math," Parthasarathy said. "There are so many kids who are, like, genius kids. There is one kid in ninth grade and he's in my Differential Equations class."

Not just hard work

Students are so well prepared, said physics teacher Chris Spenner, "that I can go beyond the AP curriculum, adding subjects like special relativity. They're so advanced in math, I can do multivariable calculus. "... I've taught at other schools and never seen anything like this."

On field trips to the Galapagos, they study with native children; in Costa Rica, they build turtle pens, snorkel in nature preserves and study biodiversity.

"We try to show them that research is not just hard work -- pound, pound, pound," said biology teacher Matthew Harley, who holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Johns Hopkins.

"It's creative thinking, to be able to incorporate all these different concepts from different fields," he said. "Science is our future. Someday they'll have answers to questions we haven't even thought of yet."

The preparation begins early. Even in elementary school, special science classes are held four times a week, by teachers holding bachelor's degrees in the sciences.

By fifth grade, students are using digital microscopes. Experiments, such as altering bacteria, start in sixth grade. By seventh grade, they're offered honors classes in physics, chemistry or biology. Math is taught, not by age, but ability; advanced students simply move up to high school.

There's a middle school "Research Club," led by an engineer with help from a Ph.D. chemist. One youngster, worried about radiation in her family's new kitchen countertops, tested granite slabs with a Geiger counter.

"The questions come from their own minds," said K-8 science department chair Lorna Claerbot.

Contest fever

High school welcomes them with a gleaming new Science & Technology Center: 16 classrooms, a lecture hall, robotics lab, cyber study loft and the pendulum, which demonstrates the rotation of Earth.

Costing $25 million, the building was built with the help of $1 million gifts from parents.

Contest fever starts junior year. Early on, teachers help identify interests, narrow the focus and locate supportive labs where advanced research is already under way. Some students compete for Harker-sponsored internships, which Chetty has arranged. Others must find their own. The only real coaching, teachers say, is about how to write e-mails to busy scientists.

For students working at school, nights can get late.

"I'd pick up Subway sandwiches for both of us, and bring them back," said Harley, recalling lab work until 10 p.m. with one student, now at UC Berkeley. "We kept getting kicked out by security."

Then, quickly, technical papers are written and rewritten. Charts and tables are formatted. Deadlines are met. Awaiting them at the Intel competition this week is a possible $100,000 prize, accolades and college acceptances. But all that would be just an extra thrill, they said. Already they've taken a life-altering step that will carry them into their adult lives.

"What's fun is the fact that no one's ever answered these problems before. No one knows the answer," Parthasarathy said.

"If you can add value, it is an incredible feeling."


*Can you say "AMEN" and do a "ONE TWO STEP" for a school that's making the headlines for doing great things! This school is a prime example of how students are mastering and being very creative. It' something you don't hear about everyday.  Harker School is doing big things and definitely helping students acheive in every way they can. They are providing the students with the tools to take their education to whole new level. That is priceless! With all of that being said, we do understand that it cost money to attend, and that this school gets grant money and all the bells and whistles.  What they are doing, they need to keep it up as other schools around the nation can take heed to what this school's formula is, and possibly apply it to see if it can work for them. At the end of the day, we as parents, teachers, politicians, community members and others have to get on the grind and try to inspire, motivate and bring up our failing schools. It's not an option, it's a must, especially when schools like "Harker" is thriving.*


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Obama keeps focus on fight for women's equality!

(AP) Father of two girls, President Barack Obama says he wants to improve the status of women in the United States.

Women are more likely than men to graduate from college today, yet earn less on average, face a greater chance of living in poverty and are outnumbered in critical subjects such as math and science, he said in his weekly radio and online address Saturday.

"Achieving equality and opportunity for women isn't just important to me as president. It's something I care about deeply as the father of two daughters who wants to see his girls grow up in a world where there are no limits to what they can achieve," he said.

Obama noted that one of his first acts as president was to sign legislation allowing women who've been discriminated against in their salaries to have their day in court. Obama said he was disappointed when the Senate blocked action on a proposal that would treat gender discrimination involving pay in the same as race, disability and age discrimination.

The Senate in November fell just short of the votes needed to overcome GOP opposition and move ahead on the bill, which would make employers prove that any disparities in wages are job-related and not sex-based.

"At a time when folks across this country are struggling to make ends meet — and many families are just trying to get by on one paycheck after a job loss — it's a reminder that achieving equal pay for equal work isn't just a women's issue," the president said in his weekly radio and online address. "It's a family issue."

He said he would not relent in fighting for the goals of that legislation. He also said women on average make about 75 cents for each dollar a man earns and are more likely to fall in poverty.

Republicans and business groups said the Paycheck Fairness Act would expose employers to more litigation by removing limits on punitive and compensatory damage awards.


*Very interesting and truly about time that someone does something about how women seem to be treated when it comes to being paid. There's more opportunity for women to make bank, but less of those top of the line "boss" roles. For years women have fought for equality in the work place and elsewhere in society.  It's very sad that women are still fighting for that in these times. Hopefully with President Obama at the wheel, things can get done so that women have a fighting chance to prove their cases and make more bank, even if it's more than their male counterparts.  I guess if it takes more time, then women can always continue to start their own companies and forge ahead that way instead of still fighting these egotistical men for well deserved pay.*


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THIS EXPLAINS ALOT! Get This Tee Today!

Head on over to: www.cafepress.com/DivasHouse and get your tee "BEWARE OF MY BITCHITUDE" today. Enjoy!

Also get the original version:

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Singer Ne-Yo creates show for Cartoon Network!

(AP) Ne-Yo has written many hit songs — and now he's taking writing to a new level.

The Grammy winner told The Associated Press in an interview Friday that he closed a deal with Cartoon Network to produce his own show.

The cartoon is called "I Heart Tuesdays" and Ne-Yo said production starts soon.

He said the show is about "a 16-year-old girl that inherits the curse of her bloodline and she's forced to save the world from the unknown evil every Tuesday for the rest of her life."

A message seeking comment from the network was not immediately returned.

Ne-Yo said he created the show "for his sister."

The platinum-selling singer-songwriter also says he's putting together a line of hats.

Ne-Yo stars in the new film "Battle: LA," in theaters Friday. He had his first child in November. His latest CD, "Libra Scale," was also released in November.

http://www.neyothegentleman.com/
http://www.cartoonnetwork.com
http://www.battlela.com


*Very interesting and a very smart move for singer Ne-Yo. It's a good thing when you can do other things besides sing and dance. He obviously has many talents and this one is sure to solidify him as a true jack of all trades. Way to go Ne-Yo!*

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More evidence folic acid prevents birth defects!

(Reuters Health) – A new study finds that South Carolina's rate of spina bifida and similar birth defects fell substantially after more women began taking folic acid -- adding to evidence of the B vitamin's benefits during pregnancy.

Since 1998, the U.S. has required manufacturers to add folic acid to enriched flours, breads, cereals, pasta, corn meal and other grain products.

The move was based on research showing that folic acid during pregnancy can cut the risk of neural tube defects -- serious, sometimes fatal birth defects of the brain or spine, including spina bifida and anencephaly.

For the new study, reported in the Journal of Pediatrics, researchers looked at rates of neural tube defects in South Carolina from 1992 to 2009.

Infants born in South Carolina have historically had a higher rate of neural tube defects compared with the U.S. average. But during the study period, the rate of "isolated" neural tube defects (not accompanied by any other birth defect) fell from 1.4 for every 1,000 births and fetal deaths, to about 0.6 per 1,000.

And from 1998 to 2005, the average rate of spina bifida and anencephaly -- which account for most neural tube defects -- was 0.69 per 100,000. That was identical to the national average.

Folic acid would appear to take the credit, according to Dr. Roger E. Stevenson and colleagues at the Greenwood Genetic Center in South Carolina.

Based on interviews with South Carolina women ages 15 to 45 throughout the study period, the percent taking folic acid on a regular basis rose from 8 percent to 35 percent.

The authors did not ask women how much folic acid they took, but experts recommend that women who may become pregnant get 400 micrograms of folic acid, from multivitamins or fortified foods. That's in addition to any folate, the natural form of folic acid, found in foods such as spinach, asparagus, dried beans and peas, and orange juice.

Despite the positive findings from the current study, there is also room for improvement, according to
Stevenson's team. They point to the fact that by the end of the study period, only 35 percent of women were taking folic acid -- despite the fact that two-thirds were aware of the vitamin's benefits.

But folic acid may only do so much.

Obesity and type 2 diabetes in the mother are two other factors linked to a higher-than-average risk of neural tube defects. And in this study, increasing use of folic acid did not eliminate the risk associated with diabetes, Stevenson and his colleagues point out.

That finding, the researchers write, "calls for greater attention" to diabetes prevention in women of childbearing age. They add that studies could also look at whether higher doses of folic acid are necessary for women with diabetes.


*WOW! This is very exciting news for potential mothers.  If this is right, then potential mothers need to keep this stuff in their medicine cabinet for sure.*

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