http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/ Brief news items of importance or interest from Dharmacafe en billstranger@mchsi.com Copyright 2010 2010-03-11T00:36:55+00:00 http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/concocting-a-cure-for-kids-with-issues/ http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/concocting-a-cure-for-kids-with-issues/#When:00:36:55Z If you’re the parent of a child who’s having trouble learning or behaving in school, you quickly find yourself confronted with a series of difficult choices. You can do nothing — and watch your child flounder while teachers register their disapproval. Or you can get help, which generally means, first, an expensive and time-consuming evaluation, then more visits with more specialists, intensive tutoring, therapies, perhaps, or, as is often the case with attention issues, drugs. For many parents — particularly the sorts of parents who are skeptical of mainstream medicine and of the intentions of what one mother once described to me as “the learning-disability industrial complex” — this experience is an exercise in frustration and alienation. These parents often don’t trust the mental-health professionals who usually treat children with “issues,” as we euphemistically tend to refer to problems like learning disabilities, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism or other developmental difficulties. They find offensive the prospect of having a child “labeled” when his or her development doesn’t correspond to what seem like random, overly restrictive norms. They find the notion of putting children on psychotropic medication frightening and unacceptable. They want to find concrete causes for their children’s diffuse, often difficult-to-understand problems and, ideally, to find cures. They want their children to achieve, and they’re dissatisfied with what they feel are the palliative half-measures offered by pediatricians, psychiatrists, psychologists and learning specialists. That’s why some of these parents end up seeking the services of people like Stanley A. Appelbaum.  Read Article 2010-03-11T00:36:55+00:00 http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/the-great-prostate-mistake/ http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/the-great-prostate-mistake/#When:00:34:07Z Each year some 30 million American men undergo testing for prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme made by the prostate. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1994, the P.S.A. test is the most commonly used tool for detecting prostate cancer. The test’s popularity has led to a hugely expensive public health disaster. It’s an issue I am painfully familiar with — I discovered P.S.A. in 1970. As Congress searches for ways to cut costs in our health care system, a significant savings could come from changing the way the antigen is used to screen for prostate cancer. Americans spend an enormous amount testing for prostate cancer. The annual bill for P.S.A. screening is at least $3 billion, with much of it paid for by Medicare and the Veterans Administration. Prostate cancer may get a lot of press, but consider the numbers: American men have a 16 percent lifetime chance of receiving a diagnosis of prostate cancer, but only a 3 percent chance of dying from it. That’s because the majority of prostate cancers grow slowly. In other words, men lucky enough to reach old age are much more likely to die with prostate cancer than to die of it. Even then, the test is hardly more effective than a coin toss. As I’ve been trying to make clear for many years now, P.S.A. testing can’t detect prostate cancer and, more important, it can’t distinguish between the two types of prostate cancer — the one that will kill you and the one that won’t.  Read Article 2010-03-11T00:34:07+00:00 http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/men-have-longer-sex-life-expectancy-study-says/ http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/men-have-longer-sex-life-expectancy-study-says/#When:23:23:47Z It seems the old cliche may be true. Men are more likely than women to be interested in sex, have sex and enjoy sex, according to new scientific research, which also found people who stay active and healthy enjoy longer sex lives. Research by University of Chicago academics published online Wednesday in the British Medical Journal found that, across all age groups, men were more interested in sex than women — and the gap increased with age. The difference was most pronounced in the 75 to 85 age group, where 39 percent of men and 17 percent of women said they were sexually active, although the gender difference was smaller among people with a partner. Women of that age are more likely than men to be widowed. A total of 71 percent of men who were sexually active above age 75 reported a good sex life, compared with 51 percent of women, while 41 percent of men said they were interested in sex, compared to 11 percent of women. “Overall, men were more likely than women to be sexually active, report a good quality sex life, and be interested in sex,” the researchers found. “This disparity, and its implication for health, requires further exploration.”  Read Article 2010-03-10T23:23:47+00:00 http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/the-sacred-space-of-the-shared-heart/ http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/the-sacred-space-of-the-shared-heart/#When:23:19:13Z “When people come to me because of a sudden illness,” the shaman was telling me as he painstakingly mended a crack in a highly-prized ceremonial gourd, “the first thing I do is ask them, ‘Who recently asked for your help that you refused?’ “ The midday sun blistered the rocky soil of the patio. We sat in the shade of a thatched roof affixed to the wall of the adobe house, looking out over the red rock river. A horse whinnied into the wind from the high ground above the rancho. A burro answered from somewhere across the narrow valley. Time, such as it was, moved very slowly deep in the Copper Canyon of Mexico, where the Tarahumara still lived as they have for millennia. The shaman dipped the gourd in a bucket of water and held it aloft. Not a drop leaked from the mended crack. He could have fashioned a new gourd in a tenth the time it’d taken him to repair the old one. “My duty isn’t just to heal individuals,” he explained, taking a sip from the gourd and handing it to me, “but to heal the community.” Sipping the cool spring water, I looked over the rim of the gourd at my adopted father and realized he spoke with the absolute confidence of someone who had been trained since childhood in the art of holding a community together. It was a small village far-removed from the twentieth century. No electricity or telephones, let alone a hospital or medical doctor. There, on the outskirts of civilization, there was no one to turn to in an emergency if not your neighbor: the individual could not hope to survive without the goodwill of the community—nor could the community hope to survive without the goodwill of each individual. Far-removed from twentieth century civilization, yes. But the most civilized people I was ever to meet.  Read Article 2010-03-10T23:19:13+00:00 http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/dalai-lama-says-he-will-not-take-political-position-in-tibet/ http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/dalai-lama-says-he-will-not-take-political-position-in-tibet/#When:23:14:21Z Seeking more autonomy for the Chinese controlled Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR), Tibet’s exiled Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama on Wednesday said he would not hold any political position in the government in Tibet, once the vexed Tibetan issue is resolved. “Let me reiterate that once the issue of Tibet is resolved, I will not take any political position nor will the members of Tibetan Administration in exile hold any position in the government in Tibet” said Dalai Lama addressing hundreds of Tibetan gathered at the main Buddhist temple to mark the 51st anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day. The Tibetan leader appealed to officials in the Tibetan Autonomous Region to explore the conditions and aspiration of the Tibetan people living in exile. Deploring China, Dalai Lama said the problem in Tibet was serious. He expressed concern over the “huge” military presence and restriction imposed on travel inside Tibet. Reaching out to the Tibetan people, Dalai Lama reiterated his stance to continue talks with China. “Judging by the attitude of the present Chinese leadership there was little hope that results will be achieved soon,” he said, and held the “ultra leftist” policies of the government responsible for the dispute between Tibetan and Chinese people.  Read Article 2010-03-10T23:14:21+00:00 http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/yoga-class-helps-war-veterans-heal-unseen-scars/ http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/yoga-class-helps-war-veterans-heal-unseen-scars/#When:05:47:54Z In a black T-shirt and black jeans, John Armendarez takes his place on a mat on the floor. The 47-year-old veteran who was assigned to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea has never taken a yoga class before, but has been trying new things lately and figures the experience couldn’t hurt. Before class starts, Armendarez raises his left shirt sleeve to reveal a foot-long scar on the inside his arm, an indelible reminder of his service. Hesitant about going into it further, he added, “I’ve seen some action.” Just like Armendarez, Tim Withee also served his country. Withee, 60, is a Vietnam War veteran and had a rough time recovering from the effects of war until he discovered Kundalini yoga. Since 2005, yoga has helped Withee cope and now he teaches yoga classes locally in the hope more veterans also can benefit. It’s not outward scars, but veterans’ inner struggles, where Withee feels he can help.  Read Article 2010-03-10T05:47:54+00:00 http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/your-computer-really-is-a-part-of-you/ http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/your-computer-really-is-a-part-of-you/#When:04:57:09Z An empirical test of ideas proposed by Martin Heidegger shows the great German philosopher to be correct: Everyday tools really do become part of ourselves. The findings come from a deceptively simple study of people using a computer mouse rigged to malfunction. The resulting disruption in attention wasn’t superficial. It seemingly extended to the very roots of cognition. “The person and the various parts of their brain and the mouse and the monitor are so tightly intertwined that they’re just one thing,” said Anthony Chemero, a cognitive scientist at Franklin & Marshall College. “The tool isn’t separate from you. It’s part of you.” Chemero’s experiment, published March 9 in Public Library of Science, was designed to test one of Heidegger’s fundamental concepts: that people don’t notice familiar, functional tools, but instead “see through” them to a task at hand, for precisely the same reasons that one doesn’t think of one’s fingers while tying shoelaces. The tools are us. This idea, called “ready-to-hand,” has influenced artificial intelligence and cognitive science research, but without being directly tested.  Read Article 2010-03-10T04:57:09+00:00 http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/review-science-trips-out-on-music-in-the-heart-is-a-drum-machine/ http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/review-science-trips-out-on-music-in-the-heart-is-a-drum-machine/#When:04:35:06Z What is music? It’s a simple question, but it leads director Christopher Pomerenke in many complicated artistic and scientific directions in his documentary The Heart Is a Drum Machine, out Tuesday on DVD. It’s an expansive, inviting film, which embraces everything from Voyager’s Golden Record and aboriginal funeral chants to brain-music therapy and pop music branding. Along the way, Pomerenke’s mostly unassuming movie is enhanced by interviews with artists, scientists and others deeply invested in charting the pathways of the heart, the prenatal vibration that establishes our musical universe, as well as the mind that modifies those vibrations into meaning. The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne, Tool’s Maynard James Keenan, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ John Frusciante, actor and indie label mogul Elijah Wood, funk doctor George Clinton and many others pay homage to the transformative nature of music in often eloquent and humorous ways in The Heart Is a Drum Machine. Keenan’s thesis — that music’s primacy lies in the friction between bodies and instruments — is delivered in text, as he sits silently in front of the camera. The Postal Service and Figurine’s Jimmy Tamborello stares into space, trying to come up with an answer to the simple question posed by Pomerenke. Comedians Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim say immortal pop, jazz and rock tunes written by geniuses like Miles Davis, Carlos Santana and others can be traced back to “The Farmer in the Dell,” “Frere Jacques” and other timeless childhood sing-alongs.  Read Article 2010-03-10T04:35:06+00:00 http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/seeds-of-mistrust-over-tibet-chinas-heavy-handed-presence-remains-as-a-key-/ http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/seeds-of-mistrust-over-tibet-chinas-heavy-handed-presence-remains-as-a-key-/#When:01:28:31Z WASHINGTON—Two years after protests against Chinese rule erupted into rioting in the Tibetan capital and spread across western China, sporadic talks between Beijing and envoys of the Dalai Lama appear to have achieved little progress. “If there were no anti-China forces or no Dalai to destroy and create chaos, Tibet would be better off than it is today,” the region’s Communist Party secretary Zhang Qingli said in an interview posted on a government Web site. As the two-year anniversary of the Lhasa violence approached, the Dalai Lama’s senior envoy Lodi Gyari meanwhile accused the Communist Party of sowing seeds of racial strife in the wake of the unrest. Beijing ordered a huge military intervention in Lhasa following the riots, which began March 14, 2008. “With all respect, they have really been distorting the facts and really trying to create a negative image of His Holiness,” Lodi Gyari said.  Read Article 2010-03-10T01:28:31+00:00 http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/women-who-drink-gain-less-weight/ http://www.dharmacafe.com/index.php/news-briefs/article/women-who-drink-gain-less-weight/#When:00:53:05Z Dieters are often advised to stop drinking alcohol to avoid the extra calories lurking in a glass of wine or a favorite cocktail. But new research suggests that women who regularly consume moderate amounts of alcohol are less likely to gain weight than nondrinkers and are at lower risk for obesity. The findings, reported this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, are based on a study of 19,220 United States women aged 39 or older who, at the start of the study, fell into the “normal weight” category based on their body mass index. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston tracked the women’s drinking habits over 13 years. About 60 percent of the women were light or regular drinkers, while about 40 percent reported drinking no alcohol. Over the course of the study, 41 percent of the women became overweight or obese. Although alcohol is packed with calories (about 150 in a six-ounce glass of wine), the nondrinkers in the study actually gained more weight over time: nine pounds, on average, compared with an average gain of about three pounds among regular moderate drinkers. The risk of becoming overweight was almost 30 percent lower for women who consumed one or two alcohol beverages a day, compared with nondrinkers. The findings are certain to be confusing for women who continue to receive conflicting messages about the health benefits and risks of alcohol. Although moderate drinking is associated with better heart health, regular drinking also increases breast cancer risk.  Read Article 2010-03-10T00:53:05+00:00