Your Idle Computer Can Save Lives
Download some software and fight cancer.
By Josh Peterson
Los Angeles, CA, USA | Sun Jun 28 14:00:00 EDT 2009
I don't like keeping my computer on all day. I use my power-saving options when I'm away from it for short periods and turn it off every time I leave the house. Unfortunately, many people keep their computers idling for hours every day. This could be due to forgetfulness, laziness or the myth that it takes more energy to turn the computer on than it does to leave it on. However, if you keep your computer running for any reason, you can put that energy to good use.
By going to Docking Home you can install a free piece of software called BOINC. Once you've downloaded the application, you can volunteer your computer's idle time to find cures for diseases such as HIV, breast cancer, Parkinson's, and arthritis. The program uses your computers resources while it is idling to perform scientific calculations.
Right now, there are 6,000 BOINC volunteers accomplishing 30,000 tasks every day. These calculations are aiding in the creation of new medicines that will, hopefully, eradicate diseases. Researchers simulate molecular models and their infinite combinations to discover these drugs. This takes a long time, and it takes a lot of computer brain power.
Fight Phantom Power Loss
Of course, it's important to reiterate the wastefulness of leaving a computer, or any electronic device, plugged in, let alone switched on all the time. Phantom energy loss is responsible for a huge amount of wasted electricity and resources. If you have a choice: turn your electronics, including the computer, off, and use a power strip to break the connection to the wall outlet.
However, if you are on and off the computer and need it idle for an hour or less at a time, consider doing something charitable. Really, you don't have to do anything at all. No mailing addresses or credit card numbers, just downloading software. And if your computer is on anyway, then let that energy go to saving lives. That's better than letting it go completely to waste.
I have been a member of the BOINC community for the past four years. The two research programs I have chosen are cancer research and climate analysis. I leave it on in the background while I am answering emails, etc. and all night while I am sleeping. The cost of doing this is my contribution to the cause. I also tell my friends about it. My only qualm is that I receive no feedback about how the project is doing, what breakthroughs have been accomplished, or even what progress is being made. I am making this little gesture in an altruistic spirit, and would hate to find out somewhere down the line that Big Pharma has used my little contribution for THEIR purposes.
Showing posts with label breast cancer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label breast cancer. Show all posts
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Inactivity - page 2
That may be because most studies aren't long or large enough to see the link, he adds. "It's a modest effect, but it does look like it's there, mostly for postmenopausal women."
And it looks like women can protect their breasts at the same time they're maintaining other body parts.
"We're not clear how much physical activity you need to reduce the risk of breast cancer," says Lee. "But it's in the same ballpark as for colon cancer--between 30 and 60 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a day."
As for some other cancers, she adds, "there's some suggestive evidence, but it's not as conclusive."
3 The Brain
It's bad enough that inactivity can turn your muscles to Jell-O. Can it do the same to your brain?
"The evidence is fairly solid that people who are more physically active are at lower risk for cognitive decline and dementia," says Constantine Lyketsos, director of the division of geriatric psychiatry and neuropsychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.
For example, among more than 3,000 older men and women in the Cardiovascular Health Cognition Study, those who reported engaging in at least four activities (like walking, household chores, gardening, and jogging) during the previous two weeks were half as likely to be diagnosed with dementia five years later than those who took part in no more than one activity. (5)
However, exercise had no link with either Alzheimer's or other dementias in people in the study who had the [epsilon]4 version of the apolipoprotein (ApoE) gene. In contrast, a Finnish study found that exercise protected ApoE [epsilon]4 carriers more than people without the gene. (6) (About 20 percent of people have at least one copy of the [epsilon]4 version of the gene.)
"People with the gene seem to get Alzheimer's about 8 to 10 years earlier than non-carriers," explains Lyketsos, who coauthored the Cardiovascular Health Cognition Study. That usually means it starts in their 70s rather than their 80s.
With or without ApoE [epsilon]4, he acknowledges, the evidence on exercise isn't conclusive. "It's always possible that people are reducing their physical activity because they're in the early stages of dementia."
But clues from animal studies are compelling.
"There's a fairly strong neurobiological basis to suggest that the more physically active you are, the less likely you are to develop dementia," says Lyketsos.
For example, the brains of physically active mice have more nerves, more connections between nerves, fewer clogged arteries, more oxygen flow, and better ability to utilize glucose, he explains.
"All are probably factors in helping prevent cognitive decline and dementia."
Recent studies used mice that are prone to acquire the amyloid plaques that are found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
"At least one study suggests that if you take these mice out of their traditional cages, where there's little to do, and put them into stimulating cages with more colors, objects, brighter areas, and little mouse treadmills, you find fewer amyloid deposits in the brain," says Lyketsos.
And it looks like women can protect their breasts at the same time they're maintaining other body parts.
"We're not clear how much physical activity you need to reduce the risk of breast cancer," says Lee. "But it's in the same ballpark as for colon cancer--between 30 and 60 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a day."
As for some other cancers, she adds, "there's some suggestive evidence, but it's not as conclusive."
3 The Brain
It's bad enough that inactivity can turn your muscles to Jell-O. Can it do the same to your brain?
"The evidence is fairly solid that people who are more physically active are at lower risk for cognitive decline and dementia," says Constantine Lyketsos, director of the division of geriatric psychiatry and neuropsychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.
For example, among more than 3,000 older men and women in the Cardiovascular Health Cognition Study, those who reported engaging in at least four activities (like walking, household chores, gardening, and jogging) during the previous two weeks were half as likely to be diagnosed with dementia five years later than those who took part in no more than one activity. (5)
However, exercise had no link with either Alzheimer's or other dementias in people in the study who had the [epsilon]4 version of the apolipoprotein (ApoE) gene. In contrast, a Finnish study found that exercise protected ApoE [epsilon]4 carriers more than people without the gene. (6) (About 20 percent of people have at least one copy of the [epsilon]4 version of the gene.)
"People with the gene seem to get Alzheimer's about 8 to 10 years earlier than non-carriers," explains Lyketsos, who coauthored the Cardiovascular Health Cognition Study. That usually means it starts in their 70s rather than their 80s.
With or without ApoE [epsilon]4, he acknowledges, the evidence on exercise isn't conclusive. "It's always possible that people are reducing their physical activity because they're in the early stages of dementia."
But clues from animal studies are compelling.
"There's a fairly strong neurobiological basis to suggest that the more physically active you are, the less likely you are to develop dementia," says Lyketsos.
For example, the brains of physically active mice have more nerves, more connections between nerves, fewer clogged arteries, more oxygen flow, and better ability to utilize glucose, he explains.
"All are probably factors in helping prevent cognitive decline and dementia."
Recent studies used mice that are prone to acquire the amyloid plaques that are found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
"At least one study suggests that if you take these mice out of their traditional cages, where there's little to do, and put them into stimulating cages with more colors, objects, brighter areas, and little mouse treadmills, you find fewer amyloid deposits in the brain," says Lyketsos.
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