Tag Archives: virus

Swine Flu and Fear: the Doctor’s Verdict

Yesterday, I had swine flu on my mind — I’ve been running a low-grade temperature since Wednesday, and was worried that it was an indicator of something serious. I decided yesterday that if I still had a fever today (Saturday), I’d go to the local walk-in clinic. I woke up this morning still feeling that old familiar body ache and headache. A check of the digital thermometer showed that sure enough, I was still running a fever. Off to the clinic I went! There was a big sign on the door saying that if a patient was experiencing a cough … Continue reading →

Microsoft Releases “Critical” and “Important” Security Patches

Yesterday, Microsoft released a total of four software patches to fix various security flaws. One patch in particular was labeled “critical” by Microsoft; it fixes a hole that could potentially let hackers take over a user’s computer. Victims would be at risk if they visited a website and installed a program that then downloaded malicious code. This “critical” patch affects only Windows 2000 users. A second released patch fixes security holes that affect Microsoft instant messaging programs. These patches were assigned the second highest rating by Microsoft, that of “important.” The security flaw here affects all PC users of MSN … Continue reading →

Chickenpox Vaccine

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Raise your hand if you’ve had chickenpox. I sort of had it twice — my father had it when I was a baby, and my parents tell me I had the rash on my rump. I had it again a few years later, and suffered through the itching by getting painted with calamine lotion. Chickenpox (varicella) is a very common childhood disease; it seems to get harder to deal with as the patient gets older. The disease is most dangerous to infants and adults — as many as 100 people die because of chickenpox here in the U.S. Around twelve … Continue reading →

Can viruses cause mental illness?

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Spend time in a crowded shopping center or in an air conditioned office during peak winter virus time and you’d expect that your chances of picking up a cold or flu virus would be increased. But what if you could pick up a mental illness via the same method? Conditions such as depression and schizophrenia have long been regarded as having a strong biological component by most doctors. That is, it is believed that there exists a genetic link in the development of these conditions. But what if these illnesses were caused by viruses? This is exactly what researchers in … Continue reading →