Many travelers are expected to visit Asia in the upcoming weeks to celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Tiger. Lunar New Year falls on February 14, 2010. If you are traveling, the Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) would like to share information and tips that will help you stay healthy and enjoy your trip.

Every destination, even in different areas of the same country, has unique health issues that travelers need to be aware of. To find specific information about the areas you plan to visit, see the East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia regional pages on the CDC Travelers’ Health website, or click on the country or countries you will be visiting on the destinations page.

Parliamentarian breaks rules to squelch GOP stall tactic

WASHINGTON, D.C., December 17, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - As even more new language continues to pile up in Sen. Harry Reid's massive manager's amendment to the health care bill, which is being constructed behind closed doors, the leader of the Senate Republicans slammed the Democrats for planning to hold a vote on a bill no one has seen yet.

"Here's the most outrageous part: at the end of this rush, they want us to vote on a bill that no one outside the Majority Leader's conference room has even seen," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in a release Thursday.  "That's right. The final bill we'll vote on isn't even the one we've had on the floor. It's the deal Democrat leaders have been trying to work out in private.

Blood Stem-Cell Transplant Regimen Reverses Sickle Cell Disease in Adults

A modified blood adult stem-cell transplant regimen has effectively reversed sickle cell disease in 9 of 10 adults who had been severely affected by the disease, according to results of a National Institutes of Health study in the Dec. 10 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The trial was conducted at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md., by NIH researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

February 6, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) -
Charnette Messe, a 35-year-old mother of two, was living the American dream until she learned she had breast cancer, and then the very next day, found out she was pregnant. Fighting for her life and that of her baby, Charnette wanted answers, and, now, she wants to tell other women the truth she discovered about the abortion she kept a secret for 15 years and why it may have caused her cancer.

Dr. Angela Lanfranchi, a New Jersey breast surgeon and co-founder of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute, provides a medical explanation of why abortion is the single, most avoidable risk factor for breast cancer.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, December 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) -
The former Dutch minister who successfully promoted the legalization of euthanasia has now admitted that the government's move was a mistake, and says that they should have first focused on palliative care.

Els Borst, who served as Health Minister for the Netherlands from 1994 to 2002, proposed the country's infamous euthanasia bill.  When it passed in 2001, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia.  In 2008, Dutch doctors reported 2,331 cases of euthanasia, 400 cases of assisted suicide, and 550 deaths without request.

Borst drew criticism from some Christian political parties shortly after the passage of her bill for comments she made in an interview.  Echoing the Christ's final words on the Cross, Borst exclaimed: "It is finished!"

Genes that Protect Chromosome Tips May Boost Longevity

By studying the genes of dozens of people who've lived to 100, scientists have found gene variants that appear to protect chromosome caps, or telomeres, from deteriorating with age. Longer telomeres were associated with both longer lives and healthier aging.

Telomeres (the yellow tips of the chromosomes, left) are segments of specialized DNA and proteins that cap the ends of chromosomes and prevent them from unraveling. With each cell division, telomeres erode slightly, although they can be rebuilt by the enzyme telomerase. When telomeres become too short, the cell stops dividing or dies. Telomeres are thought to play key roles in aging, cancer and other biological processes.

Lack of Sleep Linked to Alzheimer's Plaques in Mice

People with Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases often have trouble sleeping. Now a new study suggests that sleep problems may actually contribute to the disease process. Researchers report that disrupted sleep can lead to the buildup of brain plaques—a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease—in mice.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia among older people. It's marked by dense protein clumps, called amyloid plaques, that form between brain cells. The plaques are made mostly of a protein fragment called amyloid-beta, produced by nerve cells and released into the surrounding brain fluid.

New Publication Features Women in Science Careers at the National Institutes of Health

"Women in Science at the National Institutes of Health 2007-2008" is a new publication showcasing the achievements of some of the accomplished women at the NIH and is intended to inspire a diversity of girls and boys, women and men to enter or continue in science careers.

Sponsored and prepared by the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) with assistance from the members of the NIH Coordinating Committee on Research on Women’s Health, the book celebrates the careers and accomplishments of 289 talented female scientists and administrators who are part of the NIH community. Each NIH Institute, Center and Office recommended up to 15 doctoral-level women to be featured in the publication.

JCT Confirms Failure to Comply with Democrats’ Mandate Can Lead to 5 Years in Jail 

Friday,  Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. 

The JCT letter  makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.