SUMMARY: The H1N1 pandemic has given rise to exaggerated claims of efficacy by some product manufacturers. In recent school testing, three popular brands of hand sanitizer killed between 46 and 60 percent of microbes on students' hands, far short of the 99.99 percent claimed. The more germs that remain, the greater the chance of that particular infection, doctors say.

STORY LINK: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126092257189692937.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_RIGHTTopCarousel

Read more: Kills 99.9% of Germs -- Under Some Lab Conditions

The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies is pleased to announce the formation of its newly chartered Center for Environmental Economics & Ethics (CEEE).  The CEEE is under the direction of James Tate, Ph.D., a recognized public policy scientist who most recently served as Science Advisor to the Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior.
The CEEE is dedicated to understanding social and ecological networks of relationships among organisms, including mankind, and interpreting these relationships through environmental economics. As one of its inaugural activities, the CEEE will host a workshop in conjunction with the National Council for Science and the Environment conference on The New Green Economy in Washington, DC in January, 2010.

Read more: Center for Environmental Economics & Ethics Opens at Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

James Giordano, Ph.D., is the Director of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies Center for Neurotechnology Studies.  Dr. Giordano notes the recent emergence of a popular trend toward the use of neurofeedback technology in nonprofessional settings to "treat" ADHD and other conditions in children and adults.  Neurofeedback systems use a computer in conjunction with sensors attached to a patient's scalp, in a configuration that is intended to enable the patient to monitor and ultimately control electrical activity in the brain. The trend has received coverage in The Washington Post   and other media outlets, and as the Post reports, the National Institute of Mental Health is poised to study the issue.  Meantime many experts are concerned about the lack of oversight and training in this field. Dr. Giordano writes: 

"There is contention surrounding the increasing use of neurofeedback, particularly as relates to possible misuse in children and adults with certain disorders. Perhaps the most important concern relate to the use of this technology by untrained personnel. Neurofeedback is not a toy; it is a medical technology that is still under investigation, and while it may offer certain benefits, it also can incur specific risks and harms. Insight into the underlying neurological mechanisms that may benefit from, and be affected by this technology, as well as the ability to contextualize these mechanisms and effects of neurofeedback to the unique circumstances of each patient, are critical to uphold technically valid and ethically sound use. Of course, further research is required to evaluate the actions and effects of this technology, and there is a need for increased stringency in the education, training and certification of professionally qualified, competent clinicians to steward this knowledge for the well-being of the public."

SUMMARY: As H1N1 cases are heading downward across the country, the World Health Organization (WHO) says it is still too early to declare that the pandemic has peaked. While the flu appears to be waning in the United States and Canada, the evidence is not as apparent for Europe, where H1N1 deaths increased by 6 percent last week.
STORY LINK: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/swineflu/news/dec0309who.html
ANALYSIS:  We can hope the worst of H1N1 is behind us.  However, projecting the future course of the virus is akin to predicting next week’s winning lottery numbers – highly speculative and of low reliability.  It is illustrative to note that the oft-cited influenza pandemic of 1918-9 occurred in three waves over 18 months.  While the current H1N1 strain has not developed the same level of mortality seen 90 years ago, it demonstrates similarities in its rapid spread, deep lung damage, and increased impact on a younger population compared to seasonal flu.  Whether H1N1 resurges over the coming winter months or continues to fade away remains to be seen.  The potential overall impact of influenzas of all types also remains an unknown.  The flu season is just starting and a recent RAND Corporation survey shows that less than one third of adult Americans have received the vaccination for seasonal flu.  While the message may be starting to sound old, the need for immunization, awareness, personal hygiene, and social (nonpharmaceutical) countermeasures remains.