In the words of Stephen Colbert, "Thanksgiving is a magical time of year when families across the country join together to raise America's obesity statistics. Personally, I love Thanksgiving traditions: watching football, making pumpkin pie, and saying the magic phrase that sends your aunt storming out of the dining room to sit in her car."   Give your aunt a break this year... reflecting with the family on this congenial holiday and all bounty given...or you can just crank up the rap music and watch the screen door fly. Happy Turkey!

Visit the IA Showroom while gift selection is still stuffed. A very cool bird's eye view of the complete Awareables necktie and scarf collection.

http://www.iawareables.com/shopping/neckties_showroom.htm  

BedBugs Necktie

Bed Bugs (Cimex lectulatris) are rusty brown - red after a meal (guess from what and who?)

They can live more than a year, just hanging out without feeding.

They are wingless and cannot climb polished surfaces (do they try?)

Re-emergence in No. America can be linked to increase in international travel (us and them), and the elimination of DDT in favor of less toxic - but less effective chemicals.

The U.S. hospitality industry feels the primary impact of infestation. Status of your in-law's guest room unknown.

Insurance claims can exceed $100,000; remediation costs run between $20,000 -$ 50,000 per incident.

Several insurance companies now offer Bed Bug policies, covering costs of decontamination, profit losses from business interruption, and crisis management help.

Bed Bugs do not carry disease, but they do inject saliva while piercing their host (again, you) during feeding - causing swelling or a rash.

The affected skin area can become irritated or infected when scratched.

A really bad, telltale sign: Bed Bugs "eliminate" their meal within five hours of feeding, leaving...ummm, traces....on bed sheets, mattresses and around hiding places.

And we haven't even begun to discuss the healthcare industry...coming Jan 2012.

Rhinovirus Necktie

Immunization: Flu Necktie

Antibody Scarf

Immunization: Flu Scarf

As pointed out in a recent USA Today article, the "...r" months of September - April generally define the flu and cold season, and the annual battle to ward off the sneezy, achey, crawley, viral and bacterial interlopers. In a new study by Kimberley-Clarke Professional, in collaboration with environmental microbiologist, Dr. Charles Gerba, common-area surfaces most likely to yield contagious germs were swabbed, and the degree of contamination reported. Most grievous among the offenders were gas pump handles (71%), corner mailboxes (63%), ATMs (41%) and escalator rails (43%).   On a personal level, computer keyboards remain a top suspect.

What to do? Handwashing, awareness, reasonable precautions.  

And good luck with all that.  

IA has its own remedy for the season. "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer!"

The Ig Novel awards are arguably the highlight of the scientific calendar." - Nature 

Our favorite annual awards. Based on marginal merit and a lot of extra time on hand, this year's winners in Biology hail from Australia and the US.   Referencing their article published in the Journal of the Australian Entomological Society entitled "Beetles on the Bottle," lucky for us Gwynne and Rentz discovered that a certain kind of beetle mates with a certain kind of... Australian beer bottle (called "stubbies."!) Apparently the small tubercles at the bottom of the brown bottle resemble whatever it is that attracts male beetles to the female (cricky....discarded green bottles did not hold the same attraction.)

The authors lament the physical and visual hazards caused by the discarded bottles, make a plea for environmental consciousness, and voice concern for the interference with the mating system of the beetle species.  

Activism taken to a new level. (We don't make these things up.)

For more on the IgNobels, check out improbable.com/ig.

In a new report, 'Ten Noteworthy Public Health Achievements -- United States, 2001-2010,' the CDC Identifies 10 of the major public health achievements of the first 10 years of the 21st century. A quick summary....

• New Vaccines for Vaccine-Preventable Diseases - including vaccines for pneumoniae, HPV, shingles, meningococcal and rotavirus diseases.
• Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases - reductions in tuberculosis, central line infections, quicker identification of contaminated food, and more HIV screening
• Tobacco Control
• Maternal and Infant Health - reductions in birth defects, including neural tube defects
• Motor Vehicle Safety - declines in motor vehicle deaths and pedestrian deaths
• Cardiovascular Disease Prevention - declines in deaths from both heart disease and stroke
• Occupational Safety
• Cancer Prevention - improved screening rates and a reduction in deaths of 2 - 3 percent per year from colorectal, breast and cervical cancer
• Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention - number of kids with elevated blood lead levels has declined significantly from 88.2 percent in 1980 to under 1 percent in 2008
• Improved Public Health Preparednessand Response

(The improvement statistics assume the public takes advantage of these achievements.   The fact that vaccines are delayed for approximately 13% of kids and totally refused for 2%; seat belts are often ignored; many kids still think smoking is cool; and health screenings may be given low priorities - makes the job of public health workers a constant challenge.)

Vaccinate! Necktie

TB Tie

HPV Scarf

Hepatitis B Scarf

Procrastination can only bring heartbreak. Not to mention seriously piquing the little drummer boy...  

US Postal Service : Order as early as possible. No guarantees on 2011 hybrid model reindeer!

Express 2-3 Day, seriously last-minute date: Dec 20 A.M. (PT)

(APHA) American Public Health Association Washington, D.C.

Booth 2001, up front and center.