How To Do the Perfect Push-Up

Push-ups?we've all done ?em, but sometimes they just don't look so pretty. Fear not! We've got the guide to get it right. Push-ups are a total-body functional move that are great for increasing strength, much like bench-pressing, and have the added benefit of engaging the core and lower body (thanks, gravity!). The bodyweight exercise can be done just about anywhere?with a ton of variations to liven things up. So let's drop down and do the perfect push-up.

The Basics

1. Get into a plank position with hands planted directly under the shoulders (slightly wider than shoulder width apart). Ground the toes into the floor to stabilize the bottom half of the body. Engage the abs and back so the body is neutral. In other words, flat as a? plank (ah, now we get it!).

2. Begin to lower the body?back flat, eyes focused about three feet in front of you to keep a neutral neck?until the chest nearly touches the floor. (Note: Some experts say a push-up isn't a push-up unless the chest actually grazes the ground). Don't let the butt dip or stick out at any point during the move; the body should remain flat from head to toe all the way through the movement. Draw the shoulder blades back and down, while keeping the elbows tucked close to the body, so the upper arms form a 45-degree angle at the bottom of the push-up position.

3. Keeping the core engaged, exhale as you push back to the start position as explosively as possible without leaving the ground (pow!). That's one! Repeat for 10-20 reps or as many as can be performed with good form (no sagging those hips, ya heard?).

Variations

Changing the positions of both the elbows and hands will activate different muscles and amp up the intensity of the basic push-up. Ready? Here we go!

Bent Knee Push-Up: These push-ups are great for beginners to nail down form before graduating to other varieties. Come to all fours, hands directly under the shoulders. With the knees on the floor, lower to the ground the same way as a standard push-up, just with the knees helping to stabilize the body rather than the feet.

Alternating Med Ball Push-Up: This variety increases range of motion, and works core stability. Place one hand on top of the medicine ball, while the other stabilizes the body on the floor. Adjust the body into a plank (only this time, one arm is supported by the ball). Perform a standard push-up, then roll the ball to the other hand and repeat.

Single Leg Push-Up: This push-up is tricky, because the body is stabilized by only three points rather than four. Perform a standard push-up, but raise one leg up toward the ceiling, heel reaching toward the wall behind you. Alternate legs after each rep, or perform two sets (starting with one leg, then switching to the other for the next set).

Clap Push-Up: These push-ups are all about plyometrics, meaning the hands lift off the ground,, clap, then return to the floor. To break it down: Perform a standard push-up, but at the exhale, swiftly straighten the arms and forcefully push off the floor. Bring the hands together into a clap, then return to the start position. Note: This is not a beginner's exercise, and requires quite a bit of strength (and practice!) to perform correctly.

Handstand Push-Up: Handstands? Why not! These push-ups really amp up the demands. And we're not kidding, they take a lot of practice and coordination (and usually a wall, maybe even a spotter for your first go at it). Position the body against a wall and practice a static handstand before lowering into the push-up. Once you've mastered that, slowly lower the body down a few inches then press back up to a full handstand. Eventually, work toward lowering down completely to the floor before pushing back up. Carefully lower those legs and it's a wrap.

The Most Common Push-Up Mistakes (And How To Fix 'Em)

The Mistake: Focusing too much on the upper body.
The Fix: Sure, push-ups are known for strengthening the pecs, shoulders, and triceps, but they're a total-body move. Pay attention to the glutes and legs, and keep ?em tight! Tightening that tush can help keep the lower back from arching during the move. Instead of letting the bum flop down first (and compromising the lower back), hit the ground chest first, keeping the hips in the same plane as the shoulders. Imagine the belly button drawing in toward the spine to help keep the torso flat.

The Mistake: Flaring the arms.
The Fix: Letting those arms pop out to 90 degrees can be really tough on the shoulders. Instead of forming a "T" with the arms and body, keep the elbows tucked close to the body.

The Mistake: Forgetting to breathe.
The Fix: Faith Hill had it right: Just breathe. Concentrating on form and reps can make it easy to forget one of the most important parts of working out?breathing. Inhale on the way down, and exhale on the way back up.

The Mistake: Cheating Yourself.
The Fix: The key is quality over quantity. Make sure each push-up reaches a full range of motion by getting the chest as close to the floor as comfortable, then fully extending the elbows at the top. Having sloppy form will make for a less effective strengthening exercise that targets fewer muscles.

How To Do the Perfect Push-Up?Greatist

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Natalie McDermott tries her best to eat foods that make her feel good, but she has a lot of sweet teeth. She completed a 1-month ShakeWeight "challenge" ... well that was embarrassing... but she much prefers the gym with her coworkers or a hike in the woods. Nothing makes her happier than playing with puppies (and talking to them like they're human beings). She's a big fan of coloring, preferably with chalk or crayons.

Image remixed from BigStockPhoto and pixabay.

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SoundHound now scavenging tunes in more tablet-friendly Android version

If you've ever had an earworm you just can't put a name to, the SoundHound music recognition app -- that even translates your humming -- can be just the sorcery you need. There's now an Android version with a more tablet-centric design and tighter Google integration that brings "streamlined sharing to Facebook, Twitter and more," according to the company. It also trumpeted a stronger relationship with digital music service Rdio, which added interactive music mapping to its SoundHounded track-linking abilities, letting you see others across the globe with the same musical tastes and bad memory. You can grab it at Google Play or Amazon's Appstore for Kindle, but if you're as tone deaf as some of us, don't forget the auto-tune.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile

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Cosmic crash 2022: Space probes will smash into asteroid in nine years

Cosmic crash 2022: American and European scientists are planning to crash a spacecraft into a nearby asteroid in 2022 to analyze the interior of the cosmic rock.

By Miriam Kramer,?Space.com / March 25, 2013

This NASA simulation shows asteroid 2012 DA14 approaching Earth from the south on Feb. 15, 2013, when the 150-foot asteroid passed within 17,000 miles of the Earth. In 2022, scientists hope to crash a space probe into asteroid Didymos in order to understand its composition.

JPL-Caltech / NASA / AP

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Scientists in Europe and the United States are moving forward with plans to intentionally smash a spacecraft into a huge nearby asteroid in 2022 to see inside the space rock.

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The ambitious European-led Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment mission, or AIDA, is slated to launch in 2019 to send two spacecraft ? one built by scientists in the U.S, and the other by the European Space Agency ? on a three-year voyage to the asteroid Didymos and its companion. Didymos has no chance of impacting the Earth, which makes it a great target for this kind of mission, scientists involved in the mission said in a presentation Tuesday (March 19) here at the 44th annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

Didymos is actually a binary asteroid system consisting of two separate space rocks bound together by gravity. The main asteroid is enormous, measuring 2,625 feet (800 meters) across. It is orbited by a smaller asteroid ?about 490 feet (150 m).

The Didymos asteroid setup is an intriguing target for the AIDA mission because it will give scientists their first close look at a binary space rock system while also yielding new insights into ways to deflect dangerous asteroids that could pose an impact threat to the Earth.?

"Binary systems are quite common," said Andy Rivkin, a scientist at Johns Hopkins' Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., working on the U.S. portion of AIDA project. "This will be our first rendezvous with a binary system."

In 2022, the Didymos asteroids will be about 6.8 million miles (11 million km) from the Earth, during a close approach, which is why AIDA scientists have timed their mission for that year.

Rivkin and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins' Applied Physics Laboratory are building DART (short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test), one of the two spacecraft making up the tag team AIDA mission. Like its acronym suggests, the DART probe crash directly into the smaller Didymos asteroid while travelling at 14,000 mph (22,530 km/h), creating a crater during an impact that will hopefully sending the space rock slightly off course, Rivkin said.

The European Space Agency is building the second AIDA spacecraft, which is called the Asteroid Impact Monitor (or AIM). AIM will observe the impact from a safe distance, and the probe's data will be used with other data collected by telescopes on Earth to understand exactly what the impact did to the asteroid.

"AIM is the usual shoebox satellite," ESA researcher Jens Biele, ?who works on the AIM spacecraft, said. "It's nothing very fancy."

AIDA scientists hope their mission will push the smaller Didymos asteroid off course by only a few millimeters. The small space rock orbits the larger, primary Didymos asteroid once every 12 hours.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/c5vac-mjVOI/Cosmic-crash-2022-Space-probes-will-smash-into-asteroid-in-nine-years

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Star Snapshots: Celebrities with Their Dogs

Hollywood is full of animal lovers! See more pics of celebrities spending time with their furry friends.

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Stocking Florida bass in Texas reservoirs may alter stream systems connected to stocked reservoirs

Mar. 7, 2013 ? A genetic analysis by Baylor University biologists suggests that the stocking of Florida bass in Texas reservoirs impacts bass populations far beyond the actual stocking location.

The native largemouth bass has a long and nearly continuous stocking history in Texas. However, the Florida bass is widely considered a better sport fish because it grows to a greater size. Subsequently, stocking efforts in Texas reservoirs have transitioned from largemouth bass to Florida bass.

The Baylor researchers analyzed the genetic composition of 69 largemouth bass in nonstocked streams of central Texas. These results were compared to DNA from 27 largemouth bass and Florida bass specimens provided by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department that represented stock lineages as well as wild fish from outside of the sampling region.

Their analyses found the presence of Florida bass DNA in bass at all sampling locations, including sites more than 50 miles upstream from the closest documented stocking location.

"This presence of Florida bass DNA at the sampling locations indicates that the influence of stocking reaches far beyond managed reservoirs," reported Patrick D. Danley, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of biology in Baylor's College of Arts and Sciences. "Although the stocking of non-native Florida bass in reservoirs may enhance fishing opportunities, it also has the ability to alter stream systems that are directly connected to stocked reservoirs."

Because of the methods used, the researchers could not determine if Florida bass migrated upstream or if the movement of their DNA was due to hybridization with native populations.

"At this time, we cannot determine whether our samples represent a hybridizing group of largemouth bass and Florida bass or two distinct co-occurring species," Danley said. "Further studies using nuclear markers would be useful for differentiating hybrids from pure lineages of Florida bass and largemouth bass and would shed light on the impacts of Florida bass stocking on native largemouth bass populations in central Texas," he said.

Additional researchers involved in the study include Ryan S. King, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, doctoral student Martin Husemann, and former doctoral student Jesse Ray.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Baylor University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Jesse W. Ray, Martin Husemann, Ryan S. King, Patrick D. Danley. Genetic Analysis Reveals Dispersal of Florida Bass Haplotypes from Reservoirs to Rivers in Central Texas. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 2012; 141 (5): 1269 DOI: 10.1080/00028487.2012.690814

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/fUqGa0AUH4E/130307161629.htm

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A diplomatic natural, Kerry hits ground running

DOHA, Qatar (AP) ? With the smile of a seasoned politician, a flair for languages and a vast repertoire of personal anecdotes, Secretary of State John Kerry schmoozed and cajoled his way through Europe and the Middle East on his first trip abroad as America's top envoy. But as far as diplomatic triumphs go, Dennis Rodman stole the show.

Kerry plunged into his first official overseas voyage by touring the capitals of America's traditional Western European allies, charming his hosts in Britain, France, Germany and Italy with his patrician bearing, fluent French, passable German and smattering of Italian.

He greeted officials with the comfortable blue-blooded bonhomie of a well-heeled man at ease in the grand salons of London, Paris, Berlin and Rome, yet one still deeply affected by his combat experience in Vietnam, something he made clear to German youth in a town hall meeting on the second stop of the trip.

Leaving Europe behind, Kerry immersed himself in the byzantine politics of a volatile Mideast that is struggling with the chaotic aftermath of the Arab Spring, an area in which the Obama administration must toe a delicate line between advocacy and unwanted interference.

In Rome and Cairo, he doled out modest aid packages to the Syrian opposition and to Egypt's foundering Islamist government with an appeal for that country's bickering politicians to save their nation from economic ruin ? at the same time Congress and the Obama administration were bickering about cuts to the United States' budget. In Ankara and Riyadh, he rebuked the Turks over anti-Israel rhetoric and warned Iran about its nuclear program.

The silver-maned, slightly hard-of-hearing, 69-year-old Kerry also announced a significant shift in policy toward the Free Syrian Army, providing nonlethal assistance directly to the armed rebels fighting to oust President Bashar Assad.

However, the biggest diplomatic coup during Kerry's trip sprung from his antithesis: a flamboyant, retired NBA star with multiple body piercings who became the first American to have ever met North Korea's reclusive young leader, Kim Jong-Un.

Thus it was Dennis Keith Rodman, former Chicago Bull, Southeastern Oklahoma State attendee, basketball journeyman and Madonna boy toy, and not Yale-educated John Forbes Kerry, former Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential nominee, who was the talk of the foreign policy cocktail circuit back home.

Kerry told NBC on Tuesday that Rodman "was a great basketball player, and as a diplomat, he was a great basketball player. That's where we'll leave it."

Still, Kerry soldiered on, conscious of the legacy left by his predecessor, Hillary Rodham Clinton, but determined to make his own mark on U.S. diplomacy as America's 68th secretary of state and clean up some long unfinished business along with way.

At a meeting with U.S. Embassy staff in Abu Dhabi, the ex-chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee described himself as a "recovering politician and budding diplomat" and reprised the biggest laugh line of his speech to the State Department on his first on the job.

"I have big heels to fill," he said to chuckles. "The big test, obviously, as I mentioned, is: Can a man do this job now?"

Kerry was apparently unfazed when nearly half of the Egyptian opposition figures invited to meet him at a roundtable at a luxury Cairo hotel didn't show up. They complained that the United States is siding with President Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood. Nonetheless, Kerry gave his message that politicians of all sides have to compromise for the good of the nation.

Kerry dutifully reassured Europeans that the Obama administration's much-publicized pivot to Asia won't leave them bereft of the trans-Atlantic ally that protected them from Cold War Soviet ambitions. He made clear to Gulf Arabs wary of Iran's growing assertiveness that Washington would not allow Tehran to get nukes and run roughshod through the region.

And, in a nod toward hopes for possible progress on the Mideast peace front, he had lunch Monday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Saudi Arabia.

The first white man to run the State Department since Warren Christopher stepped down in 1997, Kerry appears to be a throwback to the "pale, male, Yale" era of American diplomacy when the striped-pants Ivy League set ruled the roost in Foggy Bottom and U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.

But despite the wardrobe of custom suits and a rack of pink and teal neckties from a Martha's Vineyard clothier that proudly caters to the preppy crowd, Kerry strove to present an everyman persona, notably to embassy staff.

He recalled his time growing up as a foreign service officer's child in post-World War II Europe. He promised to fight for funding for them even as budget cuts kick in.

"When I was the son of a foreign service officer and went to another country, and changed schools, I didn't really know where I was, and wasn't too sure why," he told employees at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, after pulling about two dozen of their offspring onto the dais with him to pose for pictures.

"And, I'll tell you folks, you put up with a lot in that respect," he said. "I know what it means to be in this great endeavor."

After nearly falling off the stage in an embassy reception room in Rome, Kerry regaled those assembled with a story about how he and the current U.S. ambassador to Italy decades ago bought a broken-down London taxi and drove through Europe with post-adolescent gusto.

"I think we left London one night at midnight and went to the ferry and went across to France and went down through France and Spain and then down into Italy and had a great adventure, running with the bulls in Pamplona and all those crazy things you do when you're 18 years old," he recalled.

A little more than a stone's throw from the Vatican on the day Pope Benedict XVI became the first pontiff to retire in 600 years, Kerry ? a practicing Roman Catholic ? joked about a friend who had teased him with this made-up headline: "Kerry Arrives; Pope Goes."

In Paris, where his mother, Rosemary, of the wealthy Forbes clan, was born and later worked as a nurse's aide during World War II before fleeing the city on a bicycle as the Nazis marched into the city in June 1940, Kerry hinted at youthful fun in the City of Light.

"I spent, or misspent, a night or two of my youth here in this city," he said with a roguish grin. "I will not tell you about wandering around Paris all night long just to live it and feel it."

Now, decades later, a man whose entire life appears to have been prologue to being secretary of state is wrapping up a diplomatic dash that has taken him to nine countries in 10 days.

He has his diplomatic passport back and seems ready to use it.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-06-US-Kerry's-Debut/id-55b1de22ed924c8b89d53cbf758d9585

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Rounding Up the Latest NFL Draft Buzz, Rumors and Speculation

According Dan Pompei of the National Football Post, Ezekiel Ansah didn't train for the combine. Instead he simply continued to attend class at BYU.

Pompei also states that, according to Ansah's agent, the 40-yard dash at the combine was the first of his career.?

This story has generated quite a bit of discussion over the past few days, but its possibly the most overblown report of the NFL offseason thus far.?

For starters, there's nothing too unusual about continuing to attend class. Many top prospects drop out of school and enroll in a full-time training facility, but there are plenty who choose a different path.?

The story about Ansah's 40-yard dash would be far more impressive...if there were any truth to it.

Technically, it may be the first time Ansah ran exactly 40 yards in a full sprint, but it's far from the first time he's competed in a similar event.?

Ansah originally enrolled at BYU as a track athlete, so it should come as no surprise that he excelled at the 40-yard dash in Indianapolis.?

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1554872-rounding-up-the-latest-nfl-draft-buzz-rumors-and-speculation

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Video: University sends acceptance letters to the wrong students

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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Has Died - Yeshiva World News

President Hugo Chavez, the fiery populist who declared a socialist revolution in Venezuela, crusaded against U.S. influence and championed a leftist revival across Latin America, died Tuesday at age 58 after a nearly two-year bout with cancer.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro, surrounded by other government officials, announced the death in a national television broadcast. He said Chavez died at 4:25 p.m. local time.

During more than 14 years in office, Chavez routinely challenged the status quo at home and internationally. He polarized Venezuelans with his confrontational and domineering style, yet was also a masterful communicator and strategist who tapped into Venezuelan nationalism to win broad support, particularly among the poor.

Chavez repeatedly proved himself a political survivor. As an army paratroop commander, he led a failed coup in 1992, then was pardoned and elected president in 1998. He survived a coup against his own presidency in 2002 and won re-election two more times.

The burly president electrified crowds with his booming voice, often wearing the bright red of his United Socialist Party of Venezuela or the fatigues and red beret of his army days. Before his struggle with cancer, he appeared on television almost daily, talking for hours at a time and often breaking into song of philosophical discourse.

Chavez used his country?s vast oil wealth to launch social programs that include state-run food markets, new public housing, free health clinics and education programs. Poverty declined during Chavez?s presidency amid a historic boom in oil earnings, but critics said he failed to use the windfall of hundreds of billions of dollars to develop the country?s economy.

Inflation soared and the homicide rate rose to among the highest in the world.

Chavez underwent surgery in Cuba in June 2011 to remove what he said was a baseball-size tumor from his pelvic region, and the cancer returned repeatedly over the next 18 months despite more surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments. He kept secret key details of his illness, including the type of cancer and the precise location of the tumors.

?El Comandante,? as he was known, stayed in touch with the Venezuelan people during his treatment via Twitter and phone calls broadcast on television, but even those messages dropped off as his health deteriorated.

Two months after his last re-election in October, Chavez returned to Cuba again for cancer surgery, blowing a kiss to his country as he boarded the plane. He was never seen again in public.

After a 10-week absence marked by opposition protests over the lack of information about the president?s health and growing unease among the president?s ?Chavista? supporters, the government released photographs of Chavez on Feb. 15 and three days later announced that the president had returned to Venezuela to be treated at a military hospital in Caracas.

Throughout his presidency, Chavez said he hoped to fulfill Bolivar?s unrealized dream of uniting South America.

He was also inspired by Cuban leader Fidel Castro and took on the aging revolutionary?s role as Washington?s chief antagonist in the Western Hemisphere after Castro relinquished the presidency to his brother Raul in 2006.

Supporters saw Chavez as the latest in a colorful line of revolutionary legends, from Castro to Argentine-born Ernesto ?Che? Guevara. Chavez nurtured that cult of personality, and even as he stayed out of sight for long stretches fighting cancer, his out-sized image appeared on buildings and billboard throughout Venezuela. The airwaves boomed with his baritone mantra: ?I am a nation.? Supporters carried posters and wore masks of his eyes, chanting, ?I am Chavez.?

Chavez saw himself as a revolutionary and savior of the poor.

?A revolution has arrived here,? he declared in a 2009 speech. ?No one can stop this revolution.?

Chavez?s social programs won him enduring support: Poverty rates declined from 50 percent at the beginning of his term in 1999 to 32 percent in the second half of 2011. But he also charmed his audience with sheer charisma and a flair for drama that played well for the cameras.

He ordered the sword of South American independence leader Simon Bolivar removed from Argentina?s Central Bank to unsheathe at key moments. On television, he would lambast his opponents as ?oligarchs,? announce expropriations of companies and lecture Venezuelans about the glories of socialism. His performances included renditions of folk songs and impromptu odes to Chinese revolutionary Mao Zedong and 19th century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

Chavez carried his in-your-face style to the world stage as well. In a 2006 speech to the U.N. General Assembly, he called President George W. Bush the devil, saying the podium reeked of sulfur after Bush?s address.

Critics saw Chavez as a typical Latin American caudillo, a strongman who ruled through force of personality and showed disdain for democratic rules. Chavez concentrated power in his hands with allies who dominated the congress and justices who controlled the Supreme Court.

He insisted all the while that Venezuela remained a vibrant democracy and denied trying to restrict free speech. But some opponents faced criminal charges and were driven into exile.

While Chavez trumpeted plans for communes and an egalitarian society, his soaring rhetoric regularly conflicted with reality. Despite government seizures of companies and farmland, the balance between Venezuela?s public and private sectors changed little during his presidency.

And even as the poor saw their incomes rise, those gains were blunted while the country?s currency weakened amid economic controls.

Nonetheless, Chavez maintained a core of supporters who stayed loyal to their ?comandante? until the end.

?Chavez masterfully exploits the disenchantment of people who feel excluded ? and he feeds on controversy whenever he can,? Cristina Marcano and Alberto Barrera Tyszka wrote in their book ?Hugo Chavez: The Definitive Biography of Venezuela?s Controversial President.?

Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias was born on July 28, 1954, in the rural town of Sabaneta in Venezuela?s western plains. He was the son of schoolteacher parents and the second of six brothers.

Chavez was a fine baseball player and hoped he might one day pitch in the U.S. major leagues. When he joined the military at age 17, he aimed to keep honing his baseball skills in the capital.

But the young soldier immersed himself in the history of Bolivar and other Venezuelan heroes who had overthrown Spanish rule, and his political ideas began to take shape.

Chavez burst into public view in 1992 as a paratroop commander leading a military rebellion that brought tanks to the presidential palace. When the coup collapsed, Chavez was allowed to make a televised statement in which he declared that his movement had failed ?for now.? The speech, and those two defiant words, launched his career, searing his image into the memory of Venezuelans.

He and other coup prisoners were released in 1994, and President Rafael Caldera dropped the charges against them.

Chavez then organized a new political party and ran for president four years later, vowing to shatter Venezuela?s traditional two-party system. At age 44, he became the country?s youngest president in four decades of democracy with 56 percent of the vote.

Chavez was re-elected in 2000 in an election called under a new constitution drafted by his allies. His increasingly confrontational style and close ties to Cuba, however, disenchanted many of the middle-class supporters who had voted for him. The next several years saw bold but failed attempts by opponents to dislodge him from power.

In 2002, he survived a short-lived coup, which began after a large anti-Chavez street protest ended in deadly shootings. Dissident military officers detained the president and announced he had resigned. But within two days, he returned to power with the help of military loyalists while his supporters rallied in the streets.

Chavez emerged a stronger president. He defeated a subsequent opposition-led strike that paralyzed the country?s oil industry, and he fired thousands of state oil company employees.

The coup also turned Chavez more decidedly against the U.S. government, which had swiftly recognized the provisional leader who had briefly replaced him. He created political and trade alliances that excluded the U.S., and he cozied up to Iran and Syria in large part, it seemed, due to their shared antagonism toward the U.S. government.

Despite the souring relationship, Chavez sold the bulk of Venezuela?s oil to the United States.

He easily won re-election in 2006, and then said it was his destiny to lead Venezuela until 2021 or even 2031.

?I?m still a subversive,? Chavez said in a 2007 interview with The Associated Press. ?I think the entire world has to be subverted.?

Playing such a larger-than-life public figure ultimately left little time for a personal life.

His second marriage, to journalist Marisabel Rodriguez, deteriorated in the early years of his presidency, and they divorced in 2004. In addition to their one daughter, Rosines, Chavez had three children from his first marriage, which ended before Chavez ran for office.

Chavez acknowledged after he was diagnosed with cancer that he had been recklessly neglecting his health. He had taken to staying up late and drinking as many as 40 cups of coffee a day. He regularly summoned his Cabinet ministers to the presidential palace late at night.

He often said he believed Venezuela was on its way down a long road toward socialism, and that there was no turning back. After winning re-election in 2012, he vowed to deepen his push to transform Venezuela.

His political movement, however, was mostly a one-man show. Only three days before his final surgery, Chavez named Maduro as his chosen successor.

Now, it will be up to Venezuelans to determine whether the Chavismo movement can survive, and how it will evolve, without the leader who inspired it.

(AP)

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Stressed proteins can cause blood clots for hours

Mar. 5, 2013 ? New research from Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and the Puget Sound Blood Center (PSBC) has revealed how stresses of flow in the small blood vessels of the heart and brain could cause a common protein to change shape and form dangerous blood clots. The scientists were surprised to find that the proteins could remain in the dangerous, clot-initiating shape for up to five hours before returning to their normal, healthy shape.

The study -- the first of its kind -- focused on a protein called von Willebrand factor, or VWF, a key player in clot formation. A team led by Rice physicist Ching-Hwa Kiang found that "shear" forces, like those found in small arteries of patients with atherosclerosis, cause snippets of nonclotting VWF to change into a clot-forming shape for hours at a time. The finding appears online this week in Physical Review Letters.

"When I first heard what Dr. Kiang's team had found, I was shocked," said blood platelet expert Dr. Joel Moake, a study co-author who holds joint appointments at Rice and BCM. Moake, whose research group was the first to describe how high shear stress could cause platelets to stick to VWF, said, "I had thought that the condition might last for such a short time that it would be unmeasurable. No one expected to find that this condition would persist for hours. This has profound clinical implications."

Kiang, associate professor of physics and astronomy and of bioengineering, studies the forces involved in protein folding. Proteins are the workhorses of biology. Tens of thousands are produced each second in every living cell, and each of these folds into a characteristic shape within moments of its creation. Despite its ubiquity, protein folding is an immensely complex process that is shrouded in mystery.

Kiang is a pioneer in the use of atomic force microscopes (AFM) to shed light on the fundamental physical processes involved in protein folding. The AFM has a tiny needle with a tip measuring just a few atoms across. The needle is suspended from a tiny arm that bobs up and down over a surface. Kiang's team uses the bobbing needle to grab and pull apart individual protein molecules. By stretching these like rubber bands, her team has shown it can measure the precise physical forces that hold them in their folded shape.

"In this study, we did more than just measure the forces; we used those measurements to see what state the molecule was in," Kiang said. "In this way, we were able to study the dynamics of the molecule, to see how it changed over a period of time."

Moake, a senior research scientist in bioengineering at Rice and professor of medicine at BCM, said the work is vitally important because it helps explain the workings of VWF.

"VWF is synthesized in the cells that line the walls of blood vessels, and it's stored there until the cells get signals that the vessels are in danger of injury," Moake said. "In response to those stimuli, the cell secretes VWF. It's a long protein, and one end remains anchored to the cell while the rest unfurls from the wall like a streamer."

The act of unfurling makes VWF sticky for platelets, and that begins the process of hemostasis, which prevents people from bleeding to death when blood vessels are damaged by cuts and wounds.

"The body recognizes when clotting must stop -- when there are too many strings, too much sticking, too many platelet clumps -- and it uses an enzyme to clip the long VWF strings," Moake explained. "First, it makes large, soluble versions of the strings that remain somewhat sticky, and then these large soluble portions of VWF are reduced into smaller subunits of VWF that circulate in the plasma."

Under normal conditions, these circulating subunits, which are called PVWF, fold into compact shapes and cease to be sticky to platelets. However, previous research had shown that a type of physical stress called "shear" -- which can arise in partially occluded arterial blood vessels with high flow rates -- could cause PVWF to become sticky to platelets.

"That's all we knew," Moake said. "We didn't know how the conformation of the PVWF protein changed. That is why Dr. Kiang's research is so important and makes it more likely that therapeutic interventions can be more rationally designed."

To study the problem, Kiang's lab worked closely with Moake's team at Rice's BioScience Research Collaborative and with researchers from the laboratory of co-author Jing-fei Dong, formerly of BCM and now at PSBC in Seattle. Moake's and Dong's groups prepared samples of PVWF, subjecting some to the shear stresses known to induce clot formation. Kiang's team used AFMs to test the samples. Through a combination of experiments and deductive reasoning, her team determined exactly which portion of PVWF changed its conformation during shear stress. They also determined how long the protein remained partially unfurled before relaxing into its natural shape.

"The next step will be to design new experiments that allow us to monitor the proteins as they bind to platelets and initiate clot formation," Kiang said. "That will tell us even more about the physical properties of the proteins and provide more clues about potential therapies."

The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Alliance for NanoHealth, the Welch Foundation, the Mary R. Gibson Foundation and the Everett Hinkson Fund. Study co-authors include Rice graduate students Sithara Wijeratne and Eric Frey, former Rice graduate student Eric Botello, BCM researchers Hui-Chun Yeh and Angela Bergeron, Rice undergraduate Jay Patel, PSBC's Zhou Zhou and Rice senior research technicians Leticia Nolasco and Nancy Turner.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Rice University. The original article was written by Jade Boyd.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Sithara S. Wijeratne, Eric Botello, Hui-Chun Yeh, Zhou Zhou, Angela L. Bergeron, Eric W. Frey, Jay M. Patel, Leticia Nolasco, Nancy A. Turner, Joel L. Moake, Jing-Fei Dong, and Ching-Hwa Kiang. Mechanical Activation of a Multimeric Adhesive Protein Through Domain Conformational Change. Physical Review Letters, 2013 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.108102

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/wWpqEdbBShI/130305145815.htm

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Photos: Shanghai's poor find 'home' in shipping containers

(Reuters) - Rory McIlroy has admitted he was wrong to withdraw from the Honda Classic last week, saying he now regretted his decision to stop playing. The world number one was heavily criticized after he quit the tournament midway through Friday's second round with what was initially a mysterious explanation. The Northern Irishman was playing badly and appeared certain to miss the cut when he shook hands with his playing partners after just eight holes. Before leaving the course, McIlroy told reporters he was in a "bad place mentally. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/photos/shanghai-s-poor-find-home-in-shipping-containers-slideshow/

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Walking away from back pain | Science Codex

Lower back pain is a common complaint, and treatment often requires many hours of physical therapy over multiple weekly clinic visits ? a costly commitment. Now Dr. Michal Katz-Leurer of Tel Aviv University's Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine says that a simple aerobic walking program is as effective in alleviating lower back pain as muscle strengthening programs that require specialized equipment in rehabilitation clinics. The program includes walking two to three times a week for a period of 20 to 40 minutes,

Dr. Katz-Leurer and her colleague Ilana Shnayderman, a graduate student at the Department of Physical Therapy and a practicing physiotherapist at Maccabi Health Care, say that their treatment option fits easily into a daily routine and allows those with back pain to be more responsible for their own health.

Their study was published in the journal Clinical Rehabilitation.

A simple solution

According to Dr. Katz-Leurer, research has shown that when people walk actively, abdominal and back muscles work in much the same way as when they complete exercises that target these areas. And unlike muscle strengthening programs, which often call for specific equipment and can involve exercises that require expert supervision, walking is a simple activity that can be done alone.

For the study, the researchers recruited 52 patients with lower back pain to participate in a randomized control trial. Through questionnaires, they were initially assessed for pain levels, feelings of disability, and avoidance of daily activities, as well as muscle and walking endurance.

Then, half of the participants completed a typical clinic-based muscle strengthening program, with two to three exercise sessions a week for six weeks. The other half completed a six-week aerobic walking program, walking two to three times weekly. Participants started with 20 minutes of walking, then progressed to 40 minutes as their endurance improved.

Results showed that both groups improved significantly in all areas of assessment, demonstrating that the walking program was "as effective as treatment that could have been received in the clinic," says Dr. Katz-Leurer.

The path to a healthier lifestyle

Dr. Katz-Leurer says that the walking program has the additional advantage of encouraging patients to follow a healthier lifestyle overall. In terms of physical fitness, those in the walking group were able to walk an average of 0.05 miles farther during a six-minute walking test at the end of the program compared to the pre-program assessments.

She also notes that that regularly active people are less likely to suffer typical aches and pains over their lifetime. Walking, a low-impact activity, also lowers blood pressure, boosts brain and immune system functioning, and reduces stress, she says.

Source: http://www.sciencecodex.com/walking_away_from_back_pain-107949

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Green tea extract interferes with the formation of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease

Public release date: 5-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Laura J. Williams
laurajw@umich.edu
734-615-4862
University of Michigan

ANN ARBORResearchers at the University of Michigan have found a new potential benefit of a molecule in green tea: preventing the misfolding of specific proteins in the brain.

The aggregation of these proteins, called metal-associated amyloids, is associated with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.

A paper published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explained how U-M Life Sciences Institute faculty member Mi Hee Lim and an interdisciplinary team of researchers used green tea extract to control the generation of metal-associated amyloid-? aggregates associated with Alzheimer's disease in the lab.

The specific molecule in green tea, ()-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, also known as EGCG, prevented aggregate formation and broke down existing aggregate structures in the proteins that contained metalsspecifically copper, iron and zinc.

"A lot of people are very excited about this molecule," said Lim, noting that the EGCG and other flavonoids in natural products have long been established as powerful antioxidants. "We used a multidisciplinary approach. This is the first example of structure-centric, multidisciplinary investigations by three principal investigators with three different areas of expertise."

The research team included chemists, biochemists and biophysicists.

While many researchers are investigating small molecules and metal-associated amyloids, most are looking from a limited perspective, said Lim, assistant professor of chemistry and research assistant professor at the Life Sciences Institute, where her lab is located and her research is conducted.

"But we believe you have to have a lot of approaches working together, because the brain is very complex," she said.

The PNAS paper was a starting point, Lim said, and her team's next step is to "tweak" the molecule and then test its ability to interfere with plaque formation in fruit flies.

"We want to modify them for the brain, specifically to interfere with the plaques associated with Alzheimer's," she said.

Lim plans to collaborate with Bing Ye, a neurobiologist in the LSI. Together, the researchers will test the new molecule's power to inhibit potential toxicity of aggregates containing proteins and metals in fruit flies.

###

Other authors of the paper, all from U-M, are: Sanghyun Lee and Jung-Suk Choi of the Life Sciences Institute; Alaina DeToma, Suk-Joon Hyung, Akiko Kochi and Brandon Ruotoloa of the Department of Chemistry; and Jeffrey Brender, Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy and Subramanian Vivekanandan of the Department of Chemistry and Biophysics.

The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health, Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, American Heart Association, and a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation Study: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/02/19/1220326110.abstract

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 5-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Laura J. Williams
laurajw@umich.edu
734-615-4862
University of Michigan

ANN ARBORResearchers at the University of Michigan have found a new potential benefit of a molecule in green tea: preventing the misfolding of specific proteins in the brain.

The aggregation of these proteins, called metal-associated amyloids, is associated with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.

A paper published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explained how U-M Life Sciences Institute faculty member Mi Hee Lim and an interdisciplinary team of researchers used green tea extract to control the generation of metal-associated amyloid-? aggregates associated with Alzheimer's disease in the lab.

The specific molecule in green tea, ()-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, also known as EGCG, prevented aggregate formation and broke down existing aggregate structures in the proteins that contained metalsspecifically copper, iron and zinc.

"A lot of people are very excited about this molecule," said Lim, noting that the EGCG and other flavonoids in natural products have long been established as powerful antioxidants. "We used a multidisciplinary approach. This is the first example of structure-centric, multidisciplinary investigations by three principal investigators with three different areas of expertise."

The research team included chemists, biochemists and biophysicists.

While many researchers are investigating small molecules and metal-associated amyloids, most are looking from a limited perspective, said Lim, assistant professor of chemistry and research assistant professor at the Life Sciences Institute, where her lab is located and her research is conducted.

"But we believe you have to have a lot of approaches working together, because the brain is very complex," she said.

The PNAS paper was a starting point, Lim said, and her team's next step is to "tweak" the molecule and then test its ability to interfere with plaque formation in fruit flies.

"We want to modify them for the brain, specifically to interfere with the plaques associated with Alzheimer's," she said.

Lim plans to collaborate with Bing Ye, a neurobiologist in the LSI. Together, the researchers will test the new molecule's power to inhibit potential toxicity of aggregates containing proteins and metals in fruit flies.

###

Other authors of the paper, all from U-M, are: Sanghyun Lee and Jung-Suk Choi of the Life Sciences Institute; Alaina DeToma, Suk-Joon Hyung, Akiko Kochi and Brandon Ruotoloa of the Department of Chemistry; and Jeffrey Brender, Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy and Subramanian Vivekanandan of the Department of Chemistry and Biophysics.

The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health, Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, American Heart Association, and a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation Study: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/02/19/1220326110.abstract

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/uom-gte030513.php

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Banned From Baby Showers: BFBS Changes Priorities

This is personal post. ?I've had moments over the last few weeks that have brought me to a new point. ?I feel compelled to share them with you.

First and foremost, I am a wife (18 years) and mother of 4 children (16, 14, 11, 7). ?I have taught natural childbirth classes for the last 10 years. ?I love what I do. ?It's the best job on the planet!

As you may or may not know, I founded the Tarrant County Birth Network with a couple of amazing ladies over 3 years ago. ?Our leadership grew, as did membership. ?In fact, we grew it to be the largest chapter of BirthNetwork National in the country. ?We put together so many awesome events and meetings. ?I am so proud of all that we accomplished. ?It was a very busy, rewarding time for me personally.

Last January, I agreed to join the BirthNetwork National Board. ?That entailed a lot of phone conversations and emails. ?It took a considerable amount of time, but I had the opportunity to connect with so many women advocating for better birth around the country.

March 24, 2012 we launched Birth Boot Camp childbirth classes. ?I wrote a workbook with the help of Sarah Clark and a few other Birth Boot Camp Board members. We've seen incerdible growth in less than a year. ?We'll do a full report on our anniversary. ?That is not the point of this post.

I cannot begin to tell you what my family has suffered over the last 3 years. Lots of take-out, and fast easy microwaveable meals. ?They've learned to make a few dishes, as a result of me being so busy, like pasta and grilled cheese. ?Even when I'm here, I'm extremely distracted with all that I have to do. ?I'm not really present. ?I'm on the phone or the computer almost non-stop. ?How's this for full-disclosure?

Did I mention that I never talk to my family and close friends anymore - unless they are working on these projects with me, of course! ?I literally haven't had time. ?Those relationships have suffered.

It's like a train moving so fast, you can't get off. ?I could see life going on for my kids and I have barely been a part of it - only the mechanics of getting through the day - just so you can get them to bed and keep working. ?I really love my work. ?Did I mention that?

But I also love my kids. ?Oddly, my relationship with my husband has not suffered. ?He's been?extremely?supportive and my best friend through it all.

A few weeks ago I was on the verge of starting a huge project for BirthNetwork National. ?I had that moment when I stepped back and thought about whether my family could handle another big project, where mom is totally absorbed in something outside the home, even when she is at home? I've nearly got 3 teenagers in the house and they really need me to be more present. ?One is homeschooled, but I haven't had time to take her to do anything extra. ?In fact, my kids haven't been able to?participate?in extracurricular activities because I literally haven't had time to take them. Sad.

I love birth advocacy and working with these women to improve birth, not only locally, but nationally. ? This weekend I've seen so many people I've worked with over the years posting about the CIMS conference and it's been hard to know that I'm not there.

And yet, I am so at peace with my decision. ?I've stepped back from TCBN leadership as well as the BNN Board. ?I've enjoyed my kids over the last few weeks. ?I've made my family dinner! ?I canned beans (I'll tell you how to do it if you really want to know). ?I talked to my mom for over an hour and it was great! ?I chatted with my niece over Facebook this week about a cowboy she's dating (!!!!) and it was so fun. ?I'm totally stalking her page now (shhhh!), whereas I would never have had time for that in previous months. ?It feels so good to reconnect with people I love.

So now I have one job. ?Birth Boot Camp. ?As Founder/President, I have an obligation to our instructors to make this the best company possible. ?Like I mentioned, we are growing so fast because there's nothing else out there like what we're doing. ?I am not pulled between 3 different jobs. ?I have one job and will do it well. It's much easier to set business hours for one job than it is for three!
My family is happier. ?I am happier. I am able to live in the moment, which is something I haven't done in a long time. ?My church calling might actually get the attention it deserves. ?(I'm in charge of SIXTEEN 14-15-year-old girls, which is a huge responsibility and we've got Girls Camp around the corner!) I'm grateful for all that I have and I'm grateful for the realization that it's OK to step away from birth activism for now. ?Between all the kids activities we've recently signed up for, I might even do some long overdue home organization! ?I can't wait!

Source: http://banned-from-baby-showers.blogspot.com/2013/03/bfbs-changes-priorities.html

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Machete-wielding gangs kill 15 as Kenyans vote

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

Five years after more than 1,200 people were killed in election-related violence, Kenyans went to the polls in a nationwide election seen as the most important in the country's 50-year history since independence.

By Joseph Akwiri, Reuters

NAIROBI, Kenya - At least 15 people were killed in attacks by machete-wielding gangs on Monday as Kenyans lined-up to vote in a presidential election they hope will rebuild the nation's image after a disputed 2007 poll unleashed weeks of tribal bloodshed.

Just hours before the start of voting and with long queues across the east African country, at least nine security officers in Kenya's restive coastal region were hacked to death, and six attackers were also killed, regional police chief Aggrey Adoli said. The total toll had earlier been put at 17.

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There were two separate attacks which senior police officers blamed on a separatist movement - which, if confirmed, would suggest different motives to those that caused the post-2007 vote ethnic killings and could limit their impact.

Officials and candidates have made impassioned appeals to avoid a repeat of the tribal rampages that erupted five years ago when disputes over the poll result fuelled clashes between tribal loyalists of rival candidates.

More than 1,200 people were killed, shattering Kenya's reputation as one of Africa's most stable democracies and bringing its economy to a standstill.

As in 2007, the race has come down to a high-stakes duel between two candidates, this time between Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the loser in 2007 to outgoing President Mwai Kibaki. Both contenders will depend heavily on votes from tribal loyalists.

The United States and Western donors are worried about the stability of a nation that is an ally in the fight against militant Islam in the region but are also fretting what to do if the victor is Kenyatta, who faces charges by the International Criminal Court of orchestrating violence five years ago.

Provisional results could emerge hours after polls close at 5 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET) although the election commission has seven days to announce the official outcome. Polls suggest the election could go to a run-off, provisionally set for April.

Jan 28, 2008: Ethnic clashes have killed more than 800 people across Kenya, and post-election violence threatens to engulf a country that has long been a model of stability in Africa. NBC's Ned Colt reports.

"If elected, we will be able to discharge our duties," said Kenyatta's running mate, William Ruto who also faces charges of crimes against humanity. "We shall cooperate with the court with a final intention of clearing our names."

'We want our own country'
One of the attacks on Monday took place outside Mombasa and another in Kilifi about 80 miles to the north. Senior police officers blamed them on a separatist movement, the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC), which wanted the national vote scrapped and a referendum on secession instead.

At the Kilifi site, Reuters footage showed a piece of paper on the ground with the words: "MRC. Coast is not Kenya. We don't want elections. We want our own country." But there was no formal claim and no independent confirmation of the assailants.

Even before the violence, many Kenyans were wary, notably in flashpoints last time. Some shopkeepers ran down stocks and some people in mixed tribal areas returned to their homelands.

Bernard Otundo, 36, queuing in Nairobi shortly before polls opened at 6 a.m. said he expected a peaceful vote.

Jan. 2, 2008: More than 100,000 people across Kenya have left their homes after riots and violence erupted following a disputed presidential election. NBC's Martin Fletcher reports.

"Some of us have been here as early as 2 a.m. this morning. I got here slightly after 3 a.m.," he said. "There have been a lot of awareness campaigns against violence and I don't think it will happen this time around, whatever the outcome."

Kenya's neighbors are watching nervously, after their economies felt the shockwaves when violence five years ago shut down trade routes running through east Africa's biggest economy. Some landlocked states have stockpiled fuel and other materials.

Adding to tension, the al Shabaab Islamist militant group battling Kenyan peacekeeping troops in Somalia, repeated calls on Nairobi to remove its forces, threatening retaliation.?

Related:

PhotoBlog: Kenya braces for elections

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/04/17179248-machete-wielding-gangs-kill-at-least-15-as-kenyans-vote?lite

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Study: No quick savings from workplace wellness

The Barnes-Jewish Hospital is seen in St. Louis, Monday, March 4, 2013. Your bosses want you to eat your broccoli, hit the treadmill and pledge you?ll never puff on a cigarette. But a new study raises doubts that workplace wellness programs save the company money. In what?s being called the most rigorous look yet inside the wellness trend, independent researchers tracked the program at a major St. Louis hospital system for two years. Employee hospitalizations dropped dramatically, by 41 percent overall for six targeted conditions. But increased outpatient costs erased those savings. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

The Barnes-Jewish Hospital is seen in St. Louis, Monday, March 4, 2013. Your bosses want you to eat your broccoli, hit the treadmill and pledge you?ll never puff on a cigarette. But a new study raises doubts that workplace wellness programs save the company money. In what?s being called the most rigorous look yet inside the wellness trend, independent researchers tracked the program at a major St. Louis hospital system for two years. Employee hospitalizations dropped dramatically, by 41 percent overall for six targeted conditions. But increased outpatient costs erased those savings. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

The Barnes-Jewish Hospital is seen in St. Louis, Monday, March 4, 2013. Your bosses want you to eat your broccoli, hit the treadmill and pledge you?ll never puff on a cigarette. But a new study raises doubts that workplace wellness programs save the company money. In what?s being called the most rigorous look yet inside the wellness trend, independent researchers tracked the program at a major St. Louis hospital system for two years. Employee hospitalizations dropped dramatically, by 41 percent overall for six targeted conditions. But increased outpatient costs erased those savings. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

The sign for the Barnes-Jewish Hospital is seen in St. Louis, Monday, March 4, 2013. Your bosses want you to eat your broccoli, hit the treadmill and pledge you?ll never puff on a cigarette. But a new study raises doubts that workplace wellness programs save the company money. In what?s being called the most rigorous look yet inside the wellness trend, independent researchers tracked the program at a major St. Louis hospital system for two years. Employee hospitalizations dropped dramatically, by 41 percent overall for six targeted conditions. But increased outpatient costs erased those savings. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Your bosses want you to eat your broccoli, hit the treadmill and pledge you'll never puff on a cigarette. But a new study raises doubts that workplace wellness programs save the company money.

In what's being called the most rigorous look yet inside the wellness trend, independent researchers tracked the program at a major St. Louis hospital system for two years. Hospitalizations for employees and family members dropped dramatically, by 41 percent overall for six major conditions. But increased outpatient costs erased those savings.

The study in Monday's issue of the journal Health Affairs has implications for a debate now taking place at companies around the country: how much pressure can you put on workers to quit smoking, lose weight, and get exercise before it turns into unwelcome meddling, or worse, a slippery slope toward a new kind of health discrimination?

Wellness programs started out offering gym memberships and modest cash rewards for participating in a health assessment focused on changing bad habits. But employers have been upping the ante, linking the programs to insurance discounts or penalties that can add up to hundreds of dollars.

Most major companies now have wellness programs, and smaller firms are signing up. President Barack Obama's health overhaul law allows employers to expand rewards and penalties, provided workers are also given a path to address lifestyle issues that could undermine their health.

"The immediate payback in terms of cost is probably not going to be there," said economist Gautam Gowrisankaran of the University of Arizona at Tucson, lead author of the study. But he noted there could be other benefits not directly measured in the study, such as reduced absenteeism and higher productivity.

And there's also a risk. "It's definitely true that there is a downside," Gowrisankaran said. "You are going to be charging people different rates based on their wellness behavior, and that could limit their ability to buy health insurance."

Obama's law forbids insurers from charging more if you get sick. But wellness incentives could mean you'd be penalized for the questionable choices that might get you sick.

Some previous studies have shown savings from wellness programs, while others found little change or even higher spending.

Steven Noeldner, an expert with the Mercer benefits consulting firm says well-designed programs generally show a positive return of about 2 percent by the third year.

Gary Claxton of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which produces a widely-cited annual survey of workplace health plans, says the financial impact is difficult to measure. "A lot of employers think it's the right thing to do and they're not so much interested in measuring," said Claxton.

The new study provides an in-depth look at the experience of BJC HealthCare, a hospital system that in 2005 started a comprehensive program linked to insurance discounts. BJC currently employs 28,000 people and provides health insurance for about 40,000, including family members. The overwhelming majority participated in the wellness program.

The program focused on six lifestyle-influenced conditions: high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, chronic lung problems, serious respiratory infections, and stroke. Employees had to join the program in order to get the hospital's most generous level of health insurance, called the Gold Plan. For family coverage, for example, the hospital paid nearly $1,650 more of costs in the Gold Plan.

Employees in the wellness program had to complete a health risk assessment that included height, weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other measurements. They also signed a pledge to maintain a healthy diet and exercise regularly. Smokers had to get help to quit. Spouses were also required to sign the health pledge and, if they smoked, get help.

The study tallied up BJC's medical costs before the wellness program and for two years after. It also compared those costs with expenses of two other big local employers that did not have wellness programs. That was done to control for the possible impact of new drugs or medical innovations.

The results were counter-intuitive: A surprisingly large drop in hospitalizations for the six conditions targeted by the wellness program, but increased costs for medications and outpatient visits. When those were added to the cost of the wellness initiative itself, "it is unlikely that the program saved money," the study concluded.

BJC President Steven Lipstein said he doesn't dispute the conclusion, but he remains committed to the wellness program and would invite the researchers to take another look now.

Is the program saving money? "I do not know that," said Lipstein. "I can tell you that our health benefit expenses go up every year."

Lipstein said encouraging employees to make healthy lifestyle decisions and rewarding those who do reflects corporate values, not just the bottom line.

"It's not easy to change human health outcomes in the short term," he added. "When you make an investment in wellness and prevention you shouldn't expect an immediate return."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-03-04-Workplace%20Health/id-e6ae3d2e1af648588aec4fd5bf205d62

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