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Explaining peptides and the ways that they’re currently used

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m curious about peptides. I read that they’re incredible health cures and effective at lowering weight and high cholesterol. People say that major pharmaceutical companies are suppressing them because they offer better cures at cheaper prices. Is there any credibility to these claims, and should I take them, mainly by self-injection? — S.W. ANSWER: A peptide is a string of amino acids. Long peptides are called proteins, and they play many diverse roles in most of the structures in the human body, as well as the enzymes that our bodies use for ...

America’s multicultural miracle

The welcoming reception that so many European soccer fans have received as they have crossed the nation in pursuit of World Cup games has struck many as a happy surprise of the summer of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. “The World Cup is at our shores, and all these people are doing us a great service,” comedian Bill Maher posted. “They are reminding Americans that this place is kind of awesome.” “They are seeing an America they never imagined,” The Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan noted with something like awe. “They expected a dark and ...

Data center fights pit social values, democracy and capitalism against each other

Data center projects continue to generate controversy around the country. In part, that’s because a variety of different groups have competing interests — some in favor of them, some opposed and others with no direct view on data centers themselves, but with concerns that relate to aspects of data center operations and effects. As a scholar of environmental justice and urban land use, I’ve seen these various conflicting forces at work in Michigan. More than 30 large and small data center projects have been proposed in the state in the past two years alone, including one by the ...

Dear Annie: Being needed isn’t the same as being valued

Dear Annie: I am the person everyone in my family calls when they need something. I babysit, drive relatives to appointments, host holidays and lend money when someone is in a bind. I rarely complain because I love my family and want to be helpful. A few weeks ago, my sister called me in a panic because her babysitter canceled before an important work dinner. I had already made plans with a friend, but I canceled them and drove 40 minutes to watch her children. I stayed until nearly midnight and even cleaned up the kitchen before I left. Not long afterward, I had a medical procedure ...

Weakness and more persist in woman after gallbladder removal

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a friend who had gallstones and ultimately had her gallbladder removed. When they went in, they saw lots of infections, cleaned her out and put drains in her liver. She’s been feeling awful and weak, and she wants to get a second opinion. Which type of specialist should she see? — D.L.G. ANSWER: Treatment for a complex problem like hers often takes a team of specialists — in this case, certainly a surgeon and very likely a gastroenterologist and an infectious disease specialist. The ideal person to see now might be any of these specialists, especially ...

Beyond the Bicentennial

Editor’s Note: In celebration of America’s 250th birthday, we are rerunning a column written for the 200th, in 1976, by Express Editor Emeritus Rebecca Gross. They took great risks, those patriots of 200 years ago, who staked their future and their fortunes on the Declaration of Independence and the chance that a new nation could grow from a union of the 13 British colonies in America. They had faith and they had hope, but they had no promises of success. They did not know, as they signed the Great Declaration, and as they mobilized their puny strength to fight for freedom, whether ...