If the House Democratic majority passes Obama's health care proposals, one of two things will happen by Election Day, 2010 — and neither one will be healthy for the Democrats seeking re-election.

Either the Medicare cuts will take effect or they will be postponed by a terrified Congress.

If they take effect, physicians' fees will be slashed 21 percent and hospital reimbursements for Medicare patients will be cut by $1.3 billion. Tens of thousands of doctors and thousands of health care institutions — hospitals, hospices, outpatient clinics and such — will refuse to treat Medicare patients.

Team Leaders: Houston-Points: Kevin Martin-17, Luis Scola-17, Rebounds: Luis Scola-10, Assists: Aaron Brooks-3, Kyle Lowry-3, Kevin Martin-3, Luis Scola-3, Boston-Points: Paul Pierce-26, Rebounds: Rasheed Wallace-9, Assists: Rajon Rondo-10

The attendance of 18,198 marks the 10th sellout for the Rockets this season.

The Rockets dropped a 94-87 decision to the Celtics, which marked Houston’s fourth consecutive home loss to Boston. Houston is now 0-10 this season when scoring fewer than 90 points in a game.

Houston saw its season-best, four-game winning streak (3/9/10-3/17/10) come to an end, as well as its three-game run of shooting .500 or better from the field.

Overuse of Antibiotics a Boon for 'Supergerms'

"Superbugs" are not just for science fiction anymore. In American communities, large and small, antibiotic-resistant bacteria are ravaging hospitals and killing thousands of patients every year. These "supergerms" are gradually replacing the typical antibiotic-sensitive bacteria in the hospital, making it more likely that this problem will become increasingly prevalent.

Sadly, the American health care system is largely responsible for this looming epidemic. Between physicians and pharmaceutical companies, new antibiotics are constantly incorporated into patient therapy. Because these more powerful and potent medications can attack a wider array of bacteria, there is a widespread destruction of sensitive organisms. But looming in the background are "superbugs," which are resistant to the onslaught of new therapy. These tiny germs multiply in huge numbers, filling the void left by eradication of traditional hospital-based bacteria, and they ultimately become ever more sophisticated and difficult to kill.

Carpet-Cleaning Tips

Q: I saw a reader's tip last year where they took their area rugs out and laid them on the snow to clean them. My question is, can I do the same for installed carpet? -- Fred G., Rockingham, Vt.

A: While the snow-cleaning method may or may not work for your installed (wall-to-wall) carpet -- I haven't tried the original tip myself, by the way -- just getting the carpet up and outside would be incredibly difficult and time-consuming. So I do not recommend trying this.
Instead, vacuum your carpet very thoroughly and then rent a steam cleaner from the home-improvement store (some larger supermarkets also rent them) and steam clean the carpet.

If the carpet is so down-deep dirty that it merely laughs at the efforts of a steam cleaner, consider installing new carpet. Very dirty carpet or carpet that's been exposed to flooding or large liquid spills that weren't dried properly has a shorter life span and can harbor molds and bacteria that a steam cleaner may not get to. This creates an unhealthy living environment.

Hope for an Alzheimer's Cure

New research has shown just how Alzheimer's disease spreads, and from that could come a cure!

A study done at the University of Massachusetts took a close look at a protein in the human brain called Tau. It was always thought that this Tau protein was a by-product of cells that had died due to Alzheimer's. Not necessarily so, say the researchers.

What made them wonder was that Tau cells were found in spinal fluid of Alzheimer's patients. How did they get there? It turns out there are two ways for Tau cells to migrate. One is that those cells are secreted in a pattern -- and therein lies a potential cure. Follow the pattern, interrupt the movement of those toxic cells and stop the spread of the disease to different parts of the brain.

So hopeful are these researchers that they've taken out a patent on using this new information to diagnose Alzheimer's at a much earlier stage, when a cure is more likely.