6.16.2008
FEMA gives away $85 million of supplies for Katrina victims
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- FEMA gave away about $85 million in household goods meant for Hurricane Katrina victims, a CNN investigation has found.
The material, from basic kitchen goods to sleeping necessities, sat in warehouses for two years before the Federal Emergency Management Agency's giveaway to federal and state agencies this year.
James McIntyre, FEMA's acting press secretary, said that FEMA was spending more than $1 million a year to store the material and that another agency wanted the warehouses torn down, so "we needed to vacate them."
"Upon review of our assets and our need to continue to store them, we determined that they were excess to FEMA's needs; therefore, they are being excessed from FEMA's inventory," McIntyre wrote in an e-mail.
He declined a request for an on-camera interview, telling CNN the giveaway was "not news."
Photos from one of the facilities in Fort Worth, Texas, show pallet after pallet of cots, cleansers, first-aid kits, coffee makers, camp stoves and other items stacked to the ceiling.
Martha Kegel, the head of a New Orleans nonprofit agency that helps find homes for those still displaced by the storm, said she was shocked to learn about the existence of the goods and the government giveaway.
"These are exactly the items that we are desperately seeking donations of right now: basic kitchen household supplies," said Kegel, executive director of Unity of Greater New Orleans. "These are the very things that we are seeking right now. FEMA, in fact, refers homeless clients to us to house them. How can we house them if we don't have basic supplies?"
Pallets at the Fort Worth warehouse were piled high with boxes of buckets, boots, cleansers, mops and brooms. There were stacks of tents, lanterns and camp stoves for people still displaced, as well as clothing, bedding, plates and utensils.
Meanwhile, Kegel said, Unity's clients can take only "one fork, one spoon, one knife; they can only take one plate. We don't have enough to go around."
But FEMA said the items were no longer needed in the stricken region. So it declared them "federal surplus" and gave them away.
Federal agencies such as the Bureau of Prisons, Postal Service and Border Patrol got first dibs on the material when FEMA started giving it away. Other agencies that received items include the National Guard, U.S. Marshals Service, the Air Force and Navy and the departments of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security, according to a list the GSA provided to CNN. Read more..
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/11/fema.giveaway/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
The material, from basic kitchen goods to sleeping necessities, sat in warehouses for two years before the Federal Emergency Management Agency's giveaway to federal and state agencies this year.
James McIntyre, FEMA's acting press secretary, said that FEMA was spending more than $1 million a year to store the material and that another agency wanted the warehouses torn down, so "we needed to vacate them."
"Upon review of our assets and our need to continue to store them, we determined that they were excess to FEMA's needs; therefore, they are being excessed from FEMA's inventory," McIntyre wrote in an e-mail.
He declined a request for an on-camera interview, telling CNN the giveaway was "not news."
Photos from one of the facilities in Fort Worth, Texas, show pallet after pallet of cots, cleansers, first-aid kits, coffee makers, camp stoves and other items stacked to the ceiling.
Martha Kegel, the head of a New Orleans nonprofit agency that helps find homes for those still displaced by the storm, said she was shocked to learn about the existence of the goods and the government giveaway.
"These are exactly the items that we are desperately seeking donations of right now: basic kitchen household supplies," said Kegel, executive director of Unity of Greater New Orleans. "These are the very things that we are seeking right now. FEMA, in fact, refers homeless clients to us to house them. How can we house them if we don't have basic supplies?"
Pallets at the Fort Worth warehouse were piled high with boxes of buckets, boots, cleansers, mops and brooms. There were stacks of tents, lanterns and camp stoves for people still displaced, as well as clothing, bedding, plates and utensils.
Meanwhile, Kegel said, Unity's clients can take only "one fork, one spoon, one knife; they can only take one plate. We don't have enough to go around."
But FEMA said the items were no longer needed in the stricken region. So it declared them "federal surplus" and gave them away.
Federal agencies such as the Bureau of Prisons, Postal Service and Border Patrol got first dibs on the material when FEMA started giving it away. Other agencies that received items include the National Guard, U.S. Marshals Service, the Air Force and Navy and the departments of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security, according to a list the GSA provided to CNN. Read more..
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/11/fema.giveaway/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
CDC tests confirm FEMA trailers are toxic
More than two years after residents of FEMA trailers deployed along the Mississippi Gulf Coast began complaining of breathing difficulties, nosebleeds and persistent headaches, U.S. health officials announced Thursday that long-awaited government tests found potentially hazardous levels of toxic formaldehyde gas in both travel trailers and mobile homes provided by the agency.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which requested the testing by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said it would work aggressively to relocate all residents of the temporary housing as soon as possible.
Levels of formaldehyde gas in 519 trailer and mobile homes tested in Louisiana and Mississippi were — on average — about five times what people are exposed to in most modern homes, the CDC reported. In some trailers, the levels were nearly 40 times customary exposure levels, raising fears that residents could suffer respiratory problems and potentially other long-term health effects, it said. Read more..
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23168160/
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which requested the testing by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said it would work aggressively to relocate all residents of the temporary housing as soon as possible.
Levels of formaldehyde gas in 519 trailer and mobile homes tested in Louisiana and Mississippi were — on average — about five times what people are exposed to in most modern homes, the CDC reported. In some trailers, the levels were nearly 40 times customary exposure levels, raising fears that residents could suffer respiratory problems and potentially other long-term health effects, it said. Read more..
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23168160/
4.30.2008
Canada's C-51 Law May Outlaw 60% of Natural Health Products; Big Pharma Pushing to Criminalize Supplements
(NaturalNews) A new law being pushed in Canada by Big Pharma seeks to outlaw up to 60 percent of natural health products currently sold in Canada, even while criminalizing parents who give herbs or supplements to their children. The law, known as C-51, was introduced by the Canadian Minister of Health on April 8th, 2008, and it proposes sweeping changes to Canada's Food and Drugs Act that could have devastating consequences on the health products industry.
Among the changes proposed by the bill are radical alterations to key terminology, including replacing the word "drug" with "therapeutic product" throughout the Act, thereby giving the Canadian government broad-reaching powers to regulate the sale of all herbs, vitamins, supplements and other items. With this single language change, anything that is "therapeutic" automatically falls under the Food and Drug Act. This would include bottled water, blueberries, dandelion greens and essentially all plant-derived substances.
The Act also changes the definition of the word "sell" to include anyone who gives such therapeutic products to someone else. So a mother giving an herb to her child, under the proposed new language, could be arrested for engaging in the sale of unregulated, unapproved "therapeutic substances." Learn about more of these freedom-squashing changes to the law at the Stop51.com website: http://www.stopc51.com
New enforcement powers allow Canadian government to seize your home or business
At the same time that C-51 is outlawing herbs, supplements and vitamins, it would grant alarming new "enforcement" powers to the thugs enforcement agents who claim to be "protecting" the public from dangerous unapproved "therapeutic agents" like, say, dandelion greens. As explained on the www.Educate-Yourself.org website ((http://educate-yourself.org/cn/canadian...), the C-51 law would allow the Canadian government's thugs enforcement agents to:
• Raid your home or business without a warrant
• Seize your bank accounts
• Levy fines up to $5 million and a jail terms up to 2 years for merely selling an herb
• Confiscate your property, then charge you storage fees for the expense involved in storing all the products they stole from you
C-51 would even criminalize the simple drying of herbs in your kitchen to be used in an herbal product, by the way. That would now be categorized as a "controlled activity," and anyone caught engaging in such "controlled activities" would be arrested, fined and potentially jailed. Other "controlled activities" include labeling bottles, harvesting plants on a farm, collecting herbs from your back yard, or even testing herbal products on yourself! (Yes, virtually every activity involving herbs or supplements would be criminalized...)
There's more, too. C-51 is the Canadian government's "final solution" for the health products industry. It's a desperate effort to destroy this industry that's threatening the profits and viability of conventional medicine. Natural medicine works so well -- and is becoming so widely used -- that both the Canadian and American governments have decided to "nuke" the industries by passing new laws that effectively criminalize anyone selling such products. They simply cannot tolerate allowing consumers to have continued access to natural products. To do so will ultimately spell the destruction of Big Pharma and the outdated, corrupt and criminally-operated pharmaceutical industry that these criminally-operated governments are trying to protect.
Among the changes proposed by the bill are radical alterations to key terminology, including replacing the word "drug" with "therapeutic product" throughout the Act, thereby giving the Canadian government broad-reaching powers to regulate the sale of all herbs, vitamins, supplements and other items. With this single language change, anything that is "therapeutic" automatically falls under the Food and Drug Act. This would include bottled water, blueberries, dandelion greens and essentially all plant-derived substances.
The Act also changes the definition of the word "sell" to include anyone who gives such therapeutic products to someone else. So a mother giving an herb to her child, under the proposed new language, could be arrested for engaging in the sale of unregulated, unapproved "therapeutic substances." Learn about more of these freedom-squashing changes to the law at the Stop51.com website: http://www.stopc51.com
New enforcement powers allow Canadian government to seize your home or business
At the same time that C-51 is outlawing herbs, supplements and vitamins, it would grant alarming new "enforcement" powers to the thugs enforcement agents who claim to be "protecting" the public from dangerous unapproved "therapeutic agents" like, say, dandelion greens. As explained on the www.Educate-Yourself.org website ((http://educate-yourself.org/cn/canadian...), the C-51 law would allow the Canadian government's thugs enforcement agents to:
• Raid your home or business without a warrant
• Seize your bank accounts
• Levy fines up to $5 million and a jail terms up to 2 years for merely selling an herb
• Confiscate your property, then charge you storage fees for the expense involved in storing all the products they stole from you
C-51 would even criminalize the simple drying of herbs in your kitchen to be used in an herbal product, by the way. That would now be categorized as a "controlled activity," and anyone caught engaging in such "controlled activities" would be arrested, fined and potentially jailed. Other "controlled activities" include labeling bottles, harvesting plants on a farm, collecting herbs from your back yard, or even testing herbal products on yourself! (Yes, virtually every activity involving herbs or supplements would be criminalized...)
There's more, too. C-51 is the Canadian government's "final solution" for the health products industry. It's a desperate effort to destroy this industry that's threatening the profits and viability of conventional medicine. Natural medicine works so well -- and is becoming so widely used -- that both the Canadian and American governments have decided to "nuke" the industries by passing new laws that effectively criminalize anyone selling such products. They simply cannot tolerate allowing consumers to have continued access to natural products. To do so will ultimately spell the destruction of Big Pharma and the outdated, corrupt and criminally-operated pharmaceutical industry that these criminally-operated governments are trying to protect.
CDC Withdraws Study on Impacts of Chemical Pollution
(NaturalNews) The Center for Public Integrity is a public interest investigative journalism organization. This group has recently obtained copies of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study of environmental and health data in eight states that was scheduled to be published in July 2007. The report revealed elevated rates of lung, colon, and breast cancer; low birth weight; and infant mortality in several geographical areas. It has not yet been published.
A few days before the study was to be released it was pulled. In addition, at the same time its lead author, Christopher De Rosa, was removed from the position he held since 1992. The Center for Public Integrity wants to know why. Read more..
http://www.naturalnews.com/023116.html
A few days before the study was to be released it was pulled. In addition, at the same time its lead author, Christopher De Rosa, was removed from the position he held since 1992. The Center for Public Integrity wants to know why. Read more..
http://www.naturalnews.com/023116.html
4.24.2008
Food crisis - but it's no surprise
From the riots in Mexico to the US dropping grain subsidies, the signs have been there
What will we promise the world's hungry this time? When I was a girl, my father, King Hussein of Jordan, related a story about the last global food crisis and a famous promise made to the world's hungry by Henry Kissinger, who was then US Secretary of State.
Dr Kissinger came to Amman after attending the World Food Conference in Rome in 1974, called hastily as global food prices skyrocketed and widespread hunger threatened to engulf the developing world. Secretary Kissinger related how he had boldly pledged that within a decade, no child would go to bed hungry anywhere in the world. Read more..
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article3811604.ece
What will we promise the world's hungry this time? When I was a girl, my father, King Hussein of Jordan, related a story about the last global food crisis and a famous promise made to the world's hungry by Henry Kissinger, who was then US Secretary of State.
Dr Kissinger came to Amman after attending the World Food Conference in Rome in 1974, called hastily as global food prices skyrocketed and widespread hunger threatened to engulf the developing world. Secretary Kissinger related how he had boldly pledged that within a decade, no child would go to bed hungry anywhere in the world. Read more..
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article3811604.ece
Canada: Flouride In Our Water Not Necessary
We’re finding out now that adding fluoride to drinking water to prevent cavities simply doesn’t make sense.
A pea-size amount of fluoridated toothpaste contains about 0.25mg of fluoride. One glass of fluoridated water contains the same amount of fluoride. We are told not to ingest the pharmaceutical grade fluoride in toothpaste. We are told to ingest the industrial grade fluoride in drinking water.
The fluoridation chemicals (hydrofluorosilicic acid, arsenic and lead) are all toxic substances from Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Agency list. Toxic substances are man-made and accumulate in our bodies over our life time. Read more..
http://www.cambridgenow.ca/npps/story.cfm?id=1067
3.15.2008
3.01.2008
2.29.2008
Mercks New ProQuad Vaccine Linked To More Convulsions
ATLANTA - Children suffered higher rates of fever-related convulsions when they got a Merck & Co. combination vaccine instead of two separate shots, according to a new study presented Wednesday.
The results prompted a federal advisory panel on vaccines to water down their preference for the combo vaccine ProQuad, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella as well as chickenpox. Read more..
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/16054722.html
ONCE AGAIN..FOLLOW THE MONEY. VACCINATE YOUR CHILD AND WORRY ABOUT THE SIDE AFFECTS LATER. WOULD YOU EAT OR FEED YOUR CHILD SOMETHING FROM AN UNMARKED PACKAGE WITHOUT KNOWING WHATS INSIDE?
THEN WHY WOULD YOU CONTINUOUSLY LET SOMEONE EXPERIMENT ON THEM BY POKING THEM WITH NEEDLES AND INJECTING THEM WITH A FOREIGN SUBSTANCE THAT YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT CONTAINS?
The results prompted a federal advisory panel on vaccines to water down their preference for the combo vaccine ProQuad, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella as well as chickenpox. Read more..
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/16054722.html
ONCE AGAIN..FOLLOW THE MONEY. VACCINATE YOUR CHILD AND WORRY ABOUT THE SIDE AFFECTS LATER. WOULD YOU EAT OR FEED YOUR CHILD SOMETHING FROM AN UNMARKED PACKAGE WITHOUT KNOWING WHATS INSIDE?
THEN WHY WOULD YOU CONTINUOUSLY LET SOMEONE EXPERIMENT ON THEM BY POKING THEM WITH NEEDLES AND INJECTING THEM WITH A FOREIGN SUBSTANCE THAT YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT CONTAINS?
All Kids Must Get Flu Vaccine, Panel Says To CDC
All U.S. children aged from six months up to 18 should be immunized every year against influenza, a panel of federal vaccine advisers said on Wednesday.
The panel, which advises the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine matters, agreed unanimously at its regular meeting in Atlanta that the new recommendations should go into effect as soon as possible, but no later than the 2009-2010 flu season.
The vote from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices would add about 30 million children to the list of those who should be vaccinated, CDC spokesman Curtis Allen said. The current recommendations cover children aged 6 months to 5 years old.
Read more..
http://news.aol.com/health/story/_a/all-kids-must-get-flu-vaccine-panel-says/20080227152609990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001
EVIDENTLY, THEY DID NOT MAKE ENOUGH MONEY FROM THEIR VACCINATIONS THAT WERE INEFFECTIVE? LET'S SEE...THEY WON'T DISCLOSE CURES FOR CANCER AND THE MANY OTHER DIS-EASES THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND FOREVER, THEY SPEND TAX MONEY ON CLONING AND REPLICATING HUMAN ORGANS..AND NOW, THEY'RE COMING UP WITH A VACCINE FOR EVERYTHING. I WOULD NOT PUT THAT AMOOUNT OF UNKNOWN BACTERIA AND LIVING VIRUSES INTO A PET MUCH LESS A CHILD.
The panel, which advises the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine matters, agreed unanimously at its regular meeting in Atlanta that the new recommendations should go into effect as soon as possible, but no later than the 2009-2010 flu season.
The vote from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices would add about 30 million children to the list of those who should be vaccinated, CDC spokesman Curtis Allen said. The current recommendations cover children aged 6 months to 5 years old.
Read more..
http://news.aol.com/health/story/_a/all-kids-must-get-flu-vaccine-panel-says/20080227152609990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001
EVIDENTLY, THEY DID NOT MAKE ENOUGH MONEY FROM THEIR VACCINATIONS THAT WERE INEFFECTIVE? LET'S SEE...THEY WON'T DISCLOSE CURES FOR CANCER AND THE MANY OTHER DIS-EASES THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND FOREVER, THEY SPEND TAX MONEY ON CLONING AND REPLICATING HUMAN ORGANS..AND NOW, THEY'RE COMING UP WITH A VACCINE FOR EVERYTHING. I WOULD NOT PUT THAT AMOOUNT OF UNKNOWN BACTERIA AND LIVING VIRUSES INTO A PET MUCH LESS A CHILD.
2.28.2008
Depression in Young Doctors Tied to Medication Errors
Medical residents who are depressed are about six times more likely to make medication errors than those who aren't depressed, says a study that looked a 123 pediatric residents at three children's hospitals in the United States.
Researchers found that 20 percent of the residents were depressed, and 74 percent were burned out. During the study period, the residents made a total of 45 medications errors, and those who were depressed made 6.2 times more medication errors than those who weren't depressed. Read more..
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20080209/hl_hsn/depressioninyoungdoctorstiedtomedicationerrors;_ylt=ArzY6ImOhC1k_XJO_E2NEjuCSbYF
Researchers found that 20 percent of the residents were depressed, and 74 percent were burned out. During the study period, the residents made a total of 45 medications errors, and those who were depressed made 6.2 times more medication errors than those who weren't depressed. Read more..
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20080209/hl_hsn/depressioninyoungdoctorstiedtomedicationerrors;_ylt=ArzY6ImOhC1k_XJO_E2NEjuCSbYF
2.27.2008
Drugmakers asked to reveal educational grants to doctors
Wondering how much money drug companies spend on continuing education for doctors — and who gets all the support?
Eli Lilly & Co. thinks you deserve to know and lists its grants on its website. Pfizer plans to post similar details soon. Despite Pfizer's move, it is among the 15 companies getting a letter today from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asking what they're doing to "meet the public's demand for transparency."
If your company does not have any plans in place, the letter says, "please explain why not."
"Transparency builds both trust and accountability," says Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid. "I'm asking other pharmaceutical organizations to follow Lilly's lead and show the public there's nothing to hide." Read more...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-02-25-drugmakers-money_N.htm
Eli Lilly & Co. thinks you deserve to know and lists its grants on its website. Pfizer plans to post similar details soon. Despite Pfizer's move, it is among the 15 companies getting a letter today from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asking what they're doing to "meet the public's demand for transparency."
If your company does not have any plans in place, the letter says, "please explain why not."
"Transparency builds both trust and accountability," says Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid. "I'm asking other pharmaceutical organizations to follow Lilly's lead and show the public there's nothing to hide." Read more...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-02-25-drugmakers-money_N.htm
UK - Sex Ed. could be made compulsory for five-year-olds
Children as young as five could be given compulsory sex education, it was revealed yesterday.
The prospect emerged as ministers unveiled a review of Sex and Relationship Education in primary and secondary schools.
A panel will examine "the right age to begin teaching what the key messages are and content that young people should receive at each key stage".
The group will make recommendations to the Government later in the year without first consulting the public.
Panel members include representatives from the Family Planning Association, Brook Advisory Centres, HIV charity the Terrence Higgins Trust and the Sex Education Forum.
Critics warned that the review is an attempt to introduce by stealth a more explicit sex education programme for young children. Read more..
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=518670&in_page_id=1770
2.19.2008
Oceanic Dead Zones Off West Coast are the 'New Normal'
Millions of dead crabs are washing up onto Oregon and Washington state beaches from the offshore "dead zone".
Ever since it was first noticed by crab fishermen who hauled up hundreds of dead and dying crabs in 2002, the "dead zone" that popped up in the waters along the northwestern coastal shelf just off the coast of Oregon has claimed unknown millions of lives. This oxygen-depleted region has transformed formerly rich seafloor communities teeming with life into vast graveyards filled with the bodies of crabs, echinoderms, molluscs, sea worms and other creatures. This carnage was easily visible to a team of research scientists from Oregon State University, who sent an underwater vehicle, equipped with video cameras, into the depths to look around.
"We saw a crab graveyard and no fish the entire day," noted Jane Lubchenco, co-author of the papers that report on their discovery. Lubchenco is the Valley Professor of Marine Biology at Oregon State University.
"Thousands and thousands of dead crab and molts were littering the ocean floor, many sea stars were dead, and the fish have either left the area or have died and been washed away." Read More..
http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2008/02/oceanic_dead_zones_on_west_coa.php
PCC says no to cloned animal products
PCC Natural Markets is prohibiting suppliers from using cloned animal products in their food. It also wants them to disclose where ingredients are from and what they mean by terms such as "natural flavors."
These moves come months after the Seattle chain eliminated high-fructose corn syrup from its eight stores and began identifying the countries of origin for its meat, seafood, peanuts and fresh and frozen produce.
Although the 2002 Farm Bill called for mandatory country-of-origin labeling for those products, the law has not been implemented and is being reworked as part of the 2007 Farm Bill still being considered in Congress.
"The failure of our regulatory agencies to mandate full disclosure of food ingredients makes it incumbent on leaders in the natural-foods industry to step forward and provide what our consumers want," PCC Chief Executive Tracy Wolpert said in a news release Tuesday.
PCC will continue selling food from China, unlike Trader Joe's, which said last year it would phase out single-ingredient food items from mainland China by April 1 because of customer concerns.
Much food that is certified as organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture comes from other countries, including China. Read more..
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004179295_pcc13.html
These moves come months after the Seattle chain eliminated high-fructose corn syrup from its eight stores and began identifying the countries of origin for its meat, seafood, peanuts and fresh and frozen produce.
Although the 2002 Farm Bill called for mandatory country-of-origin labeling for those products, the law has not been implemented and is being reworked as part of the 2007 Farm Bill still being considered in Congress.
"The failure of our regulatory agencies to mandate full disclosure of food ingredients makes it incumbent on leaders in the natural-foods industry to step forward and provide what our consumers want," PCC Chief Executive Tracy Wolpert said in a news release Tuesday.
PCC will continue selling food from China, unlike Trader Joe's, which said last year it would phase out single-ingredient food items from mainland China by April 1 because of customer concerns.
Much food that is certified as organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture comes from other countries, including China. Read more..
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004179295_pcc13.html
Fish devastated by sex-changing chemicals in municipal wastewater
While most people understand the dangers of flushing toxic chemicals into the ecosystem through municipal sewer systems, one potentially devastating threat to wild fish populations comes from an unlikely source: estrogen.
After an exhaustive seven-year research effort, Canadian biologists found that miniscule amounts of estrogen present in municipal wastewater discharges can decimate wild fish populations living downstream. Read more..
http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/fish-devastated-sex-changing-chemicals-municipal-wastewater-15488.html
After an exhaustive seven-year research effort, Canadian biologists found that miniscule amounts of estrogen present in municipal wastewater discharges can decimate wild fish populations living downstream. Read more..
http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/fish-devastated-sex-changing-chemicals-municipal-wastewater-15488.html
2.18.2008
U.S. Company Seeks Permit to Import Nuclear Waste
WASHINGTON, DC, February 2, 2008 (ENS) - Bart Gordon, the Tennessee Democrat who chairs the House Committee on Science and Technology, does not want the United States to receive low-level radioactive waste from Italy for processing in Tennessee and disposal in a Utah waste site.
He says acceptance of the waste would put the U.S. on a path to becoming "the world's nuclear garbage waste dump."
On Friday, Gordon asked the Northwest Interstate Compact for Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management to withhold its support for a license application to accept the Italian waste filed by EnergySolutions, the company that operates the only private Class A low-level radioactive waste disposal in the United States.
This application marks the first time in the history of the NRC that a company has asked to dispose of large amounts of foreign-generated low-level radioactive waste in the United States.
"The U.S. already faces capacity issues and other challenges in treating and disposing of radioactive waste produced domestically," said Gordon. "We should be working on solving this problem at home before taking dangerous waste from around the world."
Low-level radioactive waste consists of contaminated protective shoe covers and clothing, wiping rags, mops, filters, reactor water treatment residues, equipments and tools, luminous dials, medical tubes, swabs, injection needles, syringes, and laboratory animal carcasses and tissues, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC.
The radioactivity can range from just above background levels found in nature to very highly radioactive in certain cases such as parts from inside the reactor vessel in a nuclear power plant, the NRC says.
Gordon has long said that the application did not appear to represent a "one-time" event because EnergySolutions, which became a publicly traded company in November, has made clear its intent to pursue decommissioning work in both the United States and Europe.
"It is highly likely that this is the first application with a string to follow," Gordon said.
On November 16, 2007, EnergySolutions' CEO and Chairman of the Board Steve Creamer rang the bell to open trading at the New York Stock Exchange where EnergySolutions' stock (NYSE: ES) began trading publicly.
EnergySolutions operates waste processing and disposition facilities in Tennessee, South Carolina, and Utah. The company also operates low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities, vaults, and landfills on the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee and Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
U.S. low-level waste is typically stored on-site by licensees, according to the NRC, either until it has decayed away and can be disposed of as ordinary trash, or until amounts are large enough for shipment to a low-level waste disposal site in containers approved by the Department of Transportation.
To obtain a permit to send waste to a law-level radioactive waste depository, federal regulations require the approval of the state and the Compact in which the disposal site is located.
EnergySolutions disposes of more than 90 percent of the low-level radioactive waste generated in the U.S. through a license granted by the State of Utah and with the permission of the Northwest Compact.
The Compact allows EnergySolutions to take low-level radioactive waste from outside the Compact because it serves "an important national purpose" and has reserved the right to "modify or rescind" its authorization at any time.
He says acceptance of the waste would put the U.S. on a path to becoming "the world's nuclear garbage waste dump."
On Friday, Gordon asked the Northwest Interstate Compact for Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management to withhold its support for a license application to accept the Italian waste filed by EnergySolutions, the company that operates the only private Class A low-level radioactive waste disposal in the United States.
This application marks the first time in the history of the NRC that a company has asked to dispose of large amounts of foreign-generated low-level radioactive waste in the United States.
"The U.S. already faces capacity issues and other challenges in treating and disposing of radioactive waste produced domestically," said Gordon. "We should be working on solving this problem at home before taking dangerous waste from around the world."
Low-level radioactive waste consists of contaminated protective shoe covers and clothing, wiping rags, mops, filters, reactor water treatment residues, equipments and tools, luminous dials, medical tubes, swabs, injection needles, syringes, and laboratory animal carcasses and tissues, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC.
The radioactivity can range from just above background levels found in nature to very highly radioactive in certain cases such as parts from inside the reactor vessel in a nuclear power plant, the NRC says.
Gordon has long said that the application did not appear to represent a "one-time" event because EnergySolutions, which became a publicly traded company in November, has made clear its intent to pursue decommissioning work in both the United States and Europe.
"It is highly likely that this is the first application with a string to follow," Gordon said.
On November 16, 2007, EnergySolutions' CEO and Chairman of the Board Steve Creamer rang the bell to open trading at the New York Stock Exchange where EnergySolutions' stock (NYSE: ES) began trading publicly.
EnergySolutions operates waste processing and disposition facilities in Tennessee, South Carolina, and Utah. The company also operates low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities, vaults, and landfills on the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee and Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
U.S. low-level waste is typically stored on-site by licensees, according to the NRC, either until it has decayed away and can be disposed of as ordinary trash, or until amounts are large enough for shipment to a low-level waste disposal site in containers approved by the Department of Transportation.
To obtain a permit to send waste to a law-level radioactive waste depository, federal regulations require the approval of the state and the Compact in which the disposal site is located.
EnergySolutions disposes of more than 90 percent of the low-level radioactive waste generated in the U.S. through a license granted by the State of Utah and with the permission of the Northwest Compact.
The Compact allows EnergySolutions to take low-level radioactive waste from outside the Compact because it serves "an important national purpose" and has reserved the right to "modify or rescind" its authorization at any time.
2.15.2008
Navy Research Paper: 'Disrupt Economies' with Man-Made 'Floods,' 'Droughts'
A recently-unearthed U.S. Navy research project calls for creating mad-made floods and droughts to "disrupt [the] economy" of an enemy state.
"Weather modification was used successfully in Viet Nam to (among other things) hinder and impede the movement of personnel and material from North Viet Nam to South Viet Nam," notes a Naval Air Warfare Weapons Division - China Lake research proposal, released last month through the Freedom of Information Act. But "since that time military research on Weather Modification has dwindled in the United States."
The proposal suggests a study of the latest weather manipulation techniques, to "give the U.S. military a viable, state-of-the-art weather modification capability again." With that in hand, American forces would be able...
To impede or deny the movement of personnel and material because of rains-floods, snow-blizzards, etc.
(2) To disrupt economy due to the effect of floods, droughts, etc.
The proposal is undated. But it's pretty clearly from the Cold War. Not only is "the Soviet Union (Russia)" mentioned. The money is also relatively small, by today's standards -- less than a half-million dollars, over two years.
A military in-house newspaper calls "weather modification" an "area of China Lake preeminence. Between 1949 and 1978, China Lake developed concepts, techniques, and hardware that were successfully used in hurricane abatement, fog control, and drought relief. Military application of this technology was demonstrated in 1966 when Project Popeye was conducted to enhance rainfall to help interdict traffic on the Ho Chi Minh Trail." (Here's a picture of China Lake's "Cold Cloud Modification System."
In 1980, the United States ratified a treaty banning military weather manipulation. But every once in a while, someone in the armed forces floats the idea of doing it again. "Our vision is that by 2025 the military could influence the weather on a mesoscale [theater-wide] or microscale [immediate local area] to achieve operational capabilities," a 1996 Air Force-commissioned study reads.
Today, Chinese officials are trying to figure out ways to keep it from raining over Beiing, during this summer's Olympics.
2.11.2008
Is Your Doctor Prescribing Placebos?
In a study published this week in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, a student-and-professor team at the University of Chicago surveyed 466 faculty physicians at Chicago-area medical schools. Almost half of the 231 respondents — 45% — said they had prescribed placebos in regular clinical practice and, of those, just over half had prescribed them in the previous year. Among the reasons the doctors gave: to calm a patient down, to respond to demands for medication that the doctor felt was unnecessary, or simply to do something after all other clinical treatment options had failed. Read more..
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0%2C8599%2C1700079%2C00.html
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0%2C8599%2C1700079%2C00.html
2.07.2008
Tainted pills hit U.S. mainland
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The first warning sign came when a sharp-eyed worker sorting pills noticed that the odd blue flecks dotting the finished drug capsules matched the paint on the factory doors.
After the flecks were spotted again on the capsules, a blood-pressure medication called diltiazem, the plant began placing covers over drugs in carts in its manufacturing areas.
But the factory owner, Canadian drug maker Biovail Corp., never tried to find out whether past shipments of the drug were contaminated — or prevent future contamination, according to U.S. regulators.
Thirteen of the 20 best-selling drugs in the United States come from plants on this island. But an investigation by The Associated Press has found dozens of examples over four years of lapses in quality control in the Puerto Rican pharmaceutical industry, which churns out $35 billion of drugs each year, most of it for sale as part of the $300 billion market in the U.S.
An AP review of 100 pages of Food and Drug Administration reports shows even modern drug plants here under the watch of U.S. regulators have failed to keep laboratories sterile and have exported tainted pills.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080206/ap_on_he_me/puerto_rico_pill_problems_7
After the flecks were spotted again on the capsules, a blood-pressure medication called diltiazem, the plant began placing covers over drugs in carts in its manufacturing areas.
But the factory owner, Canadian drug maker Biovail Corp., never tried to find out whether past shipments of the drug were contaminated — or prevent future contamination, according to U.S. regulators.
Thirteen of the 20 best-selling drugs in the United States come from plants on this island. But an investigation by The Associated Press has found dozens of examples over four years of lapses in quality control in the Puerto Rican pharmaceutical industry, which churns out $35 billion of drugs each year, most of it for sale as part of the $300 billion market in the U.S.
An AP review of 100 pages of Food and Drug Administration reports shows even modern drug plants here under the watch of U.S. regulators have failed to keep laboratories sterile and have exported tainted pills.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080206/ap_on_he_me/puerto_rico_pill_problems_7
Chemical Food Additives - Are They Slowly Killing Our Children?
Let me start by saying a chemical additive doesn't necessarily 'appear' to be a problem immediately after ingestion. Quite often the effects are cumulative; a gradual build-up in the body produces roller-coaster days, some good, some bad. Some children are more sensitive to food chemicals and display immediate effects soon after ingestion of additives, colours in particular. In small amounts additives are not harmful. Effects are dose related and, tragically, dose for weight, children are consuming several times more additives than the acceptable daily intake (ADI). Before we get into the details of the most common problem foods, it is necessary to understand the testing and approval process, with emphasis on those factors that may confer the level of risk of toxic additives in infants and young children's diets. Read more..
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_9824.cfm
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_9824.cfm
1.31.2008
Over 40 million in U.S. can't afford health care: report
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 40 million people in the United States say they cannot afford adequate heath care and go without drugs, eyeglasses or dental treatment, according to a federal report released on Monday.
The latest look at the state of U.S. health care also shows that while death rates from cancer and heart disease have dropped in recent years, just as many Americans are dying in car crashes. Read more..
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN0343703420071203
The latest look at the state of U.S. health care also shows that while death rates from cancer and heart disease have dropped in recent years, just as many Americans are dying in car crashes. Read more..
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN0343703420071203
Public Outcry Keeps Hormone Milk Labels in PA
At a time when consumers can look at labels to find whether their food has less salt, is Kosher or trans-fat-free, the Pennsylvania Agriculture Department thought, when it came to labels on dairy products, less was more.
In October, Pennsylvania became the first state to ban the practice of labeling milk as free from Monsanto’s artificial growth hormone rBST also known as rbGH (synthetic or recombinant bovine growth hormone).
The labels were too confusing since milk already has naturally occurring hormones and it might be difficult to verify whether “coming from cows not treated with rBST” was actually true according to the state agriculture secretary, Dennis Wolff who issued notice of the ban.
But on the eve of the February 1 deadline for label changes, a bombardment of consumer emails, letters and calls into Governor Edward Rendell's office convinced him to intervene and reverse the labeling prohibition.
http://www.injuryboard.com/national-news/public-outcry-keeps-hormone-milk-labels-in-pa.aspx?googleid=29144
In October, Pennsylvania became the first state to ban the practice of labeling milk as free from Monsanto’s artificial growth hormone rBST also known as rbGH (synthetic or recombinant bovine growth hormone).
The labels were too confusing since milk already has naturally occurring hormones and it might be difficult to verify whether “coming from cows not treated with rBST” was actually true according to the state agriculture secretary, Dennis Wolff who issued notice of the ban.
But on the eve of the February 1 deadline for label changes, a bombardment of consumer emails, letters and calls into Governor Edward Rendell's office convinced him to intervene and reverse the labeling prohibition.
http://www.injuryboard.com/national-news/public-outcry-keeps-hormone-milk-labels-in-pa.aspx?googleid=29144
Unfavorable drug studies don't get into print: report
BOSTON (Reuters) - Nearly a third of antidepressant drug studies are never published in the medical literature and nearly all happen to show that the drug being tested did not work, researchers reported on Wednesday.
"Selective publication can lead doctors to make inappropriate prescribing decisions that may not be in the best interest of their patients and, thus, the public health," they wrote.
The idea that unfavorable test results are quietly tucked away so nobody will see them -- sometimes call the "file drawer effect" -- has been around for years.
The Turner team used a U.S. Food and Drug Administration registry in which companies are supposed to log details of their drug tests before the experiments are begun.
"It tells you where they placed their bets before they saw the data," Turner said in a telephone interview.
"Not only were positive results more likely to be published, but studies that were not positive, in our opinion, were often published in a way that conveyed a positive outcome," said the authors.
For example, of the seven negative studies done on GlaxoSmithKline's Paxil, five were never published. The researchers found three studies for GSK's Wellbutrin SR, but the two negative ones never reached print.
There were five studies for Pfizer's Zoloft, but the three showing the drug to be ineffective were not published. A fourth study, ruled questionable by the FDA, was written and published to make it appear that the drug worked. Read more..
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080117/us_nm/drugs_studies_dc
"Selective publication can lead doctors to make inappropriate prescribing decisions that may not be in the best interest of their patients and, thus, the public health," they wrote.
The idea that unfavorable test results are quietly tucked away so nobody will see them -- sometimes call the "file drawer effect" -- has been around for years.
The Turner team used a U.S. Food and Drug Administration registry in which companies are supposed to log details of their drug tests before the experiments are begun.
"It tells you where they placed their bets before they saw the data," Turner said in a telephone interview.
"Not only were positive results more likely to be published, but studies that were not positive, in our opinion, were often published in a way that conveyed a positive outcome," said the authors.
For example, of the seven negative studies done on GlaxoSmithKline's Paxil, five were never published. The researchers found three studies for GSK's Wellbutrin SR, but the two negative ones never reached print.
There were five studies for Pfizer's Zoloft, but the three showing the drug to be ineffective were not published. A fourth study, ruled questionable by the FDA, was written and published to make it appear that the drug worked. Read more..
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080117/us_nm/drugs_studies_dc
1.26.2008
Japan says Tamiflu/psychiatric link unclear
The announcement comes after an investigation following earlier reports of abnormal behaviour and self harming in younger patients who had taken the Roche-manufactured flu drug.
Since 2005, there have been more than 100 reports of abnormal behaviour in people taking Tamiflu (oseltamivir), including eight deaths.
According to the Health Ministry report, almost 60 per cent of people showing abnormal behaviour had taken the drug. Read more..
http://www.in-pharmatechnologist.com/news/ng.asp?n=82101-roche-chugai-tamiflu-abnormal-behaviour-h-n-influenza
Since 2005, there have been more than 100 reports of abnormal behaviour in people taking Tamiflu (oseltamivir), including eight deaths.
According to the Health Ministry report, almost 60 per cent of people showing abnormal behaviour had taken the drug. Read more..
http://www.in-pharmatechnologist.com/news/ng.asp?n=82101-roche-chugai-tamiflu-abnormal-behaviour-h-n-influenza
Invisible RFID Ink Safe For Cattle And People, Company Says
The process developed by Somark involves a geometric array of micro-needles and an ink capsule, which is used to 'tattoo' an animal. The ink can be detected from 4 feet away.
Read more..
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196802844
Read more..
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196802844
1.25.2008
Toothpaste Woes: Fluoride's Dark Side
Parents don't let your children swallow their toothpaste. Seems like an odd thing to say but young children can ingest almost half of the toothpaste that is put onto their toothbrushes at every brushing. Did you know that about half a tube of toothpaste can have enough fluoride in it to kill your child? Did you even know that fluoride is a toxic element? Did you know it is slightly more toxic than Lead (Pb)? Read more..
http://www.reuters.com/article/blogBurst/health?type=healthNews&w1=B7ovpm21IaDoL40ZFnNfGe&w2=B8kvecPa11hc9lKHEnu7ZUN&src=blogBurst_healthNews&bbPostId=B4LZKn90LO9WCz7SjYxePDb2fCzETkFnXODJt4CzBtBvxwmOMQG&bbParentWidgetId=B8kvecPa11hc9lKHEnu7ZUN
http://www.reuters.com/article/blogBurst/health?type=healthNews&w1=B7ovpm21IaDoL40ZFnNfGe&w2=B8kvecPa11hc9lKHEnu7ZUN&src=blogBurst_healthNews&bbPostId=B4LZKn90LO9WCz7SjYxePDb2fCzETkFnXODJt4CzBtBvxwmOMQG&bbParentWidgetId=B8kvecPa11hc9lKHEnu7ZUN
Study: The Pill protects against cancer
LONDON - Women on the birth control pill are protected from ovarian cancer, even decades after they stop taking it, scientists said. British researchers found that women taking the pill for 15 years halved their chances of developing ovarian cancer, and that the risk remained low more than 30 years later, though protection weakened over time. The findings were published Friday in The Lancet.
"Not only does the pill prevent pregnancy, but in the long term, you actually get less cancer as well," said Valerie Beral, the study's lead author and director of the Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit at Oxford University. "It's a nice bonus." The study was paid for by Cancer Research UK and Britain's Medical Research Council. Read more..
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080125/ap_on_he_me/ovarian_cancer
"Not only does the pill prevent pregnancy, but in the long term, you actually get less cancer as well," said Valerie Beral, the study's lead author and director of the Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit at Oxford University. "It's a nice bonus." The study was paid for by Cancer Research UK and Britain's Medical Research Council. Read more..
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080125/ap_on_he_me/ovarian_cancer
1.24.2008
Study shows how ultrafine particles in air pollution may cause heart disease
A new academic study led by UCLA researchers has revealed that the smallest particles from vehicle emissions may be the most damaging components of air pollution in triggering plaque buildup in the arteries, which can lead to heart attack and stroke. The findings appear in the Jan. 17 online edition of the journal Circulation Research.
The scientists identified a way in which pollutant particles may promote hardening of the arteries — by inactivating the protective qualities of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, known as "good" cholesterol.
Nanoparticles are the size of a virus or molecule — less than 0.18 micrometers, or about one-thousandth the size of a human hair. The EPA currently regulates fine particles, which are the next size up, at 2.5 micrometers, but doesn't monitor particles in the nano or ultrafine range. These particles are too small to capture in a filter, so new technology must be developed to track their contribution to adverse health effects.
"We hope our findings offer insight into the impact of nano-sized air pollutant particles and help explore ways for stricter air quality regulatory guidelines," said Nel, principal investigator and a researcher at UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute. Read more..
http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=27536
The scientists identified a way in which pollutant particles may promote hardening of the arteries — by inactivating the protective qualities of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, known as "good" cholesterol.
Nanoparticles are the size of a virus or molecule — less than 0.18 micrometers, or about one-thousandth the size of a human hair. The EPA currently regulates fine particles, which are the next size up, at 2.5 micrometers, but doesn't monitor particles in the nano or ultrafine range. These particles are too small to capture in a filter, so new technology must be developed to track their contribution to adverse health effects.
"We hope our findings offer insight into the impact of nano-sized air pollutant particles and help explore ways for stricter air quality regulatory guidelines," said Nel, principal investigator and a researcher at UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute. Read more..
http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=27536
Nanotech's health, environment impacts worry scientists
The new findings are in stark contrast to controversies sparked by the advent of technologies of the past such as nuclear power and genetically modified foods, which scientists perceived as having lower risks than did the public.
Nanotechnology rests on science's newfound ability to manipulate matter at the smallest scale, on the order of molecules and atoms. The field has enormous potential to develop applications ranging from new antimicrobial materials and tiny probes to sample individual cells in human patients to vastly more powerful computers and lasers. Already products with nanotechnology built in include such things as golf clubs, tennis rackets and antimicrobial food storage containers.
At the root of the information disconnect, explains Scheufele, who conducted the survey with Elizabeth Corley at Arizona State University, is that nanotechnology is only now starting to emerge on the nation's policy agenda. Amplifying the problem is that the news media have paid scant attention to nanotechnology and its implications. Read more..
http://www.enn.com/sci-tech/article/25828
Nanotechnology rests on science's newfound ability to manipulate matter at the smallest scale, on the order of molecules and atoms. The field has enormous potential to develop applications ranging from new antimicrobial materials and tiny probes to sample individual cells in human patients to vastly more powerful computers and lasers. Already products with nanotechnology built in include such things as golf clubs, tennis rackets and antimicrobial food storage containers.
At the root of the information disconnect, explains Scheufele, who conducted the survey with Elizabeth Corley at Arizona State University, is that nanotechnology is only now starting to emerge on the nation's policy agenda. Amplifying the problem is that the news media have paid scant attention to nanotechnology and its implications. Read more..
http://www.enn.com/sci-tech/article/25828
'Second Thoughts about Fluoride,' Reports Scientific American
NEW YORK, Jan. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "Some recent studies suggest that
over-consumption of fluoride can raise the risks of disorders affecting teeth,
bones, the brain and the thyroid gland," reports Scientific American editors
(January 2008). "Scientific attitudes toward fluoridation may be starting to
shift," writes author Dan Fagin.
"Fluoride, the most consumed drug in the USA, is deliberately added to 2/3 of
public water supplies theoretically to reduce tooth decay, but with no
scientifically-valid evidence proving safety or effectiveness," says lawyer
Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation.
Fagin, award-wining environmental reporter and Director of New York
University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program, writes,
"There is no universally accepted optimal level for daily intake of fluoride."
Some researchers even wonder whether the 1 mg/L added into drinking water is
too much, reports Fagin.
After 3 years of scrutinizing hundreds of studies, a National Research Council
(NRC) committee "concluded that fluoride can subtly alter endocrine function,
especially in the thyroid -- the gland that produces hormones regulating
growth and metabolism," reports Fagin. Read more..
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS108377%2B02-Jan-2008%2BPRN20080102
over-consumption of fluoride can raise the risks of disorders affecting teeth,
bones, the brain and the thyroid gland," reports Scientific American editors
(January 2008). "Scientific attitudes toward fluoridation may be starting to
shift," writes author Dan Fagin.
"Fluoride, the most consumed drug in the USA, is deliberately added to 2/3 of
public water supplies theoretically to reduce tooth decay, but with no
scientifically-valid evidence proving safety or effectiveness," says lawyer
Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation.
Fagin, award-wining environmental reporter and Director of New York
University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program, writes,
"There is no universally accepted optimal level for daily intake of fluoride."
Some researchers even wonder whether the 1 mg/L added into drinking water is
too much, reports Fagin.
After 3 years of scrutinizing hundreds of studies, a National Research Council
(NRC) committee "concluded that fluoride can subtly alter endocrine function,
especially in the thyroid -- the gland that produces hormones regulating
growth and metabolism," reports Fagin. Read more..
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS108377%2B02-Jan-2008%2BPRN20080102
1.21.2008
Merck's Prospects Brighten
Prospects for Merck & Co.'s $4.85 billion Vioxx settlement grew more promising, with participation outpacing expectations and the parties agreeing on amendments that resolve a major sticking point and make payouts more attractive to holdout plaintiffs.
The parties announced Friday that more than 57,100 claimants out of an estimated 60,100 -- in excess of 95% -- registered their cases by the Jan. 15 deadline, far more than the minimum required to keep the deal alive. Read more..
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120067727704100917.html?mod=health_home_stories
The parties announced Friday that more than 57,100 claimants out of an estimated 60,100 -- in excess of 95% -- registered their cases by the Jan. 15 deadline, far more than the minimum required to keep the deal alive. Read more..
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120067727704100917.html?mod=health_home_stories
Cloned food and milk
The FDA says it's safe to eat cloned meat and drink milk from cloned cows. What I find interesting is that no matter what the FDA or any other public or private agency says about edibles from cloned animals, ultimately it will be you, the consumer, who determines the success or failure of cloned food in the marketplace. Read more..
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/blogs/paging.dr.gupta/2008/01/cloned-food-and-milk.html
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/blogs/paging.dr.gupta/2008/01/cloned-food-and-milk.html
Drug firms 'bury' poor trial results
Drug companies are placing depressed patients at risk by not publishing negative results from clinical trials and distorting the evidence doctors use to decide which drugs to prescribe.
New research published in The New England Journal of Medicine found nearly a third of the 74 industry-sponsored studies of antidepressants they examined were not published, most of which showed negative outcomes for the drug involved. Not only were positive results 12 times more likely to be published, but negative results were often written so as to convey a favourable outcome.
Researchers warn that selective reporting of clinical trials can lead to misrepresentation of the benefits and risks of a drug and could mislead healthcare professionals into believing some drugs are more effective and less harmful than they actually are, which could place patients at risk.
The published articles suggest 94 per cent of the trials conducted had positive results, whereas analysis by the FDA found only half were favourable.
New research published in The New England Journal of Medicine found nearly a third of the 74 industry-sponsored studies of antidepressants they examined were not published, most of which showed negative outcomes for the drug involved. Not only were positive results 12 times more likely to be published, but negative results were often written so as to convey a favourable outcome.
Researchers warn that selective reporting of clinical trials can lead to misrepresentation of the benefits and risks of a drug and could mislead healthcare professionals into believing some drugs are more effective and less harmful than they actually are, which could place patients at risk.
The published articles suggest 94 per cent of the trials conducted had positive results, whereas analysis by the FDA found only half were favourable.
Doctors often prescribe placebos: study
A significant number of doctors in the United States prescribe placebos to their patients, a new study suggests.
A study of 200 doctors in the Chicago area found that nearly half had, at some point, written prescriptions for interventions they did not expect would have a physical effect.
The findings are reported in the January issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Rachel Sherman, a medical student at the University of Chicago, sent questionnaires to 466 internists at three Chicago-area academic medical centres. About half of them responded.
And 45 per cent of those who filled out the forms said they had prescribed a placebo at some time. Of those:
* 34 per cent said they presented a placebo as "a substance that may help and will not hurt."
* 19 per cent told their patients "it is medication."
* Nine per cent said "it is medicine with no specific effect."
Only four per cent of doctors admitted to their patients that they had prescribed a placebo.
About 12 per cent of the doctors surveyed said they felt the prescription of placebos should be prohibited.
Placebo means "to please somebody" in Latin, Dr. Peter Lin, a Toronto-based general practitioner told CBC's Metro Morning on Monday.
"If I give you a pill and I say that you're going to get better, people get better," he said.
Lin says that previous studies involving placebos have shown that when patients were given what they thought were painkillers — but instead were given placebos — their brains produced endorphins, natural painkillers, which essentially produced the same physical effects as the drugs.
"It's not an imagined improvement," says Lin. "It's an actual improvement. There is a huge mind-body connection that we need to explore."
Lin said the only caveat is that doctors need to prescribe placebos in an ethical manner. He says physicians who are just trying to get rid of patients who repeatedly ask them for some form of medication by prescribing placebos are doing them a disservice.
However, he says, if the doctor has checked out a patient and found them healthy but still seeking a treatment they don't require, placebos can meet that need.
"If we can get patients to feel better, that's good," Lin says.
A study of 200 doctors in the Chicago area found that nearly half had, at some point, written prescriptions for interventions they did not expect would have a physical effect.
The findings are reported in the January issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Rachel Sherman, a medical student at the University of Chicago, sent questionnaires to 466 internists at three Chicago-area academic medical centres. About half of them responded.
And 45 per cent of those who filled out the forms said they had prescribed a placebo at some time. Of those:
* 34 per cent said they presented a placebo as "a substance that may help and will not hurt."
* 19 per cent told their patients "it is medication."
* Nine per cent said "it is medicine with no specific effect."
Only four per cent of doctors admitted to their patients that they had prescribed a placebo.
About 12 per cent of the doctors surveyed said they felt the prescription of placebos should be prohibited.
Placebo means "to please somebody" in Latin, Dr. Peter Lin, a Toronto-based general practitioner told CBC's Metro Morning on Monday.
"If I give you a pill and I say that you're going to get better, people get better," he said.
Lin says that previous studies involving placebos have shown that when patients were given what they thought were painkillers — but instead were given placebos — their brains produced endorphins, natural painkillers, which essentially produced the same physical effects as the drugs.
"It's not an imagined improvement," says Lin. "It's an actual improvement. There is a huge mind-body connection that we need to explore."
Lin said the only caveat is that doctors need to prescribe placebos in an ethical manner. He says physicians who are just trying to get rid of patients who repeatedly ask them for some form of medication by prescribing placebos are doing them a disservice.
However, he says, if the doctor has checked out a patient and found them healthy but still seeking a treatment they don't require, placebos can meet that need.
"If we can get patients to feel better, that's good," Lin says.
1.19.2008
USDA Recommends That Food From Clones Stay Off the Market
The U.S. Department of Agriculture yesterday asked U.S. farmers to keep their cloned animals off the market indefinitely even as Food and Drug Administration officials announced that food from cloned livestock is safe to eat.
Bruce I. Knight, the USDA's undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, requested an ongoing "voluntary moratorium" to buy time for "an acceptance process" that Knight said consumers in the United States and abroad will need, "given the emotional nature of this issue."
Yet even as the two agencies sought a unified message -- that food from clones is safe for people but perhaps dangerous to U.S. markets and trade relations -- evidence surfaced suggesting that Americans and others are probably already eating meat from the offspring of clones.
Executives from the nation's major cattle cloning companies conceded yesterday that they have not been able to keep track of how many offspring of clones have entered the food supply, despite a years-old request by the FDA to keep them off the market pending completion of the agency's safety report.
At least one Kansas cattle producer also disclosed yesterday that he has openly sold semen from prize-winning clones to many U.S. meat producers in the past few years, and that he is certain he is not alone. Read more..
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/15/AR2008011501555.html
Bruce I. Knight, the USDA's undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, requested an ongoing "voluntary moratorium" to buy time for "an acceptance process" that Knight said consumers in the United States and abroad will need, "given the emotional nature of this issue."
Yet even as the two agencies sought a unified message -- that food from clones is safe for people but perhaps dangerous to U.S. markets and trade relations -- evidence surfaced suggesting that Americans and others are probably already eating meat from the offspring of clones.
Executives from the nation's major cattle cloning companies conceded yesterday that they have not been able to keep track of how many offspring of clones have entered the food supply, despite a years-old request by the FDA to keep them off the market pending completion of the agency's safety report.
At least one Kansas cattle producer also disclosed yesterday that he has openly sold semen from prize-winning clones to many U.S. meat producers in the past few years, and that he is certain he is not alone. Read more..
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/15/AR2008011501555.html
Experts Call for Shift in AIDS Policy
LONDON (Jan. 18) - In the two decades since AIDS began sweeping the globe, it has often been labeled as the biggest threat to international health.
But with revised numbers downsizing the pandemic — along with an admission that AIDS peaked in the late 1990s — some AIDS experts are now wondering if it might be wise to shift some of the billions of dollars of AIDS money to basic health problems like clean water, family planning or diarrhea. Read more..
http://news.aol.com/health/story/_a/experts-call-for-shift-in-aids-policy/20080118170209990002?ncid=NWS00010000000001
But with revised numbers downsizing the pandemic — along with an admission that AIDS peaked in the late 1990s — some AIDS experts are now wondering if it might be wise to shift some of the billions of dollars of AIDS money to basic health problems like clean water, family planning or diarrhea. Read more..
http://news.aol.com/health/story/_a/experts-call-for-shift-in-aids-policy/20080118170209990002?ncid=NWS00010000000001
1.18.2008
GSK Announces Trial To Compare Effectiveness Of Gardasil And Cervarix
GlaxoSmithKline has revealed that it will be conducting a clinical trial to determine whether its human papilloma virus vaccine Cervarix is more effective than rival Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil, according to Philadelphia Inquirer.
GSK said that it will be focusing on the effectiveness of both the drugs on HPV strains 16, 18, 31 and 45. Brian Lortie, GSK's vice president for Cervarix operations, said his company is confident that Cervarix will prove to be the more effective vaccine among the two.
"We're quite confident Cervarix has a stronger immune response and broader protection than Gardasil", he said. Reacting to the news of the trial, officials at Merck released a statement saying that the study is limited to only immune response which can never reveal the true efficacy data of a drug.
The trial can further dent Gardasil's reputation, which due to its high cost ($360 for three doses) has not been widely prescribed. Gardasil is the most expensive vaccine on CDC's list of recommended childhood vaccines which has seen many of the private insurance companies not making adequate reimbursement to cover physicians' costs to purchase, store and administer the vaccine.
Merck has already said that it will be offering the vaccine for free to low-income women aged between 19 to 26 years and are not insured. New Hampshire and South Dakota are also thinking of offering the vaccine at no cost to women who are under 18 years of age.
Independent clinical trials have proved that both Gardasil and Cervarix are 100 percent effective in preventing the infection of strains 16 and 18 of HPV, which cause around 70 percent of known cervical cancer cases. Gardasil was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year with CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices saying that girls aged 11 and 12 should be given the vaccine.
A study published in the April 2006 online edition of the Lancet said that Cervarix successfully prevented the infection of HPV strains 31 and 45. Strains 16 and 18 along with 31 and 45 account for nearly 80 percent of cervical cancer cases. Meanwhile Merck has claimed that Gardasil is 99 percent effective in preventing strains 6 and 11, which when combined with strains 16 and 18 are responsible for 90 percent of genital wart cases.
http://www.vaccinerx.com/news/cervical-cancer/gsk-announces-trial-to-compare-effectiveness-of-gardasil-and-cervarix-20070124-62-56.html
GSK said that it will be focusing on the effectiveness of both the drugs on HPV strains 16, 18, 31 and 45. Brian Lortie, GSK's vice president for Cervarix operations, said his company is confident that Cervarix will prove to be the more effective vaccine among the two.
"We're quite confident Cervarix has a stronger immune response and broader protection than Gardasil", he said. Reacting to the news of the trial, officials at Merck released a statement saying that the study is limited to only immune response which can never reveal the true efficacy data of a drug.
The trial can further dent Gardasil's reputation, which due to its high cost ($360 for three doses) has not been widely prescribed. Gardasil is the most expensive vaccine on CDC's list of recommended childhood vaccines which has seen many of the private insurance companies not making adequate reimbursement to cover physicians' costs to purchase, store and administer the vaccine.
Merck has already said that it will be offering the vaccine for free to low-income women aged between 19 to 26 years and are not insured. New Hampshire and South Dakota are also thinking of offering the vaccine at no cost to women who are under 18 years of age.
Independent clinical trials have proved that both Gardasil and Cervarix are 100 percent effective in preventing the infection of strains 16 and 18 of HPV, which cause around 70 percent of known cervical cancer cases. Gardasil was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year with CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices saying that girls aged 11 and 12 should be given the vaccine.
A study published in the April 2006 online edition of the Lancet said that Cervarix successfully prevented the infection of HPV strains 31 and 45. Strains 16 and 18 along with 31 and 45 account for nearly 80 percent of cervical cancer cases. Meanwhile Merck has claimed that Gardasil is 99 percent effective in preventing strains 6 and 11, which when combined with strains 16 and 18 are responsible for 90 percent of genital wart cases.
http://www.vaccinerx.com/news/cervical-cancer/gsk-announces-trial-to-compare-effectiveness-of-gardasil-and-cervarix-20070124-62-56.html
Merck's Cervical Cancer Vaccine, Gardasil®, Added To The Cdc Vaccines For Children Contract
Merck & Co., Inc. today announced that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has added Merck's cervical cancer vaccine, GARDASIL® [Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus (Types 6, 11, 16, 18) Recombinant Vaccine] to the CDC's Vaccines for Children (VFC) contract for girls and women aged 9 to 18. GARDASIL was approved on June 8 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in girls and women ages 9 to 26 years. GARDASIL is the world's first and only vaccine available for the prevention of HPV types 16- and 18-related cervical cancer, cervical pre-cancers (CIN 2/3 and AIS), vulvar pre-cancers (VIN 2/3) and vaginal pre-cancers (VaIN 2/3) and for the prevention of genital warts and low-grade cervical lesions (CIN 1) caused by HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18.
"The addition of GARDASIL to the VFC program is a very positive step towards protecting the future health of girls and young women in this country against cervical cancer caused by HPV types 16 and 18," said Mark Feinberg, M.D., Ph.D., vice president, Policy, Public Health and Medical Affairs in the Merck Vaccine Division. "Inclusion of GARDASIL in the VFC program, coupled with private insurance coverage and Merck's Vaccine Patient Assistance Program, represent important means to facilitate broad and equitable access to GARDASIL."
Health insurers covering approximately 94 percent of privately insured lives in the US (currently more than 95 insurance plans) have decided to reimburse GARDASIL. Many lives not covered by Managed Care will now be covered under the VFC Program. Merck has also initiated a new patient assistance program for vaccines. Through this new program, currently available in private physicians' offices, Merck is making available, free of charge, GARDASIL and other Merck vaccines indicated for use in individuals aged 19 and older who are uninsured and who are unable to afford vaccines.
Since 1994, the VFC program has provided vaccines to children through age 18 who are Medicaid-eligible, uninsured, underinsured or Native American. After the CDC's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) has made a recommendation for the use of a given vaccine, the ACIP votes on whether the vaccine should be included in the VFC program. At the June 2006 meeting of the ACIP, the committee voted unanimously to recommend GARDASIL to the VFC program. Eligible adolescents may receive recommended vaccines through VFC once the CDC contracts for the purchase of the vaccine, a process that is now complete. Read more..
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/55737.php
"The addition of GARDASIL to the VFC program is a very positive step towards protecting the future health of girls and young women in this country against cervical cancer caused by HPV types 16 and 18," said Mark Feinberg, M.D., Ph.D., vice president, Policy, Public Health and Medical Affairs in the Merck Vaccine Division. "Inclusion of GARDASIL in the VFC program, coupled with private insurance coverage and Merck's Vaccine Patient Assistance Program, represent important means to facilitate broad and equitable access to GARDASIL."
Health insurers covering approximately 94 percent of privately insured lives in the US (currently more than 95 insurance plans) have decided to reimburse GARDASIL. Many lives not covered by Managed Care will now be covered under the VFC Program. Merck has also initiated a new patient assistance program for vaccines. Through this new program, currently available in private physicians' offices, Merck is making available, free of charge, GARDASIL and other Merck vaccines indicated for use in individuals aged 19 and older who are uninsured and who are unable to afford vaccines.
Since 1994, the VFC program has provided vaccines to children through age 18 who are Medicaid-eligible, uninsured, underinsured or Native American. After the CDC's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) has made a recommendation for the use of a given vaccine, the ACIP votes on whether the vaccine should be included in the VFC program. At the June 2006 meeting of the ACIP, the committee voted unanimously to recommend GARDASIL to the VFC program. Eligible adolescents may receive recommended vaccines through VFC once the CDC contracts for the purchase of the vaccine, a process that is now complete. Read more..
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/55737.php
CDC Purchasing 10 Million Doses of Gardasil
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) latest round of acquisitions under its Vaccines for Children program includes the purchase of 10 million doses of Merck’s human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil, according to CDC solicitation documents.
The agency’s planned purchase is the same as its 2007 procurement.
Merck is the only FDA-approved manufacturer of quadrivalent HPV, which is called for in the procurement specifications. Gardasil (HPV quadrivalent [types 6, 11, 16 and 18] vaccine, recombinant) protects against four different strains of the virus, unlike GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) Cervarix (HPV, AS04 adjuvant-adsorbed).
Cervarix, approved in Europe, provides 100 percent protection against strains 16 and 18 only, according to the company. Although GSK has indicated that the product provides broader protection against cancer-causing HPV strains, the firm’s marketing authorization from the European Medicines Agency only references strains 16 and 18.
The FDA recently issued a complete response letter for Cervarix, requesting more information about the product. Results from a head-to-head trial comparing Cervarix with Gardasil could be available later this year.
The anticipated performance period of the contract starts April 1 and continues through March 31, 2009. Only measles, mumps and rubella and Hib vaccines are subject to statutory price ceilings. Bids close Jan. 28. The solicitation can be accessed at fs1.fbo.gov/EPSData/HHS/Synopses/2965/2008-N-19196/VFC2008Solicitation.doc.
http://www.fdanews.com/newsletter/article?artueId=11210icleId=103084&iss
The agency’s planned purchase is the same as its 2007 procurement.
Merck is the only FDA-approved manufacturer of quadrivalent HPV, which is called for in the procurement specifications. Gardasil (HPV quadrivalent [types 6, 11, 16 and 18] vaccine, recombinant) protects against four different strains of the virus, unlike GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) Cervarix (HPV, AS04 adjuvant-adsorbed).
Cervarix, approved in Europe, provides 100 percent protection against strains 16 and 18 only, according to the company. Although GSK has indicated that the product provides broader protection against cancer-causing HPV strains, the firm’s marketing authorization from the European Medicines Agency only references strains 16 and 18.
The FDA recently issued a complete response letter for Cervarix, requesting more information about the product. Results from a head-to-head trial comparing Cervarix with Gardasil could be available later this year.
The anticipated performance period of the contract starts April 1 and continues through March 31, 2009. Only measles, mumps and rubella and Hib vaccines are subject to statutory price ceilings. Bids close Jan. 28. The solicitation can be accessed at fs1.fbo.gov/EPSData/HHS/Synopses/2965/2008-N-19196/VFC2008Solicitation.doc.
http://www.fdanews.com/newsletter/article?artueId=11210icleId=103084&iss
1.17.2008
FDA and HPV -- when did they know the truth?
What I have done is read all 68 pages of this document. What I am going to show you is that the FDA knew back in 2003 that a HPV is not the actual cause of cervical cancer. The actual cause is a "persistent HPV infection that may act as a tumor promoter in cancer induction [8-11]. Read more....
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/janak/071212
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/janak/071212
Making Water From Thin Air
A company that developed technology capable of creating water out of thin air nearly anywhere in the world is now under contract to nourish U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq.
The water-harvesting technology was originally the brainchild of the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which sought ways to ensure sustainable water supplies for U.S. combat troops deployed in arid regions like Iraq.
"The program focused on creating water from the atmosphere using low-energy systems that could reduce the overall logistics burden for deployed forces and provide potable water within the reach of the war fighter any place, any time," said Darpa spokeswoman Jan Walker.
To achieve this end, Darpa gave millions to research companies like LexCarb and Sciperio to create a contraption that could capture water in the Mesopotamian desert.
But it was another company, Aqua Sciences, that developed a product on its own and was first to put a product on the market that can operate in harsh climates.
"People have been trying to figure out how to do this for years, and we just came out of left field in response to Darpa," said Abe Sher, chief executive officer of Aqua Sciences. "The atmosphere is a river full of water, even in the desert. It won't work absolutely everywhere, but it works virtually everywhere."
Sher said he is "not at liberty" to disclose details of the government contracts, except that Aqua Sciences won two highly competitive bids with "some very sophisticated companies."
He also declined to comment on how the technology actually works.
"This is our secret sauce," Sher said. "Like Kentucky Fried Chicken, it tastes good, but we won't tell you what's in it."
He did, however, provide a hint: Think of rice used in saltshakers that acts as a magnet to extract water and keeps salt from clumping.
"We figured out how to tap it in a very unique and proprietary way," Sher said. "We figured out how to mimic nature, using natural salt to extract water and act as a natural decontamination.
"Think of the Dead Sea, where nothing grows around it because the salt dehydrates everything. It's kind of like that."
The 20-foot machine can churn out 600 gallons of water a day without using or producing toxic materials and byproducts. The machine was displayed on Capitol Hill last week where a half-dozen lawmakers and some staffers stopped by for a drink.
"It was very interesting to see the technology in action and learn about its possible implementation in natural disasters," said Rep. E. Clay Shaw Jr., a Republican from Florida whose hurricane-prone district includes Fort Lauderdale.
"It was delicious," Shaw said.
Jason Rowe, chief of staff to Rep. Tom Feeney, another Florida Republican, called the technology "pretty impressive."
"I was pretty blown away by the things it's able to do," Rowe said. "The fact that this technology is not tied to humidity like others are makes it an attractive alternative for military bases in the Mideast where humidity is not really an option.
"It seems like it's a cheaper alternative to trucking in bottled water, which has a shelf life," said Rowe, who described himself as a fiscal hawk.
Once deployed, the machines could reduce the cost of logistical support for supplying water to the troops in Iraq by billions of dollars, said Stuart Roy, spokesman of the DCI Group, Aqua Sciences' public affairs firm.
The cost to transport water by C-17 cargo planes, then truck it to the troops, runs $30 a gallon. The cost, including the machines from Aqua Sciences, will be reduced to 30 cents a gallon, Roy said.
Several systems on the market can create water through condensation, but the process requires a high level of humidity.
Aqua Sciences' machines only require 14 percent humidity, Roy said. "That's why this technology is superior and why they are getting the contracts."
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/10/71898
The water-harvesting technology was originally the brainchild of the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which sought ways to ensure sustainable water supplies for U.S. combat troops deployed in arid regions like Iraq.
"The program focused on creating water from the atmosphere using low-energy systems that could reduce the overall logistics burden for deployed forces and provide potable water within the reach of the war fighter any place, any time," said Darpa spokeswoman Jan Walker.
To achieve this end, Darpa gave millions to research companies like LexCarb and Sciperio to create a contraption that could capture water in the Mesopotamian desert.
But it was another company, Aqua Sciences, that developed a product on its own and was first to put a product on the market that can operate in harsh climates.
"People have been trying to figure out how to do this for years, and we just came out of left field in response to Darpa," said Abe Sher, chief executive officer of Aqua Sciences. "The atmosphere is a river full of water, even in the desert. It won't work absolutely everywhere, but it works virtually everywhere."
Sher said he is "not at liberty" to disclose details of the government contracts, except that Aqua Sciences won two highly competitive bids with "some very sophisticated companies."
He also declined to comment on how the technology actually works.
"This is our secret sauce," Sher said. "Like Kentucky Fried Chicken, it tastes good, but we won't tell you what's in it."
He did, however, provide a hint: Think of rice used in saltshakers that acts as a magnet to extract water and keeps salt from clumping.
"We figured out how to tap it in a very unique and proprietary way," Sher said. "We figured out how to mimic nature, using natural salt to extract water and act as a natural decontamination.
"Think of the Dead Sea, where nothing grows around it because the salt dehydrates everything. It's kind of like that."
The 20-foot machine can churn out 600 gallons of water a day without using or producing toxic materials and byproducts. The machine was displayed on Capitol Hill last week where a half-dozen lawmakers and some staffers stopped by for a drink.
"It was very interesting to see the technology in action and learn about its possible implementation in natural disasters," said Rep. E. Clay Shaw Jr., a Republican from Florida whose hurricane-prone district includes Fort Lauderdale.
"It was delicious," Shaw said.
Jason Rowe, chief of staff to Rep. Tom Feeney, another Florida Republican, called the technology "pretty impressive."
"I was pretty blown away by the things it's able to do," Rowe said. "The fact that this technology is not tied to humidity like others are makes it an attractive alternative for military bases in the Mideast where humidity is not really an option.
"It seems like it's a cheaper alternative to trucking in bottled water, which has a shelf life," said Rowe, who described himself as a fiscal hawk.
Once deployed, the machines could reduce the cost of logistical support for supplying water to the troops in Iraq by billions of dollars, said Stuart Roy, spokesman of the DCI Group, Aqua Sciences' public affairs firm.
The cost to transport water by C-17 cargo planes, then truck it to the troops, runs $30 a gallon. The cost, including the machines from Aqua Sciences, will be reduced to 30 cents a gallon, Roy said.
Several systems on the market can create water through condensation, but the process requires a high level of humidity.
Aqua Sciences' machines only require 14 percent humidity, Roy said. "That's why this technology is superior and why they are getting the contracts."
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/10/71898
1.16.2008
FDA Announces Plan to Eliminate Vitamin Companies
(NewsTarget) The FDA, emboldened by its transformation into a drug company, has embarked upon an anti-American plan of interfering with business and intentionally eliminating various dietary supplement companies from the market. The FDA announcement came on Friday, June 22, 2007 under the guise of a final rule for dietary supplement good manufacturing practices (CGMPs). Within this 800 page rule the FDA states, "We find that this final rule will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities... Establishments with above average costs, and even establishments with average costs, could be hard pressed to continue to operate. Some of these may decide it is too costly and either change product lines or go out of business... 140 very small [less than 20 employees] and 32 small dietary supplement manufacturers [less than 500 employees] will be at risk of going out of business... costs per establishment are proportionally higher for very small than for large establishments... The regulatory costs of this final rule will also discourage new small businesses from entering the industry." (http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/%7Elrd/fr07625a.html)
http://www.newstarget.com/022499.html
http://www.newstarget.com/022499.html
1.05.2008
Merk drug company vaccines admits injecting cancer viruses
This stunning censored interview conducted by medical historian Edward Shorter for WGBH public television (Boston) and Blackwell Science was cut from The Health Century due to its huge liability--the admission that Merck drug company vaccines have traditionally been injecting cancer viruses (SV40 and others) in people worldwide.
This segment of In Lies We Trust: The CIA, Hollywood & Bioterrorism, produced and freely contributed by consumer protector and public health expert, Dr. Leonard Horowitz, features the world's leading vaccine expert, Dr. Maurice Hilleman, who explains why Merck's vaccines have spread AIDS, leukemia, and other horrific plagues worldwide. Click on link to watch...
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=327_1195303011
This segment of In Lies We Trust: The CIA, Hollywood & Bioterrorism, produced and freely contributed by consumer protector and public health expert, Dr. Leonard Horowitz, features the world's leading vaccine expert, Dr. Maurice Hilleman, who explains why Merck's vaccines have spread AIDS, leukemia, and other horrific plagues worldwide. Click on link to watch...
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=327_1195303011
1.04.2008
Did IBM Knowingly Dump Chemicals In New York State From 1924 To 2002
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Neighbors of a former IBM (IBM.N) plant in New York state sued the company on Thursday, saying it released chemicals into the air, ground and water for nearly 80 years that caused birth defects and cancer.
Some 90 residents of the upstate New York towns of Endicott and Union say that from 1924 to 2002, IBM dumped chemicals including trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene near the Endicott plant where the computer giant was born.
They seek unspecified damages, according to the suit filed in Broome County Superior Court.
"IBM will defend itself vigorously against these claims that have no merit in science," company spokesman Michael Maloney said.
The lawsuit is the first of several planned against IBM by nearly 1,000 people who say they have been harmed by the chemicals, lawyers for the plaintiffs said.
IBM began at Endicott, where it built everything from typewriters to mainframe computers. It sold the plant in 2002.
(Reporting by Dan Wilchins in New York and Philipp Gollner in San Francisco; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Xavier Briand)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080103/bs_nm/ibm_lawsuit_dc
Some 90 residents of the upstate New York towns of Endicott and Union say that from 1924 to 2002, IBM dumped chemicals including trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene near the Endicott plant where the computer giant was born.
They seek unspecified damages, according to the suit filed in Broome County Superior Court.
"IBM will defend itself vigorously against these claims that have no merit in science," company spokesman Michael Maloney said.
The lawsuit is the first of several planned against IBM by nearly 1,000 people who say they have been harmed by the chemicals, lawyers for the plaintiffs said.
IBM began at Endicott, where it built everything from typewriters to mainframe computers. It sold the plant in 2002.
(Reporting by Dan Wilchins in New York and Philipp Gollner in San Francisco; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Xavier Briand)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080103/bs_nm/ibm_lawsuit_dc
1.03.2008
Gardasil Causing Pain and Fainting?
Health officials have touted the Gardasil vaccine as an important new protection against a cancer-causing sexually transmitted virus. In recent months, they've also noted reports of pain and fainting from the shot.
During its first year of use, reports of girls fainting from vaccinations climbed, but it's not clear whether the pain of the cervical cancer vaccine was the reason for the reaction.
Officials at Merck & Co., which makes the vaccine, acknowledge the sting. They attribute it partly to the virus-like particles in the shot. Pre-marketing studies showed more reports of pain from Gardasil than from dummy shots, and patients reported more pain when given shots with more of the particles.
Meanwhile, U.S. health officials have noticed a rise in reports of vaccine-associated fainting in girls. From 2002-2004 there were about 50 reports of fainting; from 2005 until last July, there were about 230. About 180 of those cases followed a shot of Gardasil, which came on the market in 2006.
But it's not clear that Gardasil's sting is related to the fainting increase, said Dr. Barbara Slade, an immunization safety specialist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080103/ap_on_he_me/painful_shot
During its first year of use, reports of girls fainting from vaccinations climbed, but it's not clear whether the pain of the cervical cancer vaccine was the reason for the reaction.
Officials at Merck & Co., which makes the vaccine, acknowledge the sting. They attribute it partly to the virus-like particles in the shot. Pre-marketing studies showed more reports of pain from Gardasil than from dummy shots, and patients reported more pain when given shots with more of the particles.
Meanwhile, U.S. health officials have noticed a rise in reports of vaccine-associated fainting in girls. From 2002-2004 there were about 50 reports of fainting; from 2005 until last July, there were about 230. About 180 of those cases followed a shot of Gardasil, which came on the market in 2006.
But it's not clear that Gardasil's sting is related to the fainting increase, said Dr. Barbara Slade, an immunization safety specialist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080103/ap_on_he_me/painful_shot
1.02.2008
Researchers work on cocaine vaccine
HOUSTON - Two Baylor College of Medicine researchers in Houston are working on a cocaine vaccine they hope will become the first-ever medication to treat people hooked on the drug. "For people who have a desire to stop using, the vaccine should be very useful," said Dr. Tom Kosten, a psychiatry professor who is being assisted in the research by his wife, Therese, a psychologist and neuroscientist. "At some point, most users will give in to temptation and relapse, but those for whom the vaccine is effective won't get high and will lose interest."
he vaccine, currently in clinical trials, stimulates the immune system to attack the real thing when it's taken.
The immune system — unable to recognize cocaine and other drug molecules because they are so small — can't make antibodies to attack them.
To help the immune system distinguish the drug, Kosten attached inactivated cocaine to the outside of inactivated cholera proteins.
In response, the immune system not only makes antibodies to the combination, which is harmless, but also recognizes the potent naked drug when it's ingested. The antibodies bind to the cocaine and prevent it from reaching the brain, where it normally would generate the highs that are so addictive.
"It's a very clever idea," says David Eagleman, a Baylor neuroscientist. "Scientists have spent the last few decades figuring out reward pathways in the brain and how drugs like cocaine hijack the system. It turns out those pathways are difficult to rewire once they've seen the drug. But the vaccine just circumvents all that."
Kosten asked the Food and Drug Administration in December to green-light a multi-institutional trial to begin in the spring and is awaiting a response.
Approval would mark a breakthrough in the treatment of cocaine addiction, which now mostly involves psychiatric counseling and 12-step programs. It presumably would be the final clinical hurdle before the vaccine — more than a decade in the making — might be approved for treatment. But one expert warns against expecting too much.
"Addiction vaccines are a promising advance, but it's unlikely any treatment in this field will work for everyone," said Dr. David Gorelick, a senior investigator at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "Still, if they prove successful, they will give those working in drug addiction an important option."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080102/ap_on_sc/cocaine_vaccine
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