Last week, ProPublica reported that the Food and Drug Administration allowed dozens of medications to stay on the market, even though the research designed to prove their safety and effectiveness was undermined by "egregious" violations at a major pharmaceutical research laboratory in Houston. New information shows that even after the FDA had cited the lab for falsifying data and other misconduct, the agency issued a brand new approval to a drug tested there.

The FDA has refused to reveal the names of any of the approximately 100 drugs affected by the fraud at the Houston lab of the firm Cetero Research, saying that to do so would reveal confidential commercial information. ProPublica was able to identify five of those drugs, and now we've found a sixth. This one was approved after the agency had already cited the Houston lab for misconduct.

The drug is a generic version of Tussionex, which combines a long-acting narcotic cough suppressant with an anti-allergy medication. Manufactured by TrisPharma, the drug has a tongue-twisting chemical name: hydrocodone polistirex/chlorpheniraminepolistirex.

Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) has developed a type of genetically modified (GM) wheat that may silence human genes, leading to disastrous health consequences.

Last year, University of Canterbury Professor Jack Heinemann released results from genetic research he conducted on the wheat, which showed with "no doubt" that molecules created in the wheat, which are intended to silence wheat genes to change its carbohydrate content, may match human genes and potentially silence them.

University Professor Judy Carman agreed with Heinemann's analysis, stating in Digital Journal:¹

"If this silences the same gene in us that it silences in the wheat -- well, children who are born with this enzyme not working tend to die by the age of about five."

It's not often that a scientific study suggests there are advantages to being overweight.

With obesity at epidemic proportions in the United States -- the Centers for Disease Control estimates 34 percent of adults are too fat for their own good -- most studies sing the praises of exercise, dieting and losing weight.

But a recent study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute found that chubby men actually stand a better chance of surviving an automobile crash -- provided they are wearing a seatbelt.

Despite this encouraging news, heavy-sey fellows should not expect lower car insurance rates.

Monsanto controls our food, poisons our land, and influences all three branches of government.

Forty percent of the crops grown in the United States contain their genes. They produce the world's top selling herbicide. Several of their factories are now toxic Superfund sites. They spend millions lobbying the government each year. It's time we take a closer look at who's controlling our food, poisoning our land, and influencing all three branches of government. To do that, the watchdog group Food and Water Watch recently published a corporate profile of Monsanto.

Patty Lovera, Food and Water Watch assistant director, says they decided to focus on Monsanto because they felt a need to "put together a piece where people can see all of the aspects of this company."

"It really strikes us when we talk about how clear it is that this is a chemical company that wanted to expand its reach," she says. "A chemical company that started buying up seed companies." She feels it's important "for food activists to understand all of the ties between the seeds and the chemicals."

If you like to express yourself through painting, writing, or any other form of artistic action, scientists now say that you must be suffering from a mental illness of some kind. In a new display of how truly insane the mainstream medical health paradigm has become, mainstream media outlets are now regurgitating the words of 'experts' who say that those who are creative are actually, more often than not, mentally ill.

After all, more than 50% of the United States is, by definition of the psychiatrists of the nation, mentally ill. Even questioning the government is considered a mental disorder. It should come as no surprise to know that upwards of 70% of the psychiatrists who write the conditions are - of course - on the payroll of those who produce the drugs to 'treat' the conditions. It should also therefore come as no surprise to note that the DSM (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is the foundation of the entire diagnosis system) now contains over 900 pages of bogus disorders.

And perhaps creativity may soon be added to the massive textbook, which labels people who are shy, eccentric, or have unconventional romantic lives as mentally ill.

Often in life, our biggest problems are those we brought upon ourselves; the same could be said for medical problems. Many of our modern diseases and ailments are completely preventable and only present because we have somehow deprived our bodies of the ability to heal themselves. In that same vein, one of the biggest concerns of the health world is an infection that cannot be stopped, an issue largely due to the overuse of antibiotics. But there are many potential solutions for this issue - lavender is one of those solutions.

Summer is fast approaching. It is a time when I see fear rampant on the beach in the form of slathering chemicals on our children's skin or covering them from head to toe. We don't want them to get cancer from the sun, do we?? So we do our due diligence and cover ourselves and our children with whatever our conscience allows.

But what if the sun really doesn't cause skin cancer?

Oh, I know we've been told for years that the depletion of the ozone layer decreases our atmosphere's natural protection from the sun's supposedly "harmful" ultraviolet (UV) rays.

We've been told that these rays damage the skin's cellular DNA which then produce genetic mutations that can lead to skin cancer. And of course the US Department of Health and Human Services and the World Health Organization both have identified UV light as a proven human carcinogen. The CDC even tells us a few serious sunburns can increase your child's risk of getting skin cancer. Pretty scary stuff, huh? No wonder we cover ourselves and our children with chemicals or clothing - we'd be a fool not to!

This isn't a leak. It isn't a timid flow. It's a flood.

I'm talking about about the criticism of Monsanto's so-called science of genetically-engineered food.

For the past 20 years, independent researchers have been attacking Monsanto science in various ways, and finally the NY Times has joined the crowd.

But it's the way Mark Bittman, lead food columnist for the Times magazine, does it that really the crashes the whole GMO delusion. Writing in his April 2 column, "Why Do G.M.O.'s Need Protection?", Bittman leads with this:

"Genetic engineering in agriculture has disappointed many people who once had hopes for it."

As in: the party's over, turn out the lights.

Few people are familiar with the term nightshades, and many will be surprised to learn that consuming foods from this plant group may be contributing to their pain and inflammation. Nightshades belong to the Solanaceae family which includes over 2,000 species. They also include some of the most popular foods consumed today; such as tomatoes, potatoes, all types of peppers, and eggplant. Although not truly nightshades, blueberries, huckleberries, goji berries and ashwaganda all share the same inflammation-inducing alkaloids.

The Solanaceae family contains cholinesterase inhibiting glycoalkaloids and steroid alkaloids including, among others, solanine in potato and eggplant, tomatine in tomato, nicotine in tobacco, and capsaicin in garden peppers. The glycoalkaloids in potatoes are known to contribute to Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and negatively affect intestinal permeability. (1,2)

According to Dr. Marvin Childers, "When these inhibitors accumulate in the body, alone or with other cholinesterase inhibitors such as caffeine or food impurities containing systemic cholinesterase inhibiting pesticides, the result may be a paralytic-like muscle spasm, aches, pains, tenderness, inflammation, and stiff body movements." (3)

These symptoms may dissipate in a few hours or days if ingestion is stopped, based on the sensitivity of the individual, the amount of nightshades consumed on a regular basis and their level of inflammation. However for some heavy consumers of nightshades the process of inflammation and pain reduction can take up to 3 months.

It's hard to overstate the impact that cardiovascular disease (CVD) has in the U.S.. Consider the following:

Cardiovascular disease affects 65 million Americans.

Close to one million Americans have a heart attack each year.

In the U.S., one person dies every 39 seconds of cardiovascular disease.

1 of 3 deaths that occurs in the U.S. is caused by cardiovascular disease.

1 in 3 Americans have metabolic syndrome, a cluster of major cardiovascular risk factors related to overweight/obesity and insulin resistance.

The total cost of cardiovascular disease in 2008 was estimated at $300 billion.

To put that last statistic in perspective, the World Health Organization has estimated that ending world hunger would cost approximately $195 billion. One might argue that the $300 billion we spend on treating cardiovascular disease in the U.S. is a necessary expenditure; however, a recent study which looked at the relationship between heart disease and lifestyle suggested that 90% of CVD is caused by modifiable diet and lifestyle factors. (1)

Unfortunately, cardiovascular disease is one of the most misdiagnosed and mistreated conditions in medicine. We've learned a tremendous amount about what causes heart disease over the past decade, but the medical establishment is still operating on outdated science from 40-50 years ago.