Health & WellnessS

Family

Brain scans find similarities between children with autism and their siblings

Mehmet Fidanboylu
BioNews
Mon, 25 Jul 2011 19:37 UTC
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Children with autism and their siblings share similar patterns of reduced activity in brain regions linked to empathy, according to new research carried out at the University of Cambridge, UK. The researchers believe these findings could lead to a greater understanding of the role of genes in autism and the development of techniques for predicting the risk of developing autism in the future.

The study, which was carried out by a team of researchers led by Dr Michael Spencer with the backing of the Medical Research Council's Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to detect active areas of the brain in response to images of different human expressions.

The researchers initially compared the brains of autistic children to children with no family history of autism and found those with autism displayed reduced brain activity in regions involved in responding to other people's emotions. This is not a new finding - a known feature of autism is a difficulty in detecting emotional signals such as body language and facial expressions. However, when the researchers went on to look at the unaffected siblings of the children with autism, they found a very similar pattern of reduced activity in the same brain regions.
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Magic Wand

Epigenetic 'Memory' Key to Nature Versus Nurture


Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Sun, 24 Jul 2011 18:49 UTC
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© Unknown
Researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) at the John Innes Centre have made a discovery, reported this evening (24 July) in Nature, that explains how an organism can create a biological memory of some variable condition, such as quality of nutrition or temperature. The discovery explains the mechanism of this memory - a sort of biological switch - and how it can also be inherited by offspring.

The work was led by Professor Martin Howard and Professor Caroline Dean at the John Innes Centre, which receives strategic funding from BBSRC. Funding for the project came from BBSRC, the European Research Council, and The Royal Society.

Professor Dean said "There are quite a few examples that we now know of where the activity of genes can be affected in the long term by environmental factors. And in some cases the environment of an individual can actually affect the biology or physiology of their offspring but there is no change to the genome sequence."

For example, some studies have shown that in families where there was a severe food shortage in the grandparents' generation, the children and grandchildren have a greater risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which could be explained by epigenetic memory. But until now there hasn't been a clear mechanism to explain how individuals could develop a "memory" of a variable factor, such as nutrition.
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Bug

No Liability for Beetles in Baby Food

Jack Bouboushian
Court House News Service
Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:44 UTC
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© foodfreedom.wordpress.com
Baby formula laced with beetles and larvae does not necessarily violate its manufacturer's promises of wholesomeness and quality, a federal judge ruled, in dismissing without prejudice a class action involving Abbott Laboratories' Similac.

Lead plaintiff Chalonda Jasper, an Indiana mother, may have been grossed out by the beetle parts, but she may have no legal recourse against Abbott, even though she relied upon Abbot's ad slogans, which included,
"When it comes to the science of nutrition, Similac stands apart."
Abbott recalled more than 5 million containers of Similac in September 2010, less than a week after Jasper had bought it and began feeding it to her son.
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Toys

European Union Tightens Rules on Unsafe Children's Toys

Christopher Le Coq
Reuters
Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:33 UTC
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© Molly Riley๏ปฟ๏ปฟ๏ปฟA baby doll and a pair of plastic handcuffs are seen on display at a news conference where the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) announced its 25th annual Trouble in Toyland report, in Washington November 23, 2010.
The European Union introduced tighter safety measures for children's toys on Wednesday, a measure that could hurt Chinese imports which make up 80 percent of all EU toy imports.

The new rules specifically target toys that contain phthalates, a plastic softening chemical that has been linked to hormone disruption in children.

They also target flame retardants in some toys, which the European Commission, the EU executive, says may hinder a child's growth and permanently damage their endocrine system.

Surveillance at EU borders and within the 27 member state bloc will be tightened, and manufacturers, importers and distributors will be responsible for identifying hazards and potential exposure to children.
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Magnify

Tiny Nanoparticles Could Be a Big Problem

Alex Roslin
Straight.com
Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00 UTC
Image
© Jim Thomas/ETC GroupIan Illuminato of Friends of the Earth says consumers deserve a say in nanotech regulation.
Nanotechnology was supposed to revolutionize the world, making us healthier and producing cleaner energy. But it's starting to look more like a nightmare.

Nanomaterials - tiny particles as little as 1/100,000 the width of a human hair - have quietly been used since the 1990s in hundreds of everyday products, everything from food to baby bottles, pills, beer cans, computer keyboards, skin creams, shampoo, and clothes.

But after years of virtually unregulated use, scientists are now starting to say the most commonly used nanoproducts could be harming our health and the environment.

One of the most widespread nanoproducts is titanium dioxide. More than 5,000 tonnes of it are produced worldwide each year for use in food, toothpaste, cosmetics, paint, and paper (as a coloring agent), in medication and vitamin capsules (as a nonmedicinal filler), and in most sunscreens (for its anti-UV properties).
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Whistle

The Smear Campaign They Used to Try to Shut Us Up


Dr. Mercola
Sun, 24 Jul 2011 13:33 UTC

Barbara Loe Fisher is a pioneer in vaccine education and safety, and the founder of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC).

In an effort to educate and offer a counterbalance to the massive amounts of traditional mass media exposure on vaccines, which rarely ever mentions the potential dangers, we co-sponsored a message that was featured on the New York Time Square's Jumbotron in March of this year. It was a 15-second spot that ran every hour, 24/7 for five weeks.

To say it caused a stir would be an understatement. Here, Fisher discusses the controversy that ensued.

Sources

Video Transcript
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Ambulance

Going into hospital far riskier than flying: WHO

Stephanie Nebehay
Reuters
Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:23 UTC
A surgeon washes his hands
© Reuters/Jean-Paul Pelissier
A surgeon washes his hands before enter in an operating room at a hospital in Marseille, France, April 3, 2008.

Geneva, Switzerland - Millions of people die each year from medical errors and infections linked to health care and going into hospital is far riskier than flying, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

"If you were admitted to hospital tomorrow in any country... your chances of being subjected to an error in your care would be something like 1 in 10. Your chances of dying due to an error in health care would be 1 in 300," Liam Donaldson, the WHO's newly appointed envoy for patient safety, told a news briefing.

This compared with a risk of dying in an air crash of about 1 in 10 million passengers, according to Donaldson, formerly England's chief medical officer.

"It shows that health care generally worldwide still has a long way to go," he said.
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Syringe

Young people should not take flu vaccine, watchdog says

Martin Beckford
Telegraph.co.uk
Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:40 UTC
flu shot
© Getty ImagesYoung people who were given the vaccine were at increased risk of developing narcolepsy, which causes sufferers to fall asleep unexpectedly

The European Medicine Agency said that Pandemrix should only be given to the under-20s if they are at risk of contracting swine flu and alternative jabs are not available.

Its announcement comes after studies showed that young people who were given the vaccine were at increased risk of developing narcolepsy, which causes sufferers to fall asleep unexpectedly.

But the British drug watchdog said it would not ban Pandemrix in the young and pointed out that the country's stocks expire in a few months anyway.

Comment: As the side effects of vaccines increase, it's becoming harder to hide the fact that vaccines are causing the diseases they are professed to prevent, and are actually creating additional diseases.

Warning to Parents: This Vaccine Linked to Sudden Infant Death
60 Lab Studies Confirm Cancer Link to a Vaccine You Probably Had as a Child
H1N1 Flu - The Truth About The Vaccine

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Arrow Up

Hungary Destroys All Monsanto GMO Maize Fields


IBT Times
Fri, 22 Jul 2011 17:48 UTC
GMO CORN
© unknown
In an effort to rid the country of Monsanto's GMO products, Hungary has stepped up the pace. This looks like its going to be another slap in the face for Monsanto. A new regulation was introduced this March which stipulates that seeds are supposed to be checked for GMO before they are introduced to the market. Unfortunately, some GMO seeds made it to the farmers without them knowing it.

Almost 1000 acres of maize found to have been grown with genetically modified seeds have been destroyed throughout Hungary deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar said. The GMO maize has been ploughed under, said Lajos Bognar, but pollen has not spread from the maize, he added.

Unlike several EU members, GMO seeds are banned in Hungary. The checks will continue despite the fact that seed traders are obliged to make sure that their products are GMO free, Bognar said.
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No Entry

WHO: Millions Of People Die Each Year Due To Medical Errors


redOrbit
Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:27 UTC
Dead Person
© redOrbit

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that millions of people die each year from medical errors and infections linked to health care, and going into hospital is far riskier than flying, according to a recent Reuters report.

"If you were admitted to hospital tomorrow in any country... your chances of being subjected to an error in your care would be something like 1 in 10. Your chances of dying due to an error in health care would be 1 in 300," Liam Donaldson, the WHO's newly appointed envoy for patient safety, told a news briefing.

According to Donaldson, this compared with a risk of dying in an air crash of about 1 in 10 million passengers.

"It shows that health care generally worldwide still has a long way to go," he told reporters.

Over 50 percent of acquired infections can be prevented if health care workers clean their hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based handbag before treating patients.

According to the U.N., seven hospitals in developed and 10 in developing countries will acquire at least one health care-associated infection.

"The longer patients stay in an ICU (intensive care unit), the more at risk they become of acquiring an infection," it said.
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