Dow AgroScience's variety of corn up for USDA approval, DAS-40278-9, is resistant to ACCase inhibitor herbicides (including quizalofop, which is not registered for use on corn) as well as 2,4-D. The chemical 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) once made up half of the herbicide mix known as Agent Orange.

Corn with 2,4-D resistance could be dangerous to eat because a metabolite of 2,4-D is known to cause skin sores, liver damage and sometimes death in animals. 2,4-D is a potential endocrine disruptor and can affect development. Rats exposed to 2,4-D exhibited depressed thyroid hormone levels, which can affect normal metabolism and brain functioning.

Studies found that men who applied 2,4-D had lower sperm counts and more sperm abnormalities than those unexposed to the herbicide.In the 15 years since herbicide-resistant crops were first introduced, weeds already have become resistant to herbicides affiliated with genetically engineered crops. In particular, application of Monsanto's Roundup has spawned glyphosate-resistant weeds, a problem that is driving farmers to apply older, more toxic herbicides and to reduce conservation tilling to combat weeds. Now, to treat the problem of glyphosate-resistant weeds, biotechnology companies are simply creating crops resistant to a variety of chemicals.

Not only is 2,4-D dangerous for human health, but it also spurs weed resistance. According to the International Survey of Herbicide Resistant Weeds, there have been 29 weeds found to be resistant to 2,4-D's family of synthetic auxin herbicides. It is only a matter of time before Dow stacks this variety with glyphosate-resistance, which could lead to situations where Roundup and 2,4-D are sprayed on the same crop.

The chemical treadmill model cannot be continued indefinitely. Weed resistance to these chemicals will continue to abound and the application of more noxious herbicides will increase exponentially. This new corn variety is not only unsafe and inefficient, but it is a completely unsustainable solution to the broader problem of high-input production agriculture and associated environmental pressures.

The frequency of a new tick-borne infection that shares many similarities with Lyme disease, and a description of the antibody test used to test individuals for evidence of the infection, have been reported for the first time by researchers at the Yale Schools of Public Health and Medicine. The results are published in the May 7 online issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The new antibody test was used to detect evidence of infection by the bacterium Borrelia miyamotoi, which is found in black-legged ticks and is related to the Borrelia (a bacteria sub-type) that causes Lyme disease. The researchers found that about 4% of 639 healthy people living in southern New England had evidence of previous B. miyamotoi infection, compared to about 10% with evidence of previous Lyme disease infection.

Studies that address toxic chemical exposure account for just a drop in the bucket of money spent on breast cancer.

A new study spotlights the ubiquity of environmental toxins, identifying 17 common chemicals that should be the target of breast cancer prevention efforts, and marking a "huge step forward" in the research called for by a federal committee.

The study by researchers at the Silent Spring Institute and Harvard School of Public Health was published Monday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Athletes beware - endurance training may make it more likely that you will need a pacemaker, scientists believe.

A British Heart Foundation team found exercise in mice triggers molecular changes in the part of the heart that generates its natural beating rhythm.

This may explain why elite athletes have low resting heart rates and a higher risk heart rhythm disturbances, they told Nature Communications.

However, the benefits of exercising still outweigh any risks, experts say.

Washington state health officials are pointing the finger at pesticides as they try to explain the recent surge in illnesses in the central part of the state.

According to Reuters, approximately 60 people have been struck with some kind of pesticide-related illness since March - ranging from breathing difficulties and skin rashes to nausea. With health officials looking into 15 separate cases of pesticide exposure, the speculation is that the two situations are connected.

I don't even know where to begin when it comes to Aspartame. The artificial sweetener has been banned twice by the FDA, and there are numerous studies clearly outlining the dangers associated with it. So ask yourself, why and how is this product, which is found in over 6000 products worldwide, still legal today?

The following is a very informative video about aspartame, and the real truth behind this toxic sweetener. Below the video you will find more information about aspartame and links to more information about it.

A study published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology determined that sugar sweetened soda increases the odds for kidney function decline. You can read the entire study here. 3318 women participated in the study for a number of years as they consumed diet soda that contained artificial sweeteners, most notably Aspartame. Two or more diet drinks a day led to a doubled risk of fast-paced kidney decline. The study was conducted by scientists from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Another study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that aspartame is linked to non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukaemia. You can read the full study here, and we also wrote an article on it that you can read here.

People who use mobile phones intensively appear to have a higher risk of developing certain types of brain cancer, French scientists have said, reviving questions about phone safety.

Individuals who used their mobiles for more than 15 hours each month over five years on average had between two and three times greater risk of developing glioma and meningioma tumours compared with people who rarely used their phones, they found.

The study, appearing in the latest issue of British journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, is the latest in a long-running exploration of mobile-phone safety.

Over the past 15 years most investigations have failed to turn up conclusive results either way, although several have suggested a link between gliomas and intensive, long-term use.

"Our study is part of that trend, but the results have to be confirmed," said Isabelle Baldi, of the University of Bordeaux in south-western France, who took part in the study.

Over a third of the global population is now overweight, and the percentages are increasing. Some neuroscientists have suggested that the rise of so-called "hyperpalatable foods" may partially explain the unprecedented rates of obesity.

Our food environment has changed dramatically over the years, most notably through the introduction of so-called "hyperpalatable" foods. These foods are deliberately engineered in such a way that they surpass the reward properties of traditional foods, such as vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Food chemists achieve this by suffusing products with increased levels of fat, sugar, flavors, and food additives.

Conditioned hypereating

David A. Kessler, author of The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite and former head of the FDA, claims that the food industry has combined and created foods in a way that taps into our brain circuitry, thus stimulating our desire for more. On their own, these ingredients aren't particularly potent, but when combined in specific ways, they tap into the brain's reward system, creating a feedback loop that stimulates our desire to eat and leaves us wanting more - even when we're full.

Some years ago, bread companies got the word that customers wanted more fiber in their bread. Instead of making more of their bread with whole grains, a few companies actually put in wood pulp and labeled it as "fiber". Today, in San Francisco, a group of synthetic biology companies and a representative from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) are holding a meeting called the SynBioBeta Cultured Food Forum about how to market foods and food additives made from extreme forms of genetic engineering as "natural" and "sustainable."

Whenever you read or hear the term synthetic biology, remember that it is a euphemism for extreme genetic engineering. This supposedly new technology is really just a similar but more extreme form of the genetic engineering of bacteria, plants and animals that has been going on for the last three decades or more. Because it is an extreme form of genetic engineering, it should be subject to more, not less regulation. It is the exact reverse of natural.

A long-running cooking manga best known for the adventures of a culinary journalist has gotten into hot water with the central and local government, with its less than stellar depictions of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

In the latest "Oishinbo", a mashup of the Japanese words "delicious" and "gourmand", a character based on the real former Futaba Mayor, Katsutaka Idogawa, warns that many locals suffer from symptoms of radiation exposure.

Idogawa also criticizes the responses from plant operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and the central government to the worst nuclear disaster in Japan's history. Futaba is one of two municipalities that host the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Another character portraying Takeru Arakida, associate professor at Fukushima University, says Idogawa reached his conclusions after heavy consideration and reflection which were "immune from any lie or falsehood and are weighty," the Japan News reports.

"You simply can't decontaminate a wide area in Fukushima and make it a place where people can live again," Arakida says in the manga. "This is the truth of Fukushima," another character responds.