The Polio Global Eradication Initiative (PGEI), founded in 1988 by the World Health Organization, Rotary International, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, holds up India as a prime example of its success at eradicating polio, stating on its website (Jan. 11 2012) that "India has made unprecedented progress against polio in the last two years and on 13 January, 2012, India will reach a major milestone - a 12-month period without any case of polio being recorded."

This report, however, is highly misleading, as an estimated 100-180 Indian children are diagnosed with vaccine-associated polio paralysis (VAPP) each year. In fact, the clinical presentation of the disease, including paralysis, caused by VAPP is indistinguishable from that caused by wild polioviruses, making the PGEI's pronouncements all the more suspect.¹

According to the Polio Global Eradication Initiative's own statistics² there were 42 cases of wild-type polio (WPV) reported in India in 2010, indicating that vaccine-induced cases of polio paralysis (100-180 annually) outnumber wild-type cases by a factor of 3-4. Even if we put aside the important question of whether or not the PGEI is accurately differentiating between wild and vaccine-associated polio cases in their statistics, we still must ask ourselves: should not the real-world effects of immunization, both good and bad, be included in PGEI's measurement of success? For the dozens of Indian children who develop vaccine-induced paralysis every year, the PGEI's recent declaration of India as nearing "polio free" status, is not only disingenuous, but could be considered an attempt to minimize their obvious liability in having transformed polio from a natural disease vector into a manmade (iatrogenic) one.

Groundbreaking new research has linked sodium fluoride to cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death worldwide. Researchers found that fluoride consumption directly stimulates the hardening of your arteries, a condition known as atherosclerosis that is highly correlated with the #1 killer. Sodium fluoride is currently added to the water supply of many cities worldwide, despite extreme opposition from health professionals and previous studies linking it to decreased IQ and infertility.

In their research, scientists examined the relationship between fluoride intake and the hardening (calcification) of the arteries. Studying more than 60 patients, the researchers found a significant correlation between fluoride consumption and the calcification of your arteries. Published in the January edition of the journal Nuclear Medicine Communications, the research highlights the fact that mass fluoride exposure may be to blame for the cardiovascular disease epidemic that takes more lives each year than cancer.

According to the authors of the study:

"The coronary fluoride uptake value in patients with cardiovascular events was significantly higher than in patients without cardiovascular events."

Amazingly, this is not the first report to come out on the dangers of water fluoridation, however the United States government along with other nations have allowed for the continued fluoridation of the public water supply despite these key findings. In fact, the U.S. government has even gone on record stating that a reduction in water fluoridation needs to occur following the results of a massive study that found water fluoridation affected cognitive function to the point of lowering the IQ of children. It turns out that the announcement was little more than a public relations stunt to curtail the massive wave of activism that followed the findings.

New research shows that when we eat we're consuming more than just vitamins and protein. Our bodies are absorbing information, or microRNA.

Update 1/12: Thanks to science and biology bloggers, Christie Wilcox and Emily Willingham at the Scientific American blog network and The Biology Files, respectively, we've learned of the scientific inconsistencies made in Ari LeVaux's most recent Flash in the Pan column, which is syndicated by a number of newspapers and magazine websites. This column has been expanded and updated for AlterNet, with LeVaux discussing specific improvements in the comments.

Chinese researchers have found small pieces of rice ribonucleic acid (RNA) in the blood and organs of humans who eat rice. The Nanjing University-based team showed that this genetic material will bind to receptors in human liver cells and influence the uptake of cholesterol from the blood.

The type of RNA in question is called microRNA (abbreviated to miRNA) due to its small size. MiRNAs have been studied extensively since their discovery ten years ago, and have been implicated as players in several human diseases including cancer, Alzheimer's, and diabetes. They usually function by turning down or shutting down certain genes. The Chinese research provides the first in vivo example of ingested plant miRNA surviving digestion and influencing human cell function in this way.

Nearly half of all pharmaceutical drugs within the United States were not only produced overseas, but a shocking 81% of the 3,765 foreign factories have never been inspected by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Of these mystery drug factories, many are unregulated and stationed in China.

To top it all off, the percentage climbs even higher when looking at the active ingredients for pharmaceuticals. About 80% of these active ingredients are created overseas.

The findings show that you really do not know the quality, or perhaps even the full ingredient list, of any pharmaceutical drug that you may be taking.

What's more is that a 2008 GAO report revealed that the FDA took 2 to 5 years to even follow up with foreign plants that had been cited for safety issues. That is if they followed up with the plants at all. Even when the FDA knows that the plants are affecting your safety, they fail to do anything about it - at least for about 2 to 5 years.

"If you put a label on genetically engineered food you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it."

- Norman Braksick, president of Asgrow Seed Co., a subsidiary of Monsanto, quoted in the Kansas City Star, March 7, 1994

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that many of the symptoms associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the often over-diagnosed condition tacked on many young people, can be treated by simply altering or supplementing one's diet. And a new study published in the journal Pediatrics helps confirm this, noting that when drugs and behavioral therapies are ineffective, ridding the diet of toxic additives, for instance, and consuming more whole, organic foods is the best route to take.

There is still much debate over what ADHD actually is, and whether or not it is even a valid "condition" at all, at least in the way most people define a health condition. Some say ADHD is a true disease attributable to family history and genetics, while others point to petrochemical-based food dyes, artificial additives, synthetic sweeteners, and processed foods as triggers of the brain abnormalities that spur inattentiveness and uncontrollable behavior.

A recent study conducted by Swedish researchers has shown a further link between processed meats such as sausage or bacon and an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. This kind of connection is not necessarily new, but the study provides further evidence that indulging in processed meats may not be the greatest decision for your health.

Processed Meats Increases Pancreatic Cancer Risk

The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, analyzed data from 11 clinical trials which involved 6,643 individuals struck with pancreatic cancer. What they found was that eating processed meats such as bacon, sausage, salami, pepperoni and hotdogs increases your risk of developing pancreatic cancer by 19 percent for every 50g of processed meat consumed. What may sound startling is that you only need to consume one sausage to meet the 50g.

Processed meats are those preserved by smoking, curing or salting, or using chemical additives. What makes the meats so problematic is the nitrates which are added for preservation such as coloring and flavoring. The nitrates are converted into nitrosamines, which have been linked to a number of cancers.

Leroy - Administrators in the Leroy Central School District updated parents and students about a mysterious disorder that's affected twelve female high school students, causing them to exhibit symptoms similar to Tourette Syndrome.

Tourette Syndrome is a neurological disorder defined by involuntary motor and vocal tics.

Wednesday night, administrators said all 12 students have been diagnosed and are being treated. They are not releasing causes due to HIPAA laws. They said they found similarities among some cases but wouldn't elaborate.

"I can assure you these children have all been seen by professionals that have come up with answers and they are all being treated and they're actually doing pretty well," said Dr. Greg Young, with the NYS Department of Health. They have ruled out all environmental factors, infections and the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning. NYS Health Department spokesman Jeff Hammond also says vaccines such as Gardasil were investigated as a cause and ruled out.

Hospitals are too loud, and patients' sleep could be suffering because of it, suggests a new study.

According to World Health Organization recommendations, noise in hospital rooms generally shouldn't get above 30 to 40 decibels. But researchers at one hospital reported that the average noise level in patients' rooms was close to 50 decibels, and sometimes spiked as high as 80 decibels -- almost as loud as a chainsaw, they said.

"The hospital environment is certainly not a restful environment," said Dr. Vineet Arora, from the University of Chicago.

In a study of about 100 adult patients at their medical center, she and her colleagues found that noise levels in patients' rooms at night tended to be lower than during the day, but almost always exceeded recommendations for average and maximum noise level.

PepsiCo Inc said company tests of its Tropicana orange juice showed low levels of a potentially dangerous fungicide, but levels were below federal safety concerns and did not pose a health risk.

The company said in a statement on Saturday it was conducting additional tests after the Food and Drug Administration announced on Wednesday that it would temporarily halt orange juice imports and remove any juice found to have dangerous amounts of the fungicide carbendazim.

The scare was triggered when soft-drink giant Coca-Cola Co, maker of Minute Maid orange juice, said it had discovered carbendazim in shipments from Brazil and alerted U.S. authorities about a potential industry-wide problem.

Carbendazim is used in Brazil to combat blossom blight and black spot, a type of mold that grows on orange trees.