Health & Wellness
Agrovaox Staff
AgoravoxTue, 03 Feb 2009 21:10 UTC
French academics have highlighted the dangerousness on the human health of the world number one weed-killer, Roundup, even with extremely weak doses. Published in the American scientific magazine
Chemical Research in Toxicology at the end of December, the study undertaken by Professor Gilles-Eric Séralini, helped by his colleague Nora Benachour, has made a world premiere: for the first time, a study on the effects of Roundup (a range of very powerful weed killers that are the center of the American firm's GM strategy) has reached very worrying conclusions for the Human Being.
"Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need."
~From the movie Fight Club, based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk
Researchers have found that low self-esteem and materialism are not just a correlation, but also a causal relationship where low self esteem increases materialism, and materialism can also create low self-esteem. The also found that
as self esteem increases, materialism decreases. The study primarily focused on how this relationship affects children and adolescents. Lan Nguyen Chaplin (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and Deborah Roedder John (University of Minnesota) found that even a simple gesture to raise self-esteem dramatically decreased materialism, which provides a way to cope with insecurity.
Green Muze Staff
Green MuzeTue, 03 Feb 2009 20:13 UTC
© Emrah Turudu
GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are becoming a lot more prevalent in North American food and due to the lack of GMO labeling, consumers have difficulty avoiding foods that contain genetically modified ingredients. Unfortunately, an estimated 70% of the food in North American stores contain bio-engineered elements and that number is only expected to increase as more
Frankenfoods are introduced into the North American food system each year.
Feeling helpless leads us to see nonexistent patterns.
Even the most laid back among us crave a sense of control, and when we feel helpless we scour our surroundings for anything that will restore predictability. New research shows that when we lack control we don't simply wait for order to return: we impose it, if only in our own minds, by imagining patterns and trends where none exist.
Gov. Jim Doyle called on lawmakers Tuesday to pass a bill that would require insurance companies to cover autism treatments.
Most insurance companies don't cover autism because it's classified as an emotional disorder rather than a neurological condition. The state runs some treatment programs, but waiting lists have stretched to 18 months, said Sean Dilweg, state insurance commissioner.
A study reveals that the severity of learning disorders may depend not only on the child's environment but also - remarkably - on the mother's environment when she was young. The study in memory-deficient mice was led by Larry Feig, PhD, professor of biochemistry at Tufts University School of Medicine and member of the biochemistry and neuroscience programs at the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University.
The researchers studied the brain function of pre-adolescent mice with a genetically-created defect in memory. When these young mice were enriched by exposure to a stimulating environment - including novel objects, opportunities for social interaction and voluntary exercise - for two weeks, the memory defect was reversed. The work showed that this enhancement was remarkably long-lasting because it was passed on to the offspring even though the offspring had the same genetic mutation and were never exposed to an enriched environment.
© iStockphoto/Joseph Nickischer
One of the less flooded streets in downtown New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
A recent study by LSU engineers suggests that Katrina-flooded homes may contain harmful levels of contaminants, particularly aerosols and gases, which could expose first-responders, residents and any others entering such homes to serious and lasting health risks. The results could also be applied to similar flooding events that might occur in the future.
Nicholas Ashley, Louis Thibodeaux and Kalliat Valsaraj, all from LSU's Department of Chemical Engineering, developed a model describing various levels of contaminants, some of which are inhalable and therefore would not require direct contact for contamination to occur.
The paper was originally presented by Ashley, a Ph.D. candidate, at the national meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers in November 2008, where it tied for first place with papers from MIT and the University of Iowa.
A common treatment for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, prescribed millions of times a year, may change the brain in the same ways that cocaine does, a new study in mice suggests. Research from Rockefeller University shows that methylphenidate, commonly known as Ritalin, causes physical changes in neurons in reward regions of mouse brains. In some cases, the effects overlapped with those of cocaine. The study highlights the need for more research into methylphenidate's long-term effects on the brain, the researchers say.
The researchers, led by Yong Kim, senior research associate, and Paul Greengard, Vincent Astor Professor and head of the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, exposed mice to two weeks of daily injections of cocaine or methylphenidate. They then examined reward areas of the brain for changes in dendritic spine formation - related to the formation of synapses and the communication between nerve cells - and the expression of a protein called delta Fos B, which has been implicated in the long-term actions of addictive drugs.
Genetically modified organisms (GMO) have become a hot topic among farmers, environmentalists, gardeners and others concerned with food and environmental safety. Some folks believe that GMO technology is "the single most potent technology the world has ever known" and capable of causing incurable damage to our species' well being.
Here is a very simple explanation of the issue: Monsanto, the producer of the infamous chemicals Agent Orange and PCB, has developed a biotechnology that alters the genetic makeup of seeds. The original and ongoing intent of the technology is to allow mass spraying of herbicide over entire fields without hurting the crop.
Martha Rosenberg
OpEd NewsWed, 04 Feb 2009 01:26 UTC
The July 3 FDA directive was straightforward.
Routine dosing of farm animals with cephalosporin antibiotics to prevent disease and promote growth would be prohibited effective October 1, 2008.
"We are issuing this order based on evidence that extralabel use of these drugs in food-producing animals will likely cause an adverse event in humans and, as such, presents a risk to the public health."
No kidding. The American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, Infectious Disease Society of America, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Pew Commission have all indicted livestock antibiotics for creeping human antibiotic resistance--including to last chance antibiotics.
"Antibiotic-Resistant Bugs in the 21st Century--A Clinical Super-Challenge," read an article in the January 29, 2009 New England Journal of Medicine.
But on November 25 after getting a trough full from agribusiness and big pharma--70 percent of whose antibiotic sales are agricultural--the FDA quietly revoked the ban to "more fully consider the many substantive comments it received" about the prohibition.
