Research shows for the first time that plastic nanoparticles can cross the human placenta, possibly exposing the developing fetus to the tiny materials that are increasingly used in medicines, vaccines and personal care products.
Plastic nanoparticles can quickly traverse the human placenta from the mother's side to the developing fetus' side, according to new laboratory research that confirms prior findings from animal studies.
The results confirm that smaller sizes of the manufactured materials are able to cross the placenta at a time toward the end of pregnancy when the membrane barrier between mom and fetus is thinner. The growing brain and other organs may be exposed to the particles, for which health effects are unknown. Researchers suggest more research on the toxic effects of nanoparticles is needed to understand if the fetus is at risk.
Health & Wellness
Many people interested in staying healthy have switched to agave as a safer "natural" sweetener. They want to avoid well documented dangerous sweeteners like HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) but are unaware that agave is actually WORSE than HFCS.
This expose will offend many hard core natural health advocates because they have been convinced of the agave hype by companies that are promoting it.
Some have even criticized me for having "ulterior" motives. But nothing could be further from the truth. Although I do offer natural health products of sale on this site, I sell no competing products to agave.
Rather I recommend flavored stevia products like English Toffee or French Vanilla. You can also use xylitol in small amounts or glucose which is sold as dextrose and can easily be purchased on Amazon for $1 per pound. I do not sell any of these products.
My only purpose for sharing this information is to help people understand the truth about health. In case you haven't noticed we have an epidemic of obesity in the US and it wasn't until recently that my eyes opened up to the primary cause - fructose.
Certain pesticides used in the U.S. on a variety of crops can double the risk of skin cancer for farmers or others who apply the chemicals.
Workers who apply certain pesticides to farm fields are twice as likely to contract melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, according to a new scientific study.
The researchers identified six pesticides that, with repeated exposure, doubled the risk of skin cancer among farmers and other workers who applied them to crops.
The findings add to evidence suggesting that frequent use of pesticides could raise the risk of melanoma. Rates of the disease have tripled in the United States in the last 30 years, with sun exposure identified as the major cause.
Four of the chemicals - maneb, mancozeb, methyl-parathion and carbaryl - are used in the United States on a variety of crops, including nuts, vegetables and fruits. Two others, benomyl and ethyl-parathion, were voluntarily canceled by their manufacturers in 2008.
© C. Weaver/VOA
For more than two decades, Rom Houben was misdiagnosed as being in a vegetative state, after a car accident. Then doctors discovered through a brain scan that he was conscious and possessed normal brain function.
At first it seemed the 46-year-old Belgian could communicate with tiny movements of his fingers as an aide guided his hand on a keyboard. But experts later disproved that. Doctors say Houben has some awareness of self and his surroundings, but cannot communicate.
Now research suggests that patients once misdiagnosed as unresponsive, like Houben might someday, with the right tools, be able to communicate directly from the brain.
Ninety percent of parents would like to know more about alternative medical approaches for their children, according to a survey conducted by Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota (Children's), a nationwide leader in integrative medical approaches.
Integrative medicine combines traditional Western medicine with medical therapies from other traditions, including acupuncture, massage and nutrition.
The survey also found that 90 percent of parents have a strong desire to eliminate their children's pain and improve their quality of life, while 85 percent would like to minimize their dependence on drugs. Parents felt especially strongly about reducing drug treatment for mood or behavioral problems such as anxiety or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Sixty-eight percent of parents believed that integrative treatment could be effective, and more than 75 percent said that hospitals should offer experts on both conventional and alternative treatments.
Integrative medicine combines traditional Western medicine with medical therapies from other traditions, including acupuncture, massage and nutrition.
The survey also found that 90 percent of parents have a strong desire to eliminate their children's pain and improve their quality of life, while 85 percent would like to minimize their dependence on drugs. Parents felt especially strongly about reducing drug treatment for mood or behavioral problems such as anxiety or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Sixty-eight percent of parents believed that integrative treatment could be effective, and more than 75 percent said that hospitals should offer experts on both conventional and alternative treatments.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have found that antidepressant drugs do little to nothing for people with mild to moderate depression. Countering the belief that medication helps everyone with depression, Robert DeRubeis and his colleagues found that only in very severe cases of depression do antidepressants offer any sort of perceived benefit.
Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study clarifies the benefit of antidepressants on those with varying degrees of depression. They administered Hamilton Depression Rating Scale questionnaires to 718 people who fell all across the depression spectrum. Study facilitators gave participants either an antidepressant or a placebo for at least six weeks. Following a second evaluation, the only participants who demonstrated measurable improvements were those falling into the "very severe" category of depression.
Researchers noted that those on medication with milder cases of depression are probably finding relief from the act of speaking with their doctors about their symptoms and learning more about their conditions. Interestingly, many people with mild depression find relief in simply speaking with another person about their feelings.
Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study clarifies the benefit of antidepressants on those with varying degrees of depression. They administered Hamilton Depression Rating Scale questionnaires to 718 people who fell all across the depression spectrum. Study facilitators gave participants either an antidepressant or a placebo for at least six weeks. Following a second evaluation, the only participants who demonstrated measurable improvements were those falling into the "very severe" category of depression.
Researchers noted that those on medication with milder cases of depression are probably finding relief from the act of speaking with their doctors about their symptoms and learning more about their conditions. Interestingly, many people with mild depression find relief in simply speaking with another person about their feelings.
When micronutrients like vitamins and minerals are in short supply they are temporarily reserved for the most essential organs, at the expense of less pressing tasks. This is a survival mechanism, an example of physiological triage (1). Neglecting less essential functions on occasion may do no harm but chronic shortages due to bad diets will cause health problems in the long run.
That micronutrients are crucially important should come as no surprise. Vitamins are defined as substances that the body needs but cannot make or cannot make in sufficient quantities; and we obviously cannot make minerals. Chronic micronutrient deficiencies therefore have to be expected to take their toll.
Vitamins and minerals play numerous roles; they are antioxidants, stabilize protein structures and act as enzyme cofactors. They are therefore involved in all aspects of physiology, including such fundamental tasks as DNA maintenance and repair (2).
That micronutrients are crucially important should come as no surprise. Vitamins are defined as substances that the body needs but cannot make or cannot make in sufficient quantities; and we obviously cannot make minerals. Chronic micronutrient deficiencies therefore have to be expected to take their toll.
Vitamins and minerals play numerous roles; they are antioxidants, stabilize protein structures and act as enzyme cofactors. They are therefore involved in all aspects of physiology, including such fundamental tasks as DNA maintenance and repair (2).
The recent arrests of 44 people on charges of organ trafficking have exposed a major criminal market in illegal organ transplants, where wealthy patients purchase organs from poor Third World residents through brokers residing in the United States.
"In India, China, Africa and Latin America the poor are selling their kidneys to wealthy buyers through an underground set of networks," said Steven Post of Stony Brook University. "The donors make enough money to buy a house or put their kids through college and the doctors do the transplants overseas, in India for example, at perfectly legitimate hospitals, where nobody cares about the buying and selling of organs," he said.
In other cases, transplants take place at U.S. hospitals -- as in the case of an organ smuggling network that flew poor Moldavian organ donors into the country on fake student or tourist visas and took them directly to hospitals for illegal transplants.
"In India, China, Africa and Latin America the poor are selling their kidneys to wealthy buyers through an underground set of networks," said Steven Post of Stony Brook University. "The donors make enough money to buy a house or put their kids through college and the doctors do the transplants overseas, in India for example, at perfectly legitimate hospitals, where nobody cares about the buying and selling of organs," he said.
In other cases, transplants take place at U.S. hospitals -- as in the case of an organ smuggling network that flew poor Moldavian organ donors into the country on fake student or tourist visas and took them directly to hospitals for illegal transplants.
Ever had a conversation or incident with someone that left you upset for a day or two? Maybe there's someone in your life, perhaps a boss or family member, that this happens with regularly? Energy is exchanged in conversation and in events, and if this happens, you've likely gotten a dose of bad energy. If this happens regularly with certain individuals, it's likely that they're accustomed to spreading it, and also that you're not sure how to let it go. Especially for the more sensitive among us, negative energy can sometimes be hard to let go.
Letting the energy dissipate on its own can sometimes take a day or two, but it's a real bummer when someone else's poor communication, lack of consciousness, or proneness to being emotionally triggered and verbally or otherwise attacking others affects us long after the moment the incident happened in. Fortunately, though, there are a few ways to expedite the removal of negative energy from us and shorten the amount of time it drags down our own consciousness.
Letting the energy dissipate on its own can sometimes take a day or two, but it's a real bummer when someone else's poor communication, lack of consciousness, or proneness to being emotionally triggered and verbally or otherwise attacking others affects us long after the moment the incident happened in. Fortunately, though, there are a few ways to expedite the removal of negative energy from us and shorten the amount of time it drags down our own consciousness.
© Peter Scheere/FSU Jena
Professor Dr. Thomas Weiss and his doctoral candidate Maria Richter from Jena University examine how pain-associated words are processed in the brain.
Professor Dr. Thomas Weiss and his doctoral candidate Maria Richter from Jena University examine how pain-associated words are processed in the brain.
As the scientist and his team from the Dept. of Biological and Clinical Psychology could show in a study for the first time it is not only the painful memories and associations that set our pain memory on the alert. "Even verbal stimuli lead to reactions in certain areas of the brain," claims Prof. Weiss. As soon as we hear words like "tormenting," "gruelling" or "plaguing," exactly those areas in the brain are being activated which process the corresponding pain.
The psychologists from Jena University were able to examine this phenomenon using functional magnetic resonance tomography (fMRT). In their study they investigated how healthy subjects process words associated with experiencing pain. In order to prevent reactions based on a plain negative affect the subjects were also confronted with negatively connotated words like "terrifying," "horrible" or "disgusting" besides the proper pain words.
Comment: Another way to reduce negative energy, in addition to stress release, is to practice Éiriú Eolas Breathing and Meditation Program and can be found here.