London - Scientists have found a "superbug" strain of gonorrhea in Japan that is resistant to all recommended antibiotics and say it could transform a once easily treatable infection into a global public health threat.
The new strain of the sexually transmitted disease -- called H041 -- cannot be killed by any currently recommended treatments for gonorrhea, leaving doctors with no other option than to try medicines so far untested against the disease.
Magnus Unemo of the Swedish Reference Laboratory for Pathogenic Neisseria, who discovered the strain with colleagues from Japan in samples from Kyoto, described it as both "alarming" and "predictable."
Health & Wellness
© dailymail.co.uk
'Ticking timebomb': Teenage girls' junk food diets are harmful.
'Ticking timebomb': Teenage girls' junk food diets are harmful.
But by that age what they eat is already taking a severe toll on their health, research shows.
Millions of teenagers are dangerously low in key vitamins and minerals, experts have warned - with girls faring worst.
An appetite for junk food is feeding a 'ticking timebomb' of disease and ill health, researchers have concluded.
They found teenagers of both sexes were among the biggest guzzlers of salt, alcohol and sugar-laden soft drinks.
© CNN Health
Each generation of children is exposed to more chemicals in the womb.
Each generation of children is exposed to more chemicals in the womb.
The bill, to be introduced later this month, would give the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and a panel of experts selected by the director, the power to ban up to 10 chemicals from commerce each year by categorizing them as being of high concern.
Those chemicals would become unlawful to use 24 months after receiving that designation.
Among the chemicals that could be subject to a ban is bisphenol A, or BPA, a hormone-disrupting substance widely used in plastics that has been the target of controversy in recent months.
© istock
The artificial brown coloring is made by reacting corn sugar with ammonia and sulfites under high pressures and at high temperatures. This produces the chemicals 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole, which have been found to cause lung, liver and thyroid cancer in lab rats and mice.
Time Magazine reports:
"According to California's regulators, a level of more than 16 micrograms per day would pose a significant risk - meaning it could result in at least one excess case of cancer per 100,000 exposed people.The FDA responded to the charge by saying:
Given that there are roughly 130 micrograms of 4-MI per 12-ounce can of soda - and given that the average American drinks 14 ounces of soda a day, with young men drinking far more - that would mean that most of us would be at some risk."
"4-MI is not a threat to human health. There is no evidence that 4-MI causes cancer in humans. No health regulatory agency around the globe, including the Food and Drug Administration, has said that 4-MI is a human carcinogen. This petition is nothing more than another attempt to scare consumers by an advocacy group long-dedicated to attacking the food and beverage industry."Sources
Time Magazine February 17, 2011
NIH Study January 2007
CSPI Petition to FDA February 16, 2011
© Sean O’Carrol
A image from Sean O'Carroll's exhibition entitled 'Ritalin'
A image from Sean O'Carroll's exhibition entitled 'Ritalin'
The Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP) fears there is insufficient data on the effects such drugs have on child development. Further research is urgently needed, it says.
The AEP's demand is despite the fact that a European Medicines Agency (EMA) investigation into methylphenidate drugs, which include psychotropics Ritalin, Concerta, Equasym, Medikinet and Rubifen - had previously stated that the benefits of such drugs outweigh any negative effects for children diagnosed with ADHD and other conduct disorders..
Plus, UK doctors have been advised by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence not to prescribe methylphenidate as a first-line treatment for children diagnosed with ADHD.
But the AEP - which represents UK educational psychologists - fears there will be an increase of methylphenidate prescribing because the number of official psychological disorders for children is set to increase.
Giant hogweed that can burn or even blind you is spreading fast due to the cool, wet, spring.
© Tony Gough Herald Sun
Melita Blackney lost 18kg after taking part in the Life! Taking Action on Diabetes program.
Melita Blackney lost 18kg after taking part in the Life! Taking Action on Diabetes program.
And alarming projections show type 2 - or "lifestyle" - diabetes will overtake coronary heart disease, anxiety and depression as having the most severe impact on public health within just eight years.
Diabetes Australia Victoria chief Greg Johnson said with 243,000 Victorians now registered with some type of the disease, the highest growth had been among young adults.
There has been a 15 per cent rise in 21 to 29-year-olds diagnosed and an 11 per cent increase for those aged in their 30s over the past 24 years.
"It's a myth that diabetes only affects the older population, as we're now even seeing adolescents being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes," Prof Johnson said.
"It's the epidemic of the 21st century and the forecasts show it's only going to become a bigger burden of disease."
Type 2 diabetes is often triggered by a person gaining significant weight and not getting enough exercise.
© WCS
A "finned" shark that was caught recently in Delaware Bay.
A "finned" shark that was caught recently in Delaware Bay.
Shark fin soup has been served as a delicacy for centuries in China and elsewhere. But it's more than just an expensive bowl of soup; it's considered to have special medicinal properties and is used in Chinese medicine. It's one of many folk remedies and alternative medicine cures threatening endangered species around the world.
The shark fin industry has come under mounting pressure in recent months. Shark populations have declined dramatically in recent years, fueled in part by the demand for shark fins. Scientists estimate as many as 73 million sharks are killed annually for their fins. The sharks are often thrown back into the ocean to die after their fins have been cut off.
Some shark species populations have dropped by 90 percent, studies find.
Despite public pleas for a ban from celebrities including Jackie Chan, Scarlett Johansson, Leonard DiCaprio, basketball star Yao Ming and others, shark fins remain in demand, defended by some Chinese Americans and restaurateurs.
© TooFarNorth/Flickr
For decades, policy makers have tried and failed to get Americans to eat less salt. In April 2010 the Institute of Medicine urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate the amount of salt that food manufacturers put into products; New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has already convinced 16 companies to do so voluntarily. But if the U.S. does conquer salt, what will we gain? Bland french fries, for sure. But a healthy nation? Not necessarily.
This week a meta-analysis of seven studies involving a total of 6,250 subjects in the American Journal of Hypertension found no strong evidence that cutting salt intake reduces the risk for heart attacks, strokes or death in people with normal or high blood pressure. In May European researchers publishing in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that the less sodium that study subjects excreted in their urine - an excellent measure of prior consumption - the greater their risk was of dying from heart disease. These findings call into question the common wisdom that excess salt is bad for you, but the evidence linking salt to heart disease has always been tenuous.
Comment: For more information on the health benefits of salt, see these Sott links:
Why Salt Doesn't Deserve its Bad Rap
High salt consumption not dangerous, new European study finds, but U.S. experts disagree
Why Himalayan Pink Crystal Salt is So Much Better for your Health than Processed Table Salt
There was a time when "fruit flavored" and "cheese flavored" meant "made with real fruit" and "made with real cheese." Today? It's artificial everything. Most of the food at your local supermarket is no more authentic than Snooki's tan. Our fruit comes packaged in Loops, our cheese delivered via Whiz. Sure, it's edible, but there's no way your great grandparents would recognize this junk as food.
The problem with additives runs deep. The FDA currently maintains a list of ingredients called Everything Added to Food in the United States (EAFUS), which features more than 3,000 items and counting. Thankfully, most EAFUS ingredients are benign, but a few of them do have potentially harmful effects. Why they're legal is a mystery to us. Some of them might be backed by powerful lobby groups, while others probably survive simply because some guy at the FDA has too much paperwork on his desk and hasn't made time to adequately review the data.
Below are 10 of the most dubious ingredients hiding in your food, compliments of Eat This, Not That! 2011. Even if you're not convinced of their danger, you have to admit this: The more filler ingredients you cut from your diet, the more space you have for wholesome, nutritious foods.
The problem with additives runs deep. The FDA currently maintains a list of ingredients called Everything Added to Food in the United States (EAFUS), which features more than 3,000 items and counting. Thankfully, most EAFUS ingredients are benign, but a few of them do have potentially harmful effects. Why they're legal is a mystery to us. Some of them might be backed by powerful lobby groups, while others probably survive simply because some guy at the FDA has too much paperwork on his desk and hasn't made time to adequately review the data.
Below are 10 of the most dubious ingredients hiding in your food, compliments of Eat This, Not That! 2011. Even if you're not convinced of their danger, you have to admit this: The more filler ingredients you cut from your diet, the more space you have for wholesome, nutritious foods.
Comment: The author of this article hardly begins to scratch the surface of what could be called 'scary' in industrialized food today, but coming from such a mainstream source, its a start.
Comment: The treatment for Type II diabetes is diet, but not the way mainstream medicine thinks.
Why High-Fructose Corn Syrup Causes Insulin Resistance
How Coconut Oil Could Help Reduce the Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes
Vitamin D Improves Insulin Sensitivity, Helps Prevent Diabetes
Cutting edge research has shown that the Paleo Diet (high fat, low carbohydrate) is the best defense against developing the insulin resistance characteristic of Type II diabetes.
Leptin resistance and impaired fat metabolism precede type 2 diabetes
Saturated Fat is Good for You