29.12.09

Grow-your-own to replace false teeth | UK news | The Guardian

Grow-your-own to replace false teeth | UK news | The Guardian: "The British institution of dentures sitting in a glass of water beside the bed could be rendered obsolete by scientists who are confident that people will soon be able to replace lost teeth by growing new ones."

Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | UK News :: Climate change is natural: 100 reasons why

Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | UK News :: Climate change is natural: 100 reasons why: "HERE are the 100 reasons, released in a dossier issued by the European Foundation, why climate change is natural and not man-made:"

27.12.09

High Expectations? States Weigh Pot Reform - ABC News

High Expectations? States Weigh Pot Reform - ABC News: "Washington is one of four states where measures to legalize and regulate marijuana have been introduced, and about two dozen other states are considering bills ranging from medical marijuana to decriminalizing possession of small amounts of the herb."

22.12.09

Individuals can no longer register domain names in China.

Individuals can no longer register domain names in China.: "In a drastic move to tighten regulations of the Internet, individuals can no longer register domain names in China, and those who already have personal websites could lose them."

Russia | Crime

Russia | Crime: "MOSCOW, Russia — Bank robbers have threatened tellers with knives, shot their way into banks and tunnelled up into vaults. But one woman in southern Russia chose a more peaceful method: Police say Galina Korzhova hypnotised a bank teller into handing over tens of thousands of dollars in what is believed to be just one in a series of daring, if non-violent, bank robberies."

20.12.09

Fingernail-sized implant successfully eliminates tumors in mammals

Fingernail-sized implant successfully eliminates tumors in mammals: "“Inserted anywhere under the skin - much like the implantable contraceptives that can be placed in a woman’s arm - the implants activate an immune response that destroys tumor cells,” said David J. Mooney the Robert P. Pinkas Family Professor of Bioengineering in Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering who led the research."

19.12.09

No smoking hot spot | The Australian

No smoking hot spot | The Australian: "... but since 1999 new evidence has seriously weakened the case that carbon emissions are the main cause of global warming, and by 2007 the evidence was pretty conclusive that carbon played only a minor role and was not the main cause of the recent global warming. As Lord Keynes famously said, 'When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?'"

Disappearing sunspots may signal end to global warming

Disappearing sunspots may signal end to global warming: "The blank sun has not gone unnoticed by the experts. 'We're experiencing a very deep solar minimum,' says solar physicist Dean Pesnell of the Goddard Space Flight Center.

'This is the quietest sun we've seen in almost a century,' agrees sunspot expert David Hathaway of the Marshall Space Flight Center.

So why are sunspots under the spotlight? Because, according to solar scientists, their declining numbers, significant even by solar-minimum standards, could be the harbinger of colder temperatures ahead."

17.12.09

BBC News - Scientists crack 'entire genetic code' of cancer

BBC News - Scientists crack 'entire genetic code' of cancer: "'As more cancer genomes are revealed by this technique, we will gain a greater understanding of how cancer is caused and develops, improving our ability to prevent, treat and cure cancer.'"

16.12.09

CAT scan cancer fear: Radiation 'could trigger the disease in one in 80 patients' | Mail Online

CAT scan cancer fear: Radiation 'could trigger the disease in one in 80 patients' | Mail Online: "Having a CT - or CAT - scan puts patients at far greater risk of developing cancer than previously thought, scientists claim."

15.12.09

Daily Express | UK News :: Climate change is natural: 100 reasons why

Daily Express | UK News :: Climate change is natural: 100 reasons why: "HERE are the 100 reasons, released in a dossier issued by the European Foundation, why climate change is natural and not man-made:"

Child diabetes blamed on food sweetener - Times Online

Child diabetes blamed on food sweetener - Times Online: "Scientists have proved for the first time that a cheap form of sugar used in thousands of food products and soft drinks can damage human metabolism and is fuelling the obesity crisis.

Fructose, a sweetener derived from corn, can cause dangerous growths of fat cells around vital organs and is able to trigger the early stages of diabetes and heart disease."

BBC News - People who look young for their age 'live longer'

BBC News - People who look young for their age 'live longer': "People blessed with youthful faces are more likely to live to a ripe old age than those who look more than their years, work shows."

9.12.09

Mystery as spiral blue light display hovers above Norway | Mail Online

Mystery as spiral blue light display hovers above Norway | Mail Online: "A mysterious light display appearing over Norway last night has left thousands of residents in the north of the country baffled."

Copenhagen climate summit: global warming 'caused by sun's radiation' - Telegraph

Copenhagen climate summit: global warming 'caused by sun's radiation' - Telegraph: "Professor Henrik Svensmark, a physicist at the Danish National Space Center in Copenhagen, said the recent warming period was caused by solar activity."

Copenhagen climate summit: global warming 'caused by sun's radiation' - Telegraph

Copenhagen climate summit: global warming 'caused by sun's radiation' - Telegraph: "Professor Henrik Svensmark, a physicist at the Danish National Space Center in Copenhagen, said the recent warming period was caused by solar activity.

He said the last time the world experienced such high temperatures, during the medieval warming period, the Sun and the Earth were in a similar cycle."

6.12.09

Doctors take legal action to demand Kelly inquest reopened - Home News, UK - The Independent

Doctors take legal action to demand Kelly inquest reopened - Home News, UK - The Independent: "Six doctors are taking legal action to demand that the inquest into the death of weapons expert David Kelly is reopened because there is not enough evidence to prove he committed suicide, it was disclosed today."

3.12.09

Ron Paul: Every man for himself! - Americas, World - The Independent

Ron Paul: Every man for himself! - Americas, World - The Independent: "It's taken a while, but America is warming to Ron Paul and his radical brand of extreme libertarianism"

24.11.09

BBC News - Morphine 'might spread cancer'

BBC News - Morphine 'might spread cancer': "Laboratory tests suggest morphine could in fact encourage the spread of cancer, for which it is routinely prescribed to relieve pain from surgery and tumours."

22.11.09

Oceans to fall, not rise, over millions of years | Reuters

Oceans to fall, not rise, over millions of years | Reuters: "OSLO (Reuters) - Sea levels are set to fall over millions of years, making the current rise blamed on climate change a brief interruption of an ancient geological trend, scientists said on Thursday."

20.11.09

Antarctic temperatures between ice ages '6C warmer than today' - Telegraph

Antarctic temperatures between ice ages '6C warmer than today' - Telegraph: "Until now temperatures during the warm periods between ice ages - known as interglacials - were thought to be only slightly warmer than those of the present day, British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists explained.

But the findings, published this week in journal Nature, show brief spikes in temperature, which recur roughly every 100,000 years and last a few thousand years, seem to have been a lot warmer."

16.11.09

Ex-soldier faces jail for handing in gun

Ex-soldier faces jail for handing in gun: "A former soldier who handed a discarded shotgun in to police faces at least five years imprisonment for 'doing his duty'."

11.11.09

Evidence still fuzzy on cell phones, cancer - CNN.com

Evidence still fuzzy on cell phones, cancer - CNN.com: "(CNN) -- In the year since a U.S. cancer researcher's warning drew wide attention, more evidence is emerging that long-term cell phone use is associated with cancer, but there's still not a definitive explanation or proof of cause and effect."

Three more drug advisers quit over David Nutt sacking - Telegraph

Three more drug advisers quit over David Nutt sacking - Telegraph: "Three more scientists have resigned from the Government's drugs advisory body in the wake of the sacking of Professor David Nutt, its chairman."

5.11.09

Italian court finds CIA agents guilty of kidnapping terrorism suspect | World news | guardian.co.uk

Italian court finds CIA agents guilty of kidnapping terrorism suspect | World news | guardian.co.uk: "Twenty-three Americans were tonight convicted of kidnapping by an Italian court at the end of the first trial anywhere in the world involving the CIA's 'extraordinary rendition' programme for abducting terrorist suspects."

31.10.09

U.S. to Hunt Down Afghan Drug Lords Tied to Taliban - NYTimes.com

U.S. to Hunt Down Afghan Drug Lords Tied to Taliban - NYTimes.com: "“We have a list of 367 ‘kill or capture’ targets, including 50 nexus targets who link drugs and the insurgency,” one of the generals told the committee staff. The generals were not identified in the Senate report, which was obtained by The New York Times."

Sacked – for telling the truth about drugs - Health News, Health & Families - The Independent

Sacked – for telling the truth about drugs - Health News, Health & Families - The Independent: "The Government's drugs tsar was forced to resign last night for stating his view that cannabis, ecstasy and LSD were less harmful than the legal drugs tobacco and alcohol."

30.10.09

Alcohol is worse for you than Ecstasy, says drugs tsar | Mail Online

Alcohol is worse for you than Ecstasy, says drugs tsar | Mail Online: "Ecstasy, LSD and cannabis are less dangerous than alcohol and cigarettes, the Government’s chief drug adviser claims today.

Professor David Nutt is calling for a new ‘index of harm’ to warn the public about the relative dangers of various substances.

He says alcohol should rank fifth, behind only cocaine, heroin, barbiturates and methadone, while tobacco should rank ninth, ahead of cannabis, LSD and Ecstasy.

His comments are likely to prove explosive, given the seniority of his position.

29.10.09

Curry kills gullet cancer cells - Telegraph

Curry kills gullet cancer cells - Telegraph: "Scientists based at the Cork Cancer Research Centre in Ireland treated oesophageal cancer cells with curcumin – a chemical found in the curry spice tumeric."

20.10.09

A federal about-face on medical marijuana -- latimes.com

A federal about-face on medical marijuana -- latimes.com: "New Justice Department guidelines order federal drug agents to cease arresting or charging patients, caregivers or suppliers who are conforming with state law."

13.10.09

The BBC’s amazing U-turn on climate change – Telegraph Blogs

The BBC’s amazing U-turn on climate change – Telegraph Blogs: "I think the BBC wanted to slip this one out quietly, but a Matt Drudge link put paid to that. The climate change correspondent of BBC News has admitted that global warming stopped in 1998 – and he reports that leading scientists believe that the earth’s cooling-off may last for decades."

11.10.09

EXCLUSIVE: Obama agrees to keep Israel's nukes secret - Washington Times

EXCLUSIVE: Obama agrees to keep Israel's nukes secret - Washington Times: "President Obama has reaffirmed a 4-decade-old secret understanding that has allowed Israel to keep a nuclear arsenal without opening it to international inspections, three officials familiar with the understanding said."

Homegrown Pot Threatens Mexican Cartels - CBS News

Homegrown Pot Threatens Mexican Cartels - CBS News: "Stiff competition from thousands of mom-and-pop marijuana farmers in the United States threatens the bottom line for powerful Mexican drug organizations in a way that decades of arrests and seizures have not."

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | What happened to global warming?

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | What happened to global warming?: "For the last 11 years we have not observed any increase in global temperatures."

6.10.09

Ahmadinejad has no Jewish roots | Meir Javedanfar | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Ahmadinejad has no Jewish roots | Meir Javedanfar | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk: "Rumours that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's family converted to Islam from Judaism are false. In fact, they are proud Shias"

5.10.09

JADA Study Proves Fluoridation is Money down the Drain

JADA Study Proves Fluoridation is Money down the Drain: "Children's cavity rates are similar whether water is fluoridated or not, according to data published in the July 2009 Journal of the American Dental Association by dentist J.V. Kumar of the NY State Health Department(1), reports NYSCOF."

New bio-power plant will power 3,000 homes from food scraps | Mail Online

New bio-power plant will power 3,000 homes from food scraps | Mail Online: "A new renewable energy plant that will power 3,000 homes using food scraps, has been announced today."

28.9.09

Tehran times : Blackwater involved in Bhutto and Hariri hits: former Pakistani army chief

Tehran times : Blackwater involved in Bhutto and Hariri hits: former Pakistani army chief: "TEHRAN - Pakistan’s former chief of army staff, General Mirza Aslam Beg (ret.), has said the U.S. private security company Blackwater was directly involved in the assassinations of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto and former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri."

26.9.09

Forecast: A cooling trend on climate change

Forecast: A cooling trend on climate change: "Average global temperature is rising at 1.40C per century, not the 3.90C indicated by the IPPC models. We are in the seventh year of global cooling. Sea levels, despite messages to the contrary, are rising at normal rates – eight inches per century – much less than the IPPC models suggested. There has been no significant rise in sea levels over the last four years. Arctic sea ice, currently in its summer state, is more extensive in 2009 than it was in 2007 and 2008. Antarctic sea ice is at record high. Global sea ice shows relative stability over the last thirty years. While CO2 levels are rising, the rate of growth has slowed considerably – the IPPC suggested that CO2 levels would grow at around 468 parts per million (ppm) per century, when in fact the observed growth in CO2 is 204 ppm per century – less than half of the IPPC model suggestion."

21.9.09

GMO Scandal: The Long Term Effects of Genetically Modified Food in Humans [Voltaire]

GMO Scandal: The Long Term Effects of Genetically Modified Food in Humans [Voltaire]: "An editorial in the respected American scientific monthly magazine, Scientific American, August 2009 reveals the shocking and alarming reality behind the proliferation of GMO products throughout the food chain of the planet since 1994. There are no independent scientific studies published in any reputed scientific journal in the world for one simple reason. It is impossible to independently verify that GMO crops such as Monsanto Roundup Ready Soybeans or MON8110 GMO maize perform as the company claims, or that, as the company also claims, that they have no harmful side effects because the GMO companies forbid such tests!"

EclippTV :: Video :: Cancer Cured in Canada, But Big Pharma Says NO WAY!

Video :: Cancer Cured in Canada, But Big Pharma Says NO WAY!

Scientists pull an about face on global warming

Scientists pull an about face on global warming: "Latif is one of the leading climate modellers in the world. He is the recipient of several international climate-study prizes and a lead author for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He has contributed significantly to the IPCC's last two five-year reports that have stated unequivocally that man-made greenhouse emissions are causing the planet to warm dangerously.

Yet last week in Geneva, at the UN's World Climate Conference--an annual gathering of the so-called 'scientific consensus' on man-made climate change --Latif conceded the Earth has not warmed for nearly a decade and that we are likely entering 'one or even two decades during which temperatures cool.'"

18.9.09

UN body urges Israel to allow nuclear inspection - Haaretz - Israel News

UN body urges Israel to allow nuclear inspection - Haaretz - Israel News: "The non-binding resolution, which passed for the first time in 18 years of attempts thanks to more developing nation votes, voiced concern about 'Israeli nuclear capabilities' and urged the International Atomic Energy Agency to tackle the issue."

11.9.09

Charlie Sheen demands to speak to Barack Obama over 9/11 government 'cover-up' | Mail Online

Charlie Sheen demands to speak to Barack Obama over 9/11 government 'cover-up' | Mail Online: "Charlie Sheen has provoked outrage with claims that the U.S. government was behind the September 11 terror attacks.

Ahead of today's eighth anniversary of the atrocities that killed 3,000, the Hollywood star has insisted there was a cover-up.

And he has appealed to President Barack Obama to hold a new investigation into the attacks on the World Trade Centre towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC."

How did he do THAT? Derren Brown predicts winning lottery numbers... and he'll reveal his method on Friday | Mail Online

How did he do THAT? Derren Brown predicts winning lottery numbers... and he'll reveal his method on Friday | Mail Online: "On Wednesday at 10.35pm, having boasted for days that he would predict the six main ball numbers in the midweek National Lottery draw, Brown went on-air, live across all Channel 4's terrestrial and satellite channels."

9.9.09

Teenager invents �23 solar panel that could be solution to developing world's energy needs..made from human hair | Mail Online

Teenager invents solar panel that could be solution to developing world's energy needs..made from human hair | Mail Online: "A new type of solar panel using human hair could provide the world with cheap, green electricity, believes its teenage inventor.

Milan Karki, 18, who comes from a village in rural Nepal, believes he has found the solution to the developing world's energy needs.

The young inventor says hair is easy to use as a conductor in solar panels and could revolutionise renewable energy."

Extreme steel 'Velcro' takes a 35-tonne load - tech - 04 September 2009 - New Scientist

Extreme steel 'Velcro' takes a 35-tonne load - tech - 04 September 2009 - New Scientist: "A square metre of the new fastener, called Metaklett, is capable of supporting 35 tonnes at temperatures up to 800C, claim Josef Mair and colleagues at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. And just like everyday Velcro it can be opened up without specialised tools and used again."

8.9.09

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Herbs 'can be natural pesticides'

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Herbs 'can be natural pesticides': "Common herbs and spices show promise as an environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional pesticides, scientists have told a major US conference."

5.9.09

World's climate could cool first, warm later - environment - 04 September 2009 - New Scientist

World's climate could cool first, warm later - environment - 04 September 2009 - New Scientist: "Forecasts of climate change are about to go seriously out of kilter. One of the world's top climate modellers said Thursday we could be about to enter 'one or even two decades during which temperatures cool."

BBC NEWS | Europe | Dutch police in cannabis mix-up

BBC NEWS | Europe | Dutch police in cannabis mix-up: "A triumph for Dutch police quickly turned out to be an embarrassing mistake after they destroyed what they thought was a field of cannabis plants."

Alberto Gonzales, the Concert Opera (No, We’re Not Kidding) - Law Blog - WSJ

Alberto Gonzales, the Concert Opera (No, We’re Not Kidding) - Law Blog - WSJ: "But if law and politics is your bag (and we know that you know that it is), you might be intrigued enough to take a flyer on The Gonzales Cantata, a concert opera about Alberto Gonzales’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearings."

3.9.09

Global warming and the sun -- latimes.com

Global warming and the sun -- latimes.com: "Recent studies seem to show that there's more to climate change than we know."

2.9.09

Global News Blog � Blog Archive � Who is funding the Afghan Taliban? You don’t want to know | Blogs |

Who is funding the Afghan Taliban? You don’t want to know | Blogs |: "In Afghanistan, one of the richest sources of Taliban funding is the foreign assistance coming into the country.

Virtually every major project includes a healthy cut for the insurgents. Call it protection money, call it extortion, or, as the Taliban themselves prefer to term it, “spoils of war,” the fact remains that international donors, primarily the United States, are to a large extent financing their own enemy."

1.9.09

Mexico and Argentina move towards decriminalising drugs | World news | guardian.co.uk

Mexico and Argentina move towards decriminalising drugs | World news | guardian.co.uk: "Argentina and Mexico have taken significant steps towards decriminalising drugs amid a growing Latin American backlash against the US-sponsored 'war on drugs'.

Argentina's supreme court has ruled it unconstitutional to punish people for using marijuana for personal consumption, an eagerly awaited judgment that gave the government the green light to push for further liberalisation.

It followed Mexico's decision to stop prosecuting people for possession of relatively small quantities of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs. Instead, they will be referred to clinics and treated as patients, not criminals.

Brazil and Ecuador are also considering partial decriminalisation as part of a regional swing away from a decades-old policy of crackdowns still favoured by Washington."

Daily Express | UK News :: ‘I’ll reveal true identity of bomber’

Daily Express | UK News :: ‘I’ll reveal true identity of bomber’: "AN AMERICAN citizen is to be named by the Lockerbie bomber as the man who really carried out the terrorist attack on Pan Am Flight 103."

31.8.09

Cellphones Cause Brain Tumors, Says New Report By International EMF Collaborative

Cellphones Cause Brain Tumors, Says New Report By International EMF Collaborative: "A new report, 'Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern, Science, Spin and the Truth Behind Interphone,' was released today"

Cannabis: Potential treatment for skin disorders?

Cannabis: Potential treatment for skin disorders?: "The researchers expressed excitement that cannabinoids might provide future treatment for inflammatory skin disorders, pruritus, and certain types of skin pain, but warn that more research is necessary to gain further insight into the physiology of cannabinoid receptors in the skin. Kupczyk, Reich, and Szepietowski also acknowledge recent observations showing cannabinoids as a potential anti-tumor drug."

30.8.09

Pure food obsession is latest eating disorder | Society | The Observer

Pure food obsession is latest eating disorder | Society | The Observer: "The obsession about which foods are 'good' and which are 'bad' means orthorexics can end up malnourished. Their dietary restrictions commonly cause sufferers to feel proud of their 'virtuous' behaviour even if it means that eating becomes so stressful their personal relationships can come under pressure and they become socially isolated."

28.8.09

BBC NEWS | Europe | Fake Dutch 'moon rock' revealed

BBC NEWS | Europe | Fake Dutch 'moon rock' revealed: "A treasured piece at the Dutch national museum - a supposed moon rock from the first manned lunar landing - is nothing more than petrified wood, curators say."

25.8.09

Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why.

Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why.: "It's not that the old meds are getting weaker, drug developers say. It's as if the placebo effect is somehow getting stronger."

CCTV helps solve just ONE crime per 1,000 as officers fail to use film as evidence | Mail Online

CCTV helps solve just ONE crime per 1,000 as officers fail to use film as evidence | Mail Online: "Only one crime is solved a year for every 1,000 CCTV cameras, police admitted yesterday.

The startling figure comes in a Scotland Yard report which warns that a network that can capture individuals as many as 300 times a day is failing to improve public safety.

Officers found that the million cameras covering London have helped clear up barely 1,000 crimes."

24.8.09

PETER MCKAY: Lockerbie, trade deals and a rats' nest of lies | Mail Online

PETER MCKAY: Lockerbie, trade deals and a rats' nest of lies | Mail Online: "The nationalist regime in Scotland says it took the decision after 'due process'. They're proud that compassion is a feature of their independent legal system.

But we're entitled to suspect they were also having doubts regarding the safety of al-Megrahi's conviction, revelations about previous evidence, facts that were withheld and the outcome of a new appeal."

Features : Explosives analysis concludes semtex theory "scientifically implausible" in Pan Am 103 explosion : THE FIRM : SCOTLAND'S INDEPENDENT LAW JOURNAL

Features : Explosives analysis concludes semtex theory "scientifically implausible" in Pan Am 103 explosion : THE FIRM : SCOTLAND'S INDEPENDENT LAW JOURNAL: "A scientific analysis of the Crown's discredited theory that approximately 1lb of semtex contained in a Toshiba radio caused the destruction of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, has concluded that the notion is 'scientifically implausible.'"

Cecile Brossard awaits sentence for murder of Edouard Stern during sadomasochistic sex - Telegraph

Cecile Brossard awaits sentence for murder of Edouard Stern during sadomasochistic sex - Telegraph: "The more serious charge of premeditated murder was curiously dropped in February, in a move widely viewed as a compromise to prevent Miss Brossard from dragging top French public figures into the trial."

Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi to 'show his innocence' in autobiography - Times Online

Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi to 'show his innocence' in autobiography - Times Online: "Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, is writing his autobiography to “proclaim his innocence” by disclosing new information behind Britain’s deadliest terrorist attack, The Times has learnt."

23.8.09

Lutherans lift barrier for gay clergy -- latimes.com

Lutherans lift barrier for gay clergy -- latimes.com: "The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is the second major Christian group in a month to liberalize policies on the ministry."

22.8.09

UK to share fingerprints with Canada, Australia - ZDNet.co.uk

UK to share fingerprints with Canada, Australia - ZDNet.co.uk: "The Home Office has started sharing fingerprint data with Canada and Australia for the purpose of checking deeper into the backgrounds of migrants under suspicion."

Father still seeking Lockerbie truth after 20 years - Telegraph

Father still seeking Lockerbie truth after 20 years - Telegraph: "Unlike many of the American families of victims on the flight from London to New York — and, indeed, President Barack Obama — Swire was vocal in applauding the release of the only man convicted of the outrage, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, who is terminally ill.

“I am a Christian, so I would hope that, even if I was convinced that Megrahi was guilty, my Christian compassion and forgiveness would extend to wanting to see him die with his family around him in Libya,” he says. “But I am convinced Megrahi is innocent.”"

DNA could be faked by criminals, new study claims - Telegraph

DNA could be faked by criminals, new study claims - Telegraph: "In experiments, a team of Israeli scientists were able to obliterate all traces of DNA from a blood sample and add someone else's genetic material in its place.

The process was so successful that it fooled forensic scientists who carry out DNA fingerprinting for American courts.

The findings threaten to undermine the key forensic technique, which has secured thousands of convictions in Britain and around the world."

21.8.09

Exposure to nanoparticles is related to pleural effusion, pulmonary fibrosis and granuloma -- Song et al., 10.1183/09031936.00178308 -- European Respiratory Journal

Exposure to nanoparticles is related to pleural effusion, pulmonary fibrosis and granuloma - European Respiratory Journal: "Polyacrylate, consisting of nano particles, was confirmed in the workplace. Pathological examinations of patients' lung tissue displayed non-specific pulmonary inflammation, pulmonary fibrosis and foreign-body granulomas of pleura. By transmission electron microscopy, nano particles were observed to lodge in the cytoplasm and caryoplasm of pulmonary epithelial and mesothelial cells, but also locate in the chest fluid. These cases arouse concern that long-term exposure to some nano particles without protective measures may be related to serious damage to human lungs."

Mexico Legalizes Drug Possession - NYTimes.com

Mexico Legalizes Drug Possession - NYTimes.com: "MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico enacted a controversial law on Thursday decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs while encouraging government-financed treatment for drug dependency free of charge."

Families' reaction: 'Too many questions are still unanswered' - Home News, UK - The Independent

Families' reaction: 'Too many questions are still unanswered' - Home News, UK - The Independent: "In contrast to their American counterparts, relatives on this side of the Atlantic have remained sceptical of the evidence brought against Megrahi and voiced support for the decision to release him, although they spoke of their frustration that his decision to abandon his appeal may mean the true culprits are never brought to justice."

19.8.09

Cannabis treats prostate cancer, study finds

Cannabis treats prostate cancer, study finds: "Following the growing interest in medical benefits of cannabis, a new study finds that the compound can help fight prostate cancer."

Paul Armentano: If Pot Prevented Cancer You Would Have Read About It, Right?

Paul Armentano: If Pot Prevented Cancer You Would Have Read About It, Right?: "Writing in the August issue of the journal Cancer Prevention Research, investigators from Rhode Island's Brown University, along with researchers at Boston University, Louisiana State University, and the University of Minnesota reported that lifetime marijuana use is associated with a 'significantly reduced risk' of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma."

18.8.09

420butts - Marijuana’s Impact On Brain Function “Minimal,” New Study Says

420butts - Marijuana’s Impact On Brain Function “Minimal,” New Study Says: "Investigators concluded, “Minimal evidence of major effects of cannabis on brain structure has been reported,” noting that Marijuana users and controls perform similarly on cognitive tasks."

8.8.09

Council for Secular Humanism

Council for Secular Humanism: "Incredibly, President George W. Bush told French President Jacques Chirac in early 2003 that Iraq must be invaded to thwart Gog and Magog, the Bible’s satanic agents of the Apocalypse.
Honest. This isn’t a joke. The president of the United States, in a top-secret phone call to a major European ally, asked for French troops to join American soldiers in attacking Iraq as a mission from God."

7.8.09

Popular Insect Repellent Deet Is Neurotoxic

Popular Insect Repellent Deet Is Neurotoxic: "ScienceDaily (Aug. 6, 2009) — The active ingredient in many insect repellents, deet, has been found to be toxic to the central nervous system. Researchers say that more investigations are urgently needed to confirm or dismiss any potential neurotoxicity to humans, especially when deet-based repellents are used in combination with other neurotoxic insecticides."

The World's Rubbish Dump: A Garbage Tip that Stretches from Hawaii to Japan | CommonDreams.org

The World's Rubbish Dump: A Garbage Tip that Stretches from Hawaii to Japan | CommonDreams.org: "Curtis Ebbesmeyer, an oceanographer and leading authority on flotsam, has tracked the build-up of plastics in the seas for more than 15 years and compares the trash vortex to a living entity: 'It moves around like a big animal without a leash.' When that animal comes close to land, as it does at the Hawaiian archipelago, the results are dramatic. 'The garbage patch barfs, and you get a beach covered with this confetti of plastic,' he added."

5.8.09

Samuel S. Epstein: An Overdue Ban On A Dangerous Sweetener

Samuel S. Epstein: An Overdue Ban On A Dangerous Sweetener: "Under the explicit provisions of the 1958 Delaney Law, which requires an automatic ban on carcinogenic food additives, it is anticipated that Dr. Margaret Hamburg, the newly appointed FDA Commissioner and inspiring public health advocate, will promptly ban the continued use of aspartame."

White House calls Ahmadinejad elected leader of Iran | Reuters

White House calls Ahmadinejad elected leader of Iran | Reuters: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House called Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the 'elected leader' of Iran on Tuesday when asked whether President Barack Obama recognized the Iranian president after the country's disputed election."

31.7.09

Herbal remedy really does cure a cold - Times Online

Herbal remedy really does cure a cold - Times Online: "Fans of echinacea have long sworn that it can ward off the common cold, a claim that has been dismissed this as a matter of faith. Now scientists say that the herbal remedy really works, giving believers the pleasure of watching the cynics swallow their words. An analysis of the evidence has found that taking the remedy more than halves a person’s chances of catching a cold and shortens the length of a cold by an average of 1.4 days."

23.7.09

Researchers produce cells they say are identical to embryonic stem cells - Los Angeles Times

Researchers produce cells they say are identical to embryonic stem cells - Los Angeles Times: "Scientists in China use cells from adult mice to breed new mice. The breakthrough results are hailed as an advance toward eliminating the need for fetal stem cells in a variety of applications."

19.7.09

Researchers Find Caffeine Effective Alzheimer’s Treatment

Researchers Find Caffeine Effective Alzheimer’s Treatment: "While a number of advanced Alzheimer’s drugs and treatments have been developed in recent years, University of Florida researcher Gary Arendash believes coffee drinkers -- and other caffeine consumers -- are not just protecting themselves, but actually treating symptoms that might appear.

“The study gives evidence that caffeine may be a viable treatment for established Alzheimer’s disease and not simply a protective strategy,” Arendash said."

14.7.09

Women spend nearly one year deciding what to wear - Telegraph

Women spend nearly one year deciding what to wear - Telegraph: "Choosing outfits for work, nights out, dinner parties, holidays, gym and other activities means the average female will spend 287 days rifling through their wardrobe."

13.7.09

Liquorice: A new role in battle to beat cancer | Mail Online

Liquorice: A new role in battle to beat cancer | Mail Online: "Liquorice could offer valuable protection against sunburn and skin cancer..."

12.7.09

'Fountain of youth' drug can extend life by a decade | Mail Online

'Fountain of youth' drug can extend life by a decade | Mail Online: "A miraculous 'elixir of youth' which could extend the human life span by more than a decade is being developed by scientists.

The anti-ageing pill was created from a chemical found in the soil of Easter Island - one of the most remote and mysterious places on the planet.

In tests on animals, the chemical increased life expectancy by a staggering 38 per cent."

07.09.2009 - Tremors on southern San Andreas Fault may mean increased quake risk

07.09.2009 - Tremors on southern San Andreas Fault may mean increased quake risk: "BERKELEY — Increases in mysterious underground tremors observed in several active earthquake fault zones around the world could signal a build-up of stress at locked segments of the faults and presumably an increased likelihood of a major quake, according to a new University of California, Berkeley, study."

2.7.09

UN Backs Drug Decriminalization In World Drug Report

UN Backs Drug Decriminalization In World Drug Report: "In an about face, the United Nations on Wednesday lavishly praised drug decriminalization in its annual report on the state of global drug policy."

19.6.09

BBC NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Supplement 'slows down blindness'

BBC NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Supplement 'slows down blindness': "High doses of antioxidants found in fruit and veg could slow sight loss in elderly people, according to research."

16.6.09

Robert Fisk: Iran's day of destiny - Middle East, World - The Independent

Robert Fisk: Iran's day of destiny - Middle East, World - The Independent: "Fisk witnesses the courage of one million protesters who ignored threats, guns and bloodshed to demand freedom in Iran"

15.6.09

Crops under stress as temperatures fall - Telegraph

Crops under stress as temperatures fall - Telegraph: "Our politicians haven't noticed that the problem may be that the world is not warming but cooling, observes Christopher Booker."

10.6.09

Music speeds recovery - The Irish Times - Tue, Jun 09, 2009

Music speeds recovery - The Irish Times - Tue, Jun 09, 2009: "PATIENTS RECOVERING from heart surgery who were given music to listen to through headphones while they were still asleep and on ventilators, spent about three and a half hours less in an American intensive care unit (ICU) than patients receiving normal post-operative care, according to recent research."

8.6.09

Pouring cold water on global warming - Environment, News - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Pouring cold water on global warming - Environment, News - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk: "There is now irrefutable scientific evidence that far from global warming the earth has now entered a period of global cooling which will last at least for the next two decades.

Evidence for this comes from the NASA Microwave Sounding Unit and the Hadley Climate Research Unit while evidence that CO2 levels are continuing to increase comes from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii."

6.6.09

DailyTech - NASA Study Acknowledges Solar Cycle, Not Man, Responsible for Past Warming

DailyTech - NASA Study Acknowledges Solar Cycle, Not Man, Responsible for Past Warming: "A study from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland looking at climate data over the past century has concluded that solar variation has made a significant impact on the Earth's climate. The report concludes that evidence for climate changes based on solar radiation can be traced back as far as the Industrial Revolution."

5.6.09

Medical bills underlie 60 percent of U.S. bankrupts: study | Health | Reuters

Medical bills underlie 60 percent of U.S. bankrupts: study | Health | Reuters: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Medical bills are behind more than 60 percent of U.S. personal bankruptcies, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday in a report they said demonstrates that healthcare reform is on the wrong track."

Life, health insurers invest big in tobacco - Yahoo! News

Life, health insurers invest big in tobacco - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON (AFP) – Major US, Canadian and British life and health insurance companies have billions of dollars invested in tobacco companies, a study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine said."

4.6.09

Stem cells used to restore sight for corneal disease sufferers | The Australian

Stem cells used to restore sight for corneal disease sufferers | The Australian: "Although the novel technique was used to reverse blinding corneal disease, it promises to be a quick, painless and cheap treatment for other visual disorders. It may even be useful for repairing damaged skin, the researchers reported today in the journal Transplantation.

The team leader, UNSW stem cell scientist Nick Di Girolamo said: “We're quietly excited. We don't know yet if (the correction) will remain stable, but if it does it's a wonderful technique”."

30.5.09

Technology Review: Five-Dimensional Data Storage

Technology Review: Five-Dimensional Data Storage: "A new light-responsive material could lead to discs the size of today's DVDs that store four orders of magnitude more data. Traditional DVDs and CDs store data on their surface in two dimensions, and holographic discs can store it in three. Now researchers have for the first time demonstrated what they call a five-dimensional optical material. It can record data in three spatial dimensions and in response to different wavelengths and polarizations of laser light."

18.5.09

What if global-warming fears are overblown? - May. 14, 2009

What if global-warming fears are overblown? - May. 14, 2009: "... despite those green-sounding credentials, Christy is not calling for draconian cuts in carbon emissions. Quite the contrary. Christy is actually the environmental lobby's worst nightmare - an accomplished climate scientist with no ties to Big Oil who has produced reams and reams of data that undermine arguments that the earth's atmosphere is warming at an unusual rate and question whether the remedies being talked about in Congress will actually do any good."

'US special squad killed Benazir' | Pakistan | News | Newspaper | Daily | English | Online

'US special squad killed Benazir' | Pakistan | News | Newspaper | Daily | English | Online: "NEW YORK (Online) - Former prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on the orders of the special death squad formed by former US vice-president Dick Cheney, which had already killed the Lebanese Prime Minister Rafique Al Hariri and the army chief of that country.
The squad was headed by General Stanley McChrystal, the newly-appointed commander of US army in Afghanistan. It was disclosed by reputed US journalist Seymour Hersh while talking to an Arab TV in an interview.
Hersh said former US vice-president Cheney was the chief of the Joint Special Operation Command and he clear the way for the US by exterminating opponents through the unit and the CIA. General Stanley was the in-charge of the unit."

Marijuana Chemical May Fight Brain Cancer

Marijuana Chemical May Fight Brain Cancer: "April 1, 2009 -- The active chemical in marijuana promotes the death of brain cancer cells by essentially helping them feed upon themselves, researchers in Spain report.

Guillermo Velasco and colleagues at Complutense University in Spain have found that the active ingredient in marijuana, THC, causes brain cancer cells to undergo a process called autophagy. Autophagy is the breakdown of a cell that occurs when the cell essentially self-digests."

15.5.09

White House Czar Calls for End to 'War on Drugs' - WSJ.com

White House Czar Calls for End to 'War on Drugs' - WSJ.com: "WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration's new drug czar says he wants to banish the idea that the U.S. is fighting 'a war on drugs,' a move that would underscore a shift favoring treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce illicit drug use."

10.5.09

Schwarzenegger: Time To Debate Legalizing Pot | Political Hotsheet - CBS News

Schwarzenegger: Time To Debate Legalizing Pot | Political Hotsheet - CBS News: "In the last week or two, proposals to legalize medical marijuana have advanced in Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken a significant step further, saying on Tuesday that it's time to debate legalizing marijuana for recreational use in California.

'I think it's time for debate,' he said in response to a reporter's question. 'I think all of those ideas of creating extra revenues -- I'm always for an open debate on it.'"

29.4.09

Controlling Robots With Your Brain Closer Than You Think

Controlling Robots With Your Brain Closer Than You Think: "Honda’s amazing new technology connects thoughts inside a brain with robotics and seems straight out of a weird sci-fi flick."

27.4.09

Change is a cold certainty | The Australian

Change is a cold certainty | The Australian: "Zinchenko's vessel, the Spirit of Enderby, was commissioned in January last year to retrace the steps of the great Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton, marking the century of his Nimrod expedition of 1907-09.

Spirit of Enderby was blocked by a wall of pack ice at the entrance to the Ross Sea, about 400km short of Shackleton's base hut at Cape Royds. Zinchenko says it was the first time in 15 years that vessels were unable to penetrate the Ross Sea in January. The experience was consistent with his impression that pack ice is expanding, not contracting, as would be expected in a rapidly warming world. 'I see just more and more ice, not less ice.'"

26.4.09

Cold Fusion Is Hot Again - CBS News

Cold Fusion Is Hot Again - CBS News: "(CBS) Twenty years ago it appeared, for a moment, that all our energy problems could be solved. It was the announcement of cold fusion - nuclear energy like that which powers the sun - but at room temperature on a table top. It promised to be cheap, limitless and clean. Cold fusion would end our dependence on the Middle East and stop those greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. It would change everything.

But then, just as quickly as it was announced, it was discredited. So thoroughly, that cold fusion became a catch phrase for junk science. Well, a funny thing happened on the way to oblivion - for many scientists today, cold fusion is hot again.

'We can yield the power of nuclear physics on a tabletop. The potential is unlimited. That is the most powerful energy source known to man,' researcher Michael McKubre told 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley."

Why night owls are cleverer and richer than people who get up early | Mail Online

Why night owls are cleverer and richer than people who get up early | Mail Online: "It has long been held that the early bird catches the worm. But it is the night owl that lasts the distance, research shows."

13.4.09

The Road to Area 51 - Los Angeles Times

The Road to Area 51 - Los Angeles Times: "Colonel Hugh 'Slip' Slater, 87, was commander of the Area 51 base in the 1960s. Edward Lovick, 90, featured in 'What Plane?' in LA's March issue, spent three decades radar testing some of the world's most famous aircraft (including the U-2, the A-12 OXCART and the F-117). Kenneth Collins, 80, a CIA experimental test pilot, was given the silver star. Thornton 'T.D.' Barnes, 72, was an Area 51 special-projects engineer. And Harry Martin, 77, was one of the men in charge of the base's half-million-gallon monthly supply of spy-plane fuels. Here are a few of their best stories..."

11.4.09

The $5 solar oven at News: Breaking Health News

The $5 solar oven at News: Breaking Health News: "Inventor Jon Bohmer has created a $5 oven made out of cardboard boxes"

8.4.09

Fingerprinting Blank Paper Using Commodity Scanners | Freedom to Tinker

Fingerprinting Blank Paper Using Commodity Scanners | Freedom to Tinker: "This paper presents a novel technique for authenticating physical documents based on random, naturally occurring imperfections in paper texture. We introduce a new method for measuring the three-dimensional surface of a page using only a commodity scanner and without modifying the document in any way. From this physical feature, we generate a concise fingerprint that uniquely identifies the document."

7.4.09

Daily pill that halts Alzheimer's is hailed as 'biggest breakthrough against disease for 100 years' | Mail Online

Daily pill that halts Alzheimer's is hailed as 'biggest breakthrough against disease for 100 years' | Mail Online: "A new drug halts the devastating progress of Alzheimer’s disease, say British scientists.

It is said to be more than twice as effective as current treatments.

A daily capsule of rember, as the drug is known, stops Alzheimer’s disease progressing by as much as 81 per cent, according to trial results."

4.4.09

Ice bridge holding Antarctic ice shelf cracks up | Environment | Reuters

Ice bridge holding Antarctic ice shelf cracks up | Environment | Reuters: "OSLO (Reuters) - An ice bridge holding a vast Antarctic ice shelf in place has shattered and may herald a wider collapse caused by global warming, a leading scientist said on Saturday."

30.3.09

Rise of sea levels is 'the greatest lie ever told' - Telegraph

Rise of sea levels is 'the greatest lie ever told' - Telegraph: "But if there is one scientist who knows more about sea levels than anyone else in the world it is the Swedish geologist and physicist Nils-Axel M�rner, formerly chairman of the INQUA International Commission on Sea Level Change. And the uncompromising verdict of Dr Morner, who for 35 years has been using every known scientific method to study sea levels all over the globe, is that all this talk about the sea rising is nothing but a colossal scare story.

Despite fluctuations down as well as up, 'the sea is not rising,' he says. 'It hasn't risen in 50 years.' If there is any rise this century it will 'not be more than 10cm (four inches), with an uncertainty of plus or minus 10cm'. And quite apart from examining the hard evidence, he says, the elementary laws of physics (latent heat needed to melt ice) tell us that the apocalypse conjured up by
Al Gore and Co could not possibly come about."

Russia backs return to Gold Standard to solve financial crisis - Telegraph

Russia backs return to Gold Standard to solve financial crisis - Telegraph: "The Gold Standard was the anchor of world finance in the 19th Century but began breaking down during the First World War as governments engaged in unprecedented spending. It collapsed in the 1930s when the British Empire, the US, and France all abandoned their parities.

It was revived as part of fixed dollar system until US inflation caused by the Vietnam War and 'Great Society' social spending forced President Richard Nixon to close the gold window in 1971.

The world's fiat paper currencies have lacked any external anchor ever since. It is widely argued that the financial excesses and extreme debt leverage of the last quarter century would have been impossible - or less likely - under the discipline of gold."

27.3.09

Medical journal says Pope distorting condom facts | Reuters

Medical journal says Pope distorting condom facts | Reuters: "LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - A prestigious medical journal on Friday accused Pope Benedict of distorting scientific evidence to promote Catholic doctrine by saying that condoms increase the spread of AIDS.

The Lancet in an editorial called on the Pope to retract the comments made last week, saying anything less would be an immense disservice to the public and health advocates fighting to contain the disease."

Harvard Aids expert says Pope "correct" on condoms and spread of HIV -Times Online

Harvard Aids expert says Pope "correct" on condoms and spread of HIV -Times Online: "The head of a Harvard-based AIDs prevention centre says the Pope is “correct” to claim that condom distribution risks aggravating the transmission of HIV."

Daily Express | UK News :: Oily fish 'can stop cancer'

Daily Express | UK News :: Oily fish 'can stop cancer': "EATING oily fish just once a week could help men to survive prostate cancer, scientists revealed yesterday.

A study shows a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids found in fish such as herring, salmon and mackerel could prevent development of the deadly disease.

The oils are also believed to be able to block the spread of existing tumour cells, acting as a kind of treatment."

BBC NEWS | Health | Steaming hot tea linked to cancer

BBC NEWS | Health | Steaming hot tea linked to cancer: "Drinking steaming hot tea has been linked with an increased risk of oesophageal (food tube) cancer, Iranian scientists have found.

The British Medical Journal study found that drinking black tea at temperatures of 70C or higher increased the risk."

23.3.09

Want to live longer? Cut back on red meat - CNN.com

Want to live longer? Cut back on red meat - CNN.com: "'This is the biggest and highest quality study like this,' says Barry M. Popkin, Ph.D., from the University of North Carolina, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study, which was published Monday in Archives of Internal Medicine. 'They collected the diet data very carefully, and it's saying to people, 'You don't have to eat red meat every day.' '"

16.3.09

Scientist: Warming Could Cut Population to 1 Billion - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com

Scientist: Warming Could Cut Population to 1 Billion - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com: "COPENHAGEN — A scientist known for his aggressive stance on climate policy made an apocalyptic prediction on Thursay.

Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, said that if the buildup of greenhouse gases and its consequences pushed global temperatures 9 degrees Fahrenheit higher than today — well below the upper temperature range that scientists project could occur from global warming — Earth’s population would be devastated."

UW-Milwaukee Study Could Realign Climate Change Theory - Milwaukee Weather News Story - WISN Milwaukee

UW-Milwaukee Study Could Realign Climate Change Theory - Milwaukee Weather News Story - WISN Milwaukee: "MILWAUKEE -- The bitter cold and record snowfalls from two wicked winters are causing people to ask if the global climate is truly changing.

The climate is known to be variable and, in recent years, more scientific thought and research has been focused on the global temperature and how humanity might be influencing it.

However, a new study by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee could turn the climate change world upside down."

14.3.09

U.S., Israel at Odds Over Iran's Nuclear Weapons Aspirations - washingtonpost.com

U.S., Israel at Odds Over Iran's Nuclear Weapons Aspirations - washingtonpost.com: "Iran has not produced the highly enriched uranium necessary for a nuclear weapon and has not decided to do so, U.S. intelligence officials told Congress yesterday, an assessment that contrasts with a stark Israeli warning days earlier that Iran has crossed the 'technological threshold' in its pursuit of the bomb."

Greenland ice tipping point 'further off than thought' | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Greenland ice tipping point 'further off than thought' | Environment | guardian.co.uk: "The giant Greenland ice sheet may be more resistant to temperature rise than experts realised. The finding gives hope that the worst impacts of global warming, such as the devastating floods depicted in Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth, could yet be avoided."

12.3.09

Caravaggio may have been the first master of photographic technique | Art and design | The Guardian

Caravaggio may have been the first master of photographic technique | Art and design | The Guardian: "Revered as the baroque master of lifelike portraits and light and shadow, the 16th-century painter Caravaggio is now being touted as the first master of photographic technique, two centuries before the formal invention of the camera."

11.3.09

BBC NEWS | Health | Nano-treatment to torpedo cancer

BBC NEWS | Health | Nano-treatment to torpedo cancer: "Nanotechnology has been used for the first time to destroy cancer cells with a highly targeted package of 'tumour busting' genes."

Daily Express | UK News :: Global warming? It’s the coldest winter in decades

Daily Express | UK News :: Global warming? It’s the coldest winter in decades: "Satellite data shows that concerns over the levels of sea ice may have been premature.

It was feared that the polar caps were vanishing because of the effects of global warming.

But figures from the respected US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show that almost all the “lost” ice has come back."

3.3.09

globeandmail.com: Canadians make stem-cell breakthrough

globeandmail.com: Canadians make stem-cell breakthrough: "OTTAWA -- Canadian researchers have discovered a new way to turn skin cells into stem cells with fewer potential risks to patients.

Their work removes major barriers to using stem cells, which have an endless capacity for self-renewal, in new medical therapies for people with spinal cord injuries or diseases such as diabetes or Parkinson's."

2.3.09

16 US banks collapse in just two months- International Business-News-The Economic Times

16 US banks collapse in just two months- International Business-News-The Economic Times: "NEW YORK: With the financial meltdown continuing unabated, US has already seen the collapse of 16 banks in the last two months -- which is more
than one-fourth the total number of failures in the last nine years."

28.2.09

Japan's boffins: Global warming isn't man-made • The Register

Japan's boffins: Global warming isn't man-made • The Register: "What is the source of the rise in atmospheric temperature in the second half of the 20th century?

Shunichi Akasofu
[Founding Director of the International Arctic Research Center of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF)

Introductory discussion.

Point 1.1: Global Warming has halted"

27.2.09

.: U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works :: Minority Page :.

U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Minority Page "“Anthropogenic (man-made) global warming bites the dust,” declared astronomer Dr. Ian Wilson after reviewing the new study which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Geophysical Research. Another scientist said the peer-reviewed study overturned “in one fell swoop” the climate fears promoted by the UN and former Vice President Al Gore. The study entitled “Heat Capacity, Time Constant, and Sensitivity of Earth’s Climate System,” was authored by Brookhaven National Lab scientist Stephen Schwartz. (LINK)"

Princeton Physicist Tells Congress Earth in 'CO2 Famine' -- Increase 'Will Be Good for Mankind'

Princeton Physicist Tells Congress Earth in 'CO2 Famine' -- Increase 'Will Be Good for Mankind': "Dr. William Happer, currently a professor of Physics at Princeton University, was once fired by Gore at the Department of Energy in 1993 for disagreeing with the vice president on the effects of ozone to humans and plant life, also disagrees with Gore’s claim that manmade carbon dioxide (CO2) increases the temperature of the earth and is a threat to mankind. Happer appeared before the U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee on Feb. 25 and explained CO2 is in short-supply in relative terms of the history of the planet.



“Many people don’t realize that over geological time, we’re really in a CO2 famine now. Almost never has CO2 levels been as low as it has been in the Holocene [geologic epoch] – 280 [parts per million (ppm)] – that’s unheard of,” Happer said. “Most of the time, it’s at least 1,000 [ppm] and it’s been quite higher than that.”



Happer said that when CO2 levels were higher – much higher than they are now, the laws of nature still managed to function as we understand them today."

26.2.09

Holder says Feds will stop medical marijuana raids - War Room - Salon.com

Holder says Feds will stop medical marijuana raids - War Room - Salon.com: "For those of you keeping score at home, add another major policy shift by the Obama administration to the tally. Breaking with precedent set under former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, the Department of Justice will not raid medical marijuana dispensaries allowed under certain state laws."

25.2.09

Japan's boffins: Global warming isn't man-made • The Register

Japan's boffins: Global warming isn't man-made • The Register: "Japanese scientists have made a dramatic break with the UN and Western-backed hypothesis of climate change in a new report from its Energy Commission.

Three of the five researchers disagree with the UN's IPCC view that recent warming is primarily the consequence of man-made industrial emissions of greenhouse gases. Remarkably, the subtle and nuanced language typical in such reports has been set aside.

One of the five contributors compares computer climate modelling to ancient astrology. Others castigate the paucity of the US ground temperature data set used to support the hypothesis, and declare that the unambiguous warming trend from the mid-part of the 20th Century has ceased."

24.2.09

Study: One Alcoholic Drink Per Day Increases Women's Cancer Risk - washingtonpost.com

Study: One Alcoholic Drink Per Day Increases Women's Cancer Risk - washingtonpost.com: "A new study involving nearly 1.3 million middle-aged British women -- the largest ever to examine whether alcohol increases a woman's risk of cancer -- found that just one glass of chardonnay, a single beer or any other type of alcoholic drink per day poses a danger."

Anger really can kill you, U.S. study shows | Reuters

Anger really can kill you, U.S. study shows | Reuters: "CHICAGO, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Anger and other strong emotions can trigger potentially deadly heart rhythms in certain vulnerable people, U.S. researchers said on Monday."

Simple elixir called a 'miracle liquid' - Los Angeles Times

Simple elixir called a 'miracle liquid' - Los Angeles Times: "It's a kitchen degreaser. It's a window cleaner. It kills athlete's foot. Oh, and you can drink it.

Sounds like the old 'Saturday Night Live' gag for Shimmer, the faux floor polish plugged by Gilda Radner. But the elixir is real. It has been approved by U.S. regulators. And it's starting to replace the toxic chemicals Americans use at home and on the job."

22.2.09

Scientists May Have New Way to Fight the Flu - US News and World Report

Scientists May Have New Way to Fight the Flu - US News and World Report: "SUNDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) -- A new scientific discovery could someday lead to medications to fight the flu as well as a vaccine that would not have to be changed every year because it could target a broad range of flu strains."

20.2.09

An Oral History of the Bush White House | vanityfair.com

An Oral History of the Bush White House | vanityfair.com: "The threat of 9/11 ignored. The threat of Iraq hyped and manipulated. Guant�namo and Abu Ghraib. Hurricane Katrina. The shredding of civil liberties. The rise of Iran. Global warming. Economic disaster. How did one two-term presidency go so wrong? A sweeping draft of history—distilled from scores of interviews—offers fresh insight into the roles of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and other key players."

Stock Decline Hits Depression Levels - BusinessWeek

Stock Decline Hits Depression Levels - BusinessWeek: "Money invested 10 years ago in stocks have lost half their real value, matching the worst ten years of the Great Depression"

19.2.09

Geronimo's kin sue Skull and Bones society - Life- msnbc.com

Geronimo's kin sue Skull and Bones society - Life- msnbc.com: "HARTFORD, Connecticut - Geronimo's descendants have sued Skull and Bones — the secret society at Yale University linked to presidents and other powerful figures — claiming that its members stole the remains of the legendary Apache leader decades ago and have kept them ever since."

18.2.09

Is Israel assassinating Iran nuclear scientists? - Haaretz - Israel News

Is Israel assassinating Iran nuclear scientists? - Haaretz - Israel News: "Israel is assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists as part of a covert war against the Islamic Republic's illicit weapons program, the Daily Telegraph on Tuesday quoted Western intelligence analysts as saying.

The British daily said Israel's Mossad espionage agency was rumored to be behind the death of Ardeshire Hassanpour, a top nuclear scientist at Iran's Isfahan uranium plant, who died in mysterious circumstances from reported 'gas poisoning' in 2007.

Other recent deaths of important figures in the procurement and enrichment process in Iran and Europe have been the result of Israeli 'hits', intended to deprive Tehran of key technical skills at the head of the program, according to the analysts.
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The Telegraph also quoted United States intelligence sources as saying Israel is using sabotage, front companies and double agents to disrupt the regime's illicit weapons project as an alternative to direct military strikes."

Coffee Drinking Lowers Women's Stroke Risk - US News and World Report

Coffee Drinking Lowers Women's Stroke Risk - US News and World Report: "MONDAY, Feb. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Drinking coffee appears to lower the risk for stroke among women, with more consumption translating into more protection, Spanish and American researchers suggest."

Spy chief: We risk a police state - Telegraph

Spy chief: We risk a police state - Telegraph: "Dame Stella Rimington, the former head of MI5, has warned that the fear of terrorism is being exploited by the Government to erode civil liberties and risks creating a police state."

2009 Report Card for America's Infrastructure

2009 Report Card for America's Infrastructure: "Report Card 2009 Grades"

17.2.09

Coffee Drinking Lowers Women's Stroke Risk - US News and World Report

Coffee Drinking Lowers Women's Stroke Risk - US News and World Report: "MONDAY, Feb. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Drinking coffee appears to lower the risk for stroke among women, with more consumption translating into more protection, Spanish and American researchers suggest."

Man appears free of HIV after stem cell transplant - CNN.com

Man appears free of HIV after stem cell transplant - CNN.com: "A 42-year-old HIV patient with leukemia appears to have no detectable HIV in his blood and no symptoms after a stem cell transplant from a donor carrying a gene mutation that confers natural resistance to the virus that causes AIDS, according to a report published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

'The patient is fine,' said Dr. Gero Hutter of Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin in Germany. 'Today, two years after his transplantation, he is still without any signs of HIV disease and without antiretroviral medication.'"

Former astronaut speaks out on global warming - BostonHerald.com

Former astronaut speaks out on global warming - BostonHerald.com: "SANTA FE, N.M. - Former astronaut Harrison Schmitt, who walked on the moon and once served New Mexico in the U.S. Senate, doesn’t believe that humans are causing global warming."

16.2.09

The Dark Side of the Moon: 40 years after moon landing the doubts persist - mirror.co.uk

The Dark Side of the Moon: 40 years after moon landing the doubts persist - mirror.co.uk

George F. Will - Dark Green Doomsayers - washingtonpost.com

George F. Will - Dark Green Doomsayers - washingtonpost.com: "As global levels of sea ice declined last year, many experts said this was evidence of man-made global warming. Since September, however, the increase in sea ice has been the fastest change, either up or down, since 1979, when satellite record-keeping began. According to the University of Illinois' Arctic Climate Research Center, global sea ice levels now equal those of 1979."

Study Finds High-Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury - washingtonpost.com

Study Finds High-Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury - washingtonpost.com: "MONDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient, according to two new U.S. studies."

14.2.09

27,000 Work in Pentagon PR and Recruiting | Danger Room from Wired.com

27,000 Work in Pentagon PR and Recruiting | Danger Room from Wired.com: "'This year, the Pentagon will employ 27,000 people just for recruitment, advertising and public relations — almost as many as the total 30,000-person work force in the State Department.'"

12.2.09

Muslim investors profit by adhering to faith

Muslim investors profit by adhering to faith: "As credit markets have imploded, triggering a global economic crisis, Islamically correct investors have seen a change of fortune: The conservative principles this small group of devout Muslims clung to during the economic heyday has insulated them from the worst of the past year's suffering."

'Apocalyptic predictions' mislead the public on climate change, say experts | Environment | guardian.co.uk

'Apocalyptic predictions' mislead the public on climate change, say experts | Environment | guardian.co.uk: "Experts at Britain's top climate research centre have launched a blistering attack on scientific colleagues and journalists who exaggerate the effects of global warming.

The Met Office Hadley Centre, one of the most prestigious research facilities in the world, says recent 'apocalyptic predictions' about Arctic ice melt and soaring temperatures are as bad as claims that global warming does not exist. Such statements, however well-intentioned, distort the science and could undermine efforts to tackle carbon emissions, it says.

In an article published on the Guardian website, Dr Vicky Pope, head of climate change advice at the Met Office, calls on scientists and journalists to stop misleading the public with 'claim and counter-claim'."

Pain Beam to Get Tougher, Smaller, More Powerful | Danger Room from Wired.com

Pain Beam to Get Tougher, Smaller, More Powerful | Danger Room from Wired.com: "The Pentagon's pain beam weapon could get tougher, smaller, more powerful, and more mobile under a series of new research and development projects. And that could pave the way for the so-called 'Active Denial System' to finally be sent to war."

9.2.09

ABC News: Just Say No ... or Else You Get Cancer?

ABC News: Just Say No ... or Else You Get Cancer?: "For the first time, researchers have linked frequent marijuana use to an increased risk of testicular cancer, according to an article published today in the journal Cancer."

1.2.09

Washington Times - BELLAMY/DUCHAMP: World is getting colder

Washington Times - BELLAMY/DUCHAMP: World is getting colder: "As President Obama takes office, and as the European Union is about to waste one trillion euros to de-carbonize the economy (in a bid to stop nonexistent man-made global warming) they would be well-advised to perform a reality check on what's currently happening to the climate. Talking to independent scientists about the positive properties of CO2 (plant food that enhances crops) would also be a good idea.

If they don't, we may be in for mass starvation. And let's not forget that the world population is increasing by about 78 million every year.

David J. Bellamy is a professor at three British universities and an officer in several conservation organizations. Mark Duchamp, a retired businessman, has investigated global- warming theory and written more than 100 articles."

26.1.09

Global Warming Is Irreversible, Study Says : NPR

Global Warming Is Irreversible, Study Says : NPR: "'People have imagined that if we stopped emitting carbon dioxide that the climate would go back to normal in 100 years or 200 years. What we're showing here is that's not right. It's essentially an irreversible change that will last for more than a thousand years,' Solomon says."

17.1.09

Caffeine Can Cause Hallucinations | LiveScience

Caffeine Can Cause Hallucinations | LiveScience: "People who take in the caffeine equivalent of three cups of brewed coffee (or seven cups of instant) are more likely to hallucinate, a new study suggests."

16.1.09

Ponzi Schemes - News - The New York Times

Ponzi Schemes - News - The New York Times: "In a Ponzi scheme, potential investors are wooed with promises of unusually large returns, usually attributed to the investment manager’s savvy, skill or some other secret sauce.

The returns are repaid, at least for a time, out of new investors’ principal, not from profits. This can continue as long as new investors line up with cash, and old investors don’t try to withdraw too much of their money at once.

Ponzi schemes are also known as pyramid schemes, from the shape of any chart that reflects their basic premise -- that ever-growing layers of new recruits are needed to provide gains to the smaller, earlier cohorts. A gigantic pyramid scheme virtually bankrupted Albania after the fall of Communism."

Madoff's fund may not have made a single trade - Yahoo! News

Madoff's fund may not have made a single trade - Yahoo! News: "BOSTON (Reuters) – Bernie Madoff's investment fund may never have executed a single trade, industry officials say, suggesting detailed statements mailed to investors each month may have been an elaborate mirage in a $50 billion fraud.

An industry-run regulator for brokerage firms said on Thursday there was no record of Madoff's investment fund placing trades through his brokerage operation.

That means Madoff either placed trades through other brokerage firms, a move industry officials consider unlikely, or he was not executing trades at all."

15.1.09

IMEU: Comparison of military strength of Israel and the Palestinians

IMEU: Comparison of military strength of Israel and the Palestinians

Drinking coffee reduces risk of Alzheimer's: study - Yahoo! News

Drinking coffee reduces risk of Alzheimer's: study - Yahoo! News: "STOCKHOLM (AFP) – Middle-aged people who drink moderate amounts of coffee significantly reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, a study by Finnish and Swedish researchers showed Thursday."

The earth's magnetic field impacts climate: Danish study - Yahoo! News

The earth's magnetic field impacts climate: Danish study - Yahoo! News: "COPENHAGEN (AFP) – The earth's climate has been significantly affected by the planet's magnetic field, according to a Danish study published Monday that could challenge the notion that human emissions are responsible for global warming."

12.1.09

Hundreds of Coal Ash Dumps Lack Significant Regulation - NYTimes.com

Hundreds of Coal Ash Dumps Lack Significant Regulation - NYTimes.com: "The coal ash pond that ruptured and sent a billion gallons of toxic sludge across 300 acres of East Tennessee last month was only one of more than 1,300 similar dumps across the United States — most of them unregulated and unmonitored — that contain billions more gallons of fly ash and other byproducts of burning coal."

LiveLeak.com - Yellowstone Supervolcano Eruption Close ?..

LiveLeak.com - Yellowstone Supervolcano Eruption Close ?..

2.1.09

BBC NEWS | Europe | Vatican divorces from Italian law

BBC NEWS | Europe | Vatican divorces from Italian law: "With effect from New Year's Day, the Pope has decided that the Vatican will no longer automatically adopt laws passed by the Italian parliament."

DailyTech - Defying Predictions, Sea Level Rise Begins to Slow

DailyTech - Defying Predictions, Sea Level Rise Begins to Slow: "Satellite altimetry data indicates that the rate at which the world's oceans are rising has slowed significantly since 2005. Before the decrease, sea level had been rising by more than 3mm/year, which corresponds to an increase of about one foot per century. Since 2005, however, the rate has been closer to 2mm/year.

The decrease is significant as global climate models predict sea level rise to accelerate as atmospheric CO2 continues to increase. In the 1990s, when such acceleration appeared to be occurring, some scientists pointed to it as confirmation the models were operating correctly."