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."

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."

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."

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."

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."

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."

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."

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..."

'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."

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."

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."

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"

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."

Close encounter of the rock kind: Schoolboy survives direct hit by meteorite travelling at 30,000mph | Mail Online

Close encounter of the rock kind: Schoolboy survives direct hit by meteorite travelling at 30,000mph | Mail Online: "Gerrit was left with a scar on his hand, making him one of only a handful of people to have been struck directly by a meteorite."

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."

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."

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."