tagged w/ Human Health
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Countries around the world have either banned or stepped up tests on imports from quake-stricken Japan after radioactive substances were found in its food and water following blasts at a nuclear plant.
:http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/24/us-radioactive-health-idUSTRE72N6LJ20110324Countries around the world have either banned or stepped up tests on imports from... more
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suzane
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added this
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11 months ago
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Big agriculture, whether farms of hundreds of thousands of closely packed chickens or largescale irrigation projects that create new homes for disease spreaders like the mosquito, offer unprecedented opportunities for the emergence of new illnesses.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/feb/11/animal-human-health-diseases-link-agriculture
Eliminating crowded, stressful confinement agriculture reduces the chance that diseases will jump from animals to humans with potentially devastating results. Also, by not applying antibiotics to animals that are sick from their environment in food factories, will give us tools to fight future diseases.Big agriculture, whether farms of hundreds of thousands of closely packed chickens or... more
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Sperm quality significantly deteriorated and testicular cancers increased over recent years, a Finnish study says. The research suggests environmental reasons, particularly exposure to industrial chemicals, may be behind both trends.
A UK expert said chemicals may affect the development of male babies.
Finnish men were studied as they have previously been shown to have some of the highest sperm counts in the world.The researchers looked at three groups of men who reached the age 19 between 1998 and 2006. Men who were born in the late 1980s had lower sperm counts than those who were born in the beginning of the decade.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12634109Sperm quality significantly deteriorated and testicular cancers increased over recent... more
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Don Huber spent 35 years as a plant pathologist at Purdue University and knows a lot about what causes green plants to turn yellow and die prematurely. He asked the seed dealer why the SDS was so severe in the one area of the field and not the other. “Did you plant something there last year that wasn’t planted in the rest of the field?” he asked. Sure enough, precisely where the severe SDS was, the dealer had grown alfalfa, which he later killed off at the end of the season by spraying a glyphosate-based herbicide (such as Roundup). The healthy part of the field, on the other hand, had been planted to sweet corn and hadn’t received glyphosate.
This was yet another confirmation that Roundup was triggering SDS. In many fields, the evidence is even more obvious. The disease was most severe at the ends of rows where the herbicide applicator looped back to make another pass (see photo). That’s where extra Roundup was applied.
Don’s a scientist; it takes more than a few photos for him to draw conclusions. But Don’s got more—lots more. For over 20 years, Don studied Roundup’s active ingredient glyphosate. He’s one of the world’s experts. And he can rattle off study after study that eliminate any doubt that glyphosate is contributing not only to the huge increase in SDS, but to the outbreak of numerous other diseases. (See selected reading list.)
Sudden Death Syndrome is more severe at the ends of rows, where Roundup dose is strongest. Photo by Amy Bandy.
Roundup: The perfect storm for plant disease
More than 30% of all herbicides sprayed anywhere contain glyphosate—the world’s bestselling weed killer. It was patented by Monsanto for use in their Roundup brand, which became more popular when they introduced “Roundup Ready” crops starting in 1996. These genetically modified (GM) plants, which now include soy, corn, cotton, canola, and sugar beets, have inserted genetic material from viruses and bacteria that allows the crops to withstand applications of normally deadly Roundup.
(Monsanto requires farmers who buy Roundup Ready seeds to only use the company’s Roundup brand of glyphosate. This has extended the company’s grip on the glyphosate market, even after its patent expired in 2000.)
The herbicide doesn’t destroy plants directly. It rather cooks up a unique perfect storm of conditions that revs up disease-causing organisms in the soil, and at the same time wipes out plant defenses against those diseases. The mechanisms are well-documented but rarely cited.
1.The glyphosate molecule grabs vital nutrients and doesn’t let them go. This process is called chelation and was actually the original property for which glyphosate was patented in 1964. It was only 10 years later that it was patented as an herbicide. When applied to crops, it deprives them of vital minerals necessary for healthy plant function—especially for resisting serious soilborne diseases. The importance of minerals for protecting against disease is well established. In fact, mineral availability was the single most important measurement used by several famous plant breeders to identify disease-resistant varieties.
1.Glyphosate annihilates beneficial soil organisms, such as Pseudomonas and Bacillus bacteria that live around the roots. Since they facilitate the uptake of plant nutrients and suppress disease-causing organisms, their untimely deaths means the plant gets even weaker and the pathogens even stronger.
1.The herbicide can interfere with photosynthesis, reduce water use efficiency, lower lignin , damage and shorten root systems, cause plants to release important sugars, and change soil pH—all of which can negatively affect crop health.
1.Glyphosate itself is slightly toxic to plants. It also breaks down slowly in soil to form another chemical called AMPA (aminomethylphosphonic acid) which is also toxic. But even the combined toxic effects of glyphosate and AMPA are not sufficient on their own to kill plants. It has been demonstrated numerous times since 1984
Glyphosate with sterile soil (A) only stunts plant growth. In normal soil (B), pathogens kill the plant. Control (C) shows normal growth.
that when glyphosate is applied in sterile soil, the plant may be slightly stunted, but it isn’t killed (see photo).
1.The actual plant assassins, according to Purdue weed scientists and others, are severe disease-causing organisms present in almost all soils. Glyphosate dramatically promotes these, which in turn overrun the weakened crops with deadly infections.
“This is the herbicidal mode of action of glyphosate,” says Don. “It increases susceptibility to disease, suppresses natural disease controls such as beneficial organisms, and promotes virulence of soilborne pathogens at the same time.” In fact, he points out that “If you apply certain fungicides to weeds, it destroys the herbicidal activity of glyphosate!”
By weakening plants and promoting disease, glyphosate opens the door for lots of problems in the field. According to Don, “There are more than 40 diseases of crop plants that are reported to increase with the use of glyphosate, and that number keeps growing as people recognize the association between glyphosate and disease.”
cont.Don Huber spent 35 years as a plant pathologist at Purdue University and knows a lot... more
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Uh-oh, the new years just begun and already youre finding it hard to keep those resolutions to junk the junk food, get off the couch or kick smoking. Theres a biological reason a lot of our bad habits are so hard to break - they get wired into our brains...
http://www.indiareport.com/India-usa-uk-news/ap/Health/76760Uh-oh, the new years just begun and already youre finding it hard to keep those... more
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latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-ocean-20100719,0,1686762.story
Obama to launch ocean initiative
The stewardship policy embraces a controversial zoning practice that could change how the U.S. regulates drilling, fishing and other maritime activities.
By Jim Tankersley, Tribune Washington Bureau
July 19, 2010
Reporting from Washington
President Obama on Monday is set to create a national stewardship policy for America's oceans and Great Lakes, including a type of zoning that could dramatically rebalance the way government regulates offshore drilling, fishing and other marine activities.
The policy would not create new regulations or immediately alter drilling plans or fisheries management. But White House documents and senior administration officials suggest it would strengthen conservation and ecosystem protection.
The initiative culminates more than a year of work by a federal Ocean Policy Task Force, which Obama established last year. After the task force releases its final recommendations, the president is expected to sign an executive order directing federal agencies to adopt and implement them.
Calling the BP oil spill ravaging the Gulf of Mexico a "stark reminder of how vulnerable our marine environments are," the recommendations center on creating a National Ocean Council to coordinate regulation of oceans and the Great Lakes, and on a principle of "ecosystem-based management" for marine areas.
The council would include top federal scientists and officials from a variety of agencies, including national security experts, environmental regulators and managers of ocean commerce.
The recommendations embrace a controversial practice called marine spatial planning, a zoning process of sorts that seeks to manage waters in the way some cities manage factories and strip malls. The process could result in confining activities such as drilling, shipping and conservation to areas the planners deem best-suited to each use.
Nine regional groups — consisting of state, federal and tribal officials — would draft plans for conservation and use of ocean resources that would have to be approved by the National Ocean Council. Federal agencies have agreed to abide by the plans.
If the Great Lakes regional body designated certain lake areas for offshore wind farms, for example, the Interior Department would agree to approve wind farms only within those areas.
The same would be true for any new offshore drilling projects. Currently, Interior officials develop drilling plans under a public comment process within their department.
In Southern California, the heavy focus on "ecosystem-based management" could cause the U.S. Navy to retool its fleet deployment, with an eye on how its operations affect water quality or whales.
The recommendations do not specify their effect on offshore drilling. Administration officials said the new policy would not prejudge or conflict with future findings of the bipartisan commission Obama had charged with investigating the oil gusher.
But the administration says coordinated, stewardship-heavy ocean management is likely to "really change" practices in nearly every marine activity, drilling included. The final task force report predicts that the changes would help restore fish populations, protect human health and "rationally allow" for ocean uses such as energy production.
"This sets the nation on a path toward much more comprehensive planning to both conservation and sustainable use of [ocean] resources," said a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the policy had not been officially announced.
The first draft of the policy, released in September, drew heavy criticism from some quarters, including industry and recreational anglers concerned that sport fishing might be restricted or banned.
After a deluge of criticism and meetings with fishing and boating groups, the administration modified the recommendations to emphasize the importance of fishing and ocean recreation, calling them "critical to the economic, social and cultural fabric of our country."
The recommendations do not include curbs on recreational fishing. But the mere prospect of marine spatial planning has drawn skepticism from ocean users.
Oil and gas officials are concerned too. They have repeatedly urged the administration not to adopt any planning process that could restrict offshore drilling.
Last fall, for example, a representative of the American Petroleum Institute testified at a task force field hearing, "The oil and natural gas industry's presence in the Gulf [of Mexico] has successfully coexisted with other ocean uses like tourism, fishing, the U.S. military and shipping for many years, demonstrating that the current system of governance works well."
The new plan would emphasize nine areas under the broad banner of marine stewardship and conservation, including improved scientific research and mapping; helping coastal communities adapt to climate change and ocean acidification, particularly in the Arctic; and enhancing water quality on land to boost ocean water quality.
jtankersley@latimes.com
Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Timeslatimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-ocean-20100719,0,1686762.story... more
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Despite evidence that transgenes (from species other than the "engineered" species) in genetically modified (GM) plants can persist in the soil, little research has been done to determine the extent of such contamination. This is an important issue because environmental contamination by transgenes "hazardous implications for environmental health, including human safety," according to Canadian scientists who recently tested various soil-dwelling animals for the transgene (responsible for resistance to the herbicide glyphosate) present in GM Roundup Ready® corn.
They collected the animals in May, August, and October (macroarthropods and nematodes) or in May and August (microarthropods and earthworms) from a field of Round-up Ready® corn.
The transgene was present in all types of animals on all collection dates, with the exception of nematodes collected in August. About 81% of nematodes collected in October tested positive for the transgene.
More than one-third of microarthropods (thrips, collembolans, and mites) tested positive. And slightly more than 10% of macroarthropods (mostly various insects) and earthworms tested positive.
Concentrations of the transgene tended to decrease in nematodes and earthworms and to increase in arthropods during the growing season. Levels of the transgene in the soil (free of plant tissues) were usually considerably lower than levels in the animals. The scientists who conducted this experiment rather matter-of-factly note: "Whether the presence of transgenes in the soil food web presents a risk for soil animals is not known."
We admit to being quite astounded by this statement, which appears to indicate that GM crops are being used far and wide without a clear understanding of their effects on the environment!
The bottom line is that (for the first time after years of commercial cropping of GM plants) there is "evidence for large concentrations of transgenic DNA in animals from the food web associated with RoundUp Ready® corn.
This indicates that the transgene does not significantly degrade within the food web.
Further, the guts of these animals may provide opportunity for genetic transformation into native soil bacteria." And that last "opportunity" might lead to movement of transgenes into non-GM plants and ultimately pose risks to human health.
It could very well be the case that the commercialization of GM crops will produce animals containing genes that could do great harm to humanity. A perhaps enormously problematic can of worms (and bugs), indeed!
Reference: Miranda M. Hart (Dept. of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, CANADA N1G 2W1), et al., "Detection of Transgenic cp4 epsps Genes in the Soil Food Web," Agronomy for Sustainable Development 29(4), October/December 2009, 497-501. (EDP Sciences, 875 Massachusetts Ave., 7th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139.)Despite evidence that transgenes (from species other than the "engineered"... more
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Today I heard a statement I had just voiced to a dear friend. "There is nothing more comforting than cuddling a Baby, or Small Child in your Arms while they Sleep!"
Many of us may not own up to this, but we do have children to fulfill our own Selfish Needs. Ofcourse Pro-Creation is just one of them. You need Heirs to carry own the empires that you attempt to establish while you live, someone for your namesake, and so forth. But I believe there is so much more.
They can be the best Tranquilizers, and the worst "Nerve Wreckers", one can imagine. So we enjoy these sweet gentle Creatures...and then they awaken! They too can be very demanding and self consumed. So I guess we savor the moments when they're young, and just wait till they older and ..."Drive Us Crazy!"Today I heard a statement I had just voiced to a dear friend. "There is nothing... more
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Why not?! They are often more knowledgeable, they have earned it, paid the price, and gotten older. The other stuff is usually geared toward younger audiences.. Having their own network, they can focus on related issues, pertinent to them. Like Health Care, Entertainment in genres, of Interest to them. Music, that will not burst the eardrum, or offend. Beauty Pproducts, for the aging, Religion, because usually it is more important to the elderly, and other issues, such as Social Security, Insurance, so forth....Now things could get to be a bit boring, so it should be a well planned program format. Often Seniors are afraid to be themselves, because they fear redicule, by their younger counterparts, as well as family members.and friends. So let's define Seniors...I take some offense to 55 year olds being called Seniors....almost. However, we don't want folks to miss out on certain Benifits.
Definitions: Seniors, I believe are those past a ceratin age (55+)
Elderly, are those past a certain age, and may be more likely to
rely on others for their welbeing, and safe keeping. Some folks
reach these stages earlier than others, so it just depends.
By the way...we will allow youger people to partake, and participate on this network, just as they do our elite Seniors. The difference is, Senoiors will be in control. We will not discriminate!!
Having said that, I have a great idea, for a project of this nature....("Not Quite Over The Hill Gang").....Vintage Entertainment Network....Tune in Soon..
(Don't have my glases, have to guess at spelling....Oh, Oooh!, must be Growing Old or becoming a Senior ?)Why not?! They are often more knowledgeable, they have earned it, paid the price, and... more
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Bacteria found in people's spit does not vary much around the world, a surprising finding that could provide insights into how diet and cultural factors affect human health, researchers said on Thursday.Bacteria found in people's spit does not vary much around the world, a surprising... more
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Scientists cause normal human skin cells into cells that produce insulin, perhaps opening new avenues of research that could one day lead to a cure for diabetes.Scientists cause normal human skin cells into cells that produce insulin, perhaps... more
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sth146
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added this
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3 years ago
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"Scientists are discovering that sleep is far more critical to human health than previously believed. Sleep deprivation has been linked to problems such as diabetes and heart disease ...."
Lesley Stahl reports."Scientists are discovering that sleep is far more critical to human health than... more
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Melissa Etheridge - I Need To Wake Up - Don't You ever forget, My Spirit will always be around you and supporting you!
http://www.climatecrisis.net/Melissa Etheridge - I Need To Wake Up - Don't You ever forget, My Spirit will... more
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Warning: ***Please control your sound volume, because these beep signals are very high in amplitude! Imagine have to hear this stuff every day, several times a day! It is human created madness on display!
This is an example of High Acoustic Modular Frequency Shoot Performed every Day by SFMTA-Muni.
Our first exposure is with no question; SFMTA-Muni City of San Francisco Public Transportation. We are intent to report some of the intersections of Union Street going up Mason, Taylor, Jones and Leavenworth. If your question is why only these three intersections? This is the statistical example and evidencies that can be used in Court for a Law Suit against the Public Transportation, SFMTA-Muni. Here the truth! The body of evidence. No games, no lies, just the plain truth.
These are the acoustic polluters in San Francisco doing the same thing since 2001 when these horrific acoustic torture vehicles was introduced in the City.
Your next question: "Does Acoustic Torture and human rights violation is happening in the United States right now?"
You see, everyone in this planet need to know the dangers of letting people have power using a machine to acoustic abuse inhabitants; (humans). Please pass these news ahead as I am going to take all evening uploading videos of Today's Muni Acoustic Violations. Obs: All these videos can be used by an attorney to file a Law Suit against SFMTA-Muni; San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority-Muni.
We got to arrest these acoustic psychopaths. Not Yesterday, not Tomorrow, it must be done now, Today!
If you are an Environmental and Criminal Attorney on pro bono wishing to make a difference to change this cruel reality, please, contact me! We can plan the take. You actions will be a part of a movie we can show the whole world about the biggest human mistakes in history. Do it Today!Warning: ***Please control your sound volume, because these beep signals are very high... more
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On Earth Day!
Let us do something for us (humans) and the environment where we live in to stop pollution and turn ourselves to use better technology on energy conservation.
http://current.com/topics/88799997_2008_earth_dayOn Earth Day!
Let us do something for us (humans) and the environment where we... more
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The study of human anatomy and physiology.
Is not a question to say that I have never done it, but observing people through history I sense how many take their body for granted. Man and Women takes their bodies for granted when they move or do the simple daily tasks of living. Because we just do it we do not stop to think about how marvelous is to walk, to talk, to see, to hear, to smell, to taste and so forth. Just think about that for a moment here, and follow me into this conversation, that will takes us to learn and understand our body physiological function, making life happening every day. We get cut and our skin repair itself miraculously, next day or two, nothing, sometimes not even a scar left behind and we are ready to go. Think about this! The study of human anatomy and physiology.
Is not a question to say that I have never... more
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