C's Blog – March 2009 Archive (28)

Nanotechnology cargo transporters that penetrate plant cells

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have already been explored as drug carriers into mammalian cells. Compared to nanoparticles, CNTs have a larger inner volume which allows more drug molecules to be encapsulated, and this volume is more easily accessible because the end caps can be easily removed, and they have distinct inner and outer surfaces for functionalization (see Nanotechnology's 'magic bullet' for more details).

In… Continue

Added by C on March 27, 2009 at 3:24pm — No Comments

Deep Sea Floor Mining Is Subject of International Colloquium at WHOI

Scientists, policymakers, environmentalists, and industry representatives will gather next week at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to discuss the issue of mining precious metals from the seafloor. A public colloquium, which will feature keynote addresses from leading voices on the subject and a panel discussion, will be held on Thursday, April 2, from 2 to 5 p.m. in WHOI’s Redfield Auditorium,… Continue

Added by C on March 26, 2009 at 6:30pm — No Comments

The soils of war

The real agenda behind agricultural reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq

In this Briefing, we look at how the US’s agricultural reconstruction work in Afghanistan and Iraq not only gives easy entry to US agribusiness and pushes neoliberal policies, something that has always been a primary function of US development assistance, but is also an intrinsic part of the US military campaign in these countries and the surrounding regions. Seen together with the growing clout that… Continue

Added by C on March 26, 2009 at 1:45pm — No Comments

Geoengineering: New Problems, Old Politics

Jamais Cascio is a fellow of the IEET, and a professional futurist. He writes the popular blog Open the Future.

I’ve been writing about geoengineering since 2005, and have even published a short book on the subject (Hacking the Earth), looking primarily at the ethics and politics of the issue. The political… Continue

Added by C on March 25, 2009 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Cap and Trade in the West

Specific proposals that several Western states would implement to comply with a proposed cap-and-trade carbon emissions control pact would destroy jobs and erode income, according to a report co-released by the Beacon Hill Institute (BHI) and the Washington Policy Center (WPC).

Reviewing the three cap-and-trade recommendations -- that consider "narrow" and "broad" market… Continue

Added by C on March 25, 2009 at 12:30pm — No Comments

FDA Approves Symbyax(R) as First Medication for Treatment-Resistant Depression

New Indication is One of Three FDA Approvals Spanning Lilly Neuroscience Brands

INDIANAPOLIS, March 23, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new indication for Symbyax(R) (olanzapine and fluoxetine HCl capsules), Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced today. Symbyax is now the first drug approved by the FDA for the acute treatment of treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

"Living with… Continue

Added by C on March 23, 2009 at 8:02pm — No Comments

Gulf War veterans display abnormal brain response to specific chemicals

DALLAS — March 20, 2009 — A new study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers is the first to pinpoint damage inside the brains of veterans suffering from Gulf War syndrome — a finding that links the illness to chemical exposures and may lead to diagnostic tests and treatments.

Dr. Robert Haley, chief of… Continue

Added by C on March 22, 2009 at 10:19pm — No Comments

Saving Vaccines with SensoTech's Breakthrough in Vaccine Temperature Monitoring

Simi Valley, CA -- Every year, hundreds of thousands of doses of vaccines are thrown out due to poor refrigeration at clinics, hospitals and doctors' offices, according to the Center for Disease Control. The CDC states that improper storage is the most common cause for loss of vaccine potency and effectiveness.

But an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The solution is clear.

Finally, there is a practical and affordable solution to meet the temperature… Continue

Added by C on March 22, 2009 at 12:13pm — No Comments

NeuroVigil technology wants to attach its "iBrain" to your head while you sleep to detect abnormalities and disease—and perchance to detect your dreams

The finished iBrain will be wireless and will report data during the night to NeuroVigil’s data centers via one’s own laptop, via the internet, or perhaps via the device itself.

THE SOLUTION: TECHNOLOGY, INGENUITY, BRILLIANCE

The NeuroVigil technology comprises both patent-pending and proprietary elements that the company is developing for both product and service offerings.

The SPEARS… Continue

Added by C on March 22, 2009 at 12:00am — No Comments

UM Expert to Head U.S. EPA's Smart Growth Division

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland's John W. Frece is taking his years of "smart growth" expertise and experience to the Obama Administration to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Smart Growth division.

Frece just stepped down as associate director of the University of Maryland's National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education. This week he took the reins as director of the EPA's Development,… Continue

Added by C on March 20, 2009 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Who Owns the Organic Food Industry?

The latest update of major corporate ownership and involvement in the organic food sector is now out. The chart graphically focuses on the organic brands with ties to the top 25 food processors in North America. You can view a full-size version of the latest chart by clicking here.

Dr. Phil Howard, an Assistant Professor at Michigan State, is responsible for the creation and updating of the organic food… Continue

Added by C on March 20, 2009 at 3:55pm — No Comments

U.S.-Brazilian Research Team to Tackle Deadly Intestinal Diseases with Genetically Enhanced Goats' Milk

Scientists in Brazil and at the University of California, Davis, are teaming up to develop a herd of genetically modified dairy goats, whose milk is expected to protect against the types of diarrheal diseases that each year claim the lives of more than 2 million children around the world.

The team plans to have a milk-producing herd of these goats established in Brazil within two years and hopes to begin human… Continue

Added by C on March 19, 2009 at 11:30pm — No Comments

Chloramine foes head to the state Supreme Court

by LARA BRENCKLE Of The Patriot-News

Tuesday March 17, 2009, 2:32 PM

The battle to keep chloramine out of the West Shore's water supply has reached the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

In a motion filed with the court Monday, attorney Susan Pickford asks that the issues dismissed by the Commonwealth Court -- including whether there were violations of due process… Continue

Added by C on March 18, 2009 at 10:50pm — No Comments

Senate Bill 560 to protect traditional seeds stalls again.

Advocates to keep pushing for measure that holds makers of genetically modified seeds liable for cross-pollination

By Staci Matlock | The New Mexican

3/15/2009

A bill designed to protect farmers from liability if their fields are cross-pollinated by patented, genetically modified seeds isn't going anywhere in this year's… Continue

Added by C on March 18, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Update: 59 Additional Scientists Join Senate Report...More Than 700 International Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Global Warming Claims

Outpouring of Skeptical Scientists Continues as 59 Scientists Added to Senate Report

‘The science has, quite simply, gone awry’

Link to Introduction of Report

Link to Full Printable… Continue

Added by C on March 17, 2009 at 4:20pm — No Comments

"Carbon Tax" H.R. 1337: America's Energy Security Trust Fund Act of 2009

HR 1337 IH

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 1337

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the United States domestic energy supply.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 5, 2009

Mr. LARSON of Connecticut (for himself, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. HOLT, Mr. WU, and Mr. MORAN of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to… Continue

Added by C on March 16, 2009 at 8:36pm — 1 Comment

Gore Would Have Been No Different on Iraq than Bush.

An Al Gore presidency would have acted on Iraq the same way the Bush administration did, says Dalhousie University professor Frank Harvey.

With the second Bush presidency now over, academics and armchair scholars alike are looking back at the presidential decisions of the past eight years.

Frank Harvey is no exception.

With his latest paper for the… Continue

Added by C on March 14, 2009 at 12:00pm — No Comments

K-State researchers help Epitopix license the United States' first E. coli O157 vaccine for cattle

MANHATTAN -- Studies by veterinary researchers at Kansas State University, with collaboration from Epitopix LLC, have resulted in the United States' first vaccine against E. coli O157 in beef cattle.

"Researchers have done so much to focus on the post-harvest food safety aspect, whether it's E. coli or salmonella," said Dan Thomson of K-State's… Continue

Added by C on March 14, 2009 at 11:27am — No Comments

Children's Bath Products Contaminated with Formaldehyde, 1,4-Dioxane

Chemicals Not Listed on Product Labels Due to Weak Regulatory Standards

Washington − Despite marketing claims like “gentle” and “pure,” dozens of top-selling children’s bath products are contaminated with the cancer-causing chemicals formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, according to product test results released today by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. The chemicals were not disclosed on product labels because contaminants are exempt from labeling laws.

This study is the… Continue

Added by C on March 12, 2009 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Sulfuryl Fluoride gas in the atmosphere

A gas used for fumigation has the potential to contribute significantly to future greenhouse warming, but because its production has not yet reached high levels there is still time to nip this potential contributor in the bud, according to an international team of researchers.

Scientists at MIT, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San… Continue

Added by C on March 11, 2009 at 2:00pm — No Comments