Food and Drug Administration does a double-take on bisphenol A

Nanotechnology may pose health risks

Darkfrog submitted, created time 4 weeks 16 hours (www.nytimes.com)

When radium was first discovered, no one thought it was dangerous. People painted it onto the hands of clocks to make them glow in the dark. Shoe stores used to have X-ray machines that people could use to see the bones in their feet. Roofers used to install asbestos shingles. Now, nanotechnology are the next big thing, and new research from Scotland is suggesting that carbon nanotubes may be as dangerous as asbestos.

1 comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: nanotechnology nanotubules risk factors side effects toxicology

Pollutants in the womb can trigger cancers in adult mice

sea-maid submitted, created time 4 weeks 1 day (www.sciencenews.org)

Mouse moms exposed late in pregnancy to heavy doses of a carcinogen gave birth to pups that inevitably developed lymphomas and lung cancers, a new study shows. The malignancies generally didn’t show up until the offspring reached the human equivalent of adulthood. The good news: Breast milk from carcinogen-treated moms posed little added risk.

This demonstration “that very short early-life exposures can have major consequences is very important,” observes toxicologist Linda S. Birnbaum of the Environmental Protection Agency in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

In 2006, David E

1 comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: carcinogens toxicology pollution reproduction fetuses pregnancy cancer Pollutants

Health fads and marketing: Harmless, useless or reckless?

sea-maid submitted, created time 3 months 3 weeks (www.sciencebase.com)

This article describes a material called indium sulfate. It is vaunted at NaturalHealthConsult.com as a “rare trace mineral that supports several hormonal systems in the body. Indium may strongly elevate immune activity and reduce the severity and duration of a myriad of human conditions.” The site also claims that studies were performed on it by a Dr. Schroeder, who "figured out how to remove lead from gasoline."

The article points out that while Dr. Henry A. Schroeder did study lead toxicity, there is no natural lead in gasoline. Lead was an added anti-knocking agent

1 comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: toxicology toxicity poisons fraud marketing fads indium sulfate indium

Adoptive transfer of T(reg) depleted autologous T cells in advanced renal cell carcinoma

Immunology submitted, created time 1 year 1 month (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

PURPOSE: CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T (T(reg)) cells are present in increased numbers in patients with advanced cancer and CD25(+) T cell depletion potentiates tumour immunity in animal models. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and safety of adoptive transfer of CD25(+) depleted autologous T cells in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma and to examine resulting changes in lymphocyte subsets. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Six patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma underwent leukapheresis followed by conditioning chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide and fludarabine

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: T reg cell cancer toxicology renal cell carcinoma (RCC) human renal cell carcinoma (RCC)

Planting RNA on the Farm

wugongliang submitted, created time 1 year 2 months (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

Researchers have hit upon a new way to stop the pesky critters that destroy crops: They've genetically engineered plants to express insect-killing RNA molecules. The new approach could pave the way for more targeted--and environmentally friendly--pest control.

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: toxicology RNA invasive species insects monarch butterflies environmentalism agriculture pesticides small RNA molecules

NYTimes article claims that Clean Air Act prevents crime

Darkfrog submitted, created time 1 year 2 months (www.nytimes.com)

We have yet another explanation for the drop in the American crime rate in the mid-1990's: This article cites a study proposing that lead causes brain damage of a sort that makes children less intelligent and more impulsive, that this makes the resulting teenagers more likely to commit crimes, and that the main source of this lead during the twentieth century was not paint but leaded gasoline.

The declining crime rate, she says, matches the declining average lead content in American blood, but with a twenty-year lag

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: crime United States poison toxicology lead heavy metals children parenting pediatrics politics economics human behavior legislation environmentalism air pollution pollution