Alternative News

Breakthrough process turns skin cells into protective brain cells

"Researchers explained that a new process allows them to take common skin cells and engineer them to morph into myelinating brain cells that help protect the nervous system and keep it function properly. In diseases like multiple sclerosis, the myelin layer of cells that coat nerves gets destroyed, and scientists have worked for years trying to figure out how to make it regenerate. Now, it looks like researchers at Ohio’s Case Western Reserve University have figured out how to do just that in rats, and they’re aiming to replicate their results with human cells next." Continue reading →

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FDA often has slow and secretive response to flawed drug research

"The Food and Drug Administration left medicines on the market for years after discovering they were approved based on fraudulent studies by Cetero Research, which did testing for drug companies worldwide. Turns out that wasn’t an anomaly: The agency’s slow, secretive response in the Cetero case mirrors how it handled an earlier instance of scientific misconduct at another contract research organization, MDS Pharma Services. Just as in the Cetero case, the agency declined to make public a list of the 217 generic drugs, both on the shelves and awaiting approval, that it said could be affected by MDS’ potentially faulty research." Continue reading →

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FDA secretly retests 100 different drugs after testing company admits its work was all fraudulent

"Pamidi bluntly acknowledged that much of the lab’s work was fraudulent, Stone said. 'You got us,' Stone recalled him saying. Based partly on records in the file boxes, the FDA eventually concluded that the lab’s violations were so 'egregious' and of such a 'pervasive nature' that studies conducted there between April 2005 and August 2009 might be worthless. The health threat was potentially serious: About 100 drugs, including sophisticated chemotherapy compounds and addictive prescription painkillers, had been approved for sale in the United States at least in part on the strength of Cetero Houston’s tainted tests." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFDA secretly retests 100 different drugs after testing company admits its work was all fraudulent

NASA taps 3-D printer firm for ‘Star Trek’-style food replicator

"U.S. space agency NASA has tapped 3-D printer firm Systems & Materials Research Corporation (SMRC) to create the first-ever 'Star Trek'-style food replicator using 3-D printing technology. According to Quartz, NASA gave the company a six month, $125,000 grant contract to focus on developing 3-D printers that use cartridges full of carbohydrates, protein powders and oils that can be combined in layers to produce food. Grocery stores could be gradually transformed to ultra-cheap cartridge retailers while non-nutrient edible products are phased out by market forces." Continue reading →

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Company develops new fiber-reinforced wood, concrete ink for 3D printing

"Emerging Objects has developed a wealth of new materials, such as paper (made from recycled newsprint) as well as a printable salt material. The company has also developed a cement polymer that can be reinforced with fiber, which means the objects can be stronger than standard concrete. Some other materials used for printing are nylon — so you can 3D-print your dog some new bones, presumably — acrylic, and wood (which is made from hard and soft recycled wood) which can also be fiber-reinforced in order to provide it with extra strength." Continue reading →

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‘Campaign to Stop Killer Robots’ calling for ban on ‘fully autonomous weapons’

"The idea of autonomous killer robots may seem like the stuff of science fiction, but human rights groups are already preparing for what appears to be the future of weaponry. The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, a coalition of international groups, is preparing for a global summit in Geneva Switzerland on Wednesday, May 29 that will review a U.N. report on these types of weapons that was released earlier this week. The Campaign hopes to convince nations to sign on to an international ban on autonomous weapons." Continue reading →

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Fort Hood shooting suspect paid $278,000 by Pentagon while in jail

"In a response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the station, the Defense Department confirmed that Nidal Hasan has continued to receive his usual salary while awaiting trial for an attack killing 13 service members and wounding 32 others due to a clause in the Military Code of Justice preventing his salary from being suspended unless he is proven guilty. Jury selection for Hasan’s trial is scheduled for May 29, with testimony set to begin on July 1. At the same time, the station reported that the Army has refused to classify the victims’ injuries as 'combat-related,' denying them wartime benefits accorded to service members and combat-related pay." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFort Hood shooting suspect paid $278,000 by Pentagon while in jail

Mob Steals $100,000 Worth Of Jewelry From Woman On Chicago’s Mag Mile

"A 69-year-old woman was confronted on the Magnificent Mile (Rahmaland's answer to NYC's Fifth Avenue) by a mob of young men on Wednesday, who proceeded to take $100,000 worth of jewelry she was wearing, reports CBS Chicago. A Chicago police source said the woman from the Rahmaland suburb of Homewood Flossmoor was accosted by 10 to 12 men while walking in the 700 block of North Michigan around noon in front of Saks Fifth Avenue. They threatened to beat her if she didn’t give them her purse and jewelry. She took off her jewelry, valued at around $100,000, and handed it to them." Continue reading →

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Soros To Germany: Introduce Eurobonds or Hit The Bricks

"George Soros made an assertion aimed at the heart of the euro crisis: Germany should either agree to introduce 'Eurobonds' – which would mutualize the public debts of all of the euro zone member states – or step out of the way and leave the euro, so that the remaining member states could move forward with debt mutualization." Continue reading →

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Yes, Soros Sold Off Gold (But Then Bought Gold Miners)

"The mood on metals has soured and thus one is left with two options: Expect more of the same as gold pursues another leg down or fight the trend, presumably under an assumption that it has run its course. Soros seems to have made up his mind. And in doing so has surprised us. With Soros it's probably a case of watching what he does, not what he says – as the article points out, he loves to mislead the public by giving voice to one opinion while investing in an entirely different way. Also, Soros is about as big an insider as there is. If anyone understands the near-term future of metals prices it might be him. What exactly does he know?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYes, Soros Sold Off Gold (But Then Bought Gold Miners)