Science

Can fracking cause bigger, more frequent earthquakes?

"The most striking indication of human-induced earthquakes is provided by the graph below, which shows the cumulative number of earthquakes in the central and eastern US that were greater than or equal to magnitude 3.0 on the Richter scale. The clear increase from 2005 coincides with the rapid increase of shale gas wells and associated increased, deep waste-water injection. Between 2005 and 2012, the shale gas industry in the US grew by 45 percent each year. Three reports have been published this month in Science that add to our limited but growing data on the causal link between fluid injections and earthquakes." Continue reading →

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Medical Marijuana Achieves ‘Complete Remission’ Of Crohn’s Disease With No Side Effects

"Crohn's disease, one of several inflammatory bowel diseases, achieved 'complete remission' in nearly half the subjects of one study that were exposed to smoking medical marijuana on a regular basis. Published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the study examined the effects of consistent marijuana use on Crohn's patients who suffered from severe cases of the disease. The results of the 21-subject study point toward the drug's anti-inflammatory properties as being responsible for quieting symptoms in many patients, and even reaching total remission in others." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMedical Marijuana Achieves ‘Complete Remission’ Of Crohn’s Disease With No Side Effects

Leaked memo reveals big pharma’s strategy to combat publishing of drug trial results

"Drugs companies publish only a fraction of their results and keep much of the information to themselves, but regulators want to ban the practice. If companies published all of their clinical trials data, independent scientists could reanalyse their results and check companies’ claims about the safety and efficacy of drugs. Under proposals being thrashed out in Europe, drugs companies would be compelled to release all of their data, including results that show drugs do not work or cause dangerous side-effects. The latest strategy shows how patient groups – many of which receive some or all of their funding from drugs companies – have been brought into the battle." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLeaked memo reveals big pharma’s strategy to combat publishing of drug trial results

New evidence gold on Earth created by ancient collision of dead stars in outer space

"About a decade ago, a team from Europe using supercomputers suggested that gold, platinum and other heavy metals could be formed when two exotic stars — neutron stars — crash and merge. Neutron stars are essentially stellar relics — collapsed cores of massive stars. Now telescopes have detected such an explosion, and the observation bolsters the notion that gold in our jewelry was made in such rare and violent collisions long before the birth of the solar system about 4½ billion years ago. People 'walk around with a little tiny piece of the universe,' said lead researcher Edo Berger of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew evidence gold on Earth created by ancient collision of dead stars in outer space

Medical research on animals often biased, scientists warn

"Researchers examined 160 previously published meta-analyses of 1,411 animal studies on potential treatments for multiple sclerosis, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and spinal cord injury, all done on more than 4,000 animals. Just eight showed evidence of strong, statistically significant associations using evidence from more than 500 animals. Only two studies seemed to lead to 'convincing' data in randomized controlled trials in humans, it said. The rest showed a range of problems, from poor study design, to small size, to an overarching tendency toward publishing only studies in which positive effects could be reported." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMedical research on animals often biased, scientists warn

British scientists use urine to charge cell phone

"British scientists on Tuesday reported they had harnessed the power of urine and were able to charge a mobile phone with enough electricity to send texts and surf the Internet. The team grew bacteria on carbon fibre anodes and placed them inside ceramic cylinders. The bacteria broke down chemicals in urine passed through the cylinders, building up a small amount of electrical charge which was stored on a capacitor." Continue reading →

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Simple vinegar test can prevent cervical cancer deaths

"A simple vinegar test could prevent 73,000 deaths from cervical cancer worldwide each year, the authors of a large-scale study of women in India said Sunday. A primary health care worker swabs the woman’s cervix with vinegar, which causes pre-cancerous tumors to turn white. The results are known a minute later when a bright light is used to visually inspect the cervix. The instantaneous results are a major advantage for women in rural areas who might otherwise have to travel for hours to see a doctor. The randomized study of 150,000 women over 15 years found that the vinegar test was able to reduce cervical cancer deaths by 31 percent." Continue reading →

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Urine ‘scent’ test can detect bladder cancer

"The new device, called ODOREADER, contains a sensor that responds to chemicals in gas emitted from urine, said the study in the US scientific journal PLoS ONE. It analyzes the gas and reports on the chemicals contained in urine, which scientists can then read on a computer screen in order to diagnose cancer of the bladder. 'We looked at 98 samples of urine to develop the device, and tested it on 24 patient samples known to have cancer and 74 samples that have urological symptoms, but no cancer,' said Probert. 'The device correctly assigned 100 percent of cancer patients.' The next step is to expand trials to a wider sample of patients." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUrine ‘scent’ test can detect bladder cancer

Gene therapy promises to wipe out rare childhood diseases

"A new type of gene therapy has shown promise in wiping out two rare childhood diseases, apparently without the risks of causing cancer, international researchers said Thursday. The method used an HIV virus vector and the patients’ own blood stem cells to deliver a corrected version of a faulty gene, said the report in the US journal Science. As a result, six children are doing well, 18 to 32 months after their operations, said lead scientist Luigi Naldini of the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy in Milan." Continue reading →

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