About the news...

Contemporary science coverage is very mixed, ranging from the good to the bad and on to the very ugly. Some of the items listed in this column are good, some junk, some introduce new perspectives on old claims or ideas and some are included solely for their general news value.

Periodically, the question arises as to how the novice can identify which of the myriad items featured here each week belong to which category. I could launch into a monologue on why relative risks < 3.0 don't distract me from my coffee and why small sample studies are less than exciting, I could point out that massive risk and miraculous cures are exceedingly rare and I could probably wax poetic on the value of skepticism. Better yet, I could point the novice to a valuable resource in the methodology of identifying junk science and protecting themselves there from, which is what I think I'll do: Click for more about Steve Milloy's book Junk Science Judo: Self-defense Against Health Scares and Scams

June 28, 2004

In case you thought it was about science: "Research Advance: At Pitt, Scientists Decode The Secret of Getting Grants" - "PITTSBURGH -- For David Kupfer, getting grant money from the National Institutes of Health isn't only about science. Marketing is also key to success.

So earlier this month, the head of the University of Pittsburgh's psychiatry department used an NIH-sponsored conference in Phoenix for a bit of self-promotion. Allotted five minutes to speak as co-chairman of a panel on bipolar disorder, he filled the time with a PowerPoint presentation pitching his own ideas on the subject -- which are central to a $4 million grant proposal now pending at NIH. In the audience: prominent psychiatrists who sit on the NIH review panel that will help decide whether Pitt gets the money.

The maneuver is one of many that Dr. Kupfer, 63 years old, says he uses to try to score hundreds of millions of dollars for Pitt in grants from Uncle Sam. A consummate schmoozer, he chats up NIH officials about hot new areas that might produce funding for his 240 faculty members and researchers. He requires young Pitt scientists to attend boot camps on grant writing. And he makes sure the scientists who win NIH money get onto the agency's review committees to further penetrate the grant-giving system at NIH, in Bethesda, Md. Researchers can get bonuses of as much as $50,000 a year based on how much NIH money they bring to Pitt." (The wall Street Journal) [Subscription required]

Long may EII reign: "Now Charles backs coffee cure for cancer" - "Angry doctors warn of dangers as Prince of Wales lends support to controversial alternative treatment. Health Editor Jo Revill reports" (The Observer)

"Fury at Blunkett's secret links to animal rights campaign" - "David Blunkett, who has been widely criticised as Home Secretary for refusing to take tough action against violent animal rights activists, is revealed today as a supporter of a leading anti-vivisection charity." (Sunday Telegraph)

"The New Apple a Day - Selling the Health Benefits of Enriched 'Phoods'" - "The introduction of iodine to Morton Salt in 1924 was instrumental in eradicating a dangerous thyroid condition called goiter from the U.S. population. It was also the first time a food company purposely added a medically beneficial ingredient to food to help market that product.

Eighty years later, the food industry is intensively researching all kinds of other healthful ingredients it hopes to use to help sell otherwise everyday foods.

Functional foods, or "phoods" as they're sometimes called to connote the intersection of food and pharmaceuticals, have been trickling into supermarkets over the past several years -- think of calcium-enhanced orange juice and cholesterol-lowering margarine, for example. But they met with mixed success because consumers didn't know or care enough about the new ingredients." (Washington Post)

"Public 'fear pesticide in foods'" - "Most people are worried about traces of pesticides in food, a poll by organic milk suppliers suggests." (BBC News Online)

Be careful what you wish for: "UK public wants a 'nanny state'" - "Three quarters of the population would like the government to prevent people from leading unhealthy lifestyles, a survey findings show. The King's Fund, an independent think tank, surveyed more than 1,000 people and found most favoured a "nanny state" controlling diet and public smoking. Responses varied with socio-economic background, with people from lower classes wanting cheaper food. Higher classes wanted action on smoking and alcohol." (BBC News Online)

"A hint of paranoia in every mouthful" - "The anorexia plight of tween idol Mary-Kate Olsen is as good an illustration as any that we have pathologised food to the point where it poses a serious risk to our children." (Miranda Devine, The Sun-Herald)

Another wild assertion rushed to print: "Mobile phones cut sperm up to 30pc" - "MEN who regularly carry a mobile phone could have their sperm count reduced by as much as 30 per cent. Those who place their phone near their groin, on a belt or in a pocket, are at greatest risk, new research has revealed. The findings, to be presented at an international conference this week, are the first to suggest male fertility could be affected by the radiation emitted by mobile phones, also long suspected of causing cancer." (The Sunday Times via The Australian)

"Nuclear cancer study is scrapped" - "A major study into the rates of cancer near a former nuclear power station has been called off, BBC News Online can exclusively reveal. The investigation into a possible cancer cluster at Bradwell, Essex, had the support of all sides in the radiation debate. Environmental scientists say it has been scrapped because of "strong evidence of a cluster." (BBC News Online)

Doubtful in the extreme. I'm not aware of a single such 'cluster' investigation that has discovered anything out of the ordinary.

"Largely poppycock..." - "So we have no summer weeds, have we? Here we go again - it's 'Get Modern Farmer Giles [aka Brian Aldridge]' time and yet another cause for collective angst over the supposed loss of heritage 'biodiversity': 'Experts fear for popular flowers' (BBC Online Science/Nature News, June 27):" (EnviroSpin Watch)

The weekly Whipple: "Climate devils in computer model details" - "BALTIMORE, June 25 -- Climate scientists are getting close to proving a link between human activity and global warming, but translating that knowledge into long-term forecasts remains as tricky as ever as the data become more complex, researchers report." (Dan Whipple, United Press International)

Hmm... the assertion is: "the connection between observed warming over the past half-century and greenhouse gases is 'always large and always positive.'" (GHGs cooking the planet!)

Let's see: "the connection between observed warming over the past half-century and transmitted hours of Sesame Street is 'always large and always positive.'" (Big Bird et al cause global warming! Uh-oh... no funds in enraging Cookie Monster fans - try something else);

"the connection between observed warming over the past half-century and amount written about environment is 'always large and always positive.'" (enviros cause global warming! Plausible but not PC);

"the connection between observed warming over the past half-century and greenhouse gases is actually really poor because the past half-century has seen rising GHGs and both increasing and decreasing global temperature" (Oops! That darn global cooling scare of the 1950s-1970s! Somehow that seems too inconvenient to include in current assertions.)

"ITMA²" - "When the distinguished panel nominated Michael Mann for the tile of Man of the Year in the most recent Numby awards, it chiefly took account of his contribution to lemming economics by providing the main evidence on which the global warming myth and Kyoto were built. His had been a dominant figure in each of the last four months of Number Watch for 2003, from ITMA to the award itself. Among his contributions to the propagation of wrong numbers was the application of linear algebra to a self evidently non-linear system, thereby wiping out the mediaeval warm period and the little ice age, so giving birth to the infamous hockey stick. He further distinguished himself by making strenuous efforts to prevent the publication of any papers critical of his own." (Number Watch)

Sigh... "Forecast for New York This Century: Hotter and Wetter" - "It will not happen the day after tomorrow. Nor a decade from now. But well before this century ends, global warming will make New York City and the metropolitan area that surrounds it a hotter, wetter and significantly less healthy place to live and work, according to a federally financed study released on Friday by a group of scientists at Columbia University. The three-year study by the New York Climate and Health Project is the most detailed look ever at the effects of global warming on New York. It makes no doomsday predictions, but it paints a worrisome portrait of New York's vulnerability to global climate change. As global temperatures rise by 2.4 to 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, a densely developed area like New York City will be hit even harder, the scientists said, because it has so few trees and so much heat-retaining concrete and asphalt." (New York Times)

Virtual temperature increases can only be a problem if your residence is also in the virtual realm of 'models' - if you reside in the real world then these 'forecasts' are quite irrelevant.

"Perth will die, says top scientist" - "Perth will become a ghost city within decades as rising global temperatures turn the Wheatbelt into a desert and drive species to the brink of extinction, a leading Australian scientist warns." (The West Australian)

This Tim Flannery, in case you've forgotten.

"Europe tackles freak weather risk" - "Rising temperatures are shrinking all but two of the main glaciers that give Europeans clean water, scientists say." (Alex Kirby, BBC News Online)

"You're getting warmer" - "The Day After Tomorrow was scary. Brian Fagan's account of how civilisations are at the mercy of the weather, The Long Summer, is altogether more frightening, says Robin McKie" (The Observer)

Cooler Heads Vol. VIII, No 13 (CHC)

"Underground carbon dioxide storage reduces emissions" - "A new technology that is one of the first to successfully store carbon dioxide underground may have huge implications for global warming and the oil industry, says a University of Alberta researcher. Dr. Ben Rostron is part of an extensive team working on the $28 million International Energy Agency Weyburn CO2 Monitoring and Storage Project--the largest of its kind--that has safely buried the greenhouse gas and reduced emissions from entering the atmosphere." (University of Alberta)

"Ivanov says Russia may ratify Kyoto pact soon-Kyodo" - "TOKYO, June 25 - Russian Security Council chief Igor Ivanov told visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi on Friday that Russia may soon ratify the Kyoto protocol on climate change, Kyodo news agency said. The fate of the 1997 U.N. pact aimed at curbing global warming hinges on Russia after a U.S. pullout in 2001. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in May that Moscow would move to ratify the 1997 deal after an agreement with the European Union on entry to the World Trade Organisation." (Reuters)

"GlobalWarming.org live chat June 30: Economic impact of McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act with Dr. Margo Thorning" - "Dr. Margo Thorning is senior vice president and chief economist with the American Council for Capital Formation and director of research for its public policy think tank. Thorning is an internationally recognized expert on tax, environmental, and competitiveness issues." (GlobalWarming.org)

"Energy disinformation" - "We have apparently used up to 40 percent of our oil supply. ... There is need for a countrywide thrift campaign looking to the saving of this essential resource." When U.S. Geological Survey Director George Otis Smith issued that warning in 1920, he probably was prompted by the jump in the crude oil price to $3.40 a barrel — a level not seen again for 50 years." (Alan Reynolds, The Washington Times)

"UN predicts rapid nuclear growth" - "The International Atomic Energy Agency has forecast that the use of nuclear energy will increase rapidly in the coming years. In a report released on the eve of a conference in Moscow marking 50 years of commercial nuclear power, the UN's nuclear agency says that more reactors are being built in Asia than anywhere else. Nuclear power now generates about one-sixth of the world's electricity. The IAEA believes that is likely to rise as concerns over fossil fuel use and global warming increase." (BBC News Online)

"Nuclear power 'can't stop climate change'" - "Nuclear power cannot solve global warming, the international body set up to promote atomic energy admits today. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which exists to spread the peaceful use of the atom, reveals in a new report that it could not grow fast enough over the next decades to slow climate change - even under the most favourable circumstances. The report - published to celebrate yesterday's 50th anniversary of nuclear power - contradicts a recent surge of support for the atom as the answer to global warming." (Independent on Sunday)

Well, they've got one thing right - humanity can't 'solve' global warming. But then, we can't knowingly 'control' the climate at all.

"Low-key cars have a clean-air secret" - "Imagine cars so clean that their tailpipe emissions contain less pollution than the air around some California freeways. They're not hybrids, the media darlings of the environmentally correct. Rather, they're clean air's best-kept secret: 31 familiar gas-burning 2004 models that have met a strict new California pollution standard. The Honda Accord, Ford Focus, BMW 325i and Volkswagen Jetta are among the ``PZEVs,'' which stands for ``partial zero-emission vehicles.'' (Mercury News)

"Jetting Around More Responsibly" - "Budget airlines have made it easier for people to take to the skies, but on the downside frequent air travel pollutes the environment. A German initiative "Atmosfair" aims to encourage passengers to restore the balance.

The idea is simple: those who fly will make a contribution to finance an environmental project in a developing country. The idea occurred to Germany's environmental minister, Jürgen Trittin, when he attended the United Nations' Conference on Environment and Development in 2002. "We were trying to think of a way we could credibly attend the conference, given the fact that the transport of our delegation would result in 1280 tons of greenhouse gas," said the minister. Of course, that would have to be made-up elsewhere, says Trittin, so he and and his ministry financed a row of ecologically sensitive homes in a township.

The concept has now been adopted on a larger scale by Atmosfair, which is run by Klaus Töpfer, the director of the United Nations' environmental program. Töpfer doubts every flight guest will voluntarily contribute his or her share, but he hopes the project will create a greater awareness." (Deutsche Welle)

"China Pays a Price for Cheaper Oil" - "HONG KONG, June 23 - With toxic lead finally disappearing from most of the world's gasoline, a new air pollution fight is emerging around the globe over how much sulfur to allow in fuel. Rapidly developing countries like China, India, Thailand, Mexico and Brazil, where ownership and use of cars and trucks is soaring, are on the front lines.

High levels of sulfur contamination occur naturally in some crude oil, especially from the Mideast and Russia. This "sour" oil is ordinarily harder to sell and fetches a lower price than "sweet" low-sulfur crude, because it is more difficult to refine and because environmental laws in the United States and Europe already impose tight ceilings on sulfur in fuel, limits that are set to grow still tighter over the next decade.

But this year, oil producers are pumping and selling all the oil they can to meet surging demand, and the extra oil they are able to bring to market is, to a great extent, high in sulfur. With sweet crude commanding the highest prices, many refineries in China and elsewhere are buying cheaper sour crude, and turning it into fuels that may contain many times more sulfur than the gasoline and diesel sold in the United States or Europe." (New York Times)

"Committee: spread sludge closer to rivers" - "CONCORD, N.H. -- A group of New Hampshire lawmakers, environmentalists and government officials says sludge should be allowed closer to rivers. The group recently issued a 47-page report that also recommends allowing a dozen farmers who have used sludge as fertilizer since 1998 to continue that practice without meeting the state's current strict rules about riverfront setbacks. The group also says sludge should be allowed to be dressed on crops without mixing it into the soil." (Associated Press)

"Food defect could make thousands mentally ill" - "Factory farming has denied us chemicals in our diet that are vital to brain development, warn scientists" (Robin McKie, The Observer)

Dough! "Genetic engineering has too many unknowns, opponents say" - "Supporters of a ban on genetically modified crops and animals believe there are too many risks of unalterably corrupting the gene pool by altering plants and animals that have evolved and been bread for millions of years." (Chico Enterprise-Record)

Someone's not using their loaf in the above (sorry!) - perhaps they believe early hominids did the Jack & the Beanstalk thing and ground the bones of animals to make their bread? Even if they meant 'bred' they'd be out by a couple of orders of magnitude at least in the timescale of human-directed selective breeding. Certainly these half-baked opponents of biotechnology have demonstrated there's much they don't know.

"Study Refutes Greenpeace Claims on GM Milk" - "German scientists have refuted a study made public by Greenpeace, which claims genetically altered feed particles can make their way into milk. A German agricultural research institute took pains to explain to a worried public that components from genetically altered livestock feed are not carried over into a cow's milk, but environmentalists at the activist group Greenpeace are nonetheless saying more studies should be carried out. A study done in 2001 was recently brought to light by Greenpeace, which claims the test showed that particles of genetically altered feed had made its way into cows' milk." (Deutsche Welle)

"Wake up and smell the genetically modified coffee" - "As is often the case, being on the leading edge of technology is reason enough to expect that not everyone will embrace your views and vision. Such is the case with American agriculture and its adoption of biotechnology." (The Morning Sun)

"More California Counties to Vote on Banning Genetically Engineered Crops" - "In March, Mendocino County made national headlines when its residents voted to ban the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), becoming the first county in the nation to prohibit genetically engineered livestock and produce. Since then, other counties in Northern California and the Central Coast have been moving in that direction. Activist groups in Butte, Humboldt, Marin and San Luis Obispo (home to the Edna Valley, Arroyo Grande and Paso Robles appellations) counties have all gathered the requisite number of signatures to place GMO-ban initiatives on their local November ballots." (Wine Spectator)

"India intends to usher New Green Revolution with GM crops" - "London: India intends to use Genetically Modified (GM) crops to usher in a new Green Revolution in the country, Kapil Sibal, Science and Technology Minister said today. 'We favour GM crops. This is our Government's policy and we will encourage GM,' Sibal said in an interview to BBC Hindi today." (Taja News)

June 25, 2004

"Have a Coke and a Waistline" - "Let's 'grab a Coke and a smile' this week as Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee demanded proof that vending machines lead to childhood obesity before permitting the state to restrict the machines in schools." (Steven Milloy, FoxNews.com)

Imagine that... "Overweight women overestimate physical activity" - "NEW YORK - Young women, especially those who are overweight, tend to overestimate their levels of physical activity, according to a new study." (Reuters Health)

"Getting the Skinny on Fat" - "In writing a wrap-up of the TIME-ABC News Summit on Obesity, I thought it might be best to take a week or so to review my notes and process all that went on. Perhaps a theme might emerge that would enable me to weave the anecdotes, quotes, and outrageous public policy proposals bandied about in Williamsburg that would have been amusing if it weren't for the fact that they have steadfast supporters in statehouses, regulatory agencies, and up on Capitol Hill. What follows are a series of stories, observations, and comments from various aspects of the conference that didn't fit neatly into my other dispatches. Perhaps the best way to do this is to simply run off a list of themes, quotes, and stories that emerged while I was there." (Radley Balko, TCS)

Oh dear... "Tobacco control style tactics needed to fight obesity epidemic" - "Global strategies similar to those used against the tobacco industry are needed to tackle the obesity epidemic, argue researchers in this week's BMJ." (BMJ-British Medical Journal)

"Autism Report Completely Unfounded and Wholly Irresponsible" - "The June 22nd CBS evening news item ‘Vaccines Linked to Autism’ by Sharyl Attkisson was a journalistic atrocity. Where did she get her information?

Based on the degree of factual inaccuracy, the litany of unsupported claims, and the obvious reliance on anecdotal evidence over sound science, my bet would be from some alarmist group still looking to blame thimerosal, a mercury-derived vaccine preservative, for causing autism." (Aubrey Stimola, ACSH)

Psychotics full of Social irResponsibility are at it, again: "Women and kids should strictly limit fish: experts" - "NEW YORK - Children, pregnant women, and women who are planning to become pregnant should strictly limit their intake of fish and avoid some types altogether to avoid potentially harmful levels of mercury and PCBs, experts said on Thursday.

According to new guidelines released by the Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, women of reproductive age and children should never eat shark, swordfish, tilefish or king mackerel." (Reuters Health)

Even worse: "FSA releases warning over oily fish" - "Limits on how much oily fish people should be eating are due to be issued by the UK's food watchdog.

Fish of this type contains omega 3 fatty acids, which can help to prevent heart disease. But they are also at greater risk of containing dioxins and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), which have the potential to cause a wide range of health problems.

The FSA say there is no immediate harm from consuming these contaminants and that any negative effects would be outweighed by the health benefits of eating oily fish as part of a balanced diet.

Most people in the UK are still not eating enough white or oily fish." (Daily Telegraph) | Guidance on oily fish consumption (BBC News Online)

Despite demonstrated health benefit from consumption of these fish, knowing people in the UK do not consume sufficient quantities for a healthy diet and zero demonstrated harm from exposure to the trace amounts of allegedly worrisome compounds contained therein, UK's FSA  issues a 'warning' anyway. Sheesh!

At least Jeremy Lovell did a better job with: Eat More Oily Fish and Be Healthy, Say Food Experts (Reuters)

Meanwhile: "Mother's fish diet boost to baby" - "Children whose mothers eat fish regularly during pregnancy develop better language and communication skills, research suggests." (BBC News Online)

"Sometimes 'Natural' Can Be Harmful" - "We've said it before, and we'll keep saying it: The fact that a food or supplement is 'natural,' i.e., non-synthetic, doesn't necessarily mean that it is always safe. Such beliefs underlie at least some of the popularity of herbal supplements — the market for such products reached an estimated $20 billion plus last year, according to the Wall Street Journal. Unfortunately, along with the increasing popularity of these products comes the potential for increasing health risks." (Ruth Kava, ACSH)

Always good for a fright, back to the old 'endocrine disrupter' line: "Prof warns of environmental health hazards" - "Novelist Ogai Mori (1862-1922) took time out from his literary pursuits to get involved in building a sewage system in Tokyo to improve public hygiene. Now his great-grandson, Prof. Chisato Mori of Chiba University, aims to improve public health by sounding the alarm about environmental pollutants that disrupt human development." (Daily Yomiuri)

"Washington Works to Weaken European Chemicals Policy at WTO" - "WASHINGTON, DC, June 24, 2004 - The Bush administration has filed a formal comment with the World Trade Organization that is critical of Europe's proposed system to regulate industrial chemicals, commonly known as REACH.

The United States spelled out its concerns about the European Commission's Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restrictions of Chemicals (REACH) in a 59 point document submitted Monday to the World Trade Organization (WTO) committee on Technical Barriers to Trade.

A major U.S. concern involves the effect of REACH on transatlantic trade, because the regulations would apply to a majority of U.S. exports to the European Union - valued at over $150 billion in 2003. Among the key sectors affected would be textiles, pharmaceuticals, electronics and automobiles." (Environment News Service)

"More Americans now surviving cancer than In 1970s" - "ATLANTA - The number of Americans who live at least five years after a cancer diagnosis has risen sharply since the mid-1970s due to increased screening, improved medical treatment and overall higher life expectancy, federal health experts reported on Thursday. An estimated 64 percent of adults diagnosed with cancer between 1995 and 2000 could expect to be alive five years later, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute. The five-year survival rate was 50 percent for adults diagnosed between 1974 and 1976." (Reuters)

"Extinction's group theory" - "Cavemen may not have been such resourceful big-game hunters after all, writes James Woodford." (The Sydney Morning Herald)

For the latest in indoctrination: "Virtual island way to green life" - "A hi-tech attempt to stimulate the next generation to think and act green has been launched by two European groups." (Alex Kirby, BBC News Online)

"France, Britain in climate appeal" - "FRANCE and Britain made a joint appeal today for action against global warming, declaring that a recent string of extreme weather events had now confirmed climate change was underway." (AFP)

Perpetuating the myth: "Scientist Creates Global Warming Awareness" - "BALTIMORE - A NOAA scientist awarded a nearly $500,000 environmental prize on Wednesday for research that led to a ban on ozone-depleting refrigerants said the experience shows nations can work together to overcome global warming if science can show the need for change." (Associated Press)

"Heinz blamed for global warming" - "The Heinz corporation has been named in the United Nations as being a major contributor to global warming through its more than a century marketing of its range of baked beans." (TheSpoof.com)

"What is the Earth's 20th Century Temperature Trend?" - "The following important comments were made by Kary B. Mullis in his autobiography, "Dancing Naked in the Mind Field."

"Science appeared in the seventeenth century. Robert Boyle, who was a Christian and a friend of the English monarch Charles II, made a vacuum pump in the seventeenth century and showed that he could extinguish a candle by pumping air out of the jar wherein the candle was burning. According to Boyle, whatever was left in the jar after the candle went out constituted a vacuum. In the common vernacular, it meant that absolutely nothing was there. Whether God was in there or not was not something Boyle addressed. The Catholics seriously disagreed. But the candle went out. Boyle didn't care whether God was there or not because he couldn't measure God. The religious issue was not as interesting as the issue of what he could measure. That's when science started to take off. Computer modelers of ... the next thousand years of climate could take a lesson from Sir Robert Boyle and his Royal Society. If you can't actually measure something, or make an accurate prediction from a theory, and present it to a group of your fellows, be good enough not to disturb us about it." (Willie Soon, TCS)

"Research supports theory that ocean currents redistribute heat during warming & cooling" - "A paper published this week in the journal Science supports the hypothesis that heat transfer by ocean currents – rather than global heating or cooling – may have been responsible for the global temperature patterns associated with the abrupt climate changes seen in the North Atlantic during the past 80,000 years." (Georgia Institute of Technology Research News)

"E.P.A. Energy-Saving Spots Give Cars Short Shrift" - "DETROIT, June 24 - A new series of whimsical public service announcements from the Environmental Protection Agency are lampooning the notion that cars can be made more energy efficient while the ads encourage conservation at home." (New York Times)

"Government must address local fears if renewable targets stand a chance" - "The apparent gap between support of renewable energy and opposition to wind farms is a perplexing one for government and environmentalists alike. The drive to have 20% of UK energy derived from renewable sources by 2020 sits uncomfortably with the fact that only two in five wind turbine applications are given planning permissions." (Edie)

"Genetic blueprint of MRSA cracked" - "Scientists have hit back at hospital superbugs by cracking the genetic code of a common strain of MRSA. The strain chosen causes half of all UK outbreaks of MRSA. The researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute hope they will be able to use the code to find MRSA's weakness." (BBC News Online)

"Disease threatens choc production" - "World cocoa production could plummet if diseases ravaging South American crops spread to other major cocoa producing regions, UK scientists have warned. Tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs in Brazil as its cocoa industry struggles with the "witches' broom" and "frosty pod" infections. If the diseases reach plantations in West Africa the effects could be devastating, researchers claim." (BBC News Online)

"Want Amid Plenty - An Indian Paradox: Bumper Harvests And Rising Hunger" - "THIRUKANCHIPET, India -- In the 1960s, this country set out to prevent famine by boosting agricultural production. The push was so successful that wheat and rice stockpiles approached 60 million tons. By 2001, India had its own grain export business. But Murugesan Manangatti, a 29-year-old illiterate peasant, was still hungry. He had no land to grow crops and no steady income to buy food.

Last summer, an agricultural research foundation gave Mr. Manangatti some unusual advice: Drive a taxi. With the foundation's help, he and 15 members of this rural village received a loan to buy a three-wheeled, battery-powered vehicle. The taxi business earns up to $25 a day and Mr. Manangatti takes home a monthly salary of about $55. For the first time, he says, his family is regularly able to eat three nutritious meals a day.

The Thirukanchipet taxi is a fresh approach to solving a jarring paradox. The world is producing more food than ever before as countries such as India, China and Brazil emerge as forces in global agriculture. But at the same time, the number of the world's hungry is on the rise -- including in India -- after falling for decades. Despite its overflowing granaries, India has more hungry people than any other country, as many as 214 million according to United Nations estimates, or one-fifth of its population.

The paradox is propelling a shift in strategy among the world's hunger fighters. International agencies that once encouraged countries to solve starvation crises by growing more food are now tackling the more fundamental problem of rural poverty as well. The old development mantra -- produce more food, feed more people -- is giving way to a new call: Create more jobs, provide income to buy food." (Roger Thurow And Jay Solomon, The Wall Street Journal) [Subscription required]

Today's meaching: "GM food is heading for your fridge" - "It may well be dangerous - and it is about to enter our food chain" (Michael Meacher, The Guardian)

"Group Turns In Almost 7,000 Signatures For Anti-GMO Initiative" - "Although it only needed 4,400 signatures to qualify for the November ballot, Humboldt Green Genes committee members turned in almost 7,000 to the Humboldt County Elections Office Wednesday. Martha Devine, group co-chairwoman, said it was inspired by Measure H, a Mendocino County measure banning genetically modified organisms that passed in March. The purpose of the initiative, said Mike Gann, co-chairman of the group, is to protect the rights of people who do not want to eat genetically modified foods. Similar efforts in Sonoma, Butte, Marin and San Luis Obispo counties are under way, she said." (The Eureka Reporter)

June 24, 2004

Eek! Monster! Destroy the unnatural thing immediately! "Scientists discover decaf coffee bean" (The Guardian)

We must prevent this Frankenjava wreaking environmental havoc, spreading its genetic pollution and lowering plants' natural defences against predation - global food security and the entire natural food web is at risk! Call Greenpeas, Pals of the Planet, the Toil Association, call all the defenders of pp (proper plants, i.e., ones like what we're used to) and rally them to the cause! We must prevent the spread of Frankenbeans, the sons and daughters of Frankenjava, lest the world be decaffeinated! Caffeine-free Frankenjava will require massive increases in synthetic pesticide use, endangering the environment and human health while allowing multinational Big Decaf to seize control of coffee production! Help protect impoverished, seed-saving coffee growers everywhere (not to mention usually-wired computer users) - Stop Big Decaf now!

Donations for the (yet to be formed) SPOC (Society for the Preservation Of Caffeine) will be accepted shortly (Seattle could levy a dime-a-cup on all decaf served in commercial establishments to be paid directly to SPOC to support this important action) - watch this space!

Things to do: start a consumer campaign to extract promises from coffee chains, roasters and traders to boycott mutant beans - provisionally called the "No Frankenbeans in our cups" campaign; start catchy signature phrases - perhaps "Frankenbeans are hasbeans!" or "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Frankenjava's got to go!"; come up with sound bite health risks from Frankenbeans such as increased auto crashes with drivers falling asleep at the wheel, facial injuries as people collapse onto computer keyboards...

Say No! to this massive, uncontrolled experiment with the biosphere! No environmental risk assessment and no animal or human health trials have ever been conducted! Tell Big Decaf "Stay out of our cups!"

Feel free to offer suggestions here

"Written out of history!" - On Hill and Doll (Number Watch)

"Global sewage torrent harms young" - "The amount of raw sewage entering the river Ganges every minute is 1.1 million litres, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says. Its Atlas Of Children's Health And The Environment says large quantities of sewage are also flushed into rivers, lakes and oceans worldwide." (Alex Kirby, BBC News Online)

Symptom of a society with a lack of genuine problems? "'Can't cope culture' bill hits £2bn and rising" - "The cost of benefits paid to those claiming they have been disabled by stress, depression and anxiety has risen to more than £2 billion a year, prompting a warning by Conservatives of a burgeoning "can't cope culture". Analysis of Government spending on incapacity benefit for various forms of mental disorder suggests claims for stress and depression are soaring, leaving the taxpayer with a ballooning annual bill." (Daily Telegraph)

What is it with Western society? Freed of any real struggle to hunt and forage for sufficient nourishment we now subsidise (even donate to) organisations whose sole function is to invent scares pretending we're heading to heck in a hand basket. And in societies where it's virtually impossible to starve we are under such 'stress' we become non-functional? What an appalling bunch of wilting violets!

If it's all too much guys, I'm certain I can find any number of people in the third world with much simpler lifestyles who would be delighted to exchange places.

"Acrylamides Pose Little Risk, Panel Decides" - "WASHINGTON - Acrylamides, a family of chemicals recently found in cooked foods that is known to cause cancer in rats, pose little threat to the U.S. population, an expert panel reported on Wednesday. People do not eat enough of the chemicals in their daily diet to risk the genetic damage that can lead to cancer, the committee of experts in reproductive toxicology, birth defects and others areas reported. "Considering the low level of estimated human exposure to acrylamides derived from a variety of sources, the Expert Panel expressed negligible concern for adverse reproductive and developmental effects for exposures in the general population," the group's final report reads." (Reuters)

World Wide Font of nonsense continue their terror campaign: "83 per cent of Europeans concerned by chemical contamination" - "Gland, Switzerland/ Brussels, Belgium – Eighty three per cent of Europeans are concerned about the build up of chemicals in the bodies of people and wildlife, according to an opinion poll conducted by the global research firm, IPSOS, on behalf of WWF, and released today in Budapest at the opening of a World Health Organisation Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health." (Press Release)

"Common chemicals morphing into potential toxins in Arctic" - "Compounds used to protect carpets and fabrics may be travelling to remote regions of the planet and undergoing chemical reactions before building up in the food chain, says a new study from the University of Toronto." (University of Toronto)

"NASA scientists get global fix on food, wood & fiber use" - "NASA scientists working with the World Wildlife Fund and others have measured how much of Earth's plant life humans need for food, fiber, wood and fuel. The study identifies human impact on ecosystems." (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center--EOS Project Science Office)

"Dark days doomed dinosaurs, say Purdue scientists" - "By analyzing fossil records, a team of scientists including Purdue's Matthew Huber has found evidence that the Earth underwent a sudden cooling 65 million years ago that may have taken millennia to abate completely. The fossil rock samples show that tiny, cold-loving ocean organisms appeared suddenly in an ancient sea that had previously been very warm." (Purdue University)

"Saved by the storm?" - "Clouds formed by thunderstorms may help brake global warming. They're already challenging climate forecasts." (The Christian Science Monitor)

"States, Environmentalists File Brief in Global Warming Case" - "WASHINGTON, DC, June 23, 2004 – A coalition including 11 states and 14 environmental groups filed their brief Tuesday in a case challenging the Bush administration's decision not to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases - in particular carbon dioxide (CO2) - as pollutants under the Clean Air Act." (Environment News Service)

Appeasement never works: "Flare-up over Shell's 'double standards'" - "Shell's battered reputation took another pounding yesterday when Friends of the Earth and activists from around the world accused the Anglo-Dutch energy group of polluting communities, damaging wildlife and endangering human health. Tony Juniper, FoE's executive director, said Shell - a self-styled pioneer in sustainable development - had exaggerated its social and environmental performance in the same way as it had overstated its oil and gas reserves. The devastating critique, in the form of an alternative annual report, Beyond the Shine, condemns Shell for using double standards in rich and poor regions and making empty promises about making good the damage it has allegedly wrought." (The Guardian)

"Australia: Gone with the wind" - "Why one of Australia's prime sources of alternative energy has lost its puff. Lisa Mitchell reports." (The Age)

"One slip, and you’re dead…" - "The lethal toxins produced by cone snails are in hot demand for neuroscience research, and are being developed as potent drugs. Laura Nelson visits a would-be snail ‘farmer’, for whom milking time is fraught with danger." (NSU)

"Growing replacement teeth and dental tissues"- "The restoration of lost tooth tissue, whether from disease or trauma, represents a significant proportion of the daily routine for many practicing clinicians. The challenge and resource burden of restoring lost tooth tissue will be with us for many years to come." (International & American Association for Dental Research)

"Plant-made antibody targets hepatitis B virus" - "NEW YORK - Japanese scientists have successfully used genetically engineered cells from the tobacco plant to produce a human antibody that homes in on a molecule on the surface of the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Currently, treatment of HBV may include infusion of serum containing antibodies, called immunoglobulin, collected from blood donors. The new results demonstrate the feasibility of producing anti-hepatitis antibodies in plants "as an alternative to anti-HBV human immunoglobulins," Dr. Akira Yano from the National Institute of Public Health in Tokyo and colleagues write in the Journal of Medical Virology." (Reuters Health)

"Australia: Cutting family ties - GM carp breed males only" - "THE Murray-Darling Associations Albury office will play an integral role in the new daughterless carp program which aims to reduce numbers of the feral fish. The daughterless carp technology was developed by the CSIRO and aims to block genes critical for sexual differentiation so that only male off-spring are born. With fewer females it has been predicted the genetic technology will sharply reduce carp in the Murray-Darling Basin within 20 to 30 years of the release." (The Border Mail)

"Attackers fell Finland's only GM tree study" - "HELSINKI – Attackers have torn up 400 genetically modified birch trees in Finland, wrecking the nation's only research into the environmental impact of biotechnology on forests, officials said Wednesday. Police said they did not yet know who was behind the attack on the Punkaharju site in eastern Finland or whether protesters opposed to genetic modification were involved. The trees were chopped down or torn up by their roots over the weekend on the fenced but unguarded site." (Reuters)

"Genetically Modified Foods, the Debate Moves Ahead, Europe" - "The debate over genetically modified (GM) foods has been going on for some years now, with much of the discussion centered on whether or not these foods are safe to eat. Thanks to scientific research, improved understanding of the technology and new regulations, most parties involved in the GM debate now agree that the food and food ingredients derived from currently available genetically modified crops are not likely to present a risk for human health." (Medical News Today)

"Boost for India's battling biotech business" - "MUMBAI - Earlier this month, an agricultural biotechnology task force led by Professor M S Swaminathan, aka the "father of India's green revolution", mapped a path to end the rampant confusion, suspicion and controversy choking India's fledgling biotechnology industry." (Asia Times)

"West Africa to create database about biotechnology, GMOs" - "OUAGADOUGOU - West African leaders will create an easily accessible database to share information about biotechnology and the potential uses of genetically-modified organisms to boost farm production in the region. The database was one of a series of recommendations that emerged from a three-day conference on biotechnology in agriculture sponsored by the United States for the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that ended Wednesday in the Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou." (AFP)