STEPHAN A. SCHWARTZ, Columnist - Explore - The Journal of Science and Healing
Stephan: Citation: Schwartz S. The Vagina Battles and National Wellness. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing. 8:3:154-157, May 2012
As I write this, I am witnessing something I would not have thought possible. The central discussion of the Republican primaries is not jobs, or war, or foreign affairs, or even the economy. It is contraception. Can it be possible that in the second decade of the 21st century we are debating once again whether contraception should be legal and available to all women? We can and we are.
You can get the flavor from the words of Rick Santorum: ‘One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about before, is I think the dangers of contraception in country.
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Stephan: This emerging technology has both great promise and a great shadow. Either way it is coming; it is up to us to decide how it will be used -- to heal or to monitor and surveil. The toxicity question is also unclear as this report describes. The growing trend is to manipulate life forms at the most foundational level possible.
In addition to its specifics this report also illustrates the growing dichotomy in healthcare. A very high end of dazzling sophistication; and, a great base of individuals who have little or no healthcare at all.
SOURCE: Nature Nanotechnology search and more info website
A pioneering study to gauge the toxicity of quantum dots in primates has found the tiny crystals to be safe over a one-year period, a hopeful outcome for doctors and scientists seeking new ways to battle diseases like cancer through nanomedicine.
The research, which will appear on May 20 in Nature Nanotechnology online, is likely the first to test the safety of quantum dots in primates.
In the study, scientists found that four rhesus monkeys injected with cadmium-selenide quantum dots remained in normal health over 90 days. Blood and biochemical markers stayed in typical ranges, and major organs developed no abnormalities. The animals didn’t lose weight.
Two monkeys observed for an additional year also showed no signs of illness.
Quantum dots are tiny luminescent crystals that glow brightly in different colors. Medical researchers are eyeing the crystals for use in image-guided surgery, light-activated therapies and sensitive diagnostic tests. Cadmium selenide quantum dots are among the most studied, with potential applications not only in medicine, but as components of solar cells, quantum computers, light-emitting diodes and more.
The new toxicity study — completed by the University at Buffalo, the Chinese PLA General Hospital, China’s ChangChun University of Science and Technology, and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University — […]
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ANDREW CURRY, - The New York Times
Stephan: Another dogma falls. For the past half century the idea that the first Americans were tied to the Clovis Model was dogma for archaeology. A few archaeologists and others, and I was amongst them, argued that Clovis Model was wrong. My view has always been that modern humans were on the American continent much earlier, and they didn't all come over the landbridge, or in a single incursion. I wrote a book in 1978 arguing this. Time and research has proven this to be true, as this report makes clear.
The story of our past is so much for complex and interesting than we have previously understood. Our modern form ancestors were smart, highly adaptive, and close observers. They developed observational sciences, and were as curious and adventurous as we are today. They loved beauty, and went to great lengths to produce art. It is always important to keep that in mind when reading about the past, particularly the deep past.
When and how did the first people arrive in the Americas?
For many decades, archaeologists have agreed on an explanation known as the Clovis model. The theory holds that about 13,500 years ago, bands of big-game hunters in Asia followed their prey across an exposed ribbon of land linking Siberia and Alaska and found themselves on a vast, unexplored continent. The route back was later blocked by rising sea levels that swamped the land bridge. Those pioneers were the first Americans.
The theory is based largely on the discovery in 1929 of distinctive stone tools, including sophisticated spear points, near Clovis, N.M. The same kinds of spear points were later identified at sites across North America. After radiocarbon dating was developed in 1949, scholars found that the age of these ‘Clovis sites
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EMILY P. WALKER, Washington Correspondent - MedPage Today
Stephan: Today's issue is the day for the demise of old dogmas. The idea that fast food is cheaper is a myth, as this report states.
WASHINGTON — It doesn’t cost any more to eat healthy food than it does to eat junk food, a government study found, casting doubt on the popular belief that many people can’t afford healthful foods.
The study, released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service, found that foods like beans, carrots, milk, and yogurt are actually less expensive than ice cream sandwiches, cinnamon buns, and soda.
One reason that many people assume junk food is more affordable is because many studies that compare the cost of unhealthy foods with healthy ones use cost-per-calorie as a measurement.
By this metric, vegetables and fruit are relatively more expensive ways to consume ‘food energy’ (i.e., calories) because they don’t contain many calories, whereas less healthy foods (also called ‘moderation foods’), which tend to be high in saturated fat and sugar, are a cheaper way to consume a lot of calories.
For their study, the USDA researchers looked at calorie content but also compared the prices of more than 4,000 healthy foods and moderation foods based on price by weight and portion size.
The researchers used dietary recommendations from the federal government’s choosemyplate.gov website and identified healthy foods as those that contain at least one […]
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B. E. WILSON, - AlterNet (U.S.)
Stephan: The issue of the Theocratic Right accumulating more and more influence in our culture really is an important trend. I read this as the story of a trend so taboo it is hardly discussed. I see this as a failure or deliberate self-censorship on the part of corporate media. And, of course, it is yet another commentary on the implosion of the Holy See.
Back in June 2009, Talk to Action contributor Frank Cocozzelli wrote a story titled CBS’s Go To (Rightwing) Catholic Guy-about Thomas D. Williams, the far-right Catholic spokesperson who has just announced (as covered in the NYT and the Catholic News Agency), that he is leaving public ministry after admitting to fathering a child out of wedlock.
From early 2008 into late 2009, Father Williams, author of such works of religious moralism as Knowing Right From Wrong (2008, Thomas Nelson, Inc.), made multiple appearances on CBS with Katie Kouric, Jeff Glor, and Maggie Rodriguez, on the Early Show. As Cocozzelli described,
‘PhotobucketThe go to guy at CBS News for all-things Catholic is one Father Thomas D. Williams. Never heard of him? Well, if you watch The Morning Show’s Maggie Rodriguez or the CBS Evening News’s Katie Couric you may very well see Fr. Williams appear live via satellite from Vatican City. But ‘the Tiffany Network
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