Sarah Knapton, Science Editor - The Telegraph (U.K.
Stephan: Something very important is going on in cancer research. It is summed up in this sentence, "Patients should be warned about the dangers of chemotherapy after research showed that cancer drugs are killing up to 50 percent of patients in some hospitals."
Citation of the study discussed in this article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(16)30383-7/fulltext
Patients should be warned about the dangers of chemotherapy after research showed that cancer drugs are killing up to 50 percent of patients in some hospitals. (emphasis added)
For the first time researchers looked at the numbers of cancer patients who died within 30 days of starting chemotherapy, which indicates that the medication is the cause of death, rather than the cancer.
The study by Public Health England and Cancer Research UK found that across England around 8.4 per cent of patients with lung cancer, and 2.4 per cent of breast cancer patients died within a month.
But in some hospitals the figure was far higher. In Milton Keynes the death rate for lung cancer treatment was 50.9 per cent, although it was based on a very small number of patients.
At Lancashire Teaching Hospitals the 30 day mortality rate was 28 per cent for palliative chemotherapy for lung cancer, which is given when a cure is not expected and treatment given to alleviate symptoms.
Deaths of lung cancer patients from chemotherapy were also far higher than the national average in Blackpool, Coventry, Derby, South Tyneside and […]
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Stephan: The other day I ran a story about how few people actually knew what the Bill of Rights says, or what it is about. It is actually far worse than that. Most Americans couldn't pass the test an immigrant has to pass in order to become a citizen. This has happened because we do not make teaching what used to be called civics a priority. As a result, we have a republic of people ignorant about the nature of their own government and, I think, this is by design. A large part of the professional political class wants a politically ignorant populace. They can be easily manipulated by emotion, because they lack any understanding of how the system works.
Why it matters: It suggests most Americans can’t live up to the standards we set for people applying to be U.S. citizens — and we set those standards because we expect Americans to be informed and engaged. Only four out of 10 Americans would have passed the test, and just 27% of those under age 45.
By the numbers: A few highlights from the survey, conducted for the foundation by Lincoln Park Strategies:
- People did relatively well on the most basic questions. Seven out of 10 knew that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and that Franklin Roosevelt was president during World War II.
- But only 43% knew that Woodrow Wilson was president during World War I (nearly one out of four thought it was Roosevelt), and only 56% knew which countries we fought in World War II.
- Fewer than a third could correctly name three of the original states.
- More than six out of 10 incorrectly thought the Constitution was written in 1776. (It wasn’t written until 1787.)
- Nearly four out of 10 thought Benjamin Franklin invented the light bulb.
Methodology: The survey was […]
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Stephan: A small group of corporations are trying to do something about climate change. Here's the list. Buy their products, just as you don't buy anything made by Exxon-Mobil or Bayer/Monsanto
- A new ranking of publiclytraded companies identifies which ones are making clean energy a priority, both through revenue and through socially responsible decision-making.
- The list, which is updated every six months, has been expanded to include new sectors, which means some surprise names came out on top of the list.
- While there is no index that has been created based on this list, you may want to keep these names in mind when evaluating your holdings.
You’re concerned about climate change. But chances are, you don’t know what’s really in your investment portfolio and whether your investments are helping or hurting the cause.
A new ranking is working to help change that.
As You Sow, a nonprofit foundation, has teamed up with Corporate Knights, a research and financial information products company, to rank 200 companies by how well they are making clean energy a priority.
That includes how much in revenue they receive through clean energy. It also screens […]
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Stephan: The middle Bronze Age Abrahamic thinking that dominates most government planning -- humans dominate the earth; the planet is ours to exploit as we will; every person must make their own way -- is literally destroying civilization. Here is one aspect of how that is happening.
Food waste
Credit: foodtank
A recent brief released by the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition addresses two huge contributors to poor diet—food loss and food waste. Poor diets have been linked to 20 percent of deaths globally according to the World Health Organization. Because of high levels of food loss and waste—especially of nutrient-rich, perishable foods—as many as three billion people are consuming low-quality diets that result in micronutrient malnutrition as well as rising levels of obesity. The Global Panel, an independent, international group of leaders from around the world, is committed to making safe, high-quality, healthy diets affordable and accessible to people around the world.
Food loss in the supply chain limits the availability of nutritious foods to consumers—as well as increases the costs of the produce that finally gets to market—creating significant public health risks. Reducing food waste—especially in retail establishments and consumers’ own homes—can also increase availability of nutritious foods. With a host of illnesses and diseases linked to poor diets, access to nutritious […]
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Arthur Neslen, - The Guardian (U.K.)
Stephan: I have been telling my readers for 10 years now that this insurance crisis was coming and to plan accordingly. Now the crisis is upon us. If you live in an area that is going to be heavily impacted by climate change, you need to begin thinking about your future. If you don't you may discover your real estate asset cannot be insured and suddenly has little value.
An aerial view of a neighbourhood destroyed by the 2018 wildfire in Paradise, California. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty
Insurers have warned that climate change could make cover for ordinary people unaffordable after the world’s largest reinsurance firm blamed global warming for $24bn (£18bn) of losses in the Californian wildfires.
Ernst Rauch, Munich Re’s chief climatologist, told the Guardian that the costs could soon be widely felt, with premium rises already under discussion with clients holding asset concentrations in vulnerable parts of the state.
“If the risk from wildfires, flooding, storms or hail is increasing then the only sustainable option we have is to adjust our risk prices accordingly. In the long run it might become a social issue,” he said after Munich Re published a report into climate change’s impact on wildfires. “Affordability is so critical [because] some people on low and average incomes in some regions will no longer be able to buy insurance.”
The lion’s share of California’s 20 worst forest blazes since the 1930s have occurred this millennium, in years characterised […]
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