TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
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| Greenpeace wants Facebook center off coal fuel By ARTHUR MAX 2010-09-01T20:43:10ZAMSTERDAM (AP) -- Greenpeace said about 500,000 Facebook users have urged the world's largest online social network to abandon plans to buy electricity from a coal-based energy company for its new data center in the U.S.... hosted.ap.org |
Kenyan government warns public of Miracle Mineral Solutions danger | Martin Robbins As a result of skeptic bloggers, Kenyans are now being warned about the man treating sick people with "industrial bleach"A few days ago I wrote about Jim Humble and his product Miracle Mineral Solutions, described by the FDA as "industrial bleach" ("The man who encourages the sick and dying to drink industrial bleach"). MMS was brought to wider attention by the work of 15-year-old Rhys Morgan, and its use in the developing world to treat patients with cancer, Aids and malaria was investigated by the blogger 'Noodlemaz'. Since then I'm thrilled to report that journalists in Kenya have picked up the story, exposing Humble and his dangerous "drug" in The Daily Nation, a top newspaper in the region ("Malaria 'drug' endangers Kenyan lives"):"The lives of thousands of Kenyans could be in danger from an untested and unregistered malaria drug recently exposed as industrial bleach."Reports on Wednesday in the UK's Guardian newspaper said Kenyans were among about 100,000 malaria patients treated with the Miracle Mineral Supplement in several African countries, including Uganda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Malawi."Journalists at the Nation brought the matter to the attention of the Health Ministry, who have now warned Kenyans against using the product:"On Thursday, the head of the malaria control division in the Health ministry, Dr Elizabeth Juma, said sodium chlorite was bleach and should not be used as medicine."Sadly, it turns out that the product is still being sold in the country, with the St James Ematsayi Clinic in Kakamega a major distribution hub:"Bishop Javan Ommani, in charge of the Christian mission, confirmed having the product. 'We still have a lot of stocks and can send you as much as you want,' he said."So there is much work to be done, and I plan to chase up the Health Ministry and local authorities where possible in the near future. Still, Rhys, Noodlemaz and skeptic bloggers who helped to dig out the truth about Jim Humble and his "miracle cure" should be immensely proud. Thanks to one inquisitive schoolboy in Wales, health authorities in Africa have been alerted to a real menace in their country. It's a powerful demonstration of what citizen journalism can achieve.Update:The Nation has followed up its mid-week reporting with an editorial in the Sunday paper. It throws more attention on the activities of the Kakamega-based church at the heart of distribution in Kenya, who claim to have treated more than 10,000 Kenyans since 2004. The paper suggests that the product hasn't been registered with officials in Nairobi (a process which requires data from clinical trials), making the treatment technically illegal. It goes on to criticise medical regulatory authorities in the country for perceived impotence in the face of dodgy medicines:"... most puzzling is why the government is so impotent when it comes to taking action against people who break the law. The only thing the medical regulatory authorities have done is to issue regular threats of legal action, which almost always go unheeded. With this kind of inept policing, it is little wonder that the country is a haven for fake, substandard, counterfeit and even demonstrably dangerous medicines."It's a subject I'll be returning to soon.Martin Robbinsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Congress backs Obama plan on NASA's future By JIM ABRAMS 2010-09-30T03:50:36ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress approved a blueprint for NASA's future Wednesday that extends the life of the space shuttle program for a year while backing President Barack Obama's intent to use commercial carriers to lift humans into near-Earth space.... hosted.ap.org |
Chile miners rescue: stress and anxiety present new ordeal for men Doctors fear for the men's well-being above ground after their prolonged near-death experience undergroundWith the most obvious ordeal behind them, a fresh one begins.The rescued Chilean miners will have regular medical checks for the next six months to nurse them back to health and guide them through a difficult psychological period.Doctors are most concerned about stress-related illnesses in the coming weeks. The tough culture in the industry will help some miners cope, but psychologists warn of a flipside that means they may be less inclined to ask for help when they need it. Some are expected to suffer flashbacks, anxiety and other clear symptoms of post-traumatic stress.Survivors of near-death experiences, particularly those who endure precarious conditions as prolonged as the men have, face other troubles as they readjust to normal life and feel the burden of becoming publicly known figures overnight.Dr Peter Collett, an Oxford-based psychologist, said the jubilant miners will soon come down from the high of their rescue. "What they don't realise is that if they thought it was hell down there, it's going to be nothing compared with what they are going to experience."This will overshadow everything else that has ever happened to them and everything that happens in the future. Events like this recalibrate people and give them a new perspective on life. They will feel like different people and it is critical that they are helped to understand the feelings and experiences that are coming."The men emerged from the rescue capsule one by one, wearing dark glasses to protect their eyes against the sunlight. They were helped through an inflatable tunnel to an ambulance for the short ride to a triage station where they began 48 hours of compulsory medical checks.Doctors awaiting their arrival on the surface had detailed medical assessments ready for each of the 33 miners and were prepared to treat ailments from knee sprains and dental disease to lung infections brought on by the warm, moist air and vitamin D deficiency due to the lack of sunlight. Each miner was handed glucose pills for energy while nurses stood by with sedatives to treat those overcome by anxiety.The poor air quality in the mine – not helped by their spirits being bolstered with supplies of cigarettes – put the miners at risk of depressed immune systems, partially collapsed lungs and asthma from inhaling mould and dust. The warm, damp conditions were ideal for ringworm, athlete's foot and other fungal infections to spread. For the first 17 days of their ordeal the men were unable to brush their teeth and some developed gum disease.Andres Llarena, the lead physician for the rescue, said the health of the miners was "way above average, not what we expected". About the only surprise in their health was the men's colour, he said. "They are very pale. In medicine when you see paleness you associate with something not good, but here it was just because they had no sun." Describing the 12 to 15 minute ascent that each miner endured, Llarena said it had caused them anxiety. "It is a rough ride," he added.The first few to be rescued were in good shape but some of those rescued later were more frail. Mario Gómez, at 63, the oldest of the men, suffers from silicosis and immediately dropped to his knees to pray, his yellow hardhat still on his head, once helped out of the capsule.At the very start of the emergency, Kristian Jahn, a Chilean official, gathered a team of 23 local psychologists and built a ring of support around each miner's family in an attempt to remove the uncertainty about the men's safety and treat the families as victims too. They were briefed daily and given information before it was released to the press.Meanwhile the men were sent medicine, clothes and games through a 700-metre borehole. A modified telephone line was set up for them to talk to rescuers and psychologists.Ten of the miners were given treatment for diabetes, high blood pressure and infections. One miner, Yonni Barrios, who had been on a first aid course, was asked to administer vaccines and medicines.At the request of the Chilean minister of health, Nasa dispatched a team of two doctors, a psychologist and an engineer to aid the rescue effort. They offered help on how to extract the men and the design of the capsule, and drew up a strict diet for the miners to ensure they were healthy enough to endure the rescue.The miners were given tape measures and told to keep their waistlines below 90cm so they would fit in the rescue capsule. In the days before they were brought up, the men were ordered to follow a tough exercise regime and took aspirin and saltwater supplements to lower their risk of blood clots and fainting during the ascent. With one day to go, they were fed potato crisps to make them thirsty, after doctors worried they may suffer from dehydration. Each put on compression socks – used to prevent thrombosis – hours before climbing into the capsule.The trip to the surface was not straightforward. Inside the capsule, the miners strapped on an oxygen mask to prevent them becoming nauseous, panicking or fainting as the capsule spun around.Rescuers installed a video camera and two-way radio link to watch and talk to the men each step of the way, while doctors monitored their vital signs via sensors strapped to their belts. Those miners coming up after sundown wore extra jumpers to cope with the shift from stifling underground heat to the frigid surface."It's not the case that they are out and their problems are over," Dr Collett said. "For two months, they have lived in their imaginations, followed a routine and their focus has been the group. But that will change, the group will disappear and they will face the complications of their real lives. They will be under enormous pressure. These men are going to become iconic figures from this point on."ChilePsychologyIan Sampleguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Inefficiency Hurts U.S. In Ranking of Health Researchers have concluded that the inefficiency of the health care system is to blame for the United States’ ranking of 49th in life expectancy. feeds.nytimes.com |