Fine Particulate Matter Not As Dangerous As EPA Claims

Writing in his column for the Washington Times (7/20), JunkScience editor Steve Milloy argues that fine particulate matter, the pollutant that is often used by the EPA to justify regulations as its reduction is claimed to significantly improve premature mortality rates, is not as dangerous as the agency considers it to be. He addresses the scientific studies behind the EPA’s recommendations and criticizes their lack of transparency and accountability to opposing conclusions.

Opposition To Larger Health Warnings Grows In India

The Deccan (IND) Herald (7/30) reports that opposition to health warnings covering 85% of tobacco packages in India has expanded from the tobacco industry to include 13 petitions from groups such as the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) and ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce Of India) while no major hospitals have supported the measure. The piece notes that 26 petitions support larger warnings, however, as the Lok Sabha Committee on Subordinate Legislation prepares to issue a report on the matter to the House.

Cancer Patients Who Do Rehabilitation Prior To Treatment May Recover More Quickly, Some Specialists Say

The Kaiser Health News (7/29, Andrews) reports that “cancer patients who do rehabilitation before they begin treatment may recover more quickly from surgery, chemotherapy or radiation, some cancer specialists say.” However, “insurance coverage for cancer ‘prehabilitation,’ as it’s called, can be spotty, especially if the aim is to prevent problems rather than treat existing ones.

The power of prayer..

Dr. Mark, a well-known cancer specialist, was once on his way to an important conference in another city where he was going to be granted an award in the field of medical research.

He was very excited to attend the conference and was desperate to reach as soon as possible. He had worked long and hard on his research and felt his efforts deserved the award he was about to obtain.

However, two hours after the plane took off, the plane made an emergency landing at the nearest airport due to some technical snag. Afraid, that he wouldn't make it in time for the conference, Dr. Mark immediately went to the reception and found that the next flight to the destination was after ten hours. The receptionist suggested him, to rent a car and drive himself down to the conference city which was only four hours away.

Having no other choice, he agreed to the idea despite his hatred for driving long distances.
Dr. Mark rented a car and started his journey. However, soon after he left, the weather suddenly changed and a heavy storm began. The pouring rain made it very difficult for him to see and he missed a turn he was supposed to take.

After two hours of driving, he was convinced he was lost. Driving in the heavy rain on a deserted road, feeling hungry and tired, he frantically began to look for any sign of civilization. After some time, he finally came across a small tattered house. Desperate, he got out of the car and knocked on the door. A beautiful lady opened the door. He explained the matter and asked her if he could use her telephone.
However, the lady told him that she doesn't have a phone or any electronic gadget but told the doctor to come inside and wait till the weather improved.
Hungry, wet and exhausted, the doctor accepted her kind offer and walked in. The lady gave him hot tea and something to eat. The lady told him that he can join her for prayer. But, Dr. Mark smiled and said that he believed in hard work only and told her to continue with her prayers.
Sitting on the table and sipping the tea, the doctor watched the woman in the dim light of candles as she prayed next to what appeared to be a small baby crib.

Every time she finished a prayer, she would start another one. Feeling that the woman might be in need of help, the doctor seized the opportunity to speak as soon as she finished her prayers. The doctor asked her what exactly she wanted from the God and enquired if she thought God will ever listen to her prayers. He further asked about the small child in the crib for whom she was apparently praying. The lady gave a sad smile and said that the child in the crib is her son who is suffering from a rare type of cancer and there is only one doctor Mark who can cure him but she doesn't have money to afford his fee and moreover Dr Mark lives in another far off town. She said that God has not answered her prayer so far but said that God will create some way out one day and added that she will not allow her fears to overcome her faith.

Stunned and speechless Dr Mark was in tears which were rolling down his cheeks. He whispered, God is great and recollected the sequence of events. ....there was malfunction in the plane, a thunderstorm hit, and he lost his way; and all of this happened because God did not just answer her prayer but also gave him a chance to come out of materialistic world and give some time to the poor hapless people who have nothing but rich prayers.

Always be prepared to do .......
What God has prepared you for

" There are No Accidents in Life"
"NOTHING HAPPENS BY CHANCE " "EVERY INCIDENT IS WELL PLANNED BY THE LORD"

Mouse Study: Just One Added Gene Needed To Turn Yersinia Pestis Bacterium Into A Killer

Mouse Study: Just One Added Gene Needed To Turn Yersinia Pestis Bacterium Into A Killer

The New York Times (7/7, D3, McNeil, Subscription Publication) reports that a genetic study involving mice and published last week in Nature Communications suggests that the Yersinia pestis bacterium, which was “responsible for the Black Death, probably caused small outbreaks of lung disease for many years before it evolved its better-known bubonic form.” The study also found that just “one added gene was needed to turn the Yersinia pestis bacterium into a killer, and only one tiny mutation in that gene was needed to give it two ways of spreading – by cough or by flea bite.”

Blood Test May Be Used To Detect Pancreatic Cancer In Its Early Stages

On NBC Nightly News (6/24, story 8, 1:35, Holt), NBC’s Anne Thompson reported that “a study in the journal Nature says a blood test may be the answer to identifying” pancreatic cancer “in its early stages.”

        The Houston Chronicle (6/25, Hawryluk) reports that researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center “found that the presence of” a particular “protein could distinguish with 100 percent accuracy whether patients had early stage pancreatic cancer or chronic pancreatitis, a major risk factor for the cancer.” The study indicated that “levels of the protein were markedly lower after surgical removal of a patient’s tumors.”

        On its website, NBC News (6/25, Carroll) reports that the “protein turns up in tiny virus-sized particles, called exosomes, which are excreted by all of the body’s cell.” This protein, however, “turns up in exosomes only when there is cancer, so its presence could be an early, and testable, marker for the disease.”

        The Los Angeles Times (6/25, Healy) “Science Now” blog reports that “the finding ‘offers the possibility for early detection of pancreatic cancer and help in designing potential curative surgical options,’ the authors...wrote.” HealthDay (6/25, Norton) also covers the story.

Women Exposed To Higher Levels Of DDT In Utero May Face Higher Risk Of Breast Cancer Later In Life

TIME (6/17, Worland) reports that research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism indicated that “women who had been exposed to higher levels of the pesticide DDT while in utero face increased risk of breast cancer later in life than those who were exposed to lower levels.”

        On its website, NBC News (6/17, Fox, Silverman) reports that investigators “studied blood taken from women during more than 20,000 pregnancies from 1959 through 1967.” These women “gave birth to 9,300 daughters during that time.”

        The Washington Post (6/17, Cha) “To Your Health” blog reports that the investigators “found that elevated levels of DDT in the mother’s blood were associated with” nearly “a four-fold increase in her daughter’s risk of breast cancer and that this was independent of the mother’s history of breast cancer.” The researchers “also determined that those with higher levels of exposure were diagnosed with more advanced breast cancer.” Approximately “83 percent of those who got breast cancer had estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer and were more likely to develop HER2-positive breast cancer.”

        On its website, Fox News (6/17, Cappon) reports that the “54-year study from the Endocrine Society is the first to directly link breast cancer risk to in utero exposure to the chemical pesticide DDT.”