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1. A two-headed Olive Ridley turtle hatched on Nov. 20, 2005 in a turtle refuge at Ostional Beach. Thousands of female turtles arrive between July and November to lay their eggs. “The species could serve as an indicator of climatic changes and the affect of pesticides and agrochemicals on coastal and marine ecosystems,” said Carlos Drews, the WWF’s regional coordinator for marine turtles. Two-headed turtles, however, do occur naturally, said Sheryan Epperly, a sea turtle expert at the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service in Miami, Florida. Environmental News Network
2. From 2006 Britain will be the first country where every journey by every car will be monitored. A new national surveillance system will hold the records for at least two years.Using a network of cameras that can automatically read every passing number plate, the plan is to build a huge database of vehicle movements so that the police and security services can analyse any journey a driver has made over several years. www.news.independent.co.uk
3. Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters and it is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Don’t freeze your plastic bottles with water in them. this releases dioxins from the plastic. Don’t heat food in the microwave using plastic containers. The combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. TV dinners, soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in tempered glass. Paper isn’t bad but you don’t know what is in the paper. Dioxins are highly poisonous. They causes cancer, especially breast cancer.
4. Using a tiny silicon device, a team of scientists has successfully slowed down light to 1/300th of its ordinary speed. This device, called crystal waveguide, may help develop future computers using light instead of electricity for communications. These computers will use only a fraction of the energy of current machines. The device is the first to be manufactured with industrial material, and has the potential of being commercialized. www.india123.com
5. Researchers at the University of Michigan have treated liver cancer in mice with drug-carrying nanoparticles that lodged in the tumor cells’ folic acid receptors. Researchers at Rice University have used gold-coated particles that adhere to cells, in breast cancer tissue cultures then applied heat to the particles destroying the tumor while leaving surrounding tissues unharmed. www.wired.com
6. The FDA is considering approval of an inhaled insulin. This is already being used in Ecuador, but we may have to wait up to 3 years for approval. Patients breathe the powdered medicine using a special inhaler immediately before meals. The powder turns liquid and is absorbed into the lungs & filtered into the blood stream. Easier to use than shots, the medication is beneficial since blood sugar shoots up after eating. Reader’s Digest
7. Concerned by perceived abuses of Federal power during the Katrina crisis, New Hampshire state reps are reviewing a bill which would criminalize certain weapons seizures - even if the perpetrators are Federal officers. House Bill 1639-FN, prohibits the confiscation of lawfully owned and lawfully carried firearms during a state of emergency, making a felon of any law enforcement officer who attempts to seize such a firearm during a disaster. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Paul Hopfgarten www.freestateproject.org |
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