Panich52
Panich52's JournalA US Government Agency Quietly Acknowledged That Marijuana May Help Fight Brain Tumors
Vice:
A US Government Agency Quietly Acknowledged That Marijuana May Help Fight Brain Tumors
Researchers have been studying the medical benefits of marijuana for years, but this month marks the first time the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a research group funded by the US government, has acknowledged that cannabis extracts may help kill certain cancer cells and reduce the size of others.
NIDA quietly revised a page on its website titled, "DrugFacts: Is Marijuana Medicine?" this month to state that, "Evidence from one cell culture study suggests that purified extracts from whole-plant marijuana can slow the growth of cancer cells from one of the most serious types of brain tumors."
The update acknowledges research published last November in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapies by scientists from St. George's, University of London. The researchers found that THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in weed, and cannabidiol, an extract, caused "dramatic reductions" in the growth of glioma tumors in mice. Glioma accounts for 80 percent of malignant brain tumors in humans.
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http://dpa.convio.net/site/R?i=wHss_05M3h3e0xe1WbDEVg
Floating nuclear power stations for the Arctic?
What could possibly go wrong?Alaska Dispatch
An Ontario company is proposing the idea of small floating nuclear stations to power mining sites and towns in the Arctic.
At a mining symposium last week in the Arctic city of Iqaluit in Nunavut, Dunedin Energy Systems suggested the idea to meet growing energy needs in the North.
Currently Arctic towns, cities and various mine sites are powered by diesel generators. These produce substantial pollution and with fuel costs rising along with energy demand, alternatives are needed.
The company noted that the Russian firm OKBM is building a so-called FNPP -- floating nuclear power plant. The Akademik Lomonosov will have two modified naval propulsion reactors producing a peak total of 70 megawatts of electricity or 300 megawatts of heat.
For comparison, the diesel plant at Agnico Eagle Mining Ltd.’s Meadowbank gold mine in Nunavut has a generating capacity of 26 megawatts, and the City of Iqaluit’s power plant has a capacity of about 12 MW, Lang said.
The Russian ship is expected to be delivered to the Siberian port of Pevek, a town of 4,000, in 2016.
Some 15 countries around the world have expressed interest in leasing a Russian FNPP, according to a website called Nuclear Threat Initiative.
More
http://www.adn.com/article/20150422/floating-nuclear-power-stations-arctic
Cancer fear prompts FDA to warn of common uterus procedure
Cancer fear prompts FDA to warn of common uterus procedure
FDA says risk of power morcellation, a technique used to treat painful fibroids in women, is much higher than thought
The Food and Drug Administration is warning women that a surgical procedure that tens of thousands of women undergo each year to eliminate growths in the uterus could inadvertently spread cancer to other parts of the body.
The agency is discouraging doctors from performing the procedure, which uses an electronic device to grind and shred uterine tissue so it can be removed through a small incision in the abdomen. Known as laparoscopic power morcellation, the technique is widely used to treat painful fibroids, either by removing the noncancerous growths themselves or the entire uterus.
Doctors have long recognized the risk of accidentally spreading cancer from undetected tumors, but FDA officials said Thursday the problem now appears far more common than thought. An FDA analysis estimates that 1 in 350 U.S. women who undergo fibroid procedures each year have a form of cancer called uterine sarcoma.
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http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/4/17/power-morcellationcancer.html
Friday FAQ: What is the smell of rain?
Friday FAQ
What is the smell of rain?
Apr 17, 2015
by EarthSky Voices in FAQs » Earth, Human World, Science Wire
Australia’s national science agency – the CSIRO – has come up with some pretty amazing inventions over the past 86 years of research, from polymer banknotes to insect repellent and the world-changing Wi-Fi. But we can also lay claim to something a little more esoteric – we actually invented a whole new word. And no, we’re not talking about one of these new-fangled internet words like “YOLO”, “selfie” or “totes”.
The word is “petrichor,” and it’s used to describe the distinct scent of rain in the air. Or, to be more precise, it’s the name of an oil that’s released from the Earth into the air before rain begins to fall.
This heady smell of oncoming wet weather is something most people are familiar with – in fact, some scientists now suggest that humans inherited an affection for the smell from ancestors who relied on rainy weather for their survival.
_b]Origins
Even the word itself has ancient origins. It’s derived from the Greek “petra” (stone) and “ichor” which, in Greek mythology, is the ethereal blood of the gods.
But the story behind its scientific discovery is a lesser known tale. So, how is it that we came to find this heavenly blood in the stone?
Nature of Argillaceous Odour might be a mouthful, but this was the name of the paper published in the Nature journal of March 7, 1964, by CSIRO scientists Isabel (Joy) Bear and Richard Thomas, that first described petrichor.
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http://earthsky.org/earth/whats-that-smell-in-the-air-when-its-about-to-rain?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=9ee7cc05c8-EarthSky_News&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-9ee7cc05c8-393525109
Disenfranchizing 40% of electorate is what weakening democratic process looks like.
Open primaries prevent the centralisation of party powerPOINT
Political Parties are able to wield considerable power, controlling their party members and representatives, particularly in Parliamentary political systems. Through use of patronage and the threat of sanctions such as deselection, party leaders are able to manipulate representatives to fulfil their own aims rather than those of constituents.[1]
By instituting Open Primaries, the focus of representatives shifts from the party leadership to the constituents whom prospective candidates hope to represent. Scrutiny over the representative’s conduct would be in the hands of the voters, with reselection in an Open Primary being contingent upon the member looking after the interests of their constituents, rather than the interest of the party as is the case in many countries that do not have Open Primary systems.[2] By using Open Primaries, elections once again becomes about representing the people as opposed to being a means to power as is the case under the status quo in countries that do not use it.
[1] Stone, Daniel, ‘Prop 14’s Winners and Losers’, Newsweek, 8 June 2010, http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/06/09/prop-14-s-winners-and-losers.html
[2] Triggs, Matthew, ‘Open primaries’, Adam Smith Institute, 16 September 2010, http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/politics-and-government/open-primaries
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Open primaries allow the electorate to express nuanced polling choices
POINT
Open Primaries allows for the electorate to make a considered choice between candidate and party, with other considerations beyond the partisan being up for consideration.
In safe districts, voters are given a choice between members of the same party, allowing for voters to effectively choose the next member based upon past record and views on big issues, allowing for the ideological cleavages within parties to brought under closer examination, with voters in the safe seat choosing the type of Conservatism/Liberalism/Socialism they prefer.[1]
This can help to provide choice even when one party is already assured of winning the seat, thus providing a degree of competition in the district, engaging voters in the electoral process.
[1] Skelton, George, ‘California open primaries? Give them a chance’, Los Angeles Times, 11 February 2010, http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/11/local/la-me-cap11-2010feb11
•••
These are 2 points from a pro-con site. The counterpoints were not strong enough to convince me. Only 2 parties control all levels of our gov't. These are increasingly polarized so that moderate voices, and officials who are more willing to compromise are locked out.
In the general election, a large percentage is forced to choose between candidates for whom they had no voice in selecting. If we are to truly be democratic, why should only powerful party machines be allowed to rule the process of choosing those whom will govern all?
This House believes that open primaries are the most effective method of selecting candidates for elections | idebate.org
http://www2.idebate.org/debatabase/debates/politics/house-believes-open-primaries-most-effective-method-selecting-candidates
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Demand the truth about fracking and earthquakes
Thirty years ago, an earthquake in Oklahoma was a pretty rare thing. Last year, the Sooner State had 585.
The increase coincides with expanded hydraulic
fracturing (fracking) to extract natural gas and the
deep earth disposal of wastewater used in those
operations -- not that you'd know that from
listening to Big Oil's lobbyists at the American
Petroleum Institute.
Communities like yours deserve the truth. Urge the American Petroleum Institute to acknowledge the link between fracking and increased seismic activity.
According to the nation's foremost experts on
earthquakes -- scientists at the US Geological Survey -- the number of magnitude 3 or greater
earthquakes in the eastern and central United
States has increased exponentially since 2009. That increase coincides with expanded wastewater injection activities that are a key part of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations to extract natural gas.
Places like Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Ohio, and
Colorado have never been known for their seismic
activity. Now these states experience regular
earthquakes. Most quakes are small, but scientists say that larger quakes in Raton Basin, Colorado, and Prague, Oklahoma were likely induced by fracking-related activities.
It's a connection that Big Oil flatly denies. In fact,
the oil and gas industry's main lobbying group, the American Petroleum Institute, says point blank on its website that "hydraulic fracturing does not cause earthquakes."
That's bad enough, but on at least one occasion Big Oil used its political connections in Oklahoma to put pressure on a scientist who had linked fracking to increased seismic activity. A seismologist whose office is attached to the University of Oklahoma was summoned by the school's president to meet with the head of one of Oklahoma's largest oil and gas companies not longbafter issuing a statement linking fracking to increased seismic activity in the state.
When science is denied and researchers are
intimidated, the American public is left in the dark about possible risks. And that threatens the safety of the communities where we live.
Please take a moment right now to sign this urgent petition to the head of the American Petroleum institute and let Big Oil's lobbyists know that America demands safety and transparency from our energy companies.
With Gratitude,
Chris B.
The Care2 Petitions Team
Take Action:
http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/ALghU/zqcp/cgXN8
NC legislators think back-alley abortions are just fine
Rachel Maddow just covered NC's new bill to ban UNC's world-class ob-gyn program from teaching doctors-in-training on how to perform abortions.
McElreft, a proponent, said it doesn't need taught -- doctors can 'pick it up on their own.'
The unmitigated ignorance in such a statement is obvious. That is, obvious to all who are fully aware of the link between abortion, reproductive choice and women's health.
The theocratic misogynists who push such unenlightened legislation do so at the expense of the safety of women and girls. They are putting their self-righteous moralizing ahead of lives.
Yet they have the gall to call themselves 'pro-life.'
Daily Cute: Playful Bear Juggles Bail of Hay
There is nothing more uplifting than a huge 200-pound grizzly bear playing with a bale of hay like a cat plays with a ball of yarn. If this grizzly bear is happy, we can all be a little happier today.
Solar eclipse pix from space
TODAY'S IMAGE
EarthSky
Solar eclipses caused by Earth
Don't miss these images of eclipses of the sun caused by Earth, taken by various spacecraft on the moon, orbiting the moon, or returning from the moon.
http://earthsky.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e56e7a92b1c5790f7343ef95a&id=471e3e3301&e=dc13e7b006
Venus and the zodiacal light in April 2015
EarthSky
Venus and the zodiacal light in April 2015
We all can see the dazzling planet Venus after sunset. After it gets really dark - if you're in the Northern Hemisphere - watch for the zodiacal light.
http://earthsky.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e56e7a92b1c5790f7343ef95a&id=6466364e5e&e=dc13e7b006
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