"Environmental Health Perspectives." - Large human study links phthalates, BPA and thyroid hormone levels

University of Michigan,  July 11, 2011

http://ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=8473

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—A link between chemicals called phthalates and thyroid hormone levels was confirmed by the University of Michigan in the first large-scale and nationally representative study of phthalates and BPA in relation to thyroid function in humans.

The U-M School of Public Health study also reported suggestive findings consistent with a previously reported link between a chemical called bisphenol-A and thyroid hormone levels. BPA is best known for its use in certain plastic water bottles and in the linings of canned foods.

Researchers used publicly available data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to compare urine metabolites and serum thyroid measures from 1,346 adults and 329 adolescents. Generally speaking, greater concentrations of urinary phthalate metabolites and BPA were associated with greater impacts on serum thyroid measures, said John Meeker, assistant professor at U-M SPH and lead study author.

Specifically, researchers found an inverse relationship between urinary markers of exposure and thyroid hormone levels, meaning as urinary metabolite concentrations increased, serum levels of certain thyroid hormone levels decreased.

Phthalates and BPA are chemical compounds that appear in solvents, plasticizers and common household products. These latest results were consistent with findings from previous smaller studies by Meeker and others that suggested the relationship.

The current study showed the strongest relationship between thyroid disruption and DEHP, a phthalate commonly used as a plasticizer. Research has shown that the primary exposure to DEHP is through diet. Urine samples in the highest 20 percent of exposure to DEHP were associated with as much as a 10 percent decrease in certain thyroid hormones compared to urine samples at the lowest 20 percent of exposure.

"This seems like a subtle difference," Meeker said, "but if you think about the entire population being exposed at this level you'd see many more thyroid related effects in people."

Researchers looked at another phthalate called DBP but overall, didn't find a significant relationship between exposure and thyroid measures. DBP is also a plasticizer, and is also used in solvents and personal care products.

Thyroid hormones play an important role in many body functions, from reproduction to metabolism and energy balance.

While the study focused primarily on adults, these findings underscore the need for more research on adults, pregnant women, and children, Meeker said, because fetal and child development may be particularly vulnerable to disruptions in thyroid hormone levels associated with exposure to environmental chemicals.

Meeker pointed out that the study had limitations. Since urine and serum samples were collected at a single point in time, researchers couldn't conclude a cause-and-effect relationship; it would be better to follow people over time and collect several samples, especially since these chemicals metabolize quickly and one snapshot may not represent the true chemical exposure.

The group has several ongoing studies on the potential impacts of phthalate and BPA exposure on pregnancy outcomes and child development.

The paper appears on the recent edition of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.



"Mike Adams" - Burzynski documentary reveals true agenda of FDA and cancer industry to destroy cancer cures that really work

Mike Adams,

http://www.naturalnews.com/032998_Burzynski_cancer_cures.html

(NaturalNews) As I've written about many times before, the cancer industry with all of its research, campaigns, and fundraising activities is really nothing more than a giant, corrupt business venture. As crazy as it might sound to some, the point of the cancer industry is not really to cure cancer -- it is to keep raising money for the alleged, and never-ending, "search for the cure." And the hard-hitting documentary Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business exposes all this as director Eric Mercola tracks the 14-year battle of Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski -- the man responsible for creating the all-natural, non-toxic cancer cure featured in the film -- to protect his unique protocol from being stolen by the government and Big Pharma, and to defend his freedom to treat cancer patients with unconventional methods.

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"Neil Miller" - 7 reasons schools should NOT mandate vaccines

by Neil Z. Miller

http://www.naturalnews.com/032997_mandatory_vaccines_public_schools.html

(NaturalNews) Health authorities do not believe that your child is entitled to be educated unless he or she has first been indoctrinated and intoxicated by the demigods of vaccination. Parents who question the necessity and morality of this dangerous and invasive policy are derisively informed that unvaccinated children are a scourge on society. We are told that everyone -- your children and mine -- must be vaccinated or the "protective cocoon" will fail. Apparently, vaccines are a colossal waste of technology unless market share is complete!

Vaccines are not legally required for your child to enter school. Each state offers legal exemptions to "mandatory" injections. Health authorities rarely inform parents of their rights. If you are opposed to vaccines for your child, read your state vaccine laws and submit an exemption.

Some parents are not sure whether to vaccinate their children; it seems like a difficult decision. It may also be scary to oppose the authorities. However, vaccination may not be the right choice for your family. To help you see through the nonsense and confusion, I have compiled 7 reasons schools should NOT mandate vaccines.

1. Parents should not be obligated to play Russian Roulette with their children.

Vaccines pose serious risks. These hazards are acknowledged by vaccine manufacturers in their product inserts, documented in numerous studies, substantiated by the federal government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), and confirmed anecdotally by parents. For example, the MMR vaccine manufacturer concedes that diabetes, thrombocytopenia (a serious blood disorder), arthritis, encephalitis (brain inflammation), Guillain-Barre syndrome (paralysis), and death, have all been reported during clinical trials of its vaccine.

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"Times of India" - Fountain of youth’s role in brain demystified

Times of India | Jul 14, 2011, 03.21pm IST

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/Fountain-of-youths-role-in-brain-demystified/articleshow/9223276.cms

A study has found that a fountain of youth that sustains the production of new neurons in the brains of rodents is also believed to be present in the human brain.

The finding by researchers at the Duke University Medical Centre explains why stem cells by themselves can't generate neurons in a lab dish, a major roadblock in using these stem cells for injury repair.

We believe these findings will have important implications for human therapy, Chay Kuo, M.D., Ph.D., George Brumley Jr. assistant professor of Cell Biology, Pediatrics and Neurobiology, and senior author of the study, said.

The scientists found that neighbouring epithelial-like ependymal cells not stem cells themselves maintain a special structure that keeps neural stem cells neurogenic, able to make new neurons.

Currently, when neural stem cells are harvested for growth in culture, however, the ependymal cells are not removed along with them.

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"Times of India" - Religion, spirituality heal patients

Times of India | Jul 14, 2011, 05.32pm IST

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/Religion-spirituality-heal-patients/articleshow/9224683.cms

A new study has suggested that hospitalised patients who had conversations about religion and spirituality with the healthcare team were the most satisfied with their overall care. However, 20 per cent of patients who would have valued these discussions said their desires went unmet.

Religious and spiritual concerns are particularly prominent during times of illness, suffering and death. However, there is disagreement about which members of the healthcare team should ask about and address these concerns. According to hospitalized patients in this study, whom they speak to makes no difference - the important factor appears to be that they have these discussions.

Joshua Williams from the University of Chicago, USA, and his colleagues analyzed data collected between January 2006 and June 2009 on 3,141 patients enrolled in the University of Chicago Hospitalist Study.

They found that 41 per cent of patients wanted to discuss religious or spiritual concerns with someone while in the hospital, and 32 per cent of all patients said some discussion did occur. Among those who had taken part in discussions, 61 per cent spoke with a chaplain, 12 per cent with a member of their own religious community, 8 per cent with a physician, and 12 per cent with someone else.

The authors conclude: "Many more inpatients desire conversations about religious and spiritual concerns than actually experience such conversations. Our findings suggest that physicians, nurses, healthcare organizations, and pastoral care departments may address an unmet need and simultaneously improve patient satisfaction by talking to patients about religious and spiritual concerns in the inpatient setting."

The study has been published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine



"Terra Daily" - Global warming: study finds natural shields being weakened

Terra Daily
Paris (AFP) July 13, 2011

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Global_warming_study_finds_natural_shields_being_weakened_999.html

The soil and the ocean are being weakened as buffers against global warming, in a vicious circle with long-term implications for the climate system, say two new investigations.

If the seas and the land are less able to soak up or store greenhouse gases, more of these carbon emissions will enter the atmosphere, holding in even more heat from the sun.

A study published in Nature on Thursday says a gradual increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) over the last half-century has accelerated the release of methane and nitrous oxide in the soil.

These gases are respectively 25 and 300 times more effective at trapping radiation than CO2, the principal greenhouse gas by volume.

"This feedback to our changing atmosphere means that nature is not as efficient in slowing global warming as we previously thought," said Kees Jan van Groenigen, a professor at Trinity College Dublin and the paper's lead author.

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"Progressive Radio Network Host Dr. Eisenstein, Thursday's @10am" - The Canary Party Massachusetts Pursues Vaccine Exemption Rights

Watch the video right here that Dr. Eisenstein was speaking about: (The Canary Party):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m_1X_iLVGA&feature=youtu.be

Read the Story right here:

http://annedachel.com/2011/07/13/a-must-watch-a-must-share-parents-and-experts-testify-in-ma/



"John Kozy" - Disintegrating Economic Recovery

Global Research, July 12, 2011

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"Janet Cotter" - GE contamination – it's not worth the risk

Blogpost by Janet Cotter - July 14 2011
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/ge-contamination-its-not-worth-the-risk/blog/35728/

The growing of genetically engineered (GE) crops is something that Greenpeace has long opposed, due to the risks posed to both human health and the environment, and unwanted contamination of our food due to the difficulties of controlling the spread of these crops. In recent months, news has emerged about how chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer has been forced to make massive payouts after conventional US rice crops were contaminated by Bayer’s experimental GE rice in 2006. As a result, Bayer has agreed to a US $750 million settlement for US 11,000 farmers (1). Then, in March of this year, a court ordered Bayer to pay US $137 million in damages to Riceland, a rice export company, for loss of sales to the EU (2).

Back in 2006, Bayer's experimental herbicide-tolerant and GE "Liberty Link" rice (tolerant to herbicides such as Basta, or Liberty) was found to have contaminated conventional US long-grain rice - including rice for export. Shipments of supposedly non-GE rice, tested and found to be positive for GE rice, were turned back from regions such including the EU, costing companies millions of dollars and prompting lawsuits in the US.

Gambling with human health

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"Janet Cotter" - GE contamination – it's not worth the risk

Blogpost by Janet Cotter - July 14 2011
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/ge-contamination-its-not-worth-the-risk/blog/35728/

The growing of genetically engineered (GE) crops is something that Greenpeace has long opposed, due to the risks posed to both human health and the environment, and unwanted contamination of our food due to the difficulties of controlling the spread of these crops. In recent months, news has emerged about how chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer has been forced to make massive payouts after conventional US rice crops were contaminated by Bayer’s experimental GE rice in 2006. As a result, Bayer has agreed to a US $750 million settlement for US 11,000 farmers (1). Then, in March of this year, a court ordered Bayer to pay US $137 million in damages to Riceland, a rice export company, for loss of sales to the EU (2).

Back in 2006, Bayer's experimental herbicide-tolerant and GE "Liberty Link" rice (tolerant to herbicides such as Basta, or Liberty) was found to have contaminated conventional US long-grain rice - including rice for export. Shipments of supposedly non-GE rice, tested and found to be positive for GE rice, were turned back from regions such including the EU, costing companies millions of dollars and prompting lawsuits in the US.

Gambling with human health

Click to read more ...