Minding the Planet

Some Sunscreens are Hazardous to Your Health

Just in time for the 4th of July, here is a comprehensive report on sunscreens which may be potentially unsafe to use. Yes, it turns out there are several new ingredients now being used in sunscreens which are not FDA approved and may cause unknown effects on humans. Other sunscreen ingredients paradoxically break down in the sun after even a few minutes and offer much less UVA protection than advertised. The article contains lists of sunscreen products by health hazard level and effectiveness.

New Aspartame Concerns -- Study Finds Link to Cancer At Lower Levels

Suspicions of a link between Aspartame (the commonly used artificial sweetener) and various forms of cancer have received another boost from a new Italian study. The study found that even at relatively low levels of consumption, rats exposed to Aspartame had a significantly increased risk of several types of cancer. The implications of this are important for everyone, but especially children, because their lifetime consumption of Aspartame is expected to be much higher than those who started consuming it as adults. More details here.

Open-Source Medicine

There are thousands of promising drugs for treating diseases that are simply not getting studied or brought to market because they are derived from natural or common substances that can't be patented. The dirty little secret of the pharma business is that even a miracle cure for cancer won't be invested in if it can't be defended as a proprietary product.

So here's an idea for the ultra-rich (if you are reading this). If you really want to help the world, start a foundation that funds "open-source medicine" -- the research, development, trials and distribution of non-patentable (or at least non-patented...) drugs.  This includes not only herbal and traditional remedies, but also other remedies derived from common substances that just cannot be patented.  And in addition it includes potentially patentable cures, which are found and then deliberately released as open-source so that nobody can patent them.

Open-source development has made a huge difference for software, so why not pharma and medicine? Why should all drug development be commercial?

Your shiny new foundation would bring together the greatest minds to collaboratively cure diseases for the betterment of mankind. Now that would be a great legacy!

Must-Know Terms for the 21st Century Intellectual

Read this fun article that lists and defines some of the key concepts that every post-singularity transhumanist meta-intellectual should know! (via Kurzweil)

Electric Currents Heal Wounds

150 years ago, German physiologist Emil Du Bois-Reymond discovered that electric currents could speed up the healing of flesh wounds. But his research has been ignored ever since. Until now...

Now Josef Penninger of the Austrian Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Vienna and Min Zhao of the University of Aberdeen, UK, have demonstrated that natural electric fields and currents in tissue play a vital role in orchestrating the wound-healing process by attracting repair cells to damaged areas.

(snip)

The researchers grew layers of mouse cells and larger tissues, such as corneas, in the lab. After "wounding" these tissues, they applied varying electric fields to them, and found they could accelerate or completely halt the healing process depending on the orientation and strength of the field (Nature, vol 442, p 457).

Detecting Disease by Measuring the Breath

The next generation of the breathalyzer won't just measure blood alchohol content, it will detect many types of disease as well. A laser-based technology for measuring the breath is being proposed as a viable alternative to blood tests.

Anti-Aging Molecule Discovered

South Korean researchers have synthesized a molecule that seems to not only stop, but also reverse, the built-in aging functions of cells.

A team of South Korean scientists on Sunday claimed to have created a ``cellular fountain of youth,’’ or a small molecule, which enables human cells to avoid aging and dying.

The team, headed by Prof. Kim Tae-kook at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, argued the newly-synthesized molecule, named CGK733, can even make cells younger.

The findings were featured by the Britain-based Nature Chemical Biology online early today and will be printed as a cover story in the journal’s offline edition early next month.

``All cells face an inevitable death as they age. On this path, cells became lethargic and in the end stop dividing but we witnessed that CGK733 can block the process,’’ Kim said.

``We also found the synthetic compound can reverse aging, by revitalizing already-lethargic cells. Theoretically, this can give youth to the elderly via rejuvenating cells,’’ the 41-year-old said.

Kim expected that the CGK733-empowered drugs that keep cells youthful far beyond their normal life span would be commercialized in less than 10 years.

Fighting Infection with Phages

I've been interested in bacteriophages for a few years, ever since I first heard about them. This article goes into more detail about why they may present a new and better alternative to antibiotics in the treatment of resistant bacterial infections.

In the 1920s and '30s, with diseases like dysentery and cholera running rampant, the discovery of bacteriophages was hailed as a breakthrough. Bacteriophages are viruses found virtually everywhere—from soil to seawater to your intestines—that kill specific, infection-causing bacteria. In the United States, the drug company Eli Lilly marketed phages for abscesses and respiratory infections. (Sinclair Lewis' Pulitzer-winning Arrowsmith is about a doctor who uses phages to prevent a diphtheria epidemic.) But by the 1940s, American scientists stopped working with phages for treatment because they no longer had reason to. Penicillin, discovered by the Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming in 1928, had become widely available thanks to synthetic production and zapped infections without the expertise needed for finicky phages.

But now the equation has changed. Many kinds of bacteria have become antibiotic-resistant—prompting a few Western scientists, and patients, to travel to former Soviet Georgia to give bacteriophages for treatment a try. Phages have been used in the former Soviet Union for decades because scientists there had less access to antibiotics than their American and European counterparts did. Phages were a cheap alternative, and in Soviet clinical trials, they repeatedly stopped infections. Now in a bid for medical tourists, Georgia has opened a center in its capital, Tbilisi, which offers outpatient phage treatment to foreigners. In connection with the Eliava phage research institute, which Stalin helped set up in Tbilisi in 1923, the treatment center offers personalized cures for a host of infections the United States says it can no longer do anything about.

Freezing Water at Room Temperature

This is pretty cool. It turns out you can freeze water at room temperature, creating so-called "hot ice." There are at least two known methods for doing this. Hot ice effectively transforms water into a solid that is like a form of glue. This opens the door for some interesting potential applications -- including using water to seal food packaging (instead of chemical glues), using water to seal leaks in ships, tunnels and pipes (imagine self-healing hulls and pipes that use water to seal leaks), and perhaps even using water to destroy cancer cells -- the potential applications are endless.

Brains Scans Show Unexpected Effects of Accupuncture

Recent brain scans have shown that accupuncture can actualy deactivate the brain's pain centers. One more bit of evidence for alternative medicine.

Big Thinkers' Most Dangerous Ideas

The Edge has published mini-essays by 119 "big thinkers" on their "most dangerous ideas" -- fun reading.

The history of science is replete with discoveries that were considered socially, morally, or emotionally dangerous in their time; the Copernican and Darwinian revolutions are the most obvious. What is your dangerous idea? An idea you think about (not necessarily one you originated) that is dangerous not because it is assumed to be false, but because it might be true?

 

Aspartame (Nutrasweet) Proved to Cause Cancer at Human Levels of Ingestion

A recent study has found that human-level dosages of aspartame (the artificial sweetener formerly known as Nutrasweet and now cleverly disguised by new, obscure trade-names) causes stastitically significant increases in the occurrance of multiple forms of cancer. In other words, don't drink diet colas that include aspartame, don't chew sugar-free gum, and when you see "sugar-free" on food, beware. If you need a totally natural and safe alternative to aspartame, try Stevia -- it's from a rainforest berry and is about 1000 times sweeter than sugar (so just 2 drops will sweeten a whole cup of coffee). You can get Stevia drops in any Whole Foods or health food store.

New Study: Human Hands, Feet and Foreheads Emit Light

Now this is really interesting! New research has found that certain parts of the body emit measurable numbers of photons. This may open up new diagnostic techniques. But that's just the beginning. Spiritual healers from many different faiths have long said that they experience light coming from their hands, and can feel (and even see) energy from the hands, feet and heads of other people. And of course there's the classical image of halos around the heads of saints, which can be taken metaphorically, or perhaps literally, in light of this new research. I wonder if the levels of light coming from different people indicates not only health, but perhaps alertness, stress levels, or state of mind. There are many interesting possibilities for this research...

Sept. 6, 2005 — Human hands glow, but fingernails release the most light, according to a recent study that found all parts of the hand emit detectable levels of light.

The findings support prior research that suggested most living things, including plants, release light. Since disease and illness appear to affect the strength and pattern of the glow, the discovery might lead to less-invasive ways of diagnosing patients.

Mitsuo Hiramatsu, a scientist at the Central Research Laboratory at Hamamatsu Photonics in Japan, who led the research, told Discovery News that the hands are not the only parts of the body that shine light by releasing photons, or tiny, energized increments of light.

"Not only the hands, but also the forehead and bottoms of our feet emit photons," Hiramatsu said, and added that in terms of hands "the presence of photons means that our hands are producing light all of the time."

The light is invisible to the naked eye, so Hiramatsu and his team used a powerful photon counter to "see"it. 

The detector found that fingernails release 60 photons, fingers release 40 and the palms are the dimmest of all, with 20 photons measured.

  The findings are published in the current Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology. 

You do what you eat?

This article presents some fascinating evidence that nutrition has a direct relationship on behavior, particularly antisocial behavior.

US Scientists Bring Dogs Back from Dead

A new technique has been successfully tested which appears to be able to bring dogs back to life after 3 hours of being clinically dead. This research may hold promise not only for saving lives in cases where clinical death happens before surgery can be performed or completed, but also perhaps for preserving and later reanimating healthy people who simply want to wake up in the future. It's a new approach to suspended animation. Sounds awefully cold though...

Superwater Kills Bugs Dead

A modified form of salt water has an ion imbalance that kills viruses, bacteria and other single-celled organisms. It also speeds burn and wound healing dramatically. Best of all, it's safe if ingested (and has no calories!).

Meanwhile, researchers continue to discover that germs are the cause of previously misunderstood diseases, such as many cancers.

New Technique may Cure All Cancers

Scientists in England claim remarkable results in a new approach to fighting cancer that is based on modifying a patient's T-cells to better target cancerous cells. The approach may provide a cure for all types of cancer "within 5 years." Wow, let's hope so. This could really be an important breakthrough.

Past Life Memories of Children

Dr. Ian Stevenson has amassed 3000 documented cases of children remembering events from past lives.

In each case of children’s past life memory, Dr. Stevenson methodically documents the child's statements.  Then he identifies the deceased person the child remembers being, and verifies the facts of the deceased person's life that match the child's memory. He even matches birthmarks and birth defects to wounds and scars on the deceased, verified by medical records. His strict methods systematically rule out all possible "normal" explanations for the child’s memories.

Dr. Stevenson has devoted the last forty years to the scientific documentation of past life memories of children from all over the world. He has over 3000 cases in his files.  Many people, including skeptics and scholars, agree that these cases offer the best evidence yet for reincarnation.

Dr. Stevenson's credentials are impeccable. He is a medical doctor and had many scholarly papers to his credit before he began paranormal research.  He is the former head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia, and now is Director of the Division of Personality Studies at the University of Virginia.

As one reviewer put it, "Either Dr. Stevenson is making a colossal mistake, or he will be known as the Galileo of the 20th century." (Dr Harold Lief in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease)

Learn more about Dr. Stevenson's research here.

New Study Finds Stress Causes Aging

A recent study by the University of California, San Francisco, has found that stress causes the same changes in cells that are typically caused by aging:

The study involved 39 women ages 20 to 50 who had experienced grinding stress for years because they were caring for a child with a serious chronic illness, and 19 other women with healthy children.

The researchers examined structures inside cells called telomeres - the caps at the ends of chromosomes. Every time a cell divides, telomeres get shorter. In the natural aging process, the telomeres eventually get so short that cells can no longer divide, and they die.

The researchers also measured levels of an enzyme called telomerase, which helps rebuild telomeres to stave off this process. Telomerase levels naturally decline with age.

The researchers found that the longer a woman had been caring for a sick child, the shorter her telomeres, the lower her levels of telomerase, and the higher her levels of "oxidative stress," in which so-called free radicals in the body damage DNA, including telomeres.

Compared to women with the lowest levels of perceived stress, women with the highest perceived stress had telomeres equivalent to someone 10 years older, the researchers found.

This is very interesting -- it would also help to explain why meditation, yoga, and other activities that reduce stress may have an effect on slowing the aging process.

New Anti-Aging Pill To Be Released

In February of 2005, a controversial new anti-aging pill called Protandim is slated for release. This drug is claimed to increase the body's natural production of anti-oxidants, which in turn is believed to combat damage from free-radicals. Preliminary studies on mice demonstrated "reduction of lipid peroxidation by 60% to 75% in both plasma and liver, as well as a decrease of more than 90% percent in brain tissue. Lipid peroxidation refers to the oxidation of lipids, a process that can destroy cell membranes." Human trials have not been compeleted yet however. While these results are incredibly promising, there is still debate about whether damage from free-radicals is the primary cause of aging and age-related illnesses. The fact is, very little is really understood about aging at present. However, it is known that anti-oxidants are beneficial to health and Protandim may be the most effective way to introduce antioxidants into the body. Whether it extends human lifespan to 120 years or more, as some claim it will, remains to be seen. It is certainly an interesting development to track and I think that anti-aging medicine will be a major new market in the next few decades.

The Longevity Gene

Via my friend, Lee Stein: MIT researchers may have found a gene that enables mice (and humans, potentially) to live 30% longer without caloric restriction. It is already known that cutting down food intake by 1/3 can result in up to 50% longer lifespans. Here is a terrific article on the possible implications of this discovery.

Common Antibiotic Appears to Block Some Cancers

Adding new evidence that is sure to lend credence to the 100+ year old "cancer microbes" hypothesis, a recent study has found that a doxycycline, a common antibiotic, appears to "shut off" aggressive liver cancer -- causing cancer cells to stop reproducing and behave normally as long as it is administered.

New Study Shows Measurable Effects from Homeopathy

Interesting new research has found a measurable effect from homeopathic medicines on inflammation. The research has been published in a respected peer-reviewed medical journal. The authors admit they cannot explain the cause of this effect, and they are hoping others will join them in trying to figure it out. The basic issue is that homeopathic solutions contain such extremely dilute quantities of the "active ingredients" that there is almost no probability that enough molecules remain after dilution to have any effect at all. But for some reason, these extremely dilute solutions, which are for all intents and purposes just water or just sugar, have demonstrable medical effects that in some cases outperform that of a placebo. One hypothesis is that somehow water molecules are able to retain a "molecular memory" -- perhaps in a quantum field -- of other substances that they come into contact with, essentially enabling the "active ingredient" to "program" the water molecules with its "molecular imprint." But who knows!!! It's interesting though. I really enjoy these exotic unexplained frontiers. Magic is the future of science waiting to be understood.