In the News
New Study Of Tree Roots Will Alter Carbon-sequestration Models
Using a new carbon tracing method, Argonne ecologists and their colleagues have determined that life spans of fine tree roots are much longer than expected and differ according to the species. The fine roots of pine trees last four to six years, while sweetgum roots have shorter life spans of 1.3 to three years. HIV Denialists Spread Misinformation Online: Consequences Could Be Dea
The Internet is serving as a fertile medium for "HIV denialists"to spread false ideas about HIV/AIDS, which could have terrible public health consequences, say scientists in a policy paper in PLoS Medicine. Freedom of Information Act: John Lennon
Digitized FBI documents from an "investigation conducted when the FBI learned that John Lennon contributed $75,000 to a group planning to disrupt the Republican National Convention in 1972."From the Freedom of Information Act site, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Ptaquiloside redux
 Almost ten years ago, I wrote a feature article on the cancer risk associated with the bracken toxins known as ptaquilosidefor ChemWeb. The article was updated and mirrored on Paul May’s Molecule of the Month website at Bristol University, and quite bizarrely still draws a few readers to the Sciencebase site via my byline on the article. I suppose the reason it is still popular is that it makes it to page on in Google should you search for the word bracken.
Anyway, this article occasionally triggers some rather interesting correspondence with readers. Most recently, John Nayler emailed me to ask whether or not toxic chemicals from bracken might leach into groundwater beneath bracken-infested areas. I had to admit I did not know, but a paper published recently in the journal Chemosphere(2007, 67, 202-209) discusses the microbial degradation and impact of ptaquiloside on soil microbes themselves, which sheds some light on the potential impact of this carcinogenic toxin. Another of Nayler’s concerns regards whether or not bracken is
not
simply an
unpleasantweedbracken is not simply an unpleasant weed with a cancer risk associated with eating the “fiddle heads” (a delicacy in Japan), but whether or not landowners, whose land is infested with bracken might be liable for public health lawsuits should those with a right to roam on their land be exposed to bracken spores. The risk may be small but that never stopped an ambulance-chasing lawyer in the past. Cancer Research UK has a FAQon the cancer potential of bracken. Despite isolated ptaquiloside coming up positive in carcinogenicity tests a decade ago, the latest research, according to Cancer UK is that there is no risk of cancer associated with eating bracken fiddlehead greens. So, what about those spores. Studies have shown bracken spores to cause cancer in mice, but those mice were given a lot of spores and to extrapolate to human cancer risk is (death)wishful thinking. A walk among the bracken is more likely to trigger a sneezing fit if the spores are high than anything else, and as CRUK points out, diet and smoking are far greater risk factors than bracken for cancer. Anthrax Stops Body From Fighting Back, Study Shows
A lethal toxin in anthrax paralyzes neutrophils, the white blood cellsthat act as the body's first defense against infection. X-rays solve transport problem
X-ray crystallography has provided new insights into how the microscopic motorised transport system that operates in our cells is powered. The study could have implications for understanding the symptoms of Down syndrome, the neuromuscular condition Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, and some cancers, all of which arise through some form of breakdown of this system. The work may [...] Folic Acid Linked To Increased Cancer Rate, Historical Review Suggests
The introduction of flour fortified with folic acid into common foods was followed by an increase in colon cancer diagnoses in the U.S. and Canada. For nearly a decade, folic acid, a chemical form of a common B vitamin (folate), has been added to wheat flour and other grain products in the U.S. and Canada. This public health measure was enacted after evidence was discovered linking folic acid with a reduced rate of a specific birth defect that affected the development of the spinal cord and central nervous system. During the same period, however, rates of colorectal cancer in the U.S. inexplicably began rising, even as regular colonoscopy check-ups became more common. Greenhouse Gas Burial: Storing Unwanted Carbon Dioxide In Unmineable C
Deep coal seams that are not commercially viable for coal production could be used for permanent underground storage of carbon dioxide generated by human activities, thus avoiding atmospheric release, according to two studies published in the Journal of Environment and Pollution. An added benefit of storing carbon dioxide in this way is that additional useful methane will be displaced from the coal beds. New Weapon, Human Tests
Here are several documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act detailing the U.S. military's extensive human tests of its Active Denial System -- a nonlethal weapon that uses millimeter wave radiation to induce instant, searing pain that forces people to flee instantly. By David Hambling. Promising Diagnostic Tools For Multiple Sclerosis Developed At Yale
Yale School of Medicine researchers have identified three rapid diagnostic methods that can target antibodies commonly found in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, greatly improving potential diagnosis and treatment.
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