To prevent stroke, get lots of kisses

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Mark Baard

They're good for each other. Photo: Felix Montino/Flickr CC

A UC Irvine study recently found that teasing a rat’s whiskers prevents the animal from having a stroke.

And the university’s researchers are extrapolating from their results a possible benefit for humans:

In people, “stimulating the fingers, lips or face in general could all have a similar effect,” says UCI doctoral student Melissa Davis, co-author of the study, which appears in the June issue of PLoS One.

In the animal study, the UCI researchers found that the facial stimulation rerouted blood flow to the brain from blocked arteries.

via UC Irvine Release: Whisker stimulation prevents strokes in rats :: UC Irvine TODAY.

Zinc sunscreens increase disease risk, scientists report

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Mark Baard

South Boston sunbathers. Photo: Scott LaPierre

The whole point of investigating nanomaterials is that we know that metals behave differently on the nanoscale (<100 nanometers).

Still, the makers of sunscreens did think it was necessary to wait for research such as this (excerpt and link, below), which finds that nano-zinc is highly toxic, before stuffing it into their products.

Robust markers of apoptosis, Annexin V staining, loss of mitochondrial potential, and increased generation of superoxide were observed when cells were treated with ZnO particulate matter but not when treated with comparable concentration of a soluble Zn salt. Both ZnO samples induced similar mechanisms of toxicity, but there was a statistically significant increase in potency per unit mass with the smaller particles.

via ZnO Particulate Matter Requires Cell Contact for Toxicity in Human Colon Cancer Cells – Chemical Research in Toxicology ACS Publications.

Red Ice and Alex Putney talk nanomaterials, colloidal gold and silver

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Mark Baard

Photo: Kenna Takahashi/Flickr CC

An important note of clarification fro RIC host Henrik Palmgren, re: colloidal gold and silver, which he discussed with Alex Putney in hour two of the program: “We covered the dangers of monoatomic gold… Electrum water, that contains gold and silver particles is totally different (and natural). — MB

I listened intently to the first hour of Red Ice Creation’s interview with Alex Putney last weekend, while I was hiking in the Berkshire Mountains. The Palmgren brothers have put together a regular head trip of a radio program!

If you are a fan of esoteric topics, you must definitely tune-in. Here’s a description of the Putney interview from the Red Ice website (emphases are mine):

Alex Putney (discusses) his work and theories on standing waves, geometrical relationship between ancient monuments, pyramids, sacred sites, magnetic resonance, Earth’s chakras points, changing energies, 2012, acoustic levitation, Tesla, electrum water, black light and the strange objects found at La Maná in Ecuador that are UV fluorescent. Do not miss these two very interesting hours.

Putney in the first hour of the interview mentions the work of Randell Mills, who has developed a process for chemically releasing energy from water. (My brother, Erik Baard, has covered Mills’ research for Space.com, and others.)

In hour two, Putney, who studied at Boston University and Brandeis University, said he hopes to achieve a “higher (or superior) metabolism,” without the need for ordinary food.

And to get there, it appears Putney is using colloidal gold and silver — a controversial approach, to say the least.

via Red Ice Radio – Alex Putney – Human Resonance, Sacred Sites, Pyramids & Standing Waves.

Boy Scouts see merit in sci-tech

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Mark Baard

The Boy Scouts are working to stem America’s science and engineering brain drain.

Last week, 38 Scouts, most of them from Eastern Massachusetts, were among the first to receive the Inventing badge, the first merit badge introduced by the Boy Scouts of America since 1992.

The badge, developed by the BSA and the Lemelson-MIT Program, is awarded to Scouts who can create simple, but elegant, engineering solutions to everyday problems.

via Boy Scouts bring ingenuity to EurekaFest – The Boston Globe.

Coffee prevents cancer of the head and neck

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Mark Baard

Good for her. Photo: Vladimer Shioshvili/Flickr CC

Cancers of the mouth and throat are among the deadliest. But if, like me, you drink coffee by the bucket-full, your chances of developing the disease are 40 percent less that non-coffee drinkers.

“Since coffee is so widely used and there is a relatively high incidence and low survival rate of these forms of cancers, our results have important public health implications that need to be further addressed,” Huntsman Cancer Institute (University of Utah) investigator lead researcher Mia Hashibe said in a release this afternoon.

This news comes on the heels of a report last week that coffee might reduce your risk for diabetes…

In other words, if you’ve been following Dr. Andrew Weil’s snake oil advise, and been feeling superior for not being a coffee drinker, you’ve again been misled by the self-appointed sage of alternative medicine.

U. of Utah's Mia Hashibe makes a startling epidemiological finding. Photo: American Association for Cancer Research

Frying our kids' brains for perfect produce

Posted on June 12, 2010 by Mark Baard

At least one is contaminated with Malathion. Photo: /Tetsumo Flickr CC

No one wants tics, fleas or lice on his dogs or his children.

And I understand that some gardeners will go to any length to have a perfect rose bush, or lawn.

I even know a guy on my block in Milton, Massachusetts, who boasted that he had stockpiled a recently banned grub control chemical in his shed. A perfect lawn is that important to him.

But when a Harvard scientist reports that kids with just a little bit of a common pesticide in their pee have 55 percent higher risk for ADHD, it is time to give up on perfection.

Scientists are still trying to figure out the sources of most of the Malathion they found in children. But a previous report found pesticides in more than a quarter of frozen blueberries and strawberries.

Weisskopf and his colleagues speculated that for most of the children in their study, exposure came through food. The 2008 report of the U.S. pesticide residue program found, for example, that 28% of frozen blueberries, 25% of strawberries and 19% of celery were contaminated with malathion.

via ADHD study: Pesticide is linked to developmental problems – latimes.com.

Stanton Friedman compares UFO coverup to Watergate

Posted on June 11, 2010 by Mark Baard

No denying it. She could be out there. Photo: Rob Speed/Flickr CC

This is the first in a midyear review I’ll be doing over the next week, of the Heretic’s 10 New England Esotericists to Watch in 2010… — MB

Physicist and UFOlogist Stanton Friedman picked up a bit of MSM coverage this week, when Fox noted that Friedman describes in his latest book a vast cover-up of ET evidence, with help from a cast of self-described debunkers:

In Friedman’s new book, “Science Was Wrong,” co-authored with Kathleen Marden, he wrote, “There’s been no shortage of strong, negative proclamations from debunking groups and individuals who refuse to examine the evidence … to support the notion that some UFOs are of extraterrestrial origin.”

via FOXNews.com – Vast UFO Cover-Up a ‘Cosmic Watergate,’ Says Nuclear Physicist.

More evidence that coffee cuts diabetes risk

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Mark Baard

And scientists at Nagoya University say it’s the caffeine. (Note, this is a finding in mice, not humans.)

Take that Andrew Weil!

Weil is the bearded supplements guru, who is for just about anything, until he’s against it (after the science catches up with him). Ditto for the reverse: He has railed against the evils of coffee and black pepper, for example, based on scant evidence that either is bad for you.

Indeed, the evidence is mounting that coffee is an excellent tonic.

Results of the study:

Effects of Coffee Ingestion on Blood Glucose Concentration and Lipid Metabolism in KK-Ay Mice (Experiment 1)

In experiment 1, 4-week-old KK-Ay mice ingested coffee or water as their drinking water for 5 weeks. The body weight, food intake, and tissue weights are shown in Table 1. The final body weight did not differ between the control and coffee groups. The food intake (on days 11−13 and 25−27) was also not different between these two groups. Coffee ingestion reduced subcutaneous or retroperitoneal fat tissue weight, but did not affect epididymal or mesenteric fat tissue or interscapular BAT weights. The liver weight in the coffee group was significantly lower than that in the control group. As shown in Figure 1A, the blood glucose concentration in the control group gradually increased during the course of the experiment, reaching a maximum of 30.2 ± 1.5 mmol/L. After the second week, the blood glucose concentrations in the coffee groups were significantly lower than the respective values in the control group. Finally, blood glucose concentration in the coffee group (19.6 ± 1.7 mM) exhibited a 30% decrease compared with that in the control group (28.1 ± 1.5 mM) (Figure 1A).

via Coffee and Caffeine Ameliorate Hyperglycemia, Fatty Liver, and Inflammatory Adipocytokine Expression in Spontaneously Diabetic KK-Ay Mice – Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (ACS Publications).

Tattoo will advertise your genetic flaws

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Mark Baard

Tattoos tell a lot about you. Photo: Laura Brechtbert/Flickr CC

MIT materials experts suggest that an ink made from carbon nanotubes can be injected into diabetics, to monitor their blood glucose levels. Patients can then check their tats for any changes.

Diabetics say this beats pricking their fingers throughout the day. But the tat — which might be partially covered by wristwatch with a UV scanner on the back of it — will also mean wearing your condition on, or near, your shirtsleeve.

The technology behind the MIT sensor, described in a December 2009 issue of ACS Nano, is fundamentally different from existing sensors, says Strano. The sensor is based on carbon nanotubes wrapped in a polymer that is sensitive to glucose concentrations. When this sensor encounters glucose, the nanotubes fluoresce, which can be detected by shining near-infrared light on them. Measuring the amount of fluorescence reveals the concentration of glucose.

The researchers plan to create an “ink” of these nanoparticles suspended in a saline solution that could be injected under the skin like a tattoo. The “tattoo” would last for a specified length of time, probably six months, before needing to be refreshed.

via ‘Tattoo’ may help diabetics track their blood sugar.

Report: Better to have two moms than one dad

Posted on June 7, 2010 by Mark Baard

Outstanding. And, of course, consistent with the personal experiences of anyone lucky enough to know a family with two moms. Bonus here is how CNN chooses to balance the story with criticism not from other scientists, but a Bible lady. Which makes this an example of something other than science reporting.

(CNN) — A nearly 25-year study concluded that children raised in lesbian households were psychologically well-adjusted and had fewer behavioral problems than their peers.

via Kids of lesbians have fewer behavioral problems, study suggests – CNN.com.

The Sci-Tech Heretic

Science, fiction and news through the conspiratorial lens. By Mark Baard in Boston.

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