Health / Food and Drugs

If you live in the United States long enough, most of the
carbon atoms in your body will be derived from corn, as
demonstrated in the first scene of this clip.

As University of Virginia professor, Steve Macko explains,
this carbon doesn’t come from eating corn-on-the-cob, it comes
mostly from the many chemically-engineered, corn-based

Jennifer Hudson Says “I can attest to that, Weight Watchers really works for me”

Overweight patients told by their doctors to go to Weight Watchers lose around twice as much weight as people receiving standard weight loss care over 12 months, according to the findings of a study published on Thursday.

Cancer cells can develop resistance to drugs.
It may be possible to extend the usefulness of cancer drugs by preventing drug resistance in tumours, say researchers.
A study, published in Science Translational Medicine, showed a chemical reaction went into overdrive as resistance developed. Scientists said drugs were already on the market which interfered with the process.

Radioactive material released into the sea in the Fukushima nuclear power plant crisis is more than triple the amount estimated by plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co, Japanese researchers say.
Japan's biggest utility estimated around 4,720 trillion becquerels of cesium-137 and iodine-131 was released into the Pacific Ocean between March 21 and April 30, but researchers at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) put the amount 15,000 trillion becquerels, or terabecquerels.

Government regulations ban shipment of foodstuff containing over 500 becquerels of radioactive material per kg.

(Reuters) - Wildfires sweeping across drought-stricken Texas have destroyed more than 1,000 homes in the last several days as they move into more populated areas, Governor Rick Perry said on Tuesday.

Perry surveyed damage in west Austin on Tuesday, where dozens of homes have been destroyed and hundreds evacuated.

Speaking after his visit, The Texas governor, who left the presidential campaign trail to deal with the fires, said he hopes cooler temperatures and slowing winds Tuesday will help firefighters contain more than 50 fires across the state.

Guatemalans who were deliberately infected with syphilis or gonorrhoea in medical tests in the 1940s are suing the US government for compensation.

Hundreds of Guatemalan prisoners, psychiatric patients and orphans were infected without their consent in a programme to study penicillin.
A class action lawsuit was filed by lawyers for the Guatemalans and their relatives.

The US apologised last year for the "reprehensible" experiments.
But lawyers said the Obama administration had not responded to a request for an out-of-court compensation settlement.

Hundreds of people were infected with syphilis bacteria during the experiments

The extent of US medical experiments in Guatemala on STDs during the 1940s is greater than previously thought, health authorities have told the BBC.

The number of infected people could be as high as 2,500, says the president of the Medical Association of Guatemala.

According to a US report released on Monday, 1,300 Guatemalans were infected without their knowledge to study the effects of penicillin.
US scientists knew they were violating ethical rules, the report found.

The world's first clinical trial of brain stem cells to treat strokes is set to move to its next phase.
An independent assessment of the first three patients to have had stem cells injected into their brain at Glasgow's Southern General Hospital has concluded it has had no adverse effect.

The assessment paves the way for the therapy to be tested on more patients to find a new treatment for stroke.

The hope is that the stem cells will help to repair damaged brain tissue.

SEATTLE WA -- A child's artwork surrounds Damn Brown's at home dialysis machine. Brown, who is 37 and lives with his wife and two little boys, chooses to do his "dialysis on the go" as he calls it so as to spend more time with his family and out of a clinic.
10 months ago Damon's kidneys failed out of nowhere. Now, while he waits for a donor, Brown has a strict regiment. He must take his weight and blood pressure daily, as well as connecting the catheter in his stomach to a bag of fluid to help pull the toxins from his body.
WATCH MSNBC'S INTERVIEW OF DAMON HERE

Companies that have pledged not to market unhealthy food and drinks directly to children may be turning to product placement on television shows instead of traditional ads to target youngsters, a new study showed.
This type of disguised advertising, including high exposure to sugary soft drinks on prime-time TV, is a major contributing factor to childhood obesity, according to the Yale University study released Tuesday.
"It is a very subtle message that kids aren't likely to get," said Jennifer Harris, a co-author of the study and director of marketing initiatives at Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.