HEALTH NEWS

Doctors Possibly Coerced into Retraction of Original Claim Linking MMR to Autism
The doctors who provoked that MMR controversy appeared further isolated after ten co-authors of the original study distanced themselves from the critical interpretation which was put on their research.
[ - Do you think that maybe they were worried about funding for future research?]

Regulations on Practice of Herbal Medicine
Herbal medicine experts will learn how they are to become regulated by the government in the UK - amid fears that a boom for alternative therapies is being exploited by unscrupulous specialists.
[ - Though those fears may not be unfounded, are they any more a cause for concern than the unscrupulous specialists currently operating in the realm of conventional, modern, western-style medicine? Don't just look at the "quack," you must also look at the person yelling "Quack!" After all the FDA in it's omnipotent wisdom and concern for our health and well-being held forth in 1977 that Vitamin E and Zinc were non-essential nutrients and that Vitamin E should not even be considered a vitamin.]

Nanopulses Tweak the Innards of Cells
A method that would allow doctors to tweak the innards of cells without even touching a patient's body is being developed in the U.S.

Biggest HIV Vaccine Trial Slammed by AIDS Experts
Researchers from some of America's top universities have suggested the trial, involving 16,000 people in Thailand, is a waste of time.

Radiation from CT Scans Putting Infants' Brain Development at Risk
Computerized tomography scanning, which delivers high doses of ionizing radiation, is increasingly being used on young children after minor head trauma.

Ban on U.S. Beef Spreads as British Experts Back Mad Cow Diagnosis
Japan, Mexico and South Korea, the top buyers of US beef, halted imports after the case was disclosed in a huge blow for the $27 billion US cattle industry.

Congress Scuttled Meat Protection Measure
Legislation to keep meat from downed animals off American kitchen tables was scuttled - for the second time in as many years - as Congress labored unsuccessfully earlier this month to pass a catchall agency spending bill.
The Agriculture Department estimates that 130,000 downed animals that are too injured or sick to stand or walk unassisted are slaughtered every year.

Too Hot Bedrooms Put Babies at Risk of Crib Death
The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) said parents should be careful not to let their babies get too hot and should use a thermometer to make sure they have a safe sleeping environment.

Atkins Diet Link to Winter Gloom
Individuals following the trendy Atkins diet could be more susceptible to depression this winter, according to a leading nutritionist.

Cells of Dead May Cure Blindness
Cells taken from the eyes of the dead could one day be used to cure blindness in the living.

Bionic Man No Longer Fiction
Shrinking silicon, wireless technology and a quantum leap in the knowledge of men like Professor Chris Toumazou have translated fiction to fact.
From the brain down, humans can be rebuilt and, according to Prof Toumazou, we can make the blind see, the deaf hear, and the lame walk.

HIV Man Faces 10 Years' Jail for Wrecking Lives
A man who knowingly infected two women with the HIV virus was convicted of grievous bodily harm.

Don't Worry, Be Happy and Live Longer
The research from New Scientist, undertaken in a global context, shows above all that desiring less is fundamental to feeling happy. This has been shown before, in that communities with narrow income differentials actually suffer less illness and live longer than those who are overwhelmed with reasons to be jealous, where the super-rich are resentfully visible to the dirt poor.

Paralysis Hope in Monkey Mind Games
American scientists claim to have given two monkeys the ability to communicate with computers through the power of thought.

Mystery Blood Clots Felling U.S. Troops
Unexplained blood clots are among the reasons a number of U.S. soldiers in Operation Iraqi Freedom have died from sudden illnesses, and investigation by United Press International has found.
A disturbing parallel has also surfaced: soldiers becoming ill or dying from similar ailments in the United States. In some cases, the soldiers, their families and civilian doctors blame vaccines given to them by the military, particularly the anthrax or smallpox shots.

Stepping Out to End the School Run
An inexorable rise in road congestion, the resulting increase in pollution and an alarming escalation of childhood obesity and lack of fitness would all be reduced if parents abandoned the school run, research shows.
Health experts, politicians and motoring organizations have joined forces to force home the message at the the launch of International Walk to School Week.

Man Who Lost Bionic Arm Waits to be Rebuilt
The man whose life was transformed when he was given the world's first 'bionic' arm has had to give it back to its inventors, who have store the revolutionary limb away in a box, calling it nothing more than a "museum piece."

A Slave to Health Insurance
More older women must work for money and benefits.

Bottled Water Link to Fatal Food Bug
Bottled mineral water may be a source of food poisoning responsible for thousands of cases of illness, new research has shown.

Research Backs Up Fears on Mobiles
Radio signals for the next generation of mobile phone services can cause headaches, tingling sensations and nausea - but also improve your memory and make you more alert, new research has claimed.

Doctor Under Suspicion for Killing 76 Patients
A senior doctor at a famous cancer clinic in Germany that has treated the former United States president Ronald Reagan, several Hollywood stars and European royalty, is under investigation for the suspected killing of 76 patients.

Survey Finds Girls Need a Better Breakfast Than Boys
Girls need a more satisfying breakfast than boys to set them up for the day and ensure they can concentrate properly in the classroom, according to new research.

Antibiotics May Be Useless in a Decade
Antibiotics could be rendered useless in little over a decade because over-prescription is leading to increased resistance from disease, a leading expert has warned.

Each Cancer is Individual
Doctor's Notes

HRT Cancer Is 'A Tragedy Like Thalidomide'
Hormone replacement therapy has been compared with the devestating drug thalidomide by a leading European medicines chief. Evidence HRT caused thousands of deaths from breast cancer made it a "national and international tragedy," said Professor Bruno Muller-Oerlinghausen of the German Commission on the Safety of Medicines.

Science Debates CJD Drug 'Success'
Pentosan polysulphate (PPS) aids teen in recovery from variant Creutzfeldt-Jackob Disease

Demands to Declare HIV Crisis a Global Emergency
World leaders called for a new war on HIV and AIDS at a special meeting of the UN, with French president, Jacques Chirac, demanding the epidemic be declared a global health emergency.

Scientists Developing Instant Disease Prediction Kits Scientists at the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland, hope to produce a kit which will detect tiny changes in blood chemistry that are indicators for illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis.

Fast Living and Diets at Root of Hair Loss Doctors and charities say there has been a significant increase in the number of women suffering serious hair loss and even baldness.

All Smiles from the Unborn Baby Pioneering scanning techniques have allowed London obstetrician Professor Stuart Cambell to capture images which show that foetuses smile, yawn, blink and cry as early as 26 weeks after conception.

24/7 Lifestyle Aids Economy but Hurts Health Doctors believe that increasing numbers of illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes are brought on by the stress of living in a world of mobile phones, non-stop air travel and relentless trading across time zones.

Bacteria May Help Ward Off HIV A modified form of bacteria normally present in the vagina may one day be used to protect women from AIDS, according to new research.

Cough May Help During Heart Attack Coughing vigorously until an ambulance arrives could save the lives of people having a type of heart attack brought on by rapid and erratic heart beat. Technique may allow patients to stay conscious, study finds.

Brain Study Links Negative Emotions and Lowered Immunity Many previous studies have shown that emotions and stress can adversely affect the immune system. But this effect had not been directly correlated with activity in the the brain, says study leader Richard Davidson, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Prince Charles Funds US Alternative Medicine Research The Prince of Wales has agreed to fund studies into alternative medicine at a research institute in the United States.

University U-Turn on Brain Damage Claims for Ecstacy A university which claimed that the drug ecstacy could cause irreversible brain damage will this week publish a retraction after revealing that the results of their tests were wrong.

NHS Knew of Lethal Blood for Nine Years Scottish haemophiliacs were given contaminated American blood for nine years after health services bosses first linked the tainted supplies to hepatitis.

Enzyme Linked to Lung Cancer Risk Israeli scientists found that individuals with low levels of OGG, a DNA-repair enzyme that can be detected by a blood test, were almost five times as likely to develop lung cancer as other people.
They said smokers with low levels of the enzyme may be 100 time more likely to develop the disease than smokers whose levels were classed as normal.

Couple Accused of Kidnapping Cancer-Stricken Son to Avoid Chemotherapy The boy's parents have agreed to get chemotherapy treatment for their son, if a new physician assigned to diagnose the boy recommends it.
[- What else could he recommend? All effective cancer treatments are illegal! I had predicted this story a few years ago, that you would be sent to jail for disobeying your doctor.]

Disabled Patients Surveyed Over Cannabis Sufferers with a variety of disabilities are to be surveyed to establish how many use cannabis to alleviate their pain.

Hopes Rise of Using Yeast as a "Medicine Factory" Yeast could have a use in the manufacture of medicines, as well as in brewing beer and baking bread, after scientists genetically engineered a yeast culture to make it able to secrete human proteins.

Sweet News for Sufferers from High Blood Pressure A new medical study suggests that eating dark chocolate can lower your blood pressure.

Study Aims to Cut Stroke Deaths with the Simplest Medicine: Food Some stroke patients become dehydrated or malnourished, because they are unable to swallow properly.

Fluoride Linked to Low IQ, Studies Show Children's intelligence declines as their natural drinking water fluoride levels increase, concluded a Chinese Study in the May 2003 journal, "Flouride."

Cannabis' Usefulness in Pain Relief to be Clinically Assessed Hospital patients scheduled to undergo surgery are being recruited to take part in trials to find out if cannabis can provide pain relief after an operation.

Cannabis Spray Painkiller in Use in Months Test on an oral spray called Sativex have been completed and are being reviewed by regulators. If, as expected, they rule the painkiller should be approved, the law (in the UK) will be changed to allow the cannabis-based drug - the first of its kind - to be prescribed by doctors.

Painkillers 'Increase Miscarriage Risk' A study of more than 1,000 pregnant women found that the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which include products such as ibuprofen, increased the risk of miscarriage by up to 80 percent.

Asprin Could Destroy Life-Threatening Cancers New evidence suggests that aspirin may have the power to destroy some types of tumor.

How One Hospital Benefited on Questionable Operations Untile federal agents raided Redding Medical last fall, Tenet Healthcare's business model was based on maximizing the dollars it could collect from Medicare, the nation's largest buyer of health care. And Medicare's complex formulas - the template for private insurers, as well - reward some kinds of health care more richly than others, and few more richly than cardiac care. Tenet promised investors growing profits, and at Redding that required steady growth in cardiac care.

Enzyme Discovery Offers Hope Against Infection Scientists have made a crucial breakthrough in understanding the functions of a key enzyme - a discovery which could lead to the development of drugs to treat diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis.

Pfizer Moves to Stem Canadian Drug Imports Pfizer sent letters to 50 Canadian pharmacies that it believes are exporting to the United States, telling them that they would have to begin ordering their drugs directly from Pfizer, rather than from wholesalers. If Pfizer decides that the pharmacies are ordering more drugs than they need to meet Canadian demand, it will cut off or curtail shipments to them, the company said.

Hormone Therapy Doubles Cancer Risk Women who use the most popular form of hormone replacement therapy are twice as likely to develop breast cancer as those who do not use any form of HRT at all, according to new research.

Tenet Healthcare Paying $54 Million in Fraud Settlement The Tenet Healthcare Corporation agreed to pay $54 million to resolve government accusations that doctors at a hospital in Northern California conducted unnecessary heart procedures and operations on hundreds of patients.

No Confidence in Coke or Pepsi Coke and Pepsi bottles were pulled from cold cabinets in India's parliament after analysis of drinks bought in Delhi by environmental activists found levels of insecticides and pesticides up to 70 times those permitted in Europe.

Cancer Drugs Face Cuts in Bush Plan The administration estimates that cancer doctors, known as oncologists, made $700 million in "medicare drug profits" last year because "Medicare payments were in excess of widely available market prices." Medicare now pays 95 percent of the "average wholesale price" for many cancer drugs. But, the administration said, that price is "not defined in law or regulation." It is a list price, reported by drug companies to industry publications, and it is often much higher than what doctors actually pay. Doctors typically pay 66 percent to 87 percent of the average wholesale price, the administration said.

Federal Report Says U.S. Should Subsidize Vaccinations An expert panel from the National Academy of Sciences has proposed a sweeping overhaul of vaccine policy.

Olestra Label Not Required, F.D.A. Says The Food and Drug Administration says that products containing olestra, the zero-calorie fat substitute that was supposed to revolutionize the way consumers felt about low-fat snacks, would no longer be required to carry a label indicating that the substance could cause digestive troubles.

A Specialty Food Store with a Discount Attitude Trader Joe's is taking its upscale specialty foods and low prices to locations far beyond its California roots.

F.D.A. Officials Press Legislators to Oppose Bill on Importing Less Expensive Drugs Top officials of the Food and Drug Administration have been waging an intense effort to defeat legislation that would allow Americans to import cheaper medicines from Canada and Europe. [- Further proof that the FDA is working to protect drug company profits over your health!]

Eye Test Exposes Thousands to CJD Risk Eye patients can contract the human form of mad cow disease as a result of a common test used to measure pressure within the eyeball, according to new research.

Is Organic Food Provably Better? Recent preliminary evidence suggests that the levels of certain nutrients, especially vitamin C, some minerals and some polyphenols - naturally occurring antioxidants that may help bolster the immune system - are higher in organically grown crops. [- Of course, this article is from the NY Times, which earns millions of dollars from advertising by chemical companies, so expect some anti-organic bias.]

Sugar and Fat 'As Addictive as Hard Drugs' Researchers Say New research found that foods high in fat and sugar can cause significant changes in brain biochemistry similar to drugs such as heroin and cocaine.

Politics Could Be Bad for Your Health Socialism is bad for your health! It seems those who believe the state should take responsibility for most aspects of life also tend to eschew personal responsibility for taking care of themselves. As a result, they are more likely to engage in lifestyles hazardous to their health, including drinking to excess and not exercising.

Family's Anxious Wait After MMR Injection A family faces and anxious wait after a four-month-old baby was given the controversial MMR vaccine by mistake, eight months before the age doctors recommend the shot be given.

Health Officials Baffled by Rising Number of Legionaires' Cases The number of cases of legionellosis reported this year totalled 624 as of last week, compared with 436 for the corresponding period last year.

Spoon-Feeding Poison: EPA Opens the Door to Testing Bug Killers on People The Bush administration is now moving to endorse the testing of noxious and lethal chemicals on human beings. Since this spring, despite rife opposition from the medical community, the Environmental Protection Agency has quietly begun lifting a 1998 ban on accepting such research. Once the prohibition is gone, which will likely happen next year, chemical companies will have the full support of the federal government to dose healthy young men and women with the latest insecticides, rodenticides, and fungicides.

Vaccines for Adults The vaccine industry kicks up the propaganda machine to chase the adult market.

Parent's Fears of Crib Death Blamed for Rise in Babies' Deformed Skulls Parents' attempts to protect their babies from crib death syndrome are behind a huge rise in the number of reports of flattened skulls, pediatricians say.

Scots HIV Patients Sue Blood Firms Hundreds of Scottish haemophiliacs were infected with HIV following a conspiracy by American drug firms to sell contaminated products abroad, according to documents lodged in a US court.

Doctors Still Advocating Triple Vaccine Doctors' leaders (the British Medical Association) have rejected the idea of compulsory immunisation for children in the UK but stressed that the controversial triple vaccine was the most effective way to immunise children against measles, mumps and rubella.

Mood Drug Attacker Avoids Jail A lawyer's daughter who attacked a woman with a glass in a nightclub has escaped jail after a judge accepted that her violent behavior was triggered by the controversial drug Seroxat.

Natural Food Stores Pursue Organic Seals of Approval The certification is intended to assure consumers that produce, meats, and other foods that are sold as organic - free of conventional pesticides or fertilizers, antibiotics or growth hormones - are not mixed with nonorganic foods when processed, shipped or stored. Inspectors also check whether storage areas are free of pesticides that might find their way into organic foods.

Who's Minding the Drugstore? The Food and Drug Administration is taking fewer actions to regulate promotions, prompting concern that companies are overstating the benefits of drugs.

Half of Swiss Deaths Dubbed "Suicide" Assisted suicide plays a role in more than half of all deaths in Switzerland, according to a major new study that confirms the country's reputation as the euthanasia capital of Europe.

Studies of Dietary Supplements Come Under Growing Scrutiny A tide of litigation is raising serious questions about the way makers of ephedra and other supplements misuse "questionable" science to market their products. [- And what about the questionable science used to market pharmacuetical drugs? Do you think the New York Times may be biased in their reporting of this story? Their millions of dollars in drug advertizing wouldn't affect their journalistic intergrity would it?]

Banishing the Blues Could Cut the Chances of Cancer Research aired at the recent annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in San Fransisco adds intriguing new data to the controversy over whether stress itself can cause cancer.

Fast Food, Not Fast Antibiotics McDonald's will require, by the end of 2004, its direct suppliers to stop giving antibiotics in low doses to speed animal growth, and will choose indirect suppliers that limit antibiotics over those that do not. This is the company's response to growing alarm over the routine use of antibiotics in animal production, a practice that is diminishing the effectiveness of antibiotics in humans.

Use of Cellular Phones Leads to Chromosomal Instability Exposure of human peripheral blood lymphocytes to electromagnetic fields associated with cellular phones leads to chromosomal instability.

Abbott to Pay $622 Million to Settle Inquiry Into Marketing The inquiry was focusing on marketing tactics in which the company gave tubes and pumps used to deliver liquid food directly into patients' digestive tracts in exchange for large orders of the liquids. Some of the hospitals and nursing homes that received the free equipment were suspected of billing Medicaid and Medicare, the government health insurance programs for the poor and the elderly, for the tubes and pumps, according to the reports.

Vaccinations Urged, Prairie Dogs Banned to Halt Monkeypox Because the Food and Drug Administration has NOT approved the smallpox vaccine for monkeypox, the government is making it available under provisions for emergency use. All patients receiving the vaccine will be required to sign a form stating that they have been informed of the "immunization's" benefits and risks. [- Here comes another big push for smallpox vaccinations. How did a prairie dog get monkeypox?]

Study Finds New Risks in Hormone Therapy Postmenopausal hormone therapy, already tied to an increased risk of breast cancer, may also make tumors harder to detect.

Big Drug Company Says It May Face Obstruction Case Federal prosecutors are examining whether Schering-Plough employees destroyed documents related to an investigation into the company's marketing practices.

Edinburgh Researchers Discover Secret of Stem Cell 'Immortality' Scientists at the Institute for Stem Cell Research at Edinburgh University have identified a new protein which is used by stem cells to enable them to multiply without limit while remaining able to make many diffent types of cell. It is believed the protein, named Nanog after the mythological Celtic land of the ever-youg Tir nan Og, plays an essential function in maintaining stem cells.

Healthier Diet Linked to Academic Ability Young women who do better at school eat a much healthier diet than those who flunk exams, according to new research.

Morning-After Pill May Go Over the Counter So-called emergency contraception has started to come out of the shadows, and some states are allowing pharmacists to dispense pills directly to women.

U.S. Contests Europe's Ban on Some Food The Bush administration filed suit at the World Trade Organization to force Europe to lift its ban on genetically modified food.

Report Faults F.D.A. on Tissue Implants The Food and Drug Administration has delayed regulation of the transplants even though at least one death and many serious infections have been traced to infected tissue.

Scotland's Cancer Timebomb The number of Scots suffering from cancer is set to rise by up to 40 percent in the next decade but Scotland's cancer services are running ten years behind those of other European nations, according to two of the country's leading cancer experts.

Why 100,000 asthma sufferers may be wasting their breaths It is thought up to a quater of adults told they have asthma are in fact suffering from other complaints, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease of COPD. Misdiagnosis in children is also commonplace, although exact figures have not been worked out.

Bayer Agrees to Pay U.S. $257 Million in Drug Fraud In the largest ever Medicaid fraud settlement, Bayer pleaded guilty to engaging in a scheme to overcharge for the antibiotic Cipro.

Healing Science - Therapists Meet Physicists in a Quantum World Has science caught up to ancestral wisdom?

Brazil Nuts Cut Cancer Risk Brazil nuts contain unusually high levels of selenium, which can help to combat lung, colorectal and prostate cancer.

U.S. to Review Research at Hospitals for Veterans The Bush administration has ordered a nationwide review of medical research at 115 veterans' hospitals and has halted some studies after investigators found serious violations of federal rules, including some that may have contributed to the deaths of patients. [- The government continues to experiment with the health of our armed forces.]

Treating One Cancer May Beget Another The molecular action of a drug used to treat colon cancer might cause cancer in other tissues, researchers report.

Scientists Suspect Westerners Have Deadly Recipe for Pacific Kava Kava, a cerimonial beverage drunk safely for thousands of years by Pacific Islanders, might be leading to severe illness and even death in Westerners because drug companies are using a toxic recipe to make it, according to a leading scientist. Pacific Islanders make Kava from the crushed roots of the plant but Professor C.S. Tang of the University of Hawaii fears the Western drug sold as "kava kava" also include the plant's stem peelings -- something the islanders view as the waste product.

Group Says DuPont Withheld Risk of Toxic Chemical DuPont Co., the second-largest U.S. chemical company, withheld from the government an internal study linking a toxic chemical in Teflon to birth defects in some children. The Environmental Working Group claimed that DuPont violated federal law by failing to turn over a document in 1981 showing the risks of perfluorooctanoic acid, or C8, a chemical used to manufacture Teflon. [- Per-FLUORO-octanoic acid, notice that it is another fluoride based chemical.]

Superbug Victims Sue "Dirty" Hospitals Scottish hospitals are facing a multi-million pound legal action from more than 50 patients who claim a lack of hygiene caused them to contract a life-threatening superbug.

An Early Warning System for Disease in New York The city's Syndromic Surveillance System, an early warning system designed to catch possible disease outbreaks, is attracting a lot of interest from around the country.

Study: Doctors Overprescribing Superdrugs Doctors are being more careful about prescribing antibiotics for common ailments, but when they do, they are turning too often to powerful new superdrugs, a new study says.

Mums Pay for Their Own Midwife A soaring number of pregnant women in Scotland are paying to hire a private midwife rather than depend on NHS care.

Experts' Plea to Parents as MMR Take-Up Rate Falls The vaccine has been blamed by some for a rise in childhood autism, but experts dispute that there is any connection. [- "Thimerosal has been used in vaccines since 1939. The first case of autism was diagnosed four years later - a condition NEVER before recorded in medical science." The MMR was first put into use in 1982 and autism rates have risen over 800% since then. Still think there is no connection?]

Chemical Might Pose Health Risk to Younger Women and Girls An internal Environmental Protection Agency report suggests that a chemical used to produce Teflon might pose health risks for young girls and women of childbearing age.

Hospital Chain Accused of Accounting Fraud HealthSouth, the nation's largest chain of rehabilitation hospitals, was accused of adding $1.4 billion in nonexistent earnings to its profits.

Bayer Cleared of Liability in a Lawsuit Over a Drug A Texas jury cleared Bayer, the German drug company, of all liability in a lawsuit brought by an 82-year-old retired oil company engineer who contended he fell seriously ill after taking Baycol, the company's anticholesterol drug.

Researchers Find Clues That a Virus Is Causing the Mysterious Illness, but Seek Proof The WHO cautioned that much more work needs to be done to be sure that a virus is the cause of the outbreak.

Health Organization Stepping Up Efforts to Find Cause of Mysterious Pneumonia The World Health Organization is coordinating scientists from 11 laboratories in 10 countries to seek the cause of SARS - severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Respiratory Illness Afflicts Hundreds Globally Hundreds of people in Vietnam, Hong Kong and mainland China have come down with a mysterious respiratory illness that has killed at least six people.

Reeve Smelling the Coffee Again, and More The actor Christopher Reeve can breathe on his own for 15-minute stretches after experimental surgery to implant electrodes that stimulate the muscles in his diaphragm.

F.D.A. Requires Bar Codes on Drugs Bar codes will soon be required on every medication given to patients to make sure they get the correct dose of the right drug.

Doing Laps Products Derived From Toys Bring the Pelvic Region Alive.

F.D.A. to Put New Rules on Dietary Supplements "... that would force manufacturers to make clean and accurately labeled products." - Of course, this is a NY Times article, and they receive several millions of dollars in advertizing from pharmacuetical companies whose products compete with traditional herbal remedies, so read at your own risk.

Officials Seek Smallpox Vaccine Compensation Fund Under the proposal, the government would pay $262,100 for each health worker who dies or is completely disabled by the smallpox vaccine. A person less severely injured could receive up to $50,000 plus medical expenses. The same payments would be available to people injured after having contact with vaccinated workers. The government said that it would eventually make the vaccine available to the general public, but that it was not recommending it. Those people would not be eligible for the new compensation.

Large Trial Finds AIDS Vaccine Fails to Stop Infection "The vaccine did, however, seem to significantly lower the infection rate among African-Americans and other non-Hispanic minorities participating in the trial... It's researchers called this finding totally unexpected and said they were at a loss to explain why there would be ethnic differnces in response to the vaccine. ... The vaccine showed virtually no effectiveness over all..."

Study Finds Vaccine Doesn't Lead to Child Bacterial Infections "...WAS LARGELY PAID FOR BY VACCINE COMPANIES..."

Papers Indicate That Bayer Knew of Dangers of Its Cholesterol Drug The documents suggest that Bayer promoted Baycol even as a company analysis found that patients were falling ill or dying from a muscle disorder linked to the drug.

Doctors Say Girl in Donor Mix-Up Has Permanent Brain Damage "Ms. Santillan slipped into a comalike state two weeks ago after Duke Univerity surgeons performed a heart-lung transplant with organs of the wrong blood type. The doctors admitted that they violated their own procedures and tried to correct their mistake with a new set of organs that matched her blood type..."

Cell Research Heralds 'Spare Part' Advance Scientists have learned how to manipulate embryonic stem-cell DNA in a move expected to hasten progress towards creating "spare part" tissues.

Weakening of Organic Standard Is Considered "Buried within the $397 billion spending bill passed last night by Congress is a provision that would permit livestock producers to certify and label meat as 'organic' even if the animal had been fed partly or entirely on conventional rather than organic grain."

Military Says Severe Reactions to Smallpox Vaccine Are Few Sure, and they said that Gulf War Syndrome was psychosomatic! Also these are only short term reactions, there has been no longer term study of the vaccines effects on health.

New York Will Sue 2 Big Drug Makers on Doctor Discount New York is accusing two major pharmacuetical companies of paying doctors and pharmacists to choose their drugs over competing medicines.

Salmonella Survivor Endorses Push for Food Safety Agency "...record recall last year of 66 million pounds of meat that were potentially contaminated, nearly double the amount recalled in 2001."

Fluoridation for Millions in California California's largest water agency voted to add flouride to the water it supplies to 18 million homes and businesses, from the Mexican border to the Central Coast.

Two Soldiers Develop Bad Reactions to Smallpox Shot "The soldiers are the first KNOWN cases of severe reactions among thousands being vaccinated as part of the president's bioterrorism preparedness plan."

Vaccine 'Blocked' In Bid To Boost MMR The UK government has been accused of blocking imports of measles and mumps vaccines, sending prices soaring to force parents into using the controversial measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) triple vaccine.

Fast Food May Trigger Addiction Similar to Heroin! Researchers have discovered people who gain weight develop resistance to the power of leptin, a hormone that helps regulate people's appetitie, New Scientist magazine said.

Many Balking at Vaccination for Smallpox The plan to vaccinate health care workers against smallpox is getting off to a slow start as hundreds of hospitals say that they will not participate.

Smallpox Researchers Seek Help From Millions of Computer Users A group of research universities and corporations are announcing a networked computer project intended to accelerate the search for a cure for smallpox.

U.S. Delays Suing Europe Over Ban on Modified Food With war looming in Iraq, the Bush administration has postponed filing a case against the European Union for its ban on genetically modified food.

Drug Sales Bring Huge Profits, and Scrutiny, to Cancer Doctors "At a time when overall spending on prescription drugs is soaring, cancer specialists are pocketing hundreds of millions of dollars each year by selling drugs to patients - a practice that almost no other doctors follow."

Single Injection Offers Cure to Diabetes "Diabetics could be cured with a one-off injection following a discovery by scientists who managed to transform cells in the liver so that they produce insulin."

Waste Loopholes 'Let Unfit Meat into Food Chain' "...weaknesses in the existing system had paved the way for criminal exploitation of the meat supply industry and provided the opportunity for the public to be exposed to the unfit food."

Romans Led Way to Meat Substitute "A plant eaten by Roman soldiers to give them energy could be the key to lowering heart disease."

Scientists Take Step to Jog the Memory "...high-powered imaging techniques to pinpoint the area of the brain invovled in storing and retrieving such information in the memory. The scientists were able to show brain activity in greater detail than ever before."

Large H.M.O. to Make Treatment Guidelines Public "Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest nonprofit health maintenance organization, said yesterday that it would publish on its web site the guidelines developed and used by Kaiser's doctors for treatment of hundreds of diseases, 'from asthma to visual impairment.' Kaiser also agreed to share with the public information about the way it pays doctors, including financial incentives"

Researchers Identify Protein That Kills Cancer Cells "When the team inserted the protein into cultured tumor cells, more than 70 percent self-destructed."

Scripps Scientists Discover Rich Medical Drug Resource in Deep Ocean Sediments "...sediments in the deep ocean are a significant biomedical resource for microbes that produce antibiotic molecules."

Troops Fear Vaccine More Than Germ War "More than half of all British troops will go to war in Iraq without anthrax vaccinations because they fear the side-effects on their health more than the risk of germ warfare..."

Anthrax Vaccine Found on British Beach "Several boxes of anthrax vaccines from the Ministry of Defense were found washed up on a southern British beach Monday, officials said."

Car Exhaust Gases Could Save Lives "Low concentrations of carbon monoxide have been found to counteract the thickening of arteries which frequently leads to complications in heart surgery."

How Euthanasia Laws Work Worldwide

Woman Dies at Reported Age of 122! She claimed to have been born in 1880, said she never smoked or drank, and grew up on a diet that forbade eggs and included raw wild fruit and berries.

Unions Call for Changes in Smallpox Vaccine Program "Two of the nation's largest unions called on President Bush yesterday (1-16-03) to suspend smallpox vaccination of health care workers until the administration agrees to provide medical screening of volunteers and compensation for anyone injured by the vaccine." "The administration and Congress have provided liability protections for makers of the vaccine as well as hospitals and medical personnel administering it. If, for instance, a hospital patient is accidentally infected with the live vaccine, neither the hospital nor it's staff would be responsible for damages." Likewise the manufacturer of the vaccine would not be liable. "But federal officials have consistently rejected entreaties to compensate people harmed by the vaccine, which consists of a live virus known for it's serious side effects. Past experience indicates that between 14 and 52 of every 1 million people immunized will suffer life-threatening complications, such as blindness and swelling of the brain; one or two could die. Under provisions of the Homeland Security Act, people injured by the vaccine would have to sue the federal government and prove negligence to be compensated."

Surgery Tools Left in 1,500 People a Year! How good is your doctor's memory? "One patient died of complications, but the researchers withheld details for reasons of privacy." "It also happens more often to fat patients, simply because there is more room inside them to lose equipment, according to the study."

FDA Calls a Halt to Gene Therapy "...after a French scientist reported a second case of a leukemia-like disorder in a child thought to be cured of a deadly disease."

Cancer Study Skeptical of Body Scans "...the scans are probably not useful as a screening test for lung cancer."

Mercury in Baby Vaccines IS Linked to Autism "Thimerosal has been used in vaccines since 1939. The first case of autism was diagnosed four years later - a condition NEVER before recorded in medical science."

Stress Test - How well do you understand stress?

U.S. and British Troops Say They Have Suffered Potentially Deadly Side-Effects from the Anthrax Vaccine - Defense Officials Insist it is Safe

Elderly Linked to a Marked Rise in Flu Deaths - and They are the Main Target of Vaccine Campaigns

Young Survivors of Cancer Battle Effects of Treatment

U.S. Flu Deaths Up Sharply Since 1970's Despite Vaccine

U.S. Flu Deaths Much Higher Than Thought, CDC Admits

Calls for Inquiry into Acne Drug Linked to Depression and Suicide

Exposure to Lead in Old Homes Linked to Juvenile Delinquency

Chiropractors Give Truck-Stop Tuneups

Health Care Spending Jumps 8.7 Percent

Health Care Spending Reaches $1.4 Trillion!

When the Brain Disrupts the Night

Amino Acid, Gout Drug Mend Smokers' Artery Damage

Health Officials Fear Local Impact of Smallpox Plan

Drug Firms Deny 'Creating' Female Sexual Disorder

Study Looks as Nicotine's Role in Cancer

FDA Approves Prozac for Children

Study to Follow 200,000 Exposed to Trade Center Ash

Calls for Inquiry into Use of Mercury in Vaccines

Polio Vaccine Cancer Link 'Unlikely'

Study Links Smoking, Mental Illness

Autism Fears Over Mercury in Flu Shots

Prevalence of Autism Growing Since 1980's, Study Finds: Government Insists There is No Link to Vaccine Introduced in 1980's

Small Pox Recipients Cautioned Not to Donate Blood

Grape Seed Extract for Treatment of Skin Wounds

Magnets to Treat Tinnitus

California Expands Chicken Quarantine

Frozen Cord Blood Revived Aftert 15 Years

Obesity, Diabetes Still on Rise in U.S.

Cold Tablets 'Potentially Fatal'

To Study Disease, Britain Plans a Genetic Census

Rise in Baby Heart Defects Sparks Concern Over Pollution from Landfills

White House Hushed Up Asbestos Peril Affecting Millions

Study Links Early Adult Deaths to Lead

U.S. Revises Sex Information, and a Fight Goes On

Drug Makers Battle Plan to Curb Rewards for Doctors

Persistent Drop in Fertility Reshapes Europe's Future

Protesting May Be Good For Your Health

MS Linked to 'Anaesthetic Gases'

Many Keep Smoking Amid Illness, Warnings

US Wrecks Cheap Drugs Deal

U.S. Says Red Cross Broke Blood Safety Rules

Scientists Favoring Cautious Approach to Smallpox Shots

Plant Illegally Burned BSE-Infected Carcases

Cops to Hand Out Needle to Drug Addicts

Health Workers Reject Smallpox Vaccination Plan: Fear They Are Being Used as "Propaganda Guinea Pigs"

Health Secretary Won't Get Smallpox Shot!

Health Workers Fear Smallpox Plan - Vaccinations Carry World of Unknowns

Vaccine Plan Worries Health Experts

Small Study Skeptical on Echinacea's Benefits

FDA OKs New Childhood Vaccine Combination

The Heavy Cost of Chronic Stress

Smallpox Vaccine Transmission Raises Liability Issue

U.S. Caesarean Births Reach Record Number

Update: Officials Claim Marine Had an Infection Unrelated to Strep A Outbreak

Nearly 100 Marine Recruits Hit by Strep A (Can You Say "Vaccine Compromised Immune System?")

Marine Recruit Dies After "Mystery Rash" Spreads (Can You Say "Vaccination Side Effect?")

Prescription RNA

Should the Government Make Vaccines?

Antibody Drug Revival

Hospitals to Offer Quality of Care Data

Fish Points Way to New Heart Therapy

Smallpox Response Might Include Quarantine

Factory Farming and Overuse of Antibiotics Creates Resistant Bacteria Now Common in Poultry

Stanford to Clone Human Embryos

Brain Scans May Detect Signs of Psychosis

U.S. Lists Hormone Therapy as Carcinogen

Will Millions "Need" Smallpox Boosters?

Some Hurt Won't Get Vaccine Compenstation

Study Casts Doubt on Chickenpox Shot

Serious Side Effects, Deaths Likely from Vaccine

Citing Dangers, Experts Warn Against Vaccinating Children

Plan For Vaccinations Carries Risk Of Infecting Other People

Smallpox Vaccine is Most Dangerous in World

Plant's Sanitation May Have Link to Deadly Bacteria - Really, You Think So?

U.S., State OK'd Tainted Food That Sickened Pupils

Some Wary of State Plan for Smallpox Vaccinations - CDC Estimates 30% Will Feel Too Sick to Work and 10% Will Have 'Serious' Reaction

Internet Filters Block Health Information Study Finds

Voluntary Regulation: Meat, It's What's for Dinner

Aspartame Addiction

Exposure to Organic Solvents May Heighten MS Risk

Oxygen Therapy Gains Acceptance

High Security Trips Up Some Irradiated Patients, Doctors Say

Bullshit Study Too Small to be Effective Suggests Mercury in Vaccine Was Not Harmful

Investigators Find Repeated Deception in Ads for Drugs

Mountain Biking Linked to Infertility

Scientists Claim New Link Between MMR and Autism

Parents Give Reasons to Fear MMR Vaccine

When Parents Say 'NO!' to Child Vaccines - WARNING THIS STORY CONTAINS BIAS AND BLATANT PROPAGANDA AGAINST EXEMPTION

Anemia Drug Limited in Europe Because of Serious Side Effects

New Bug Threat to Fit and Young

A Capitol Hill Mystery: Who Aided Drug Maker?

UK Bought 'Wrong' Smallpox Vaccine

2,000 People Given vCJD Infected Blood

Blood Donor Infected with CJD

Study Looks at Mercury - Tainted Fish

Nutty Diet May Help Ward Off Diabetes

Justice Dept. Seeks to Seal Vaccine Papers

Green Spaces 'Help You Live Longer'

Whose Hands Are Dirty? - Homeland Security Bill Protects Drugmakers from Liability

Homeland Bill Rider Aids Drugmakers - Blocks Vaccine Lawsuits

Psst! Sell Your Kidney?

The Methuselah Gene

Court Rules Feds Can't Sanction Docs for Recommending Marijuana, Government Threats Violate Free Speech, Exceed Congressional Authority

MSG is Damaging to Sight

Food Additives 'Cause Tantrums'

Don't Stick and Drive - Acupuncture Could Cause Drowsiness

Acupuncture Fights Morning Sickness

Cell Phones Linked to Tumor Growth

Tree Extract Offers Breast Cancer Hope

Cancer Link to Living Under a Power Line

The Cancer Link Causing U-Turn on Power Lines

Group Finds New Food Poisoning Items

Schools to be Allowed to Serve Irradiated Meat

Scientists Deny Connection Between Virus and Cancer

The Polio Vaccine and SV40

SV40 and Cancer

GAO Survey Finds 86% of Recipients of Anthrax Vaccine Have Adverse Reaction

Hospital Cited in Surgeon's Case

Food Colorings Cause One in Four Temper Tantrums, Claims Study

New Style Cheese May Help Lower Cholesterol

FDA Combats Resistance to Antibiotics

Study Records Elevated Mercury

The 'Organic' Label: Who Wins at the Bank?

Organic Food Industry Grew Up in a Decade

Mycoplasma - The Real Cause of AIDS, Cancer, CFS, MS< CJD and Other Neurosystemic Diseases?

New Organic Labeling Hits Shelves

Lawyers Protest Prisoner 'Experiment'

Duct Tape for Treatment of Warts

Increase in Autism Baffles Scientists

Natural Insecticide Identified as Potential Cancer Prevention Agent for Early Stage Lung Cancer

'Organic' Defined

Government Offers Hormone Caution

Toronto Study on Cancer Perception

Consumer Groups Accuse U.S. of Negligence on Food Safety

Health Food Fails Test at School in Berkeley

Poultry Recall Expanded After Bacteria is Found at Plant

Breakfast as the New Cure-All

U.S. Worried by Iron Deficiency in Toddlers, Females

Fumes from Body Close Hospital Unit

Riddle of Decomposed Hospital Body

Sex with a Twist ... Lemons Provide Protection?

BSE Cases Twice as High as Feared

Inhaler Recalled

More Than Just Bad Breath

100 Years of Orthodox Research Shows that Vaccines Represent a Medical Assault on the Immune System

Patients Still at Risk from Killer Doctors

A Natural Choice for Cattle

Research Shows Grassfed Cattle Are Healthier and Better for Your Health

Tofu May Prevent Breast Cancer

Biotech Deals Put Lung Cancer Vaccine Hopes in the Hands of World's Third Largest Tobacco Company

Iatrogenocide: Mass Murder in Medicine

The Government Continues to Lie About AIDS

Experts Say Vaccine Would Kill Some, Injure Others

Consumers Challenge Spread of Biotech Food

Toxic Chemicals in Fluoridated Water

Lawyer Who Lost Limbs Was Told to 'Take an Asprin"

Tainted Drug Kills 1, Sickens 2

Listeria May Have Been Carried in Turkey Meat

Patients Whose Insurers Say 'No' Have New Ways to Pursue Complaints and Make Them Pay

India's Kidney Sellers End Up Poorer

Penn State Hosts Insect Fair

Trials Are Halted on a Gene Therapy

Israelis Debate When to Vaccinate

Mich. Judge Rules Deaf Boys Needn't Undergo Surgery

Saying You're Sorry Really Does Make a Difference

Blue is the Color of My Candidate's Skin

Chinese Herbs May Help Treat Hepatitis B

Panel Urges Help for Test Subjects

Drug Industry is Told to Stop Gifts to Doctors

Another Cancer Cure Blacklisted by the FDA

Your Genetic Code on a Disc

Flouride on Tap - The Scots Fight Against Forced Drugging

Should We Grin and Bear Flouride in Water?

Congress Weighs Lariam in Bragg Deaths

Can Fast-Food Titans Thrive on Healthful Fare?

Evidence Denied in Cell Phone Lawsuit

School Offers Morning-After Pill to 11-Year-Olds

'Rain Man' in Scottish Fight Against MMR

The Pain of Presciption Drug Abuse

U.S. Alzheimer's Cases to Triple by 2050

Scientists Find Clue to Carcinogen

Growers and Shoppers Crowd Farmer's Markets

Hospitals Abandoning Soap and Water

Bush Rule Makes Fetuses Eligible for Health Benefits

Traces of West Nile Virus Found in Breast Milk

Certified Organic - New Government Rules Will Define "Organic"

Scientists Say They've Found Protein That Might Help Fight AIDS

Small Pox Vaccine To Go To Public (Mass Vaccinations)

New Plan for Smallpox Attacks (Mass Vaccinations)

Judge Dismisses Oak Ridge Lawsuits

Abortion Pill Slow to Catch on in US

Tuskegee's Long Arm Still Touches a Nerve

Anthrax Vaccine Causes Gulf War Syndrome

The Hippocratic Oath

The History of Ritalin and ADHD

Ritalin's Rise to Prominence and Abuse

Emergency Contraception Side Effects

Ancient Abortion

Pricey Prescriptions

Seniors and Prescription Drug Costs

The Hemp Conspiracy / Marijuana a Medical Marvel

Links to Health related sites.

Organic Gardening Magazine

Whole Foods Market

Natural Health Magazine

Backpacker Magazine

Eat Wild: The Clearinghouse for Information About Pasture-Based Farming

Gene Watch - Ethics and Risks of Genetic Engineering

Dr. Horowitz - Aids, Ebola, Vaccines

Vaccination News

Vaccine Class Action

Anthrax Vaccine

A History of Secret Human Experimentation

Meta Tech

Educate Yourself

Nexus Magazine

White Powder Gold - Forged in Fire (Exodus 32:20)

Aspartame Toxicity Info Center

Slow Food USA

Tea Association of the USA

The AIDS Conspiracy

FAIR Resources: Health