Biology

Nearly 200 scientists warn of cellphone health risks
Biological and health scientists from Russia and Iran to the USA are calling on the UN, the World Health Organization and national governments to develop strict regulations concerning devices and cellphones that create electromagnetic fields. The scientists are from 39 nations and have authored 2,000 peer-reviewed papers on the health and biological effects of non-ionizing radiation, which is p [...]
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Army starts destroying largest US stockpile of chemical weapons
The process of destroying America's largest remaining stockpile of chemical weapons began on Wednesday in Colorado, more than a decade after the Defense Department approved the destruction of 780,000 shells containing 2,600 tons of mustard agent. It will take four years to destroy the inventory leftover from World War II at Pueblo Chemical Depot in southern Colorado. [...]
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Nearly half of Brits on prescription drugs – report
Nearly half of all Britons are taking prescription medication on a regular basis according to new figures produced by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) According to the HSCIC, 50 percent of women and 43 percent of men are taking specialised drugs to combat physical and mental illnesses, with cholesterol-lowering statins and anti-depressants being among the most common drugs [...]
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Ebola in Spain: 4 people including nurse hospitalized in Madrid
Health officials in Madrid say three more people are in the hospital on suspicion of contracting Ebola. The news comes a day after a nurse who treated two Ebola patients at a city hospital became infected with the disease. One has tested negative. The nurse is now being treated with a drip using antibodies from those previously infected with the virus, Reuters reports. [...]
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Honeybee antibiotics? Fresh honey “key” to beating drug-resistant infections, scientists say
Swedish scientists have detected 13 bacterial components in raw honey that they say are more effective than conventional antibiotics in fighting deadly wound infections, including MRSA. The bacterial blend has already been effectively tested on horses. “Antibiotics are mostly one active substance, effective against only a narrow spectrum of bacteria. When used alive, these 13 lactic acid bact [...]
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US pressures El Salvador to buy Monsanto’s GMO seeds
As one of the preconditions to authorizing close to $300 million in aid, the United States is pressuring El Salvador to purchase genetically modified seeds from Monsanto instead of non-GM seeds from local farmers. According to Sustainable Pulse, a website covering developments related to genetically modified organisms and sustainable agriculture, the US will reportedly withhold $277 million in [...]
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Monsanto in Ukraine: IMF loan for Ukraine may give GMO giant a backdoor into EU
Ukraine's bid for closer ties with the west could come at a cost. With the IMF set to loan the country $17 billion, the deal could also see GMO crops grown in some of the most fertile lands on the continent, warns Frederic Mousseau. Very few, not least the Ukrainian population are aware of these details, but according to Mousseau, who is a Policy Director at The Oakland Institute, in return for [...]
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‘Nightmare bacteria’ spreading rapidly in Southeastern US
Deadly, nearly untreatable superbugs known as CRE, dubbed "nightmare bacteria," have spread at an alarming rate throughout the southeastern region of the US in recent years, new research indicates. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found cases of antibiotic-resistant CRE - or carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae - increased by at least a factor of five in community hospitals [...]
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Melting of Antarctic ice sheet and 3-meter sea level rise inevitable – study
Massive regions of the ice sheet that makes up West Antarctica have begun collapsing in a process that scientists have worried about for decades and fear is likely unstoppable. Researchers warned that the accelerated pace of disintegration is expected to remain relatively slow over the next 100 years, [...]
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North Dakota struggling to deal with radioactive fracking waste
Environmental regulators and North Dakota state officials have expressed concern that the state has failed to adequately adjust to the state'€™s sudden influx of crude oil output, a worry highlighted by the recent discovery of abandoned radioactive waste. Last month, the North Dakota Health Department announced that a large pile of oil filter socks [...]
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Congress considers blocking GMO food labeling
A new bill introduced in Congress looks to ban states from implementing their own labeling laws when it comes to food containing genetically engineered ingredients. According to Reuters, US Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) introduced the legislation on Wednesday, which is intended to head off bills in about 24 states that would require companies to inform customers when their food is produced using genet [...]
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Monsanto blamed for disappearance of monarch butterflies
As scientists continue to track the shrinking population of the North American monarch butterfly, one researcher thinks she has found a big reason it'€™s in danger: Monsanto'€™s Roundup herbicide. [...]
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Monsanto buys big data weather company to boost yields and profit
Agriculture giant Monsanto has announced acquisition of the Climate Corporation, a climate data research company, expecting that its info will help farmers maximize crop yields with fewer resources. The $930 million cash purchase is set to give the company an upper hand in the quickly expanding field of scientific weather data, something that would put vast amounts of climate information at farmer [...]
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