Monthly Archives: December 2006

Discovery: How Folic Acid is Absorbed

Scientists have discovered how the vitamin folate is absorbed in the intestinal tract.  The discovery may lead to being able to test infants that cannot absorb this important nutrient.folic acid_1.jpg

Folate, also known as folic acid or vitamin B9, is important for growth and gene expression in the fetus.  Babies who are deficient in it, or cannot absorb it, may have mental retardation, seizures, severe infections, or anemia.

Until now, scientists were not sure what mechanism the body used to absorb folate.  This vitamin is water soluble, therefore not easily penetrating fatty cell membranes.  Recent research at the Albert Einstein Cancer Center in New York concludes that a membrane protein called PCFT/HCP1 transports folate into intestinal cells.

This discovery may help cure hereditary folate malabsorption in babies.

Psiphon Fights Censorship

Earlier this year we covered that Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto was creating some software called Psiphon that lets people bypass firewalls. Psiphone is designed to let people access sites that are blocked for censorship reasons like in China where there is a lot of online censorship.

“psiphon is a censorship circumvention solution that allows users to access blocked sites in countries where the Internet is censored. psiphon turns a regular home computer into a personal, encrypted server capable of retrieving and displaying web pages anywhere.”

Primer on Consumption

This book should be on every environmentalists Christmas list…..although it might change your views on this jolly time of year. To every person who spends more time shopping this season than spending time with their family, I say the booklet Consume This – Buying That Matters is for them. The Canadian Centre for Pollution Prevention (C2P2), through the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, has developed this booklet to teach youth on the topic of sustainable consumption. The 40-page booklets teaches youth to understand that where, how, when and what the consume has an impact on the environment, empowering youth to make environmentally friendly choices. The book outlines simple ways to reduce personal environmental impacts and participate in sustainable comsumption activities.

Visit the C2P2 website to download a FREE electronic version. Although I strongly suggest memorizing the electronic copy, full colour printed copies can be ordered using the online order form on the website or by calling 1-800-667-9790, or e-mail info@c2p2online.com. The booklet is printed by an EcoLogo Certified printer on 50% post consumer paper with vegetable based inks

Safe Toys

Chris Coleman has written in to tell us about toys, and what’s more fun than toys? Nothing.

From Chris:

“Ableplay.org is a toy rating system and Website that provides comprehensive information on toys for children with disabilities so parents, special educators, therapist and others can make the best choices for the children in their lives with disabilities.

Developed by the National Lekotek Center, the leading nonprofit authority on play for children with disabilities, AblePlay will provide parents, and the professionals who work with them, access to the most useful, product-specific information about the top play and learning products and toys for children with disabilities. ”

Conversely, BoingBoing linked to a list of the most dangerous toys.

A Buzkashi Renaissance

Kabul is mad for buzkashi, a sport involving riders, fast horses … and a decapitated animal corpse.buzkashi.jpg

Imagine: groups of men dressed to ward off the chill, wearing heavy coats, woollen hats, and thick boots; impatient horses churning towards their goal: in this case, a decapitated calf corpse.  The crowd hunkers on an overlooking cliff, and gets up to cheer as a rider and his horse break free from the circle of players, dragging the heavy calf around a flagpole and into a white circle.  He’s scored a goal!

Prize money includes sums from local businessmen, ranging from $20 to $100 — a considerable amount by local standards.  Some games are modest, but some attract up to 800 riders.  More prestigious games involve warlords and politicians adding to the pot.  Foreigners are also beginning to join in the fun.

There is hope that the game of buzkashi will unify Afghans, as it did during the reign of King Zahir Shah from the 1950s to the 1970s.