Good science cannot long persist in an atmosphere of intimidation. Political figures ought to be reviewing their public statements to make sure they are consistent with the best available science; scientists should not be reviewing their statements to make sure they are consistent with the current political orthodoxy. – House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY)
WHO Paves Way for Medicines for the Poor
The World Health Organization is actually going to try to make drugs more affordable for the majority of the world.
“The resolution approved by the Assembly, the supreme decision-making body of the World Health Organisation (WHO), urges the 192 member states to make the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals a strategic sector, thus committing themselves to making R&D of medicines consistent with public interest needs a priority.
This was the response of health ministers at last week’s meeting in Geneva to the concerns of developing countries and humanitarian non-governmental organisations, which criticised the tendency of transnational pharmaceutical companies to concentrate their R&D efforts on diseases prevalent in affluent countries. “
Smoking Cannabis Does Not Increase Lung Cancer Risk
According to an article on Fox News, cannabis does not increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers. Even frequent users who have smoked tens of thousands of joints over their lifetime are at no greater risk than infrequent users or non-users.
The researchers are not sure exactly why this is, but think it may have something to do with the active ingredient in cannabis, THC.
UN World Food Programme is Blogging
After creating the fantastic and educational video game for kids, Food Force, the UN is providing a way for kids to talk to humanitarian workers on the front lines. From the UN press release:
“Fresh from the global success of the world’s first humanitarian video game designed to arouse children’s interests in the challenges of fighting hunger, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today announced the launch of a blog, an interactive internet chat site, that allows youngsters to talk directly to aid workers on the battle’s frontlines.
“In response to queries from Food Force players all over the world on how they could help, the new blog is a way to channel interest and a place to exchange ideas,†WFP said, referring to the educational video game which has now been played by at least 4 million people since its launch in April 2005 and is currently available in five languages.”
Dancing Therapy Helps Children with Mental Illness
A research project in Sweden, the first of it’s kind, has shown that dance therapy is effective in treating AD/HD in boys and depression in girls. For sullen teenagers who often refuse or are unable to talk about what is troubling them, dance therapy helps to loosen them up and shake off their mental shackles.
Boys affected with AD/HD start out with frenetic, high energy dancing, and then move on to slower, more methodical exercises which require them to pay attention and mimic.
Depressed and self-destructive teenage girls learn self-esteem, setting limits and saying ‘no’ through flamenco dancing.
The researchers are hoping that other countries will introduce dance therapy as a compliment to traditional psychotherapy.