No really. This is not more bad news. I saw this one on the BBC. Robot noses improved by coating them in a mucous.
“The team believe the enhanced electronic nose could be on sale in two years .”
OK it’s snot really good news – cause it’s not bads news.
The fight against cancer has found some support from something that we stomp over: dirt. I love ‘discoveries’ like this because I hope it’ll make people aware of how important biodiversity is.
The bark of certain yew trees can yield a medicine that fights cancer. Now scientists find the dirt that yew trees grow in can supply the drug as well, suggesting a new way to commercially harvest the medicine.
Scientists originally isolated the drug paclitaxel—now commonly known as Taxol—in 1967 from the bark of Pacific yew trees (Taxus brevifolia) in a forest near the Mount St. Helens in Washington. This yew also yields related compounds known as taxanes that can be converted to paclitaxel. Research since then has revealed other yew species generate paclitaxel and taxanes as well, as do some fungi and certain hazelnut varieties
In Ireland they implemented a smoking ban in March 2004 and researchers have noted a marked increase in air quality as a result. The research reports that an all out smoking ban in the workplace is wonderfully successful in reducing exposure to harmful particles, and, or course carcinogens. This Irish study supports previous research.
The workers were all given lung function tests before the ban came in and a year later….The bar-workers said they were exposed to around 40 hours per week before the ban came in, falling to 25 minutes afterwards – a 99% decrease in exposure.
And lung function tests improved dramatically in non-smoking barmen post-ban.
I’ve recently been thinking about getting that organ donor sticker thingie added to my health card. Especially since I just read an article that spoke a bit about the subject. Did you know that when you die your old body could save up to seven lives??? Also, many people are afraid that if they are an organ or tissue donor that this means that they will be treated less fairly at the hospital because they are seen more as potential donors than as patients deserving the best care. Not true! The doctors that care for us and the organ donor guys are usually two separate teams of people. So no doc in their right mind is going to let you die because they want your heart and possibly both kidneys. You will also not end up in a crazy scientists lab experiment and become some crazy frankenstein of organs. Although that could also be kinda cool.
Perhaps the idea sounds a tad morbid, but if my own passing could in turn save others lives then I think thats a pretty cool thing. With this form I vow to give up my guts for a good cause. I can even choose which ones I don’t feel like giving away. Although at that point at can’t see myself being too picky.
TreeHugger has a summary of what cyclists can do to protect their lungs from car pollution. If you’re worried about cycling in cities because of pollution, just remember that the health (and environmental) pros of cycling outweigh the cons.
By cycling instead of driving or taking public transport, you are doing your part to keep the air clean. The problem is that you have to cycle through all the pollution created by people who aren’t making any effort.
The Spacing Wire has information on what Canadians can do to get the federal government to support cycling.