Science

Prof. H. Gilbert Welch: What Angelina Jolie FORGOT To Mention (CNN)

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From the article:

NOTE: This story is not relevant to more than 99% of American women.

Why? Because more than 99% of women do not have the BRCA1 mutation — or the BRCA2 mutation, for that matter.

And if the 1% would live a healthy lifestyle and learn about the Gerson Therapy, then they would never ever get cancer (unless they would move to Fukushima maybe).

Related info:

– SOCIAL ENGINEERING: ‘The Angelina Jolie Effect’

– Angelina Jolie Inspires Women To Maim Themselves By Celebrating Medically Perverted Double Mastectomies

– Illuminati Medical Propaganda: Angelina Jolie Writes On Her ‘PREVENTIVE’ Double Mastectomy In The New York Times

– What Angelina Jolie forgot to mention (CNN, May 20, 2013):

Editor’s note: H. Gilbert Welch is a professor of medicine at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and a co-author of “Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health.”

CNN – I first saw the headline early Tuesday on Real Clear Politics, a political news site where I generally start my morning. It’s not where I expect to see a story on breast cancer.

Then I checked my e-mail messages — they all seemed to be about Angelina Jolie’s op-ed. Students in my undergraduate class wanted to discuss it in our next session. Colleagues expressed concern and wondered what the right response was. People I don’t even know sent e-mails.

One, from a research fellow at the International Agency for Research on Cancer, nicely summed up the general concern: “I fear that this disclosure will motivate other women to undergo preventive mastectomy, even though they do not need it.”

Wow. Maybe I should read it.

Read moreProf. H. Gilbert Welch: What Angelina Jolie FORGOT To Mention (CNN)

CDC Study: 1 In 5 US Children May Have Mental Disorder (CBS)

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… needing Big Pharma’s drugs.

– CDC: 1 In 5 US Children May Have Mental Disorder (CBS Atlanta, May 18, 2013):

ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) – Nearly 1 in 5 children in the U.S. suffers from a mental disorder, and this number has been rising for more than a decade.

According to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up to 20 percent of American children are suffering from mental disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, depression and autism.

The CDC’s first study of mental disorders among children aged 3 to 17 also found that the cost of medical bills for treatment of such disorders is up to $247 billion each year.

Read moreCDC Study: 1 In 5 US Children May Have Mental Disorder (CBS)

Study: ‘Thunder God Vine’ (Lei Gong Teng – Tripterygium Wilfordii) Compound Annihilates Cancer In 40 Days

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– Thunder god vine compound annihilates cancer in 40 days, researchers discover (Natural News, May 13, 2013):

Rarely known outside traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), lei gong teng or “thunder god vine” is stunning Western researchers with its ability to stop cancer in its tracks – in as little as forty days. Used for its health enhancing qualities for more than 2,000 years in China, the West is beginning to recognize the astounding benefits of the vine for treating cancer, giving new hope to those who suffer from the most deadly forms of the disease.

Thunder god vine compound swiftly conquers cancer

Lei gong teng (Tripterygium wilfordii) is native to China, Japan and Korea where it has long been valued for its distinct anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive and anti-cancer properties. Supplying ample amounts of the active compound triptolide, the herb demonstrates substantial success in eradicating cancerous tumors.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center discovered that mice treated with triptolide for 40 days showed no further incidence of tumors, even after ceasing treatment. Ashok Saluja, vice chairman of research and the study’s leader, told Bloomberg, “You could see every day you looked at those mice, the tumor was decreasing and decreasing, and then just gone.”

Scientists at John Hopkins School of Medicine also found extracts of lei gong teng to be effective in eliminating cancerous tumors. Jun O. Liu, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology and molecular sciences at Johns Hopkins, notes:

“… triptolide has been shown to block the growth of all 60 U.S. National Cancer Institute cell lines at very low doses, and even causes some of those cell lines to die.”

Read moreStudy: ‘Thunder God Vine’ (Lei Gong Teng – Tripterygium Wilfordii) Compound Annihilates Cancer In 40 Days

Study: New Review Of Hundreds Of Scientific Studies Surrounding Glyphosate Links Monsanto’s Roundup To Autism, Parkinson’s And Alzheimer’s

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Just as Monsanto attempted to discredit scientist Gilles-Eric Seralini’s study on rats fed genetically engineered corn, the company called this peer-reviewed journal article “another bogus study” due to its “bad science.”

– Study Links Monsanto’s Roundup To Autism, Parkinson’s And Alzheimer’s (Nation of Change, May 5, 2013):

A new review of hundreds of scientific studies surrounding glyphosate—the major component of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide—sheds light on its effects within the human body. The paper describes how all of these effects could work together, and with other variables, trigger health problems in humans, including debilitating diseases like gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

Glyphosate impairs the cytochrome P450 (CYP) gene pathway, which creates enzymes that help to form and also break down molecules in cells. There are myriad important CYP enzymes, including aromatase (the enzyme that converts androgen into estrogen) and 21-Hydroxylase, which creates cortisol (stress hormone) and aldosterone (regulates blood pressure). One function of these CYP enzymes is also to detoxify xenobiotics, which are foreign chemicals like drugs, carcinogens or pesticides. Glyphosate inhibits these CYP enzymes, which has rippling effects throughout our body.

Because the CYP pathway is essential for normal functioning of various systems in our bodies, any small change in its expression can lead to disruptions. For example, humans exposed to glyphosate have decreased levels of the amino acid tryptophan, which is necessary for active signaling of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Suppressed serotonin levels have been associated with weight gain, depression and Alzheimer’s disease.

Read moreStudy: New Review Of Hundreds Of Scientific Studies Surrounding Glyphosate Links Monsanto’s Roundup To Autism, Parkinson’s And Alzheimer’s

How Mercury Causes Brain Neuron Degeneration – University Of Calgary (Video)

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And what will happen if you inject babies with vaccines that are loaded with mercury?

Exactly the same that will happen to baby monkeys:

– Study: Baby Monkeys Given Standard Doses Of Popular Vaccines Develop AUTISM Symptoms

Think that there could not possibly be high levels of mercury in vaccines, because your government cares about you???

Then listen to this doctor:

Doctor: “I have more concern about the vaccine than I do about the swine flu.”

‘Vaccine has 25,000 times the level of mercury then would be considered toxic if it was food or water.’

And mercury is in other vaccines too. So let’s give those children a 6-times vaccination just to make sure that there will be some damage in the frontal lobe!

See also:

– ‘Vaccine Court’ Awards Millions To Two Autistic Children Damaged By Vaccines

– Dr. Gary Null Speaking Out at the NYS Assembly Hearing on Vaccinations, Fraud, Junk Science, Crimes Against Humanity and Profit

If you understand German watch this and you will get a lot of questions answered :

– Dr. Joachim Mutter: Amalgam, Supergifte, Autismus & Nano-Technologie (Video)


YouTube

Study Finds Berries Clear Amyloid Brain Tangles To Help Fight Alzheimer’s Dementia

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– Study finds berries clear amyloid brain tangles to help fight Alzheimer’s dementia (Natural News, May 5, 2013):

Positive health benefits abound in the multi-colored flavonoids found in all berries, especially blueberries and strawberries. Nutrition experts and a wealth of scientific reports show that berry consumption lowers levels of dangerous inflammation within the trillions of cells throughout our body, and can lower the risk of developing vascular disorders, diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

Read moreStudy Finds Berries Clear Amyloid Brain Tangles To Help Fight Alzheimer’s Dementia

China: Scientists Created New Deadly Viral Strains In Veterinary Laboratory By Mixing Bird-Flu Virus With Human Influenza That Could ‘Cause A Global Pandemic Killing Millions of People’

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Flashback:

– Scientists Push To Resume Research On Deadly Man-Made Flu Virus

– All 40 H5N1 Exposed Ferrets DIED:

….air flowed into the next cage. killing all 40 exposed ferrets.

– US Government Paid Dutch Researchers To Mutate Deadly H5N1 Virus And Make It Go AIRBORNE!!!

– Scientists Develop Deadly Strain Of Bird Flu That Could Kill Millions, Want To Publish Full Details Of How They Did It

– ‘Appalling irresponsibility’: Senior scientists attack Chinese researchers for creating new strains of influenza virus in veterinary laboratory (Independent, May 2, 2013):

Experts warn of danger that the new viral strains created by mixing bird-flu virus with human influenza could escape from the laboratory to cause a global pandemic killing millions of people.

Senior scientists have criticised the “appalling irresponsibility” of researchers in China who have deliberately created new strains of influenza virus in a veterinary laboratory.

They warned there is a danger that the new viral strains created by mixing bird-flu virus with human influenza could escape from the laboratory to cause a global pandemic killing millions of people.

Read moreChina: Scientists Created New Deadly Viral Strains In Veterinary Laboratory By Mixing Bird-Flu Virus With Human Influenza That Could ‘Cause A Global Pandemic Killing Millions of People’

Scientists Used 3-D Printing, Melding Electronics And Biology, To Create A ‘Bionic Ear’

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– Printable ‘bionic’ ear melds electronics and biology (PHYS.org, May 1, 2013):

Scientists at Princeton University used off-the-shelf printing tools to create a functional ear that can “hear” radio frequencies far beyond the range of normal human capability

The researchers’ primary purpose was to explore an efficient and versatile means to merge electronics with tissue. The scientists used 3D printing of cells and nanoparticles followed by cell culture to combine a small coil antenna with cartilage, creating what they term a bionic ear.

Read moreScientists Used 3-D Printing, Melding Electronics And Biology, To Create A ‘Bionic Ear’

Study: Aronia, Curcumin Extracts Effectively Kill Brain Cancer Cell Line

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– Groundbreaking study: Aronia, curcumin extracts effectively kill brain cancer cell line (Natural News, Oct 9, 2012):

Researchers from the Department of Natural Sciences at Middlesex University in the U.K. have made a fascinating discovery concerning two natural “superfood” compounds and their ability to kill cancer cells. It turns out that both chokeberry extract (Aronia melanocarpa) and turmeric (Curcuma longa) work together with one another to stop the spread of malignant cancer cells, as well as induce cancer cell death, a process more commonly known as apoptosis.

The study, which was published in the journal Oncology Reports, evaluated the effects of both Aronia and curcumin on a specific glioblastoma line of brain cancer cells known as U373. Because earlier studies have already established that both herbs possess unique anticancer properties, the researchers, who themselves have been studying the herbs’ therapeutic benefits for several years, decided to examine further how one of the most common and deadly forms of brain cancer might respond to these two anticancer superfoods.

It turns out that Aronia berry, which is rich in anthocyanin flavonoids and other antioxidants and nutrients, is necrotic to the U373 cancer cell line, which means it actually kills cancer cells. And turmeric, which is abundant in the anticancer polyphenol curcumin, effectively induces apoptosis in U373, meaning that it stops this deadly cell line from producing new cells and spreading. When used together, both Aronia and turmeric appear to elicit a one-two punch defense against brain cancer.

Read moreStudy: Aronia, Curcumin Extracts Effectively Kill Brain Cancer Cell Line

Outbreak: Frightening H7N9 Study: ‘Authorities Should Definitely Be Alarmed and Get Prepared for the Worst-Case Scenario’

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In other news:

– H7N9 Spreads To Nanchang Jiangxi (Recombinomics, April 26, 2013)

– H7N9 Spreads To Fujian Province (Recombinomics, April 26, 2013)

– China’s H7N9 bird flu death toll likely to rise (LA Times, April 25, 2013)

– Outbreak: Frightening H7N9 Study: “Authorities Should Definitely Be Alarmed and Get Prepared for the Worst-Case Scenario” (SHFT Plan, April 25, 2013):

While U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention director Tom Frieden suggests there is no cause for panic over the H7N9 influenza strain and says that Americans, “go about their daily lives,” this unusually dangerous virus has concerned officials at the CDC to such an extent that they are rapidly working to develop an effective vaccine in the event it makes its way to North America.

According to the World Health Organization, the H7N9 bird flu virus is one the most lethal influenza strains ever identified. The first case appeared in China in late February and has since spread to scores of others, with at least 109 cases having been reported to WHO thus far, 22 of which have resulted in death. This amounts to a kill rate of 20%. These are laboratory confirmations, so in all likelihood there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of others who may be infected with the virus that haven’t received medical attention.

Read moreOutbreak: Frightening H7N9 Study: ‘Authorities Should Definitely Be Alarmed and Get Prepared for the Worst-Case Scenario’

Scientist That Discovered GMO Health Hazards Immediately Fired, Team Dismantled

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– Scientist that discovered GMO health hazards immediately fired, team dismantled (Natural News, Oct 24, 2013):

Though it barely received any media attention at the time, a renowned British biochemist who back in 1998 exposed the shocking truth about how genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) cause organ damage, reproductive failure, digestive dysfunction, impaired immunity, and cancer, among many other conditions, was immediately fired from his job, and the team of researchers who assisted him dismissed from their post within 24 hours from the time when the findings went public.

Arpad Pusztai, who is considered to be one of the world’s most respected and well-learned biochemists, had for three years led a team of researchers from Scotland’s prestigious Rowett Research Institute (RRI) in studying the health effects of a novel GM potato with built-in Bt toxin. Much to the surprise of many, the team discovered that, contrary to industry rhetoric, Bt potato was responsible for causing severe health damage in test rats, a fact that was quickly relayed to the media out of concern for public health.

But rather than be praised for their honest assessment into this genetically-tampered potato, Pusztai and his colleagues were chastised by industry-backed government authorities, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose office was discovered to have secretly contacted RRI just hours after Pusztai and his team announced the results of their study on television. For speaking the truth, Pusztai was immediately fired from his position, and his team dismissed from their positions at the school.

Research out of Egypt finds similar results – GMOs cause severe, long-term health damage

Read moreScientist That Discovered GMO Health Hazards Immediately Fired, Team Dismantled

FDA Allowed Drugs With Fraudulent Testing To Remain On The Market

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– Fraud Alert: FDA Allowed Drugs with Fraudulent Testing to Remain on the Market (Liberty Blitzkrieg, April 17, 2013):

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Essentially the entire U.S. economy is one gigantic fraud.  No one has honor anymore in this society, it is a totally forgotten and discarded virtue.  The ethos of the land is to take whatever you can however you can.  It doesn’t matter who you hurt or what sorts of immoral acts you need to do to get it.  One of the key dynamics that allows for such blatant theft is that the regulatory agencies that are supposed to protect us are in fact gatekeepers from the criminals in their respective industries.  In the financial area, this manifests with the SEC and CFTC revolving door to Wall Street.  In healthcare, it manifests with the FDA.  I’ve highlighted the FDA’s shadiness previously, most notably in my piece:  The FDA is Caught Spying on its Employees and Creating an “Enemies List.”  Now in this latest story, we find how little the FDA concerns itself with public health.

From Pro Publica:

On the morning of May 3, 2010, three agents of the Food and Drug Administration descended upon the Houston office of Cetero Research, a firm that conducted research for drug companies worldwide.

Read moreFDA Allowed Drugs With Fraudulent Testing To Remain On The Market

New World Record For Solar Cell Efficiency By Boeing Subsidiary Spectrolab

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– Boeing Subsidiary Spectrolab Sets World Record for Solar Cell Efficiency (Boeing, April 9, 2013):

  • Highest ever energy conversion efficiency without solar concentration
  • Increased efficiency for ground-based applications

SYLMAR, Calif., April 9, 2013 — A Spectrolab solar cell recently set a world record by converting more energy from the sun into electricity than any other ground-based solar cell without solar concentration.

The Boeing [NYSE: BA] subsidiary’s achievement in ground-based solar cell efficiency was verified by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo.

The cell converted 37.8 percent of solar energy using a new class of high-efficiency multi-junction solar cell, created from two or more materials and leveraging Boeing technology that makes semiconductor materials more reliable. The record was set without concentration, the common practice of having lenses or mirrors focus solar rays on the cells.

Read moreNew World Record For Solar Cell Efficiency By Boeing Subsidiary Spectrolab

Pentagon Developing Humanoid Terminator Robots That Will Soon Carry Weapons

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Flashback:

– Meet Britain’s Deadly Superdrone That Picks Its Own Targets

– Professor: Drones Will Soon Be Able To Kill During War Without Human Assistance AND ‘Perform More Ethically Than Human Soldiers Are Capable Of

– Meet your future enemy: Pentagon developing humanoid Terminator robots that will soon carry weapons (Natural News, April 8, 2013)

Watch the video embedded below: It reveals the “Petman” humanoid robot funded by the Department of Defense. Like something ripped right out of a sci-fi movie, the robot sweats to regulate body temperature, and it can be dressed in chemical suits, camo or other uniforms to resemble humans. The picture you see at the top of this article is take from the actual humanoid robot currently under development.

Have no illusions about where this is headed: The Pentagon wants to develop and deploy a robotic army of autonomous soldiers that will kill without hesitation. It’s only a matter of time before these robots are armed with rifles, grenade launchers and more. Their target acquisition systems can be a hybrid combination of both thermal and night vision technologies, allowing them to see humans at night and even detect heat signatures through building walls.

Read morePentagon Developing Humanoid Terminator Robots That Will Soon Carry Weapons

Study: Flu Vaccine Causes 1,400 Percent Increased Risk Of Narcolepsy

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– Flu vaccine causes 1,400 percent increased risk of narcolepsy (Natural News, April 1, 2013):

Speculation that an emergency vaccine widely administered for H1N1 (swine flu) may have caused a sharp uptick in cases of narcolepsy has been confirmed following the release of a new study out of the U.K. As reported in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), individuals given the Pandemrix vaccine for influenza during the 2009/2010 swine flu “pandemic” had a 1,400 percent increased risk of developing the neurological disorder compared to those not vaccinated.

Read moreStudy: Flu Vaccine Causes 1,400 Percent Increased Risk Of Narcolepsy

‘The BRAIN Initiative’, A $100-Million Project To Map Our Brains

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From the article:

“… giving scientists the tools they need to get a dynamic picture of the brain in action and better understand how we think and how we learn and how we remember,” …

… and how we can be manipulated and controlled.

And yes, ….

“That knowledge could be — will be – transformative.”

President Obama Speaks on the BRAIN Initiative and American Innovation


YouTube Added: 02.04.2013

– Campus poised to join Obama’s BRAIN initiative (UC Berkeley, April 2, 2013):

BERKELEY — Three UC Berkeley scientists were among a gathering of the nation’s top scientists at the White House this morning (Tuesday, April 2) as President Barack Obama announced a major national initiative to develop new tools to create real-time traffic maps of the human brain.In a White House briefing, Obama proposed an initial $100 million investment this year in the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) initiative, which “ultimately aims to help researchers find new ways to treat, cure, and even prevent brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury,” according to a White House press release.

“There is this enormous mystery waiting to be unlocked, and the BRAIN Initiative will change that by giving scientists the tools they need to get a dynamic picture of the brain in action and better understand how we think and how we learn and how we remember,” Obama said. “That knowledge could be — will be – transformative.”

Read more‘The BRAIN Initiative’, A $100-Million Project To Map Our Brains

Obama Announces ‘The BRAIN Initiative’, A $100-Million Brain Mapping Project

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… to map our brains.

– Obama has announced a $100-million brain mapping project (io9, April 2, 2013):

President Obama announced plans this morning for a long-term research project to improve our understanding of the brain. Comparing it to the Human Genome Project, Obama said the brain-mapping initiative could lead to cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s and autism, while fueling economic growth and job creation. Here’s what you need to know.

The announcement has been hotly anticipated since mid-February, when The New York Times reported the President would soon seek funds from Congress to “examine the workings of the human brain and build a comprehensive map of its activity, seeking to do for the brain what the Human Genome Project did for genetics.” At the time, we and others speculated that Obama’s plan would resemble a so-called Brain Activity Map (a.k.a. “BAM”) project outlined last year in the journal Neuron, and that the Administration might seek billions of dollars from Congress to set things in motion.

In fact, Obama announced this morning that the project will be called the BRAIN Initiative. The initial price tag: a paltry (relatively speaking) $100 million.

BRAIN stands for “Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies,” and the last word in that acronym is a telling one. When we spoke with Rafael Yuste (one of the neuroscientists whose advice the Obama Administration has sought in planning the initiative) back in February, he told us that the endeavor would be first and foremost “a technical development project.” The ultimate goal of the BRAIN may be to create a functional map of neuron activity throughout the human brain, but charting such a map is – as of today – impossible.

Read moreObama Announces ‘The BRAIN Initiative’, A $100-Million Brain Mapping Project

Fake Science Alert: Fukushima Radiation Can’t Be Compared to Bananas or X-Rays

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– Fake Science Alert: Fukushima Radiation Can’t Be Compared to Bananas or X-Rays (ZeroHedge, April 1, 2013):

[Related:  Arkansas Hit with Nuclear Accident AND Major Oil Spill]

Nuclear apologists pretend that people are exposed to more radiation from bananas than from Fukushima.

But the EPA explains:

The human body is born with potassium-40 [the type of radiation found in bananas] in its tissues and it is the most common radionuclide in human tissues and in food. We evolved in the presence of potassium-40 and our bodies have well-developed repair mechanisms to respond to its effects. The concentration of potassium-40 in the human body is constantand not affected by concentrations in the environment.

Wikipedia notes:

Read moreFake Science Alert: Fukushima Radiation Can’t Be Compared to Bananas or X-Rays

CO2 Myth Busted: Why We Need More Carbon Dioxide To Grow Food And Forests

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– CO2 myth busted: Why we need more carbon dioxide to grow food and forests (Natural News, March 1, 2013):

If you talk to the global warming crowd, carbon dioxide — CO2 — is the enemy of mankind. Any and all creation of CO2 is bad for the planet, we’re told, and its production must be strictly limited in order to save the world.

But what if that wasn’t true? What if CO2 were actually a planet-saving nutrient that could multiply food production rates and feed the world more nutritious, healthy plants?

CO2 is a vital nutrient for food crops

As it turns out, CO2 is desperately needed by food crops, and right now there is a severe shortage of CO2 on the planet compared to what would be optimum for plants. Greenhouse operators are actually buying carbon dioxide and injecting it into their greenhouses in order to maximize plant growth.

The science on this is irrefutable. As just one example, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food says:

Read moreCO2 Myth Busted: Why We Need More Carbon Dioxide To Grow Food And Forests

New Paper On Risks Of GM Crops Based On dsRNA Technology

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For your genetic rewiring …

– New paper on dsRNA risks – briefing for non-specialists (GM Watch, March 22, 2013):

NOTE: The briefing document below is a summary for the lay person of the paper published yesterday, “A comparative evaluation of the regulation of GM crops or products containing dsRNA and suggested improvements to risk assessment” by Professor Jack Heinemann, Sarah Agapito-Tenfen and Adjunct Associate Professor Judy Carman.

Press release/abstract here:
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14713

The paper is open access (free download), thanks to sponsorship of the open access fee by the Safe Food Institute of Australia:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01604120/55
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A briefing document for non-specialists describing the lack of regulation of a new class of products and GM crops based on dsRNA technology
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Adjunct Associate Professor Judy Carman, Professor Jack Heinemann and Sarah Agapito-Tenfen
21 March 2013

This is a briefing about the contents of a new, peer-reviewed scientific paper: “A comparative evaluation of the regulation of GM crops or products containing dsRNA and suggested improvements to risk assessment” by Professor Jack Heinemann, Sarah Agapito-Tenfen and Adjunct Associate Professor Judy Carman.

To date, most[1] genetically modified (GM) plants have been made by inserting a new piece of DNA into a plant so that the GM version makes a new protein. Most of these new proteins are designed to either kill insects that try to eat the plant or to make the plant resistant to a herbicide. The process works like this: the DNA is changed so that when a section of the DNA is read and copied, a new piece of messenger RNA (mRNA) is made. The mRNA then goes to another part of the cell and is read to make the new protein.

However, there is a new type of GM plant now being made. These are not designed to make a new protein, but to just make a new RNA molecule. However, the RNA molecule made is different to the single-stranded mRNA described earlier, because it is either double-stranded (dsRNA) or it is designed to find another single-stranded RNA molecule and bind to it to create a dsRNA molecule. These dsRNA molecules have important roles in cells. For example, they can silence or activate genes. For this to happen, the order of the nucleotide units in the dsRNA molecule is crucial. A different sequence can result in the dsRNA having different effects, and silencing or activating a different gene, or multiple other genes.

A number of GM plants have now been made using this technology. For example, Australia’s CSIRO has developed GM wheat and barley varieties where genes have been silenced in order to change the type of starch made by the plant. Another example is biopesticide plants, which are designed to silence a gene in insects that eat the plant. That is, the insect eats the plant, the dsRNA in the plant survives digestion in the insect, travels into the tissues of the insect to silence a gene in the insect so that the insect dies as a result.

There is evidence that the gene silencing may be inherited by the offspring of some organisms that eat the dsRNA.

Read moreNew Paper On Risks Of GM Crops Based On dsRNA Technology