The FDA is recommending Gardasil for boys, saying in a memo that it seems to be safe and effective in preventing genital warts in young men and boys. And guess what! None of the boys tested got cervical cancer! Kidding.
The vaccine’s maker, Merck, has been pushing for males to be offered the shot too, and gave the FDA evidence that, according to CBS,
Three studies of over 5,000 boys and men, Gardasil was 89% effective in preventing genital warts.
Check out the entire news story:
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by Cate Nelson on September 11, 2009 · 1 comment
In the wake of the Sigg/bisphenol-A controversy, a top researcher and CEO of Environmental Health Sciences fills us in on the news: endocrine disruptors such as BPA and phthalates are indeed toxic at low-level doses, too. And they’re toxic in entirely different ways than at the traditional high-dose testing indicates.
The way the tests work today is we think that by testing at high doses we’re gonna see everything. So that once we get to a dose that’s intermediate and we don’t see anything, we’re golden.
But the science is telling us that at really low doses as contaminants mimic hormones. They can have effects that are totally unpredictable by what happens at high doses.
Pete Myers spoke to Living on Earth about the consequences of current testing.
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According to the title of an article published in The City of Lancaster’s Outlook (Fall 2009) magazine “The Future Looks Bright for Solar Power in Lancaster”.
My small town, all 475,000 of us, are at the forefront of solar energy! On August 5, 2009, eSolar unveiled the 5 MW (mega watt) demonstration plant known as Sierra SunTower. The solar power plant has 24,000 mirrors and two giant tower house boilers. The boilers create what’s known as “thermal solar” which is said to be more cost-effective than the standard photovoltaic approach used in solar cells. The process creates steam to drive the turbine generators. The project was completed in 14 month time frame and has already begun to distribute power to Southern California Edison.
eSolar’s site says “Sierra SunTower will supply 5 MW of clean, renewable energy to the grid. This full-scale power plant, the only one of its kind in the U.S., produces electricity for Southern California Edison (SCE) and will power up to 4,000 homes.”
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by ECP Editors on August 17, 2009 · 1 comment
The swine flu has been widely believed to eventually become resistant to Tamiflu, an antiviral flu drug administered orally. Many people rely on Tamiflu instead of the vaccine for the seasonal flu to avoid contact with thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative found in most types of flu vaccines. (Though the FDA and CDC say Tamiflu is not a replacement for any flu vaccine, but in the case of the swine flu, has been approved for Emergency Use Authorization.)
The swine flu vaccine, in many cases, will also contain thimerosal.
Now, scientists in Denmark have discovered the first strain of H1N1 that is resistant to Tamiflu. Officials there issued a statement, quoted by Reuters:
It does not constitute a risk to public health and does not cause changes to the recommendations for the use of oseltamivir (Tamiflu).
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Plastic bags, the bane of human existence.
They were also a huge annoyance to Daniel Burd, who said that they’d come pouring out of the closet every time he did chores.
One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags.
So he did what any teen would do. He experimented with bacteria and decomposed a plastic bag in 3 months, winning top prize in the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Ottawa.
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Like we needed one more reason to keep nasty pesticides away from our homes and children. They’re linked to respiratory problems and asthma. And a recent study shows that children up to age 7 have a harder time ridding their bodies of the chemicals.
Now a new study shows that kids with childhood leukemia have elevated levels of household pesticides in their urine. The study was performed at the Georgetown University Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
These aren’t industrial-level pollutants, either. These are everyday chemicals people pick up at the hardware store and use in their very own backyards.
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is a fun and fabulous book for people that love to create their own gadgets.
