Bio fuels bad for enviroment

    At first everybody simply thought that because we wouldn't be using gasoline, biofuels would be helping the enviroment. Well, Tim Searchinger is challenging that idea.

     He and his colleages have done extensive research into the thesisability of ethanol as a fuel source. The research has shown that converting to using ethenol could produce two to three times as much carbon dioxide over the next thirty years. Think about it, where is all the food to replace the corn used by the ethanol process going to come from? It will come from third world countries, where the extra fields will be burned out of the jungle or plowed out of the grasslands. Both of which produce large amounts of carbon dioxide.

    There are other ways to produce ethenol though. It depends on what you start with, corn and soybeans or waste food and agrcultural waste. The ethenol idea is still evolving and being refined, with humanity's need to progress at our backs we will find a good way to produce fuel without oil.

Medicine and Government

     It is important for medical personel to be informed with current medical related bills coming into their state's legislature for at least two reasons. One reason is to be prepared to make any necessary changes that the bill requires and  second to be ready to voice your opinion if you think that the bill is unjust or unnecessary. Here I will show you a simple way to interpret the meaning of a bill in just a few questions.

     The following link contains the bill that I will be analyzing.   Kentucky Senate Bill 40 in the link relates to abortion.  The areas that are in bold and underlined have been amended. The bill states that any woman, except in cases of emergency, must have an ultrasound of her unborn child presented to her. 

   Click here to view the bill.

1.  Is this the least restricitve manner for government to address the issue?  No, they could simply not require an ultrsound.  Another option would be to show a video of an unborn child. 

2.  Are there any aspects of this bill, either direct or indirect, which are addressed by the Bible?  "Children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is his reward."  Psalms 127:3  

3.  Does this bill expand or limit government size, power, or intrusiveness?  Yes, it invades the women's privacy to ignorantly kill a child.  It increases our government's power in our personal medical care. 

4.  Does this bill take rights away from people?  Yes, it takes away the right of the mother to have total control over her body, but it does give rights to the unborn child to at least be seen by his/her mother.

5.  Does this bill protect people from themselves?  Yes, it attempts to inform the mother of the consequences of her actions and who is truly being affected by her decision.  There are dangerous psychological side effects to havong an abortion and understanding what she is doing will help her make an informed decision.

6.  Does this bill cost money or increase taxes?  It would depend on who pays for the ultrasound.

7.  Does this bill affect the tax burden on businesses?  No.

8.  Does this bill strengthen or weaken the stability of the family and particularly, the marital committment?  It depends on each individual situation. 

9.  Does this bill encourage personal repsonsibility for actions?  Yes.  It shows the mother what she is doing.

10.  Does this bill limit, control, or destroy a person's right to own and use his property and that which lays above it and beneath it?  No effect.

11.  Does this bill strengthen or weaken traditional moral values?  This bill encourages the sanctity of life and encourages mothers to make a wise decision.

12.  Does this bill promote a positive work ethic?  No effect.

13.  Does this bill foster the traditional family structure?  It strongly effects the family structure as it protects children.

14.  Does this bill discourage free enterprise?  No effect. 

15.  Does this bill restrict the liberty of the law abiding citizen in his peaceful pursuits?  Yes, if you consider abortion a peaceful pursuit.

     These questions should not be used as a complete guide to analyzing a bill, but they are questions you can easily ask yourself to determine your stance on a bill and how it affects other people.

 

 

Millions abuse cough syrup

     More than 3.1 million people, or 5% teenagers and young adults, abuse cough and cold medicine to get a high. That number is comparable to the number of LSD users, and higher than the number of methamphetamine (meth) users.

 

     DXM is the culprit and is available in over 140 over-the-counter cough and cold medicines. In large amounts DXM causes disorientation, blurred vision, slurred speech, and vomiting.

 

      This is outrageous that people will do such things simply to get a high. Medicine like this can be used wrong but it has more good potential than bad I believe. If only 5% of people are doing it, it's not that bad. Whatever you make someone somewhere is going to find a way to misuse it. This is no reason to stop invention though.

 

By Matthew Thorn

Did You Know?

Hold out your hand and make a fist. If oyu are a kid your heart is about the same size as your fist. If you are an adult your heart is about the size of two fists.

New bird flu outbreak

     There has been another bird flu outbreak in . It occurred in Turpan in the Xinjiang region of China. 4,850 birds died as a result of the virus and 35,000 were killed as a precaution. No humans were infected because of the infection, to date, but China has quarantined the farmers who handled the birds. Luckily the birds hadn't migrated because of a warm winter, or the infection could have spread to the far reaches of China and beyond. The previous infection occurred in Southern China and 9,830 ducks were killed

  

      Even though this is an outbreak far away it still can affect us. What if one of the birds had been killed and sold before they realized that it was infected? With such an interrelated world a small infection somewhere can travel to the entire world. China was right in taking such precautions, this new virus needs to be stopped.

Stopping the "Superbugs"

     Scientists have found a new way to fight infection. Instead of simply destroying the bacteria, we take away their ability to transfer resistance to drugs.

    

     Germs hide together until they have high enough number in the body to start an attack. During this time they sit quietly and transfer immunity. To do this, two bacteria join together, form a tunnel through their plasma membranes, and the drug resistant bacteria send strands of DNA, which are captured by the normal one and is then produced, to make the normal one resistant.

 

      Scientists found that certain osteoporosis drugs act as a chemical decoy for a strand of E. coli. The chemicals disrupt the drug resistant bacteria's ability to send the DNA. When it tries the tunnel won't form and the drug resistant bacterium is left with unstable DNA which causes it to die.

 

     Scientists hope to use this technique on "superbugs", such as resistant staph bacteria and others. They are trying virtually every compound known to us that could have an effect, even bone building drugs.

 

By Matt Thorn

 

Based on an article in the Tupelo Daily Journal.

Comments on "Chimp Champ"

     In a test Ayumu, a young chimp, out scored college students.

In the test a series of five numbers between one and nine flashed across a screen for six hundred fifty milliseconds, then turned in to white squares. The participants then had to press the squares in numerical sequence. At this level both the college students and Ayumu got the tests correct eighty percent of the time. The researchers then shortened the time to two hundred ten milliseconds. At this level the college students got the tests correct right forty percent of the time, but Ayumu still got it right eighty percent of the time.

  

    

     Researchers think that Ayumu has the equivalent of photographic memory in humans, occasionally found in children but fades with age. In other tests with mother-child chimp groups the younger chimps out performed their mothers.

 

     I wonder what gives the chimp better memory than the college students. Further research should be conducted, and through that we may be able to improve our memory.

By Matt Thorn

Comments on painkiller drug use

     In a study made public by President Bush, statistics said that the rate of usage among teenagers is falling for most illegal drugs, including the most popular drug, marijuana, but addictive painkillers are still rising in use. Bush says that the government will continue to confront the illegal use of painkillers.

      This is mostly good news because most drugs are in a steep decline. We still need to confront the use of painkillers, though.

 By Matt Thorn

Comments on Pygmies

    In a recent expirement scientists found that the high mortality rates of pygmy groups (16-24) may be linked to a need to reproduce earlier. They said that they have an equal growth rate to other groups that reach a higher average height. They just stop growing before the other group, but they reproduce earlier. The pygmy group first reproduction occured on average between the age of 15-16, while the other group had an average 24-26 years of age.

     This proves short-term evolutionary theories (adaptation). It shows how much we can adapt to meet our circumstances, and our ability to survive anywhere.

By Matt Thorn 

Comments on Subliminal Smells

     You probably think that smell doesn't affect what you think of someone.  Well if you do, some doctors would say you are wrong. They say that subliminal smells do affect what you think of someone.

     They conducted an experiment where participants smelled a bottle that contains one of three different chemicals.  The chemicals were scents of lemon, sweat, and etheral.  After taking a whiff of a scent, the participants would look at a face with nuetral expressions and judge whether they thought the person was likeable. The lemon supposedly would bias the subject to think the person was likeable, the sweat would make the subject think the person was less likeable, and the etheral would not influence the person. They found that if the person could consciously recognize the smell that they could dismiss it. In the end the experiment proved their hypothesis.

     This fits with other research recently conducted on similar subjects of subliminal influences.

     This is very interesting research, it is always important to learn how our body works, but other than that, I see no practical use for this medically.  This may be useful for perfume, deodorant, cologne, and lotion manufacturers.

By Matt Thorn 

Comments on sleep in ICU

      Dr. Randall Friese says patients in ICU (Intensive Care Unit) do not get enough of the restoritive REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. Although they look like they are sleeping, they are only in a light superficial stage of sleep. He says that hospitals should dim the lights, set alarms that won't wake patients, providing eye sheids and ear plugs, and mild sleeping drugs. This could improve patient recovery rate and lower the infection rate at the hospital, he says.

     I didn't know that ICU patients didn't get enough REM sleep, I thought sleep wouldn't be a problem. This could really improve patient recovery rate if it works.

 

 By Matt Thorn

Comments on home lead test kits

     The sale of home lead test kits are rising in the wake of the lead scare. There are several that work properly and are moderatly priced at $8-$19. The Consumers Union recommends the Homax Lead Check, $8, and the Lead Check Household Lead Test Kit, $18.45.

      In one demonstration, Dave Lachance used Abotex Lead Inspector, which he developed, to show the effectiveness of the product. He used the product on a toy car he picked up from a dollar store. The product identified the car as having high amounts of lead in its paint. He commented that this isn't suprising, the toy was unmarked and, except for a 'made in China' sticker, had no brand name.

     That doesn't suprise me either.  It is horrible that businesses are willing to take the risk that their products might contain lead for more money.  They are sacrificing our children for their gain.

By Matt Torn 

Did You Know?

     Did you know that pound for pound bone is 6 times stronger than steel?

Comments on "Divorce, an Environmental Hazard?"

     University of Michigan researchers say divorce is bad for the environment. Researchers say divorced couples occupy 38 million extra homes, and consume dramatically more electricity and water. It's not bad if you want to sell something though.  Divorce increases the market for items such as refrigerators, dryers, laundry machines, and other goods for furnishing homes. Researchs say countries should enforce longer waiting periods for divorce or encourage cohabitation for tax purposes to reduce divorces.

     Divorce has always been a bad thing, but now you have the environment to worry about. But if you're not going to stay together for the kids, then you aren't going to do it for the environment.

 By Matt Thorn

Comments on Cancer-resistent Mice

     In the Daily Journal of Northeast Mississippi on November 30, 2007, it was reported that researchers at the University of Kentucky have found a gene called Par-4 that they believe kills cancer but does not harm other body tissues. They found the gene in the prostste of mice. They implanted the gene in other parts of the body of the mouse, and found that the mouse was cancer resistant. On top of that the implanted mice lived longer than control mice indicating that there are no side affects.

     Researchers hope that someday they can use this treatment on cancer victims by giving them a bone marrow transplant with the gene. They say since the gene didn't harm the mouse it shouldn't cause any pain, and that this would be a great triumph over current cancer treatments.

      A round of applause for the resaerchers that found this. I can't believe science has come this far. I was wondering though if we could give this gene to kids like a vaccine against cancer, but I don't know enough to even know if this is feasable.

By Matt Thorn

Did You Know?

     Did you know that if you live to be 80 your heart will have beat three billion times?

Comments on "Deep Sleep"

     A recent study found that obese children slept less than normal weight children. Researchers wonder which came first sleeping more and losing weight, or gaining weight and sleeping less. Reseachers found that sleep came first. Altough there are other factors, sleep is one of them.

     This is important research that has the potential, if used right to help many obese children.

By Matt Thorn

Comments on Cross River Gorilla

     The Cross River Gorilla is the most endangered gorilla there is with only 300 members. It lives only in Nigeria and Cameroon. The gorilla is fighting back throwing sticks and grass at human threats. It has also been recorded using sticks to measure how deep a stream is before crossing.

     This is interesting to me because  I love animals. Go, gorilla, go!  It is good to see a gorilla fighting back.

By Matt Thorn