The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted a video on its website to tell Americans that they should think about how much food they waste during the holiday season if they want to help save the planet. The video is part of the EPA’s “Fight Food Waste” campaign. In the video posted on YouTube and in the […]
Category: Genetics/Mutations
Obamacare Waiver Gives States Opening For Huge Reforms. But Will They Take It?
Starting in 2017, the Affordable Care Act will allow states to use waivers to pursue virtually any type of proposals for health care reform that they can imagine. It’s a huge opportunity for states interested in expanding or changing how health care is delivered. But will anyone actually take advantage of it? California has discussed […]
Do States Actually Make Sure Dead People Don’t Get Medicaid?
Four states approved $580 million of potentially phony Medicaid payments in 2011, and the officials responsible don’t seem to be in a hurry to fix the problems that allowed the wasted spending to happen in the first place. Jail inmates, dead people and doctors previously thrown out of the program were among the thousands of recipients […]
White House: Don’t Genetically Modify Humans
The Obama administration says altering human genes for medical purposes is a “line that shouldn’t be crossed” right now. It is important to examine the ethical implications of using new technologies to altar the human genome, John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, wrote Tuesday morning on the White […]
Oklahoma Girl’s Rare Syndrome Prevents Her From Aging
Layla Qualls looks like a happy, 9- to 10-month-old baby— but she’s actually three years old. The Oklahoma girl was diagnosed with Syndrome X, which means she will never age. Researchers from the University of California Los Angeles studied Layla as one of seven children found worldwide with Syndrome X to understand the extremely rare […]
Dr. Oz Says Critics Want to Silence Him on GMO Food Labeling
Dr. Mehmet Oz says last week’s attack by 10 doctors who accused him of promoting “quack treatments” on his TV show was spurred by his vocal support for labeling genetically modified foods – a stance he says some if not all of those accusers oppose. Oz devoted the first half of his syndicated show on […]
Fast Food Chains Urged to Boycott Genetically Engineered Produce
Consumer advocacy groups are asking Burger King, Wendy’s, Subway and Dunkin’ Donuts for commitments not to sell the genetically engineered apples and potatoes the Department of Agriculture approved for consumption last week. The groups — Friends of the Earth, Consumers Union, Center for Food Safety, Environmental Working Group, Food Democracy Now, Food & Water Watch, […]
Scientists Transplant Organs for Aborted Babies Into Rats for Future Harvest
Live Science reported in January on research being done by scientists at Ganogen, Inc., a biotech company in California, that transplants organs from aborted babies into lab rats with the goal of growing them for use in patients who need organ transplants. “Researchers say they have developed a new technique that will get more kidneys […]
Millions of GMO Insects Could be Released in Florida Keys
Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in the Florida Keys if British researchers win approval to use the bugs against two extremely painful viral diseases. Never before have insects with modified DNA come so close to being set loose in a residential U.S. neighborhood. “This is essentially using a mosquito as a drug […]
DNA Genealogy Companies Help Adoptees Find Their Roots
The social worker said no. The judge said no. The local phone books were useless. For decades, no one and nothing could help Sue Warthen find the people who gave birth to her in the mid-1960s. Then her adoptive mother encouraged Mrs. Warthen’s new husband, Rob, a computer whiz, to see what he could do. […]
FDA Official: GMO Foods ‘As Safe As’ Other Foods
A top official at the Food and Drug Administration assured lawmakers Wednesday the agency has no safety concerns about the increasingly controversial production of genetically engineered foods. Genetically modified organisms, better known as GMOs, are used by farmers to increase their crop yields. But many concerns have been raised by food safety groups about the […]
CDC Throws Cold Water on Talk of ‘Airborne’ Ebola Transmission
Hoping to tamp down fears about Ebola, the Obama administration said Monday the virus wreaking havoc in West Africa is unlikely to mutate and spread by air. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a fact sheet that says samples from the current outbreak, which has killed about 5,000 abroad and elicited fear in […]
