Goji, Wolfberry and Pesticide Risk — Here’s What You Need to Know

Goji is the darling of the berry world—exotic and nutrient dense with an antioxidant rating that is off the charts.

Over the last few years, availability of this super-berry has become more common in the Western world. But consumers and government agencies alike are questioning the safety of goji berries since the majority are grown in China—a country infamous for its lax and corrupt food safety standards. To make matters more complex, what is often touted as goji is actually a wolfberry, a similar yet different fruit.

A classic case of “buyer beware,” individuals are urged to be attentive when purchasing goji products.

San Francisco-area chemist says autistic daughter cured by MSG-free diet

By Deborah Hastings

(NY Daily News) San Francisco Bay-area chemist Katherine Reid says cutting out monosodium glutamate, or MSG, cured her daughter of autism.

She tried a gluten-free diet. She tried supplements including fish oil and B complex vitamins.

But it was only when Katherine Reid cut monosodium glutamate, commonly called MSG, from her autistic daughter’s meals that she saw a staggering difference in the girl's behavior.

Seven-year-old Brooke seemed to be completely free of autistic symptoms such as temper tantrums, hypersensitivity to light and seizures.

Groundbreaking research exposes the serious health consequences of thirdhand smoke

Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California have proven for the first time that thirdhand smoke produces significant damage to human DNA. A toxic residue from cigarette smoke that adheres to practically every surface - including hair, skin, clothing, carpeting, furniture and paint, this problematic remnant may become increasingly dangerous over time. Even more alarming, cleaning the noxious substance from physical environments is virtually impossible.

Thirdhand smoke: New hazards uncovered

"This is the very first study to find that thirdhand smoke is mutagenic," said researcher and study co-author Lara Gundel. "Tobacco-specific nitrosamines, some of the chemical compounds in thirdhand smoke, are among the most potent carcinogens there are. They stay on surfaces, and when those surfaces are clothing or carpets, the danger to children is especially serious."

Medical radiation treatments fraught with technician error and fatal mishap, oversight questionable radiation treatment, medical negligence, cancer

Medical radiation accidents are more common than you may think. Whether it's a software glitch or technician error, there are plenty of opportunities for a scan or treatment to go horribly wrong. And technologists are poorly regulated in a number of states, increasing the chances of a serious and potentially life-threatening mistake. As reported in the New York Times, radiation medical technology is far from foolproof.

Do no harm

Scott Jerome-Parks entered St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan to be treated for tongue cancer. Little did he know at the time, he was about to be exposed to several lethal doses of radiation which would leave him "deaf, struggling to see, unable to swallow, burned, with his teeth falling out, with ulcers in his mouth and throat, nauseated, in severe pain and finally unable to breathe," according to Walt Bogdanich's New York Times article, "Radiation Offers New Cures, and Ways to Do Harm." After receiving errant beams of radiation from a linear accelerator on three consecutive days, Mr. Jerome-Parks died several weeks later. He was 43.

NASA-Funded Study Predicts Impending Collapse of Industrial Civilization

(Inhabitat) For years, scientists and social activists have warned that income inequality, resource depletion, and unchecked population growth could lead to the collapse of civilization. However policy makers have so far regarded these assertions as little more than the predictions of delusional cardboard sign-carrying oracles on street corners. A new study funded by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center confirms these terrifying prophesies, stating that industrialized society as we know it could completely collapse within the next few decades.

It happened to the Roman, Han, Gupta, and Mauryan empires, and now NASA warns that utter destruction could befall our global economy as well. Working with a framework that incorporates mathematical analysis, social science, and observation of natural phenomena, the ‘Human And Nature Dynamical’ (HANDY) model projects “business as usual” could lead to the end of industrialized civilization. Accepted for publication in the Elsevier Journal of Ecological Economics, the study finds ample historical evidence that overpopulation, failing agriculture, limited access to water, energy consumption, and the unequal distribution of wealth could all combine to spell the end for society as we know it.

Latest research - Scientists discover correlation between GMOs and leukemia

As if there isn't enough reason to avoid genetically modified food, new research has discovered GMOs are linked with leukemia and anemia. The study found that Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) used in bioengineered seeds has a substantial adverse effect on blood cells and bone marrow cell proliferation. Even at the lowest dose, the effects were deemed virulent to proper cell health.

Birth of Bt frankenfood

Bacillus thuringiensis is naturally found in the soil and has been used as a foliar insecticide since the late 1960s. Farmers spray their crops with the bacteria, insects consume it and their stomachs subsequently break open. However, use of the toxin didn't stop as a topical pesticide. As reported in the Natural News article "Rid the body of dangerous Bt-toxin found in genetically modified food with these tips":