[rael-science] Scientists make wheat genetic code breakthrough‏

วันเสาร์ที่ 1 ธันวาคม พ.ศ. 2555

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/28/us-wheat-genes-idUSBRE8AR10020121128

Scientists make wheat genetic code breakthrough

(Reuters) - Scientists from Britain, Germany and the United States have unlocked key components of the genetic code for wheat, helping to create varieties that are more productive and better able to cope with disease, drought and other crop stresses.
The identification of around 96,000 wheat genes, and insights into the links between them, comes just two years after UK researchers published the raw data of the wheat genome.
"Since 1980, the rate of increase in wheat yields has declined," said one of the project leaders, Keith Edwards of the University of Bristol.
"Analysis of the wheat genome sequence data provides a new and very powerful foundation for breeding future generations of wheat more quickly and more precisely, to help address this problem," he added.
The research was published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.
"Bread wheat is a complex hybrid, composed of the complete genomes of three closely related grasses. This makes it very complex and large; in total it is almost five times bigger than the human genome," said another of the project's leaders, Klaus Mayer of Helmholtz-Zentrum Munchen.
"Because of this, we took a novel approach to analyzing the data and we have been successful in turning it into an accessible and useful resource that will accelerate breeding and the discovery of varieties with improved performance - for example better disease resistance and stress tolerance."
Jan Dvorak of the University of California, Davis led the U.S. contribution to the project.
The study was welcomed by other scientists.
"As we struggle to confront the increasing challenges of population increase, land degradation and climate change that are contributing to food insecurity, it will be vital to understand the underlying genetics of staple crops like wheat," said Denis Murphy of the University of Glamorgan.
"The newly published wheat genome will be a vital resource for researchers and crop breeders across the world in their efforts to maintain global food supplies."


-- 
-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.
 
There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history, 
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.
 
On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.
 
Rael
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Tell your friends that they can subscribe to this list by sending an email to:
subscribe@rael-science.org
- - -
To unsubscribe, send an email to:
unsubscribe@rael-science.org
- - -
 

[rael-science] The emerging science of ‘collective intelligence’ — and the rise of the global brain‏

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Source: http://io9.com/5962914/the-emerging-science-of-collective-intelligence--and-the-rise-of-the-global-brain

The emerging science of ‘collective intelligence’ — and the rise of the global brain

Over at the Edge there's a fascinating article by Thomas W. Malone about the work he and others are doing to understand the rise of collective human intelligence — an emergent phenomenon that's being primarily driven by our information technologies. We may be on an evolutionary trajectory, he argues, that could someday give rise to the global brain. And amazingly, he's developing an entirely new scientific discipline to back his case.
Malone, who is the Director at MIT's Center for Collective Intelligence, studies the way people and computers can be connected so that — collectively — they can act more intelligently than any single person, group, or computer.

And in fact, Malone is even mapping what he calls the "genomes of collective intelligence," a list of convergent examples and design patterns of this phenomenon — things that are assisted by Google, Wikipedia, InnoCentive, (the community that developed the Linux open source operating system), and others. He claims to have identified about 19 of these collective intelligence design patterns — or genes — theat occur over and over in different examples. He writes:
For instance, the community of people that developed the Linux open source operating system embodies what we call the "crowd" gene, because anyone who wants to can contribute new modules for the Linux operating system. But that community also embodies what we call the "hierarchy" gene, because Linus Torvalds and a few of his friends and lieutenants decide-essentially hierarchically-which of the modules that people send in will actually be included in the new versions of the system. So that's the genomes of collective intelligence project.
Among the other things Malone is working on, he's trying to understand how our whole society is evolving in a way that makes us more intelligent. "It's becoming increasingly useful to think of all the people and computers on the planet as a kind of global brain," he writes. Moreover, "our future as a species may depend on our ability to use our global collective intelligence to make choices that are not just smart, but also wise." He continues:
What's the science here? In a sense, we're trying to understand scientifically how groups of humans work together now using the means we have and have had for connecting humans to each other, face to face communication, telephone, Internet, et cetera. More importantly, perhaps, we're also trying to understand the science behind the deeper phenomena of humans working together or humans and computers working together in ways that will help us understand how to create new kinds of human or human and computer cooperatives or collective intelligences. So in that sense, the boundary between science and engineering begins to blur.
Science is about understanding what is, engineering is about how to create what you want to be. But they're clearly related to each other. Understanding better how the world works helps you shape the world in ways you want it to be, and often trying to shape the world in ways you want helps you understand fundamental scientific questions about how the world is in ways that you might never have thought of asking before. Another way of thinking about the question of what's the science here is to relate what we're doing in collective intelligence.
We just had the first academic conference on collective intelligence in April of 2012 held at MIT. I was one of the two co-organizers. We had a number of very interesting speakers and people there, and many people said it was one of the best conferences they'd ever been to. There's a sense that there is a field catalyzing here, a field congealing here.
Malone's essay is a long read, but well worth it — including his insights into ant intelligence and the idea that we should start to measure not the relative intelligence of individuals in a species, but rather the overall intelligence of their emergent group behavior.

-- 
-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.
 
There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history, 
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.
 
On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.
 
Rael
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Tell your friends that they can subscribe to this list by sending an email to:
subscribe@rael-science.org
- - -
To unsubscribe, send an email to:
unsubscribe@rael-science.org
- - -
 
 
 

[rael-science] Bigfoot Genome?‏

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Source: http://www.biotechniques.com/news/biotechniquesNews/biotechniques-337678.html


Bigfoot Genome?

When a company announced last week that they had sequenced the Bigfoot genome, it seemed too good to be true. And probably is.
For decades, people who believe that Bigfoot is a real animal that lives in the hinterlands of North America have been waiting for proof of its existence. So, when a DNA diagnostics company published a press release on their website last week claiming to have sequenced the Bigfoot genome, it seemed too good to be true.
A still from the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film, allegedly showing a female Bigfoot mid-stride (but perhaps, just a man in an ape suit). Source: Wikipedia Commons
In the press release, DNA Diagnostics claimed that Texas veterinarian Melba Ketchum had sequenced the DNA of Bigfoot (aka Sasquatch). The company stated that the sequencing results confirm that Bigfoot exists and is a “novel hominin hybrid species...a human relative that arose approximately 15,000 years ago as a hybrid cross of modern Homo sapiens with an unknown primate species.”
So, do Bigfoot enthusiasts have reason to rejoice? Well, not just yet.
In response, the science blogosphere erupted with skepticism, and even ridicule, of Ketchum and her team. The press release is short on details and states that the study is still under peer review. So, no one can get a look at the actual data. Without that, it’s impossible to evaluate Ketchum’s claims.
According to the press release, Ketchum’s team sequenced 20 whole mitochondrial genomes and three whole nuclear genomes from “purported Sasquatch samples.” Their analysis allegedly found that Sasquatch’s mitochondrial DNA was identical to that of modern humans, but that the nuclear DNA was “a novel, unknown hominin” resulting from males of “an unknown hominin species” that contains “distinctly non-human, non-archaic hominin, and non-ape sequences.”
David Coltman, a geneticist with the University of Alberta, believes that plenty of caution is needed before interpreting this press release as proof of Bigfoot. “Until you see anything in peer review, there is nothing really to go by. And even if it does appear in a peer-reviewed journal, that doesn’t mean it’s true,” he said.
In 2006, Coltman and colleagues sequenced a supposed Bigfoot hair sample collected in Teslin, Yukon (1). The results showed it was just bison hair.
His biggest question about the new press release is how the hypothesized hybrid could possibly occur. “There’s a logical problem there, from a biology perspective. If Sasquatch is a hybrid between a primate more distant from the great apes and a human, their genomes would be incompatible. They wouldn’t be able to reproduce.”
So, what exactly might Ketchum have sequenced? Coltman doesn’t know for sure, but he said that it’s easy to pick up human mitochondrial DNA because of contamination, and that the nuclear DNA could represent environmental noise, more contamination of yeast, fungi, or other microorganisms–very common occurrences with any forensic sample. “There are big piles of DNA sequence that come out of any environmental sample that don’t line up to anything,” he said.
In the end, Coltman said that it’s next to impossible to prove that something doesn’t exist. Just because Ketchum’s DNA sequencing study may eventually prove to be bogus, an artifact of processing or contamination of the sample, doesn’t mean that there can’t be a Bigfoot out there somewhere, just waiting to be discovered–and its genome sequenced.
References
  1. Coltman, D., and C. Davis. 2006. Molecular cryptozoology meets the sasquatch. Trends in ecology & evolution 21(2):60-61.

-- 
-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.
 
There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history, 
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.
 
On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.
 
Rael
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Tell your friends that they can subscribe to this list by sending an email to:
subscribe@rael-science.org
- - -
To unsubscribe, send an email to:
unsubscribe@rael-science.org
- - -
 

[rael-science] [with Rael's comment] Dutch approve move to scrap blasphemy law‏

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RAEL'S COMMENT: This is a very good decision that should be applied worldwide.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20530428

Dutch approve move to scrap blasphemy law

Dutch authorities have decided to approve a motion abandoning a law under which it is a crime to insult God.
A majority of parties in parliament said the blasphemy law was no longer relevant in the 21st Century.
The legislation, introduced in the 1930s, has not been invoked in the last half century.
However, it still remains illegal under Dutch law to be disrespectful to police officers or to insult Queen Beatrix, the country's monarch.
Freedom of speech is a much-cherished right in the liberal and traditionally tolerant Netherlands.
The BBC's Anna Holligan, in The Hague, says that there was much debate about the issue after a Dutch court ruled that the far-right anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders should be allowed to criticise Islam, even if his outspoken opinions offended many Muslims.
In 2008, a coalition government decided against repealing the blasphemy law in order to maintain support from a conservative Christian political party.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WARNING FROM RAEL: For those who don't use their intelligence at its full capacity, the label "selected by RAEL" on some articles does not mean that I agree with their content or support it. "Selected by RAEL" means that I believe it is important for the people of this planet to know about what people think or do, even when what they think or do is completely stupid and against our philosophy. When I selected articles in the past about stupid Christian fundamentalists in America praying for rain, I am sure no Rael-Science reader was stupid enough to believe that I was supporting praying to change the weather. So, when I select articles which are in favor of drugs, anti-semitic, anti-Jewish, racist, revisionist, or inciting hatred against any group or religion, or any other stupid article, it does not mean that I support them. It just means that it is important for all human beings to know about them. Common sense, which is usually very good among our readers, is good enough to understand that. When, like in the recent articles on drug decriminalization, it is necessary to make it clearer, I add a comment, which in this case was very clear: I support decriminalizing all drugs, as it is stupid to throw depressed and sad people (as only depressed and sad people use drugs) in prison and ruin their life with a criminal record. That does not mean that there is any change to the Message which says clearly that we must not use any drug except for medical purposes. The same applies to the freedom of expression which must be absolute. That does not mean again of course that I agree with anti-Jews, antisemites, racists of any kind or anti-Raelians. But by knowing your enemies or the enemies of your values, you are better equipped to fight them. With love and respect of course, and with the wonderful sentence of the French philosopher Voltaire in mind: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


-- 
-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.
 
There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history, 
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.
 
On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.
 
Rael
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Tell your friends that they can subscribe to this list by sending an email to:
subscribe@rael-science.org
- - -
To unsubscribe, send an email to:
unsubscribe@rael-science.org
- - -
 

[rael-science] [with Rael's comment] Giant 100-meter sarcophagus constructed at Chernobyl nuclear plant (PHOTOS, VIDEO)‏

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RAEL'S COMMENT: Fukushima needs the same thing as soon as possible, plus underground containment to protect the ocean.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Source: http://rt.com/news/chernobyl-new-safe-confinement-773/

Giant 100-meter sarcophagus constructed at Chernobyl nuclear plant (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Workers are picture after the raising of the first section of a colossal arch-shaped structure that is eventually to cover the exploded reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power station, on November 27, 2012 in Chernobyl. (AFP Photo / Sergei Supinsky)
(4.4Mb) embed video
The milestone first stage of the new sarcophagus for Chernobyl’s nuclear power station has been completed. The unique construction to safely contain the radioactive emissions of Chernobyl for the next 100 years will be ready by October 2015.
The unprecedented new shelter will be 108m high (equivalent to a 30-story apartment building), 257m wide, and 150m long (almost two football fields). The approximate weight of the structure will be 29,000 tons.
The
          first section of a colossal arch-shaped structure that is
          eventually to cover the exploded reactor at the Chernobyl
          nuclear power station is being assembled on November 27, 2012
          in Chernobyl. (AFP Photo / Sergei Supinsky)
The first section of a colossal arch-shaped structure that is eventually to cover the exploded reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power station is being assembled on November 27, 2012 in Chernobyl. (AFP Photo / Sergei Supinsky)
The construction site has been deployed just 200 meters from the existing sarcophagus. Estimated 2,500-3,000 workers and engineers are expected to see the project to completion. Once fully assembled, the New Safe Confinement structure will be pulled over the original Chernobyl sarcophagus of the fourth reactor using a specially designed rail-track.
The first, ‘eastern’ arc of the construction, weighing some 5,300 tonnes, has already been assembled and elevated on necessary height with the help of 40 hydraulic ramps. The ramps are fixed on specially constructed towers 45m high.
Vince Novak, director of the Nuclear Safety Department of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), called the first fulfilled stage a “major milestone”.
“I’m personally very impressed with the progress achieved in the assembly of the new confinement,” Novak said.
The
          first section of a colossal arch-shaped structure that is
          eventually to cover the exploded reactor at the Chernobyl
          nuclear power station is being assembled on November 27, 2012
          in Chernobyl. (AFP Photo / Sergei Supinsky)
The first section of a colossal arch-shaped structure that is eventually to cover the exploded reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power station is being assembled on November 27, 2012 in Chernobyl. (AFP Photo / Sergei Supinsky)
The New Safe Confinement (NSC) project is called to replace the original Soviet confinement constructed by November 1986, half-a-year after an ill-fated experiment at Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986, ended up with a thermal explosion of the active zone.
The Chernobyl explosion became the biggest nuclear catastrophe of the 20th century. Tens of thousands of people living within the 30km exclusion zone around Chernobyl power station were evacuated; hundreds of thousands suffered from radiation-caused illnesses over the years.
The original confinement was designed to serve for 30 years, till 2016. Though the construction of a new confinement was underway, additional maintenance and reinforcement works of the existing sarcophagus were done in 2011. That added another 15 years of service life to the construction.
Staff
          work on the New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure at the site
          of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor November 27, 2012. (Reuters /
          Anatolii Stepanov)
Staff work on the New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor November 27, 2012. (Reuters / Anatolii Stepanov)
The shelter fund established to construct a new sarcophagus for Chernobyl has been sponsored by 28 countries and managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Engineering and assembly of the new confinement, a huge hangar-like structure, is being conducted by French consortium Novarka and largely financed by the EU. The total cost of constructing the NSC is estimated at well over 950 million euro.
Construction crews from France, Italy and Ukraine are working together at the site, while French engineers from Novarka are overseeing the project.
Nicolas Caillé, the project director at Novarka, said nothing similar has ever been constructed in the world.
“The design process has been extremely difficult. We’ve spent over 2 million hours engineering the project. Then there was the production of metal construction. The actual assembly process is much simpler,” Caillé told Euronews.
Initially, the NSC must have been in place by 2005, but the scale of the task caused the project to be postponed for years.
The
          first section of a colossal arch-shaped structure that is
          eventually to cover the exploded reactor at the Chernobyl
          nuclear power station is being assembled on November 27, 2012
          in Chernobyl. (AFP Photo / Sergei Supinsky)
The first section of a colossal arch-shaped structure that is eventually to cover the exploded reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power station is being assembled on November 27, 2012 in Chernobyl. (AFP Photo / Sergei Supinsky)
Construction deputy chief Victor Zalizetsky says “the task of this construction is to prevent aerial proliferation of contaminant radionuclides into the environment. Consequently, this will protect Ukraine and European countries from radiation contamination for the next 100 years.”
“Construction of the new confinement is the very first stage to reach the main goal – stabilization of the installation inside the installation and extraction of the debris containing nuclear fuel,” Igor Gramotkin, director-general of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant said at a media briefing.
“I’m absolutely sure the works will be done in time, in accordance with the contract and within the allocated financing,” Gramotkin concluded.
Staff
          work on the New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure at the site
          of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor November 27, 2012. (Reuters /
          Anatolii Stepanov)
Staff work on the New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor November 27, 2012. (Reuters / Anatolii Stepanov)
Yet the most challenging task of disassembling the destroyed reactor #4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is a distant prospect.
Dr Carlo Mancini, the chairman of the International Advisory Group (IAG), the scientific supervisor of the NSC project, says a nuclear waste site for safely stocking thousands of tonnes of the radioactive debris from Chernobyl is yet to be constructed.
The final cost of the New Safe Confinement and future nuclear waste site is expected to reach 1.54 billion euro.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WARNING FROM RAEL: For those who don't use their intelligence at its full capacity, the label "selected by RAEL" on some articles does not mean that I agree with their content or support it. "Selected by RAEL" means that I believe it is important for the people of this planet to know about what people think or do, even when what they think or do is completely stupid and against our philosophy. When I selected articles in the past about stupid Christian fundamentalists in America praying for rain, I am sure no Rael-Science reader was stupid enough to believe that I was supporting praying to change the weather. So, when I select articles which are in favor of drugs, anti-semitic, anti-Jewish, racist, revisionist, or inciting hatred against any group or religion, or any other stupid article, it does not mean that I support them. It just means that it is important for all human beings to know about them. Common sense, which is usually very good among our readers, is good enough to understand that. When, like in the recent articles on drug decriminalization, it is necessary to make it clearer, I add a comment, which in this case was very clear: I support decriminalizing all drugs, as it is stupid to throw depressed and sad people (as only depressed and sad people use drugs) in prison and ruin their life with a criminal record. That does not mean that there is any change to the Message which says clearly that we must not use any drug except for medical purposes. The same applies to the freedom of expression which must be absolute. That does not mean again of course that I agree with anti-Jews, antisemites, racists of any kind or anti-Raelians. But by knowing your enemies or the enemies of your values, you are better equipped to fight them. With love and respect of course, and with the wonderful sentence of the French philosopher Voltaire in mind: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


-- 
-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.
 
There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history, 
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.
 
On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.
 
Rael
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Tell your friends that they can subscribe to this list by sending an email to:
subscribe@rael-science.org
- - -
To unsubscribe, send an email to:
unsubscribe@rael-science.org
- - -
 

[rael-science] A soft drink a day raises prostate cancer risk: study‏

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


A soft drink a day raises prostate cancer risk: study

11-27-12
Men who drink one normal-sized soft drink per day are at greater risk of getting more aggressive forms of prostate cancer, according to a Swedish study released Monday.
"Among the men who drank a lot of soft drinks or other drinks with added sugar, we saw an increased risk of prostate cancer of around 40 percent," said Isabel Drake, a PhD student at Lund University.
The study, to be published in the upcoming edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, followed over 8,000 men aged 45 to 73 for an average of 15 years.
Those who drank one 330-millilitre (11-fluid-ounce) soft drink a day were 40 percent more likely to develop more serious forms of prostate cancer that required treatment.
The cancer was discovered after the men showed symptoms of the disease, and not through the screening process known as Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA).
Those who ate a diet heavy on rice and pasta increased their risk of getting milder forms of prostate cancer, which often required no treatment, by 31 percent, while a high intake of sugary breakfast cereals raised the incidence of milder forms of the cancer to 38 percent, Drake told AFP.
While further research was needed before dietary guidelines could be changed, there are already plenty of reasons a person should cut back on soft-drink consumption, she noted.
The men in the study had to undergo regular medical examinations and kept a journal of their food and drink intake.
Previous studies have shown that Chinese and Japanese immigrants in the US develop prostate cancer more often than peers in their home countries.
Further research on how genes respond to different diets would make it possible to "tailor food and drink guidelines for certain high-risk groups," Drake said.
nsb/po/jhb

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WARNING FROM RAEL: For those who don't use their intelligence at its
full capacity, the label "selected by RAEL" on some articles does not
mean that I agree with their content or support it. "Selected by RAEL"
means that I believe it is important for the people of this planet to
know about what people think or do, even when what they think or do is
completely stupid and against our philosophy. When I selected articles
in the past about stupid Christian fundamentalists in America praying
for rain, I am sure no Rael-Science reader was stupid enough to believe
that I was supporting praying to change the weather. So, when I select
articles which are in favor of drugs, anti-Semitic, anti-Jewish, racist,
revisionist, or inciting hatred against any group or religion, or any
other stupid article, it does not mean that I support them. It just
means that it is important for all human beings to know about them.
Common sense, which is usually very good among our readers, is good
enough to understand that. When, like in the recent articles on drug
decriminalization, it is necessary to make it clearer, I add a comment,
which in this case was very clear: I support decriminalizing all drugs,
as it is stupid to throw depressed and sad people (as only depressed and
sad people use drugs) in prison and ruin their life with a criminal
record. That does not mean that there is any change to the Message which
says clearly that we must not use any drug except for medical purposes.
The same applies to the freedom of expression which must be absolute.
That does not mean again of course that I agree with anti-Jews,
anti-Semites, racists of any kind or anti-Raelians. But by knowing your
enemies or the enemies of your values, you are better equipped to fight
them. With love and respect of course, and with the wonderful sentence
of the French philosopher Voltaire in mind: "I disapprove of what you
say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
-- 
-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.
 
There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history, 
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.
 
On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.
 
Rael
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Tell your friends that they can subscribe to this list by sending an email to:
subscribe@rael-science.org
- - -
To unsubscribe, send an email to:
unsubscribe@rael-science.org
- - -
 
 

Copyright Text

WARNING FROM RAEL: For those who don't use their intelligence at its
full capacity, the label "selected by RAEL" on some articles does not
mean that I agree with their content or support it. "Selected by RAEL"
means that I believe it is important for the people of this planet to
know about what people think or do, even when what they think or do is
completely stupid and against our philosophy. When I selected articles
in the past about stupid Christian fundamentalists in America praying
for rain, I am sure no Rael-Science reader was stupid enough to
believe that I was supporting praying to change the weather. So, when
I select articles which are in favor of drugs, anti-semitic,
anti-Jewish, racist, revisionist, or inciting hatred against any group
or religion, or any other stupid article, it does not mean that I
support them. It just means that it is important for all human beings
to know about them. Common sense, which is usually very good among our
readers, is good enough to understand that. When, like in the recent
articles on drug decriminalization, it is necessary to make it
clearer, I add a comment, which in this case was very clear: I support
decriminalizing all drugs, as it is stupid to throw depressed and sad
people (as only depressed and sad people use drugs) in prison and ruin
their life with a criminal record. That does not mean that there is
any change to the Message which says clearly that we must not use any
drug except for medical purposes. The same applies to the freedom of
expression which must be absolute. That does not mean again of course
that I agree with anti-Jews, antisemites, racists of any kind or
anti-Raelians. But by knowing your enemies or the enemies of your
values, you are better equipped to fight them. With love and respect
of course, and with the wonderful sentence of the French philosopher
Voltaire in mind: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to
the death your right to say it".