China says Beijing Olympics "basically" carbon neutral
This summer's Beijing Olympics will be "basically" carbon neutral thanks to a series of energy saving measures such as the use of solar power and an afforestation program, a senior official said on Thursday. Technology Minister Wan Gang said that the event was expected to generate 1.18 million tonnes of carbon, in part because so many athletes and spectators were traveling long distances.


Working towards a greener postal sector
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU) have agreed to work together to slash the CO2 emissions caused by members of the postal sector. Under the agreement signed in Berne last week by Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP, and Edouard Dayan, Director General of the UPU, UNEP will help the UPU calculate the volumes of greenhouse gases generated by the postal sector, using a clearly-defined methodology.


Japanese Mushroom Leads To Breakthrough In Protein Research
Using an enzyme of the Japanese mushroom Grifola frondosa (Maitake or dancing mushroom), proteins can be identified without knowing the organism's genetic composition. This advance simplifies the study of proteins lying at the root of such diseases as cancer and diabetes. Utrecht University Prof. Albert Heck's research group announced this breakthrough on the website of the journal Nature Methods. Proteins play a critical role in disease and growth processes of humans, animals and plants.


One In Ten Children Using Cough, Cold Medications
Researchers from Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center have found that approximately one in ten U.S. children uses one or more cough and cold medications during a given week. Pediatric cough and cold medications are widely marketed in the U.S. but surprisingly little is known about just how often they are used in children. This information is especially important in light of recent revelations that cough and cold medications are responsible for serious adverse events and even deaths among children.


Taco Bell Taking a Step into Sustainability
Taco Bell recently announced their plans to install new “Grill-To-Order”� cooking machines in all of their locations. The company is making this step to not only reduce water and energy usage, but also improve cost efficiency. Each installation is estimated to save $5,900 a year in electricity cost per store. System-wide Taco Bell expects to save more than $17 million a year.


Bisphenol-A, Check the # on Your Bottle.
How many of you drink from a Nalgene bottle? What’s the number within the triangle on the bottom? If you’ve got the wrong number down there you may be putting yourself at risk. You’ve probably seen something in the news lately that some plastics are getting a lot of negative press; most notably, drinking bottles made with hard plastic.


Butter-flavored popcorn ingredient suspected cause of lung disease
Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, and Singapore ¬(April 29, 2008) An unusually high incidence of lung disease has been diagnosed in workers at popcorn factories. Researchers are focusing on diacetyl, the ingredient which is largely responsible for the odor and flavor of the butter in popcorn, according to an article published by SAGE in the current issue of Toxicologic Pathology.


Poor children main victims of climate change: U.N.
Millions of the world's poorest children are among the most vulnerable and unwitting victims of climate change caused by the rich developed world, a United Nations report said on Tuesday, calling for urgent action. The UNICEF report "Our Climate, Our Children, Our Responsibility" measured action on targets set in the Millennium Development Goals to halve child poverty by 2015. It found failure on counts from health to survival, education and sex equality.


USDA's Schafer reassures no rice shortage
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer on Thursday sought to calm the frayed nerves of consumers, saying there was no shortage of rice in the United States even as a major outlet limited sales. He also said the surge in rice prices to record highs at the Chicago Board of Trade, the world's largest grain exchange, could be attributed, in part, to speculation about future rice shortages.


Brain reacts to fairness as it does to money and chocolate
The human brain responds to being treated fairly the same way it responds to winning money and eating chocolate, UCLA scientists report. Being treated fairly turns on the brain's reward circuitry. "We may be hard-wired to treat fairness as a reward," said study co-author Matthew D. Lieberman, UCLA associate professor of psychology and a founder of social cognitive neuroscience.


Toxic Chemical in Plastic Bottles & Cans Damaging Children's Brains & Reproductive Organs but Government & Chemical Industry Remain Unconcerned
A controversial, estrogen-like chemical in plastic could be harming the development of children's brains and reproductive organs, a federal health agency concluded in a report released Tuesday. The National Toxicology Program, part of the National Institutes of Health, concluded that there was "some concern" that fetuses, babies and children were in danger because bisphenol A, or BPA, harmed animals at low levels found in nearly all human bodies.


Too many choices, good or bad, can be mentally exhausting
WASHINGTON — Each day, we are bombarded with options -- at the local coffee shop, at work, in stores or on the TV at home. Do you want a double-shot soy latte, a caramel macchiato or simply a tall house coffee for your morning pick-me-up" Having choices is typically thought of as a good thing. Maybe not, say researchers who found we are more fatigued and less productive when faced with a plethora of choices.


Nature's Answers to the Sanitation Challenge
At a prison on the East coast of Africa, in-mates are pioneering a sanitation project that is working with nature to neutralize human wastes. The initiative, involving the development of a wetland to purify sewage, is expected to cost a fraction of the price of high-tech treatments while also triggering scores of environmental, economic and social benefits.


Climate change a factor in deaths from disease: WHO
Climate change is one of the factors causing an increase in the incidence of diseases like malaria and dengue fever, the World Health Organization said on Monday. At least 150,000 more people are dying each year of malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition and floods, all of which can be traced to climate change, said Shigeru Omi, the head of the WHO's Western Pacific office.


"Telemedicine" links Africans to Indian expertise
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Troubled by a difficult case, doctor Asfaw Atnafu decides to seek advice. He walks into a consulting room at Black Lion Hospital in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa and greets a doctor at the Care Hospital in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad.


TV Watching--The Top Environmental Hazard for Children
When parents think about their children's exposure to environmental risks, they might think of lead, pesticides or grass pollens. In fact, the greatest environmental exposure for most children is television. They spend more time watching television than in any other wakeful activity, and it affects their health and well-being in significant ways. For too long parents and even pediatricians have asked: "Is television good or bad?" Television is inherently neither; it's time to move beyond such black or white thinking.


Beijing pollution risky for endurance athletes
BEIJING (Reuters) - Endurance events at the Beijing Olympics could pose a health risk if they are staged on heavily polluted days, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday, although it was prepared to reschedule such events. Hein Verbruggen, chairman of the IOC coordination commission, said there was a small chance of athletes suffering some damage to their health if they took part in events lasting longer than an hour, such as the marathon and cycling road races.


Cholesterol scientist balked at delay: lawmaker
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The lead researcher for a study of Schering-Plough Corp and Merck & Co's controversial cholesterol drug Vytorin had expressed strong concern over the companies' decision to delay the findings, according to e-mails released on Monday. In a note to Schering executive John Strony last July, John Kastelein said he was troubled that the drugmakers delayed publication of the results, which found that their jointly sold drug Vytorin failed to reverse heart disease any better than cheaper statin drugs.


Man-made molecules reverse liver cirrhosis in rats
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Scientists in Japan have designed artificial molecules that when used with rats successfully reversed liver cirrhosis, a serious chronic disease in humans that until now can only be cured by transplants. Cirrhosis is the hardening or scarring of the liver, and is caused by factors such as heavy drinking and Hepatitis B and C. The disease is especially serious in parts of Asia, including China.


China recalls milk supplies after children fall ill
BEIJING (Reuters) - Officials in southern China sealed more than 4,000 boxes of possibly contaminated milk and the manufacturer recalled another 2,700 boxes after children became sick on drinking the product, Xinhua news agency said on Saturday. A total of 119 children, some in day care centers, fell ill on drinking the milk and 75 of them were hospitalized for two days, China's official news agency said.


Chefs warn on side-effects of sushi boom
TOKYO (Reuters) - As Japanese sushi conquers restaurants and homes around the world, industry experts are fighting the side-effects of the raw fish boom: fake sushi bars, over-confident amateurs, poisoned consumers. Once a rare and exotic treat, seaweed rolls and bites of raw tuna on vinegared rice are now familiar to most food fans. So familiar, in fact, that many hobby cooks in Europe and the United States like to make them in their own kitchens.


Mutant gene linked to most severe type of TB: study
HONG KONG (Reuters) - People who carry a mutant gene can develop potentially fatal meningitis if they get infected with the drug resistant Beijing strain of tuberculosis, a study in Vietnam has found. Tuberculous meningitis is the most severe form of the disease in which the infection spreads to membranes enveloping the brain and the spinal cord. One in three people who develop TB meningitis dies, even if he or she gets hospital treatment.


Italy tells EU no contaminated mozzarella exported
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Italy assured the European Commission on Thursday that no mozzarella cheese contaminated with cancer-causing dioxin has been exported to European Union or third countries, a Commission spokeswoman said. EU health and food safety spokeswoman Nina Papadoulaki said the EU executive had received fresh information from Rome after setting a 1:00 p.m. EDT deadline to receive complete information on the health scare concerning the popular cheese produced in the Campania region.


How Safe is the U.S. Food Supply ?
Jill Kohl was a healthy young woman in early August 2006. A marathon runner, the 2000 Wahlert High School graduate was attending graduate school in Milwaukee. She ran regularly and was careful to eat a diet of healthy foods. But just a few days after eating a spinach salad late that month, Kohl started to experience flu-like symptoms.


A Daily Dose of Antioxidants?
We’ve all read about the antioxidant superstars—the blueberries, blackberries, and cherries, for instance—that are so effective at squelching the audacious free radicals that bombard our bodies’ delicate cells every day. But few studies have been aimed at investigating how well our bodies use these antioxidant-rich foods—and whether or not their soaring ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) scores really translate into practical, disease-fighting capabilities in humans.

These news topics are being provide by:

Energy »
Ecosystems »
Climate »
Pollution »
Green Building »
Top Stories »
Wildlife »
Agriculture »
Business »
Sci/tech »
Lifestyle »
Health »