One more stop for travelers -- Antarctica

"This is your captain...we'll be landing shortly in Antarctica...the ground temperature is -35 Celsius, with a light breeze of about 25 mph. A little on the cool side today, but sunny. Have a pleasant holiday and remember to fly with us again."
It's not likely to become an extremely popular destination, but someday, Antarctica could become a place to visit for more folks. For now the runway is ice and snow, and there are no hotels...you have to build your own. It will be easier, however, for scientists who want to go there to make the journey--about 5 hours from Australia.
For more information, call your travel agent...and remember to bring your guitar...and snowshoes.


BBC photo

Slovenia in charge of EU until July

BBC Photo

For the next six months Ljubljana will be the site of the EU Presidency. Slovenia will be 'running the EU show'. The spotlessly clean city, for centuries dominated by other powers, becomes the focus of European power for a day, or a month, or...half a year. For the time being, the objectives will not be very great. According to Jelco Kacin, EU MP and rapporteur for Serbia, Slovenia was chosen because it is suitably 'boring'. For others, it seems it will be a challenge to simply see that nothing goes wrong. Much of the focus will be on the EU's changing borders in the region--as much of Europe adjusts to the changes brought about by the Schengen group, and stabilizing the region between EU member state Greece and Slovenia (the Balkans). The border between Slovenia and Italy will fall, but the Slovenia-Croatia border will not, since Croatia is not an EU member. The Croatian border is being strengthened. Meanwhile, negotiations to bring Turkey into the EU are potentially nearing a head.
It's only for a brief time, but Ljubljana has her work cut out for her. Ambitious or not, her program will include many challenges. But, it will hopefully be fun, and profitable, and definitely not boring. read more

Undersea Gas Pipeline in Gulf of Finland Controversial

BBC Photo

The pipeline scheduled to run from Vyborg, Russia, to Greifswald, Germany has not yet begun. The controversy surrounding this pipeline is in fact, nothing new. Almost since its conception there have been arguments about how it should be implemented and why. For one thing, Poland insists that the pipeline run overland through Poland; Russian interests declare that the undersea route makes the most sense logistically. There is concern among the Baltic states and Finland, that the 5 billion euro pipeline will be good for Russia and Germany, but bad for everyone else. Then there are the environmental issues. There are political issues, with the gas originating in Russia, to be used by EU countries encompassing almost the whole of Europe. This dependence on fuel from Russia is a cause for concern. For each one of these interests, the stakes seem fairly substantial; but still there is a ways to go before anything is going to be finalized. Read about the latest issues, in this article from BBC.co.uk...


A lot of surveying needs to be done, information collected, the sea floor examined. One small item of concern is the large number of mines that were released into the Sea of Finland during WWII. Many are of course concerned about the impact on the environment. Nord Stream, the international group in charge of the project (of which Gazprom owns a 51% interest and German companies own 40%), will issue its Environmental Impact Assessment Report, as required by the United Nations, in the Spring of 2008.

54-yr old Kiwi braves Southern Seas to save the Whales

The Southern Seas around Antarctica are called the roughest in the world. In a desperate attempt to save a few whales, David Taylor takes his homemade 10-meter yacht into the dangerous waters to protest the killing of the whales by Japanese fishing boats. The fishing boats are not commercial fishing boats--since 1986, Japan has restricted commercial killing of whales. But under the cloak of 'scientific research', more than 1,000 whales are designated to be killed this year, including, for the first time,50 humpbacks, whales which are a favorite of whale watchers worldwide and still listed on the endangered species list as 'vulnerable'. Follow BBC correspondent Jonah Fisher (his real name) as he attempts to document the fate of the whales in the cold Antarctic waters. And pray, he doesn't get thrown overboard.
BBC's Whale correspondent, Mr. Jonah Fisher
David Taylor's homemade yacht

read the story here

'The Optimal Diet'

New Diet:
'Fit Through Fat'

Izabela Strepak says she went from a size 14

to size 4 on the "Optimal Diet." (CBS)

Featuring Foods Including Lard, Heavy Cream & Veal Brains

(CBS) From decadent jelly-filled paczkis to savory fat-saturated kielbasas, Polish cuisine has never been regarded as health food.

But, as CBS News Correspondent Cynthia Bowers reports, what a nutritionist would call a recipe for heart attacks is just what one doctor ordered for Izabela Strepak.

She went from a size 14 to a size 4.

"I guess that's a lot," she says.


read the rest at cbsnews.com

Your soap could give you Cancer

Chloroform, already suspected to cause cancer, has been found by researchers to form when (some) people use antibacterial soaps.

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Environmental chemist Peter Vikesland and collaborators at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg studied soap that contains triclosan, the ingredient that produces the antibacterial feature within soap. With it being already known that antibacterial soap is no better than regular soap for use around the house, the researchers wondered if, in fact, antibacterial soap might actually be detrimental to one’s health.

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They based their work on previous research that showed triclosan reacts with chlorine (which disinfects drinking water). This research showed that chloroform was produced, which has been implicated in the past for possibly causing cancer.

Triclosan (scientifically known as 5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)phenol) is a widely used antibacterial and antifungal substance.

read the whole article (iTWire)

An article of their results will also appear in a future issue of Environmental Science and Technology.

(03/07)

2005 Study shows Ginger may fight Cancer in Humans

A Study done at the Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea, found that the active ingredient in Ginger, [6]-Gingerol, when administered in vitro to human cancer cells, inhibited the proliferation of cells by VGEF, a signaling protein involved in the growth of cancer cells. VGEF, or Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, has been found to play a central role in the proliferation of cancer cells. VGEF acts along two cell growth pathways, the more significant of which is the angiogenesis pathway, or the attachment of cells to blood vessels.
Research has found that when cells are deficient in oxygen, then the release of VGEF is stimulated. Cancerous growths are associated with higher levels of VGEF; thus, some scientists believe that oxygen deficiency lies at the root of cancerous growths.
Currently, a great deal of research is focused on inhibiting angiogenesis in cancer cells by controlling the release of VGEF, and mediating its interaction with other factors in the pathway. If the action of VGEF can be better understood and successfully controlled then this may prove to be an effective means of controlling (and destroying) cancers. VGEF also plays a role in Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

In the Yonsei study, the effect of administration of [6]-Gingerol on VGEF production and the related growth of cancer cells was examined, in particular. [6]-Gingerol was found to have a significant effect on VGEF, particularly in limiting cancerous growth in rats. In the in vitro study of human cells, it was found to inhibit VEGF-induced proliferation of cancer cells. Thus, the naturally occurring flavonoid, related to capsaicin may have promise as an anti-cancer agent for certain types of cancers.

read more about the study...