B.C. prison, hospital meals should be local: report

B.C. prison, hospital meals should be local: report: "Hospitals and prisons and other public institutions in B.C. should start serving more locally produced food in order to support farmers in the province, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives."

Outlaw Professor Confirms Alcohol ‘More Harmful Than Heroin’

Outlaw Professor Confirms Alcohol ‘More Harmful Than Heroin’: "

[disinfo ed.'s note: although we ran a story about this report previously, we decided that Aaron's post had sufficient additional information to run it too.]

Not sure about the “harm score” reliability, but the chart is worth a gander nevertheless; the BBC reports:

Alcohol is more harmful than heroin or crack, according to a study published in medical journal the Lancet. The report is co-authored by Professor David Nutt, the former UK chief drugs adviser who was sacked by the government in October 2009. It ranks 20 drugs on 16 measures of harm to users and to wider society.

Gavin Partington, of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said alcohol abuse affected “a minority” who needed “education, treatment and enforcement”.

The study also said tobacco and cocaine are judged to be equally harmful, while ecstasy and LSD are among the least damaging.

…

The modelling exercise concluded that heroin, crack and methylamphetamine, also known as crystal meth, were the most harmful drugs to individuals, but alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were the most harmful to society.

When the scores for both types of harm were added together, alcohol emerged as the most harmful drug, followed by heroin and crack…

[continues at the BBC]

"

Cure For Common Cold May Arrive Soon

Cure For Common Cold May Arrive Soon: "

Too good to be true? It’s sort of the holy grail of medicine and maybe, just maybe, scientists at Cambridge University have found it, according to Steve Connor at the Independent:

In a dramatic breakthrough that could affect millions of lives, scientists have been able to show for the first time that the body’s immune defences can destroy the common cold virus after it has actually invaded the inner sanctum of a human cell, a feat that was believed until now to be impossible.

The discovery opens the door to the development of a new class of antiviral drugs that work by enhancing this natural virus-killing machinery of the cell. Scientists believe the first clinical trials of new drugs based on the findings could begin within two to five years.

The researchers said that many other viruses responsible for a range of diseases could also be targeted by the new approach. They include the norovirus, which causes winter vomiting, and rotavirus, which results in severe diarrhoea and kills thousands of children in developing countries.

Viruses are still mankind’s biggest killers, responsible for twice as many deaths as cancer, essentially because they can get inside cells where they can hide away from the body’s immune defences and the powerful antibiotic drugs that have proved invaluable against bacterial infections.

However, a study by a team of researchers from the world-famous Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge has shown that this textbook explanation of the limits of the human immune system is wrong because anti-viral antibodies can in fact enter the cell with the invading virus where they are able to trigger the rapid destruction of the foreign invader…

[continues at the Independent]

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Serious Organized Crime: UK Anti-Vivisection Activists Sent to Jail

Serious Organized Crime: UK Anti-Vivisection Activists Sent to Jail: "

SchNEWS - Friday 29th October 2010 | Issue 745

The six defendants in the second [Stop Huntington Animal Cruelty] trial were hammered with vicious sentences this week...The harshest was the six years handed down to 53-year-old Sarah Whitehead. Sentences for the other defendants...ranged from a two year suspended sentence for the youngest...to three and a half years...

read more

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US Tea Party's Deep Ties to Oil Sands Giant (in News)

US Tea Party's Deep Ties to Oil Sands Giant (in News): "

Owners of Koch Industries, a major processor of Alberta crude, spent millions to foment and support a movement against Obama's climate change policies."

You're Paying for Campbell's Faulty Prescription (in Opinion)

You're Paying for Campbell's Faulty Prescription (in Opinion): "

British Columbians use tax cuts to buy health care formerly provided by the government."

The Premier's Days Are Numbered (in Opinion)

The Premier's Days Are Numbered (in Opinion): "

Gordon Campbell is on his way out of office, and likely soon after multiple disasters."