As Aromatherapy is becoming more widely accepted in the mainstream, more people are using essential oils on their own, at home. Unfortunately, as some people are finding out, this is not always having a positive affect on the animals in their lives. [...more]
There is a new reason to feel ashamed about America’s failure to fight poverty. Neuroscientists have recently discovered that children who grow up in poor families with a low social status are prone to experiencing unhealthy stress levels, which in turn may impair their neural development. This effects both language development and memory, and may predispose these children to lifelong poverty. [...more]
Last week, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown declared climate change a top international threat, and Al Gore urged politicians to get involved to fight global warming. Results from a recent survey conducted by a University of Missouri professor reveal that the U.S. public, while aware of the deteriorating global environment, is concerned predominantly with local and national environmental issues. [...more]
Many parents are convinced that the brains of their teenage offspring are different than those of children and adults. New data confirms that this is the case. [...more]
Green tea can help beat superbugs according to Egyptian scientists speaking today (Monday 31 March 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology's 162nd meeting being held this week at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. [...more]
For almost as long as corporations have existed, people have lobbied, agitated and legislated to constrain their power and prevent the social and environmental harm caused by the single-minded quest for profit-maximization. [...more]
If a child eats conventionally grown produce, will it affect his or her health? Recent research revealed that pesticides do show up in the urine of children after consuming non-organic foods. Though the study did not look at whether or not some of the chemicals stay in the tissues and cause damage, other research says they do. [...more]
Today, experts with IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) denounced the Canadian government's claims that a new condition of licence will improve the humaneness of Canada's commercial seal hunt. The so-called "˜new' regulations make no real changes to the way seals can be killed. They simply call for bleeding to be conducted at some point, "where possible" or even after the seal is finally brought onto the deck of a sealing vessel. [...more]
The American West is heating up more rapidly than the rest of the world, according to a new analysis of the most recent federal government temperature figures. The news is especially bad for some of the nation’s fastest growing cities, which receive water from the drought-stricken Colorado River. The average temperature rise in the Southwest’s largest river basin was more than double the average global increase, likely spelling even more parched conditions. [...more]
A new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reveals that 97% of Americans are contaminated with a widely-used sunscreen ingredient called oxybenzone that has been linked to allergies, hormone disruption, and cell damage. A companion study published just one day earlier revealed that this chemical is linked to low birth weight in baby girls whose mothers are exposed during pregnancy. Oxybenzone is also a penetration enhancer, a chemical that helps other chemicals penetrate the skin. [...more]
