by Pamela Ronald on 31 December 2011 From Tomorrow's Table
In Memoriam,
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.
Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes
But ring the fuller minstrel in.
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by Anastasia on 25 January 2010 There are a lot of myths out there about high fructose corn syrup. While there are plenty of reasons to avoid consuming too much corn syrup (and all sugars), that’s no reason to spread rumors.
Have any commonly held beliefs about corn that you’d like to know more about? Let us know in the comments.
Myth: Huge amounts of the sizable US corn crop go to HFCS production. Here’s an example that sums up this idea from Grist: “The Big Corn People began to grow so much royally-subsidized GMO corn that they turned it into millions of gallons of high fructose corn syrup.”
It’s true, a portion of the US corn crop is used for HFCS production. It’s also true that corn syrup is cheap because the corn industry receives subsidies. But there’s a lot more to this story.
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by Guest Posts on 6 March 2009
By Melinda Yerka
This is a painting done by Sir Charles Bell in 1809 of a soldier dying of tetanus. Doesn’t look too comfortable, hmm? Tetanus is a condition brought on when certain bacteria, called Clostridium tetani, enter deep puncture wounds, such as the proverbial rusty nail, or in this soldier’s case, a dirty sword in battle. Once inside the wound, C. tetani bacteria produce the tetanus toxin, which then migrates to the body’s central nervous system where it causes tetanus disease, characterized by intense muscle spasms. 70% to 80% of the people who contract tetanus die. Unfortunately, many of these people today are newborn infants and their mothers. Infection by C. tetani bacteria occurs in these cases when unclean instruments are used to cut umbilical cords or remove a fetus from the mother’s womb during live birth or abortion. If the mother had been immunized against tetanus toxin, she and the infant (who would be born with some of its mother’s immunities) would have survived.
You may wonder why the mother was not immunized when vaccines against tetanus have been readily available for more than a generation. In fact, it is because vaccinations are far less prevalent in poor countries than in wealthier nations such as the United States and much of Europe. Furthermore, despite growing humanitarian interest in providing vaccines, the infrastructure of many developing nations is not sufficient to safely synthesize, transport, or store them. Lack of pharmaceutical companies, efficient transportation systems, refrigerated warehouses, and knowledgeable physicians all play a role in the continued fight against tetanus. Nevertheless, progress has been made since the early 1980′s, as depicted below in a graph from the World Health Organization (WHO).
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Morgellons
Terrifying, painful, exhausting. When I have spoken with people who identify as having Morgellons disease, these are the words I hear. Most researchers and medical professionals consider Morgellons Disease (MD) to be synonymous with Delusory Parasitosis (DP), a false, unshakable belief that insects are living in or on your skin or inside your body. Yet, several small, concerted groups work to express it as a distinct medical condition.
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