Who Owns You? 20% of the Genes in Your Body are Patented (Video) | Singularity Hub

Are YOU a 21st Century SLAVE?????

Here’s a disconcerting thought: for the past thirty years, genes have been patentable. And we’re not just talking genetically modified corn – your genes, pretty much as they exist in your body, can and have been patented. The US government reports over three million gene patent applications have been filed so far; over 40,000 patents are held on sections of the human genome, covering roughly 20% of our genes.

Upset? You’re not alone. Critics argue that the patents stifle potential research into disease, keep new treatments off the market, and bring in serious money to Big Pharma – all by exercising property claims that shouldn’t exist. After all, genes aren’t inventions, which are patentable – they’re discoveries, which aren’t. As Luigi Palombi noted recently at the Open Science Summit, “You can’t patent Mount Everest; why can you patent a gene?” Here, we review the history of genetic law, the current state of affairs, and interview David Koepsell, an attorney and author of a recent book on gene patenting, Who Owns You? The Corporate Gold Rush To Patent Your Genes.

Deadly Monopolies: The Shocking Corporate Takeover of Life Itself--And the Consequences for Your Health and Our Medical Future.

Deadly MonopoLies

Read more and find out!

Amazing Tips for Your Home

TRULY AMAZING TIPS:  These are truly amazing facts for those of us who are now looking for natural alternatives in our homes. Now that families are watching their dollars and use a budget to make ends meet, these Amazing Tips will definitely come in handy and save you money.

 

1.     Aspirin: Get Rid of Armpit Stains on T-Shirts - Grind up an aspirin tablet or two, than make a paste out of it using water, lemon or vinegar. Spread the paste on the stained area and let sit for an hour before washing.

 

2.     Olive Oil: Make Pets’ Coat Shinier - Add a bit of olive oil to your pet’s food to give them a healthier, shinier coat of fur.

3.     Newspapers: Clean Windows and Mirrors - Instead of using a spray and a streaky cloth, use only newspaper to clean off your mirrors and windows for a streak-free finish.

4.     Baking Soda: Remove Bugs from Windshield - Mix baking soda with warm water to make a paste. Spread the paste over your windshield for fifteen minutes. Then wipe or spray off with a hose.

5.     Bleach: Extend Life of Flowers in Vase - Add a few drops of bleach to vase water to prevent the build-up of the slime caused by bacteria. It works just like chlorine in a swimming pool.

6.     Kitchen Dish Soap: Flea-Killing Dog Shampoo - Kitchen dish soap (not dish detergent) can double as dog shampoo for its flea killing abilities.

7.     Coke: Remove Blood Stains from Clothing - Soak the stain in coke until the stain is dissolved, then wash the clothing as usual. Wash before the coke dries, though.

8.     Honey: Remove Blemish Overnight - Have a blemish you need to get rid of by tomorrow? Put a dab of honey on the blemish and cover it up (it’s best to use a Band-Aid) and the honey’s natural antibacterial properties will clean out the bacteria by the morning.

9.      Wax Paper: Clean Can Opener Gears - Run a few small strips of wax paper through the can opener to clean out of the bits and pieces that have built up in the gears throughout the year. The wax will also rub off on the gears to protect for future use as well.

10.  WD-40: Remove Crayons from Walls - Use the lubricant and a cloth to remove stubborn crayon marks from the walls just by spraying the wall and wiping with a cloth.

11. Chalk: Keep Ants and Slugs Out of the House - Ants and Slugs Won’t Touch Chalk. So, simply draw a line in front of your doorway where you are having problems with these pesky critters and they won’t cross it, meaning they won’t be able to get into your house.

12. Vinegar: Kills Weeds and Helps Flowers Grow - Vinegar is a magic wonder when it comes to gardening. It not only kills weeds but they help flowers grow as well. Douse vinegar all around your garden to prevent weeds from popping up and to help your flowers to grow healthy and strong.

13. Mayonnaise: Remove Bumper Sticker - Spread mayonnaise on the bumper sticker and let sit for at least thirty minutes. Then, rub the sticker off with a towel, leaving a clean bumper!

14. Tin Foil Ball: Replace Dryer Sheets Permanently - Instead of using a dryer sheet ball up one or a few sheets of tin foil and toss it in the dryer. It removes the static electricity from your clothes and one can last up to a year.

15. Banana Peel: Polish Leather Shoes - Use the inside of a banana peel to give shoes a professional and natural shine that will last for quite some time.

16. Mouthwash: Cure Athlete’s Foot - Pour mouthwash on cotton balls and then swab your feet. The alcohol will disinfect the bacteria completely if you continue this for a week or so.

17. Baking Soda: Clean BBQ Grill - Mix a cup of baking soda with half a cup water to make a paste. Dip your brush into the paste and scrub the grill. The caked on pieces and black residue will come off much quicker and using baking soda is much safer and cheaper than using cleaning chemicals.

18. Coffee Grounds: Fertilizer - Coffee is full of nutrients and vitamins that are very beneficial to soil. That’s why some people include it in compost piles. If you want to get the most out of your coffee, pour the grounds on areas where you want more grass or flowers.

19. Olive Oil: Shaving Cream - The smoothness of the oil can replace the need for shaving cream, and it also provides great moisture.

20. Dryer Sheets: Gets Rid of Static Electricity - Use dryer sheets to remove static electricity from things such as clothing, TV screens or your own hair. Tame fly away strands by running a dryer sheet over them.

21. Freezer: Freeze Candles to Make Them Last Longer - Put candles in the freezer for at least 2 hours before using. Once you burn them, the wax will melt at a much slower pace, making them last much longer! 

22. Two glasses of water: Cure Headache - Water is the cure to most common headaches. To make the headache go away quickly, drink two cups of water very quickly.

 24. Alka Seltzer: Remove Burnt-On Grease and Food Stains when letting your pots and pans soak. Throw in one or two Alka Seltzer tablets and the caked on residue from cooking will come off easily when you scrub/wash.

. Apple Cider Vinegar: Relieve Diarrhea - Mix two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar into eight ounces of water to soothe your stomach. The taste may not be the greatest, but the antibacterial properties of the vinegar will end the unpleasantness of the bowel problems.

26. Toothpaste: Remove Scratches from Glass - Apply toothpaste to scratch, than rub with a cloth until the scratch is gone. Make sure the glass is clean beforehand.

27. Cheerios: Relieve Pain from Poison Ivy, Chickenpox and Sunburns - Pound one to four cups of Cheerios into a powder and add to your bath to soothe your skin while you soak. You may not feel relief while in the tub, but you will soon after.

28. Buttons: Sort Earrings - Organize your earrings and prevent them from becoming entangled by using spare buttons as holders for each pair.

29. Corn Oil: Prevent Hairballs for Pets - Add a few drops of corn oil to your pets’ food to prevent hairballs from forming. The thick oil helps the fur pass through the animal’s system much quicker and easily.

30. Whipped Cream: Remove Gum from Hair - There are many remedies for removing gum from hair, but this is a lesser known one. Give it a try rather than peanut butter the next time you’re in need.

31. Coke: Remove Oil Stains from the Driveway - Oil stains are very difficult to remove pavement, but one method guaranteed to work is Coke. The highly acidic drink will eat away at the oil until clean.

32. Brown Sugar: Facial Scrub - A scrub is good to do about once a month to remove dead skin and bacteria built up in pores and remove excess oil from the skin. Brown sugar does just as well as expensive products and will definitely result in a clearer and smoother complexion.

33. Dryer Sheet: Lint Brush - You already know that dryer sheets remove lint in the dryer. Well, it can do the same thing out of the dryer, too. When you’re in a fix, use a dryer sheet. It works just as well as a lint brush, and if you like the scent, it’s an added bonus.

34. Newspaper: Deodorize food containers and Food Drawers in the Refrigerator - For that stinky Tupperware or smelly refrigerator drawer that is too much to deal with, toss in a sheet of newspaper overnight before you deal with it. The paper will absorb the smell greatly reducing it or eliminating it completely.

35. Olive Oil: Unstick a Zipper - The oil will help the zipper slide more easily, fixing the problem!

36. Salt: Cool Something Quickly - You u know that feeling when you’re having a BBQ and someone asks for a drink and you realize that no one has put them in the cooler? There’s nothing worse than a warm drink on a hot day. Chill a drink quickly, by adding salt and water to your ice. The drinks will be cold in a matter of minutes; saving your party and making you look smart all at once.

37. Scotch Tape: Prevent Wall from Chipping When Nailing - The wall can leave unsightly chips when hammering in a nail. Prevent this by simply placing a piece of scotch tape over the area you’re going to nail. The wall will be held tighter, preventing chips from occurring.

38. Alka Seltzer: Soothe Insect Bites - Dissolve two tablets into a glass of water. Then use a cloth or cotton ball to apply it to the affected area. The red will go down and most importantly, the itchiness will vanish usually in fifteen minutes.

39. Lemon: Whitens Whites - Add about half a cup of lemon juice to your load of whites to makes them extra white. You can use lemon juice with bleach or detergent, so don’t worry about mixing chemicals with the acidic lemon.

40. Banana Peel: Whiten Teeth - This may sound a little odd, but rub the inside of a banana peel on your teeth twice a day for two weeks and you will receive the same effect from a teeth-whitening kit. Plus, you’ll save yourself money and the hassle of using chemicals.

41. Hair Dryer: Free Photos Stuck on Pages - If you have a photo stuck on a page that you can’t get free, try using a blow dryer on the back of the page. It will loosen the photo from the page and the adhesive holding it there.

42. Banana Peel: Heal Most Skin Problems - Bananas are the magical fruit, because they heal many common problems on the skin. By rubbing the peel on your skin, you can heal bruises and cuts and eliminate rashes, itching and warts. Basically if you have a common skin problem, it can be cured by this fruit.

43. Apple Juice: Removes Dandruff. Don’t ask how it works, but it does! Instead of buying a special shampoo, just wash your hair in apple juice to rid your scalp of pesky dandruff.

I know you can put some or all of these to good use to save money and make your home a safer environment. There are tons more DIY uses for common household items like these. 

Be sure to follow The Science of Nature and stay up to date on useful information. Make sure to share the info with your family and friends!

Best3Concepts

Fibromyalgia Pain Management

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," should be every fibromyalgia sufferer's motto, because pain management is key when you suffer with fibromyalgia.

The pain is ever-present, and because it can flare up and become worse at certain times, doing whatever you can to keep it in check is very important. You can't prevent all the pain, of course, however a good relationship with your doctor is absolutely necessary.

Figuring out what works for you may take time, but the earlier you start the earlier you can get into a routine that will keep your pain at low levels. Your doctor will recommend exercise- generally low impact aerobic exercise such as walking, water aerobics, yoga, and perhaps even pilates, though that can be too stressful for some fibro sufferers.
The best of the best is probably water aerobics. If you are under 50, you may be the youngest person in the water aerobics class, but you also may discover after your first few classes, that you are the most out of shape person, too! Water aerobic workouts are real workouts! However, a water aerobics class requires access to a pool, and not everyone is going to have that. If you are fortunate enough to have access to a pool, though, count yourself lucky and do your exercises! They will help you more than anything, and your muscles and joints will thank you.
Walking is free, and only requires shoes, but if your problem joints are your ankles, knees, or hips, you may find yourself purposefully avoiding the exercise because of joint pain. A good pair of gel inserts for your shoes can help mitigate some of the pain, and a good pair of shoes to go with the inserts can mitigate a lot of your pain. Of course, with walking you do have to pay attention to the weather, unless you are fortunate enough to have a treadmill. Still, walking is the best exercise you can do, and it requires little-to-no financial investment at first. Find a friend to walk the neighborhood with, and get started! It will help keep you in good shape, help keep you healthier, and help your fibromyalgia pain to boot.

Of course, walking will do little to help stretch your upper body, where many fibromyalgia sufferers get painful knots. Which is why yoga is highly recommended for all fibro patients. There are several excellent stretches that will help to keep your shoulders, neck, and upper back limber and stretched, and because of yoga's low-impact and gentleness, it is never painful. Indeed, one of the tenets of yoga is that if you feel pain, you are doing it wrong, and should stop the exercise. Doing yoga at least three times a week can help prevent the worst of fibro pain, and even when you are in a flare, doing it gently twice a week can help flare recovery time as well. It's one of the best things you can do for yourself.
Naturally, there will be times when the pain is going to flare up- you can't prevent all pain. When you know you're in a flare, you must rest yourself more, cut back on all activities, but do not stop completely. Staying active at a lower level can help you cut your recovery time, whereas stopping completely can lengthen your recovery time. Using heating pads, sleep, and massage therapy can help as well. If all else fails, though, don't be afraid to call your doctor and ask for help. Medication is there for you- I recommend it as a last resort, but certainly it is there and if the flare hasn't responded to other treatments, hopefully it will to this.
The best way to stop a flare, though, is to prevent it from starting. And hopefully the other tips I've given you will help you do just that.
Read Original Article
Author: By info@associatedcontent.com (Kara Hash)

© 2007 Associated Content

The Fluoride Myth and You

Hundreds of North American communities have axed fluoride from their water supplies in recent decades and many more are in a position to follow suit if science can ultimately break the political stronghold that is holding on for dear life to the fluoride myth.

Some practical ways you can help fight water fluoridation in your own community

• Send information about fluoride's dangers to your local city council members and mayor. City councils are often the ones who decide whether or not to fluoridate, or continue fluoridating, municipal water supplies. Taking the time to present information at local council meetings and directly with council members can go a long way in ending fluoridation, which is exactly what happened last year in Fairbanks, Alaska.

• Contact your local environmental board and express opposition to fluoride, and also request a fresh investigation into the science behind fluoridation. Many areas continue to fluoridate their water supplies simply because that is what they have always done. But gaining a fresh perspective from an independent fluoride investigation committee can be an effective solution for reforming public consensus on the fluoride issue.

• Hand out fluoride literature to your friends, family, neighbors. Most people have no idea that the fluoride chemicals added to their water have been designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a toxic waste product responsible for causing bone fractures, dental fluorosis, and other conditions (http://water.epa.gov). They also likely do not know that the official Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for sodium fluoride, a common fluoride additive, lists the chemical as carcinogenic, as well as mutagenic, and toxic to bodily organs and the reproductive system.

"All our thyroids are screwed up," says Dr. Ted Norris, who holds a Ph.D. in neuro-endocrinology, about the consequences of fluoride exposure.

 "[Fluoride] causes chronic obesity. It causes fatigue. It causes depression. It causes lack of energy, and that's not even to get into the osteosarcomas and the hip replacements. It's devastating. I think it's worse than lead. It's a shame."

You can access a wealth of information about the dangers of fluoride, which you can share with those around you, at: http://www.fluoridealert.org/

You can also access the NaturalNews fluoride page at: http://www.naturalnews.com/fluoride.html

A Deadly Strand

More deaths are linked to MRSA infections than AIDS.  MRSA stands for Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. 

You can contract this infection from surfaces and skin to skin contact,  i.e. sexual intercourse. Treatment includes going to your Doctor to have the infection lanced, cultured, drained, cleaned and dressed. Cipro and/or Bactrum are usually prescribed. It is IMPERATIVE you finish all your prescribed antibiotics or you risk the return of this nasty infection.  More than 90,000 Americans get potentially deadly MRSA infections every year and in 2005, nearly 19,000 Americans died from MRSA infections.

There are two known types of MRSA. You may have heard of Healthcare-Associated (HA-MRSA), which occurs in hospitals and nursing homes.  This Healthcare-Associated (HA-MRSA) superbug, has become resistant to last-line antibiotics used to treat infections. Although it has not spread so far, doctors say the risk that HA-MRSA could eventually overwhelm even our last-line drugs is a very serious one.....branding it a dangerous organism in hospitals.

The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging
 Diseases in a World Out of Balance

American researchers have found since 2002 there have been 12 cases of the antibiotic resistant superbug CC5.  This deadly cluster of HA-MRSA bacteria,  called CC5 has become proficient at picking up resistance genes that makes it resistant to vancomycin - the last line of defence for hospital-acquired infections. HA-MRSA strains are the leading causes of hospital-acquired infections in the United States, and clonal cluster 5 (CC5) is the predominant lineage responsible for these infections. 

A newer type of MRSA is Community-Associated (CA-MRSA), which has recently begun to spread in public settings like gyms, locker rooms, households and schools. People can carry CA-MRSA and not have any symptoms. These "carriers" can also transmit the bacteria to other people. CA- MRSA can be easily spread through skin-to-skin contact and by touching contaminated items. This is why it is crucial to take measures to help reduce the spread of MRSA using these practical steps.

•  Scrub up - Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water for at least 15 seconds - the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice - or use an alcohol-based hand rub sanitizer. 

• Wipe it down - Use a disinfecting bleach solution to wipe down and disinfect hard surfaces. Make sure to use clean cloths to avoid spreading MRSA from one surface to another. (3/4 cup of disinfecting bleach diluted in 1 gallon of water)

•  Cover your cuts - Keep any nicks or wounds covered with a clean, dry bandage until healed. 

• Keep to yourself - Do not share personal items, like towels or razors, that come into contact with bare skin.

•  Use a barrier - Keep a towel or clothing between skin and shared equipment.

 

CA-MRSA, like other staph bacteria, can cause skin infections such as pimples, rashes, abscesses, boils or what can look like a spider bite. These infections are usually warm, painful, red or swollen.  Unlike HA-MRSA, most CA-MRSA infections can be treated with several types of antibiotics, including some that can be taken by mouth.  Occasionally, CA-MRSA can cause blood stream infections, joint infections, pneumonia, other severe infections or death in an otherwise healthy person. 

Living in hot and humid climates causes folks to sweat a lot. It is important to bathe daily. Sometimes more than once daily when sweating, especially if you work outdoor.  Always keep a close watch on your skin for small pus bumps. Athletes should also keep a close watch on their skin since they share equipment, have close contact with other athletes and get hot and sweaty during practice and games.

MRSA-Killer Bug. What you need to know to protect yourself.

You do not want this infection while enjoying your summer vacation, so prevention and early intervention is key.  We can never remind our children too many times to wash their hands. Hand washing is the most proactive measure we can use in the prevention of this deadly bacteria.  Frequent hand washing and keeping any breaks on the skin washed and dry is the first line of defense.

Please understand that I’m not trying to scare you. It’s just important that you know the potential that these infections can have. MRSA can become serious and even life threatening and these infections should not be taken lightly. On the other hand, you have many powerful treatment and prevention options, many of which are very easy to use. To prevent MRSA skin infections, always practice good hygiene.  However, if you show any unusual skin abrasions, SEE YOUR DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY!

 

Knowledge is the key to keeping you and your family safe.  

Have a wonderfully, enjoyable, germ-free  summer.