Author: Erin Elizabeth

Three beagles successfully showed they are capable of identifying lung cancer by scent, a first step in identifying specific biomarkers for the disease. Researchers say the dogs’ abilities may lead to development of effective, safe and inexpensive means for mass cancer screening. After eight weeks of training, the beagles—chosen for their superior olfactory receptor genes—were able to distinguish between blood serum samples taken from patients with malignant lung cancer and healthy controls with 97% accuracy. The double-blind study is published in the July edition of The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. “We’re using the dogs to sort through the...

In an unprecedented achievement, researchers from Harvard and Japan have managed to synthesize a powerful anticancer compound derived from sea sponges. Scientists have been trying to accomplish this for more than 30 years, and this new strategy has already helped hasten research into these molecules, including a clinical trial planned in humans. Sea sponges play a vital role in the oceanic ecosystem, filtering water and providing housing for organisms to hide in or lay their eggs on. Halichondrins are a large naturally occurring polyether macrolide originally isolated from the marine sea sponge Halichondria okadai, and were discovered in minuscule...

An Arizona pedophile recently convicted of child sex crimes had been allowed by the state to be a foster parent. His former foster child, who spent twelve long years living in the man’s home, enduring physical and sexual abuse, has filed a $15 million lawsuit against two state agencies saying they did nothing to protect him. Tuscon attorney Lynn Cadigan filed the claim on behalf of her client, “John Doe” who is now over eighteen. The lawsuit names the Arizona Department of Economic Security, and the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS), and the directors and several employees of...

THIS IS SAD NEWS. A rare Miami forest is about to become a Walmart development. It is one of the last fragments of Miami-Dade’s pine rockland forest. Unfortuntately, activists have lost a long legal fight to protect the area that has become a shrinking forest for years due to development. The forest is home to over twenty protected species of plants and animals, but it will be reduced to two small preserves so the rest can be converted into a large development anchored by a Walmart. A lawsuit was introduced in 2017 that challenged the decision to clear out...