• Teenager Creates Cancer Detection Device

    August 13, 2013 /

     At 15, most boys are chasing girls at the mall, but Maryland teen Jack Andraka was a little more productive with his time. Andraka’s story begins when he was just thirteen. He just lost a close family friend to the disease and wanted to know more. Andraka’s googling led him to discover a shocking truth – there are no affordable and accurate tests to detect this cancer. The test administered now is only done by a doctor after the person isalready suspected to have the disease. The 60-year-old test is a biopsy and is only administered after an imaging test. This means anyone without healthcare is spending a ton of money just to diagnose a disease that will probably…

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  • Arsenic Levels Lowered In Apple Juice

    August 6, 2013 /

    There has been a lot of publicity recently about the FDA’s decision to lower arsenic levels in apple juice.  For a lot of people, the bigger question is why is there arsenic in apple juice to start with? Did you know there are low levels of arsenic in drinking water? Arsenic is an element naturally occurring in the earth’s crust and seeps into our food, water, soil and pesticides. High levels can be dangerous over time, as arsenic can cause cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Senior scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., Joshua Hamilton said, “Low-level exposures in the womb and during childhood can set the stage for problems later…

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  • Hannah’s Growing Windpipe

    July 30, 2013 /

    In April of this year a two year-old girl was given a windpipe made from her own stem cells.  Hannah Warren, who unfortunately died on Saturday, was the youngest person to receive this experimental treatment. Hannah’s windpipe was crafted from her bone marrow cells and were “seeded in a lab onto a plastic scaffold,” (Credit) and multiplied to create a functional windpipe. The windpipe was implanted on April 9th, but Hannah couldn’t “overcome additional health issues that were identified as her care progressed,” the hospital said in a statement. Hannah was born in South Korea to Darryl Warren, a Canadian teaching English in South Korea, and his wife Young-Mi. She was born without a…

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  • Bolivians Expel McDonalds

    July 5, 2013 /

    In 2002, McDonald’s closed their last restaurant in Bolivia. The franchise spent millions of dollars in the Latin American country but could not break out of its deficit. Bolivia has a long tradition of using food as reciprocity. Many relationships are beyond money and companies like McDonald’s go against what the nation believes. Indigenous president Evo Morales called the chain and other American chains a “great harm to humanity,” when addressing the United Nations General Assembly. (Credit) Bolivians are not interested in food for profit and natives would rather buy food from local street merchants, the indigenous women called cholitas. Tanya Kerssen, research coordinator for the Food First Network, calls this Bolivia’s…

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