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Re: Medical Breakthroughs

PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2013 4:39 pm
by surfsteve
surfsteve wrote:
pcslim wrote:Saving lives with synthetic biology
Great stuff! :thumb:
Although some people seem to make a hobby of demonizing pharaceutical companies, the underlying science is fascinating and if we could get rid of some of the shifty business practices the potential benefits are enormous!


Odd that they mentioned that the plant artemis was in short supply. As far as I know it's also known as wormwood. A plant that I thought was very common. It is normally used to get rid of parasites, especially worms like it's name "wormwood" suggests. Another thing it is used for is to make absynth, an intoxicating beverage.



I found this link that already sells artemis as a prepared extract in pill form.

http://www.altcancer.net/artemis.htm

Maybe the guys in your video want a synthetic version so they can patent it?

I don't believe them when they say it is because it is in short supply because it's so cheap and easy to get wormwood already. The link above also says it works against cancer.


Another thing that is misleading is that they appear to be looking at an asparagus fern while they are talking about the plant artemis. If you use google images for asparagus fern, artemis and wormwood you will see what I am talking about. It caught my attention the first time but for got to mention it and it's sort of bothering me so I thought I would.

Re: Medical Breakthroughs

PostPosted: Fri May 17, 2013 7:37 am
by pcslim
Company fights to keep monopoly on gene]
It makes no sense to allow companies to patent genes! Not only does it stifle innovation, but it also makes lifesaving medical treatments too expensive for many people. Companies holding the patents might argue otherwise, but that's just company propaganda!
:down:

Re: Medical Breakthroughs

PostPosted: Sat May 18, 2013 7:08 am
by cactuspete
New IVF Treatment Promises Tripled Success Rate
And the really neat thing is that you can get a picture of baby when he or she hasn't even yet become a he or she, but is nothing more than a few indistinguishable cells growing in a petri dish!
:smart:

Re: Medical Breakthroughs

PostPosted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 7:43 am
by shadylady
The Truth About Herbal Supplements
Whether or not herbal supplements are good for anything is one question, but apparently another question is whether or not herbal supplements actually contain what they say they contain.
:mad2:

Re: Medical Breakthroughs

PostPosted: Wed Nov 13, 2013 1:09 pm
by surfsteve
That is so far from the truth about herbal supplements I don't know where to begin. Shame on them for implying herbs don't work because they claim to have found some dishonest herb companies. Using that logic drugs must not work either. They don't even mention who did the study, nor who the dishonest companies are. They just blurt out a bunch of facts that aren't really facts at all. For all any of us know they made the whole thing up. Herbs have been used for 1000's of years long before modern medicine and the AMA came along.

AMA Enemy Of American Health

As you can see below, Senna and St. Johns Wort are very similar looking plants and very easy to misidentify. It's possible that either the herb company or the researchers, who aren't plant experts by trade, made an honest mistake.

Senna
Image

St. John's Wort
Image

Re: Medical Breakthroughs

PostPosted: Wed Nov 13, 2013 6:18 pm
by panamint_patty
surfsteve wrote:As you can see below, Senna and St. Johns Wort are very similar looking plants and very easy to misidentify. It's possible that either the herb company or the researchers, who aren't plant experts by trade, made an honest mistake.

In the report it says that the researchers used genetic testing to determine what was in the herbal supplements. They didn't just look at a plant cuz all they had was what was in the capsules. It is possible that the people working for the herb company made what might be an "honest" mistake with the senna and St. John's wort, but you can't hang that one on the researchers. As it turns out according to Wikipedia senna is a member of the pea family and St. John's wort belongs to a family called Hypericaceae. That means they're not closely related and so there's no way they could be confused with a genetic test. I think that reputable companies sell herbal supplements that contain the stated ingredients and that some of their products are probably useful, but you gotta watch out for those sleazy companies that cut corners and just fill pills with rice powder or whatever else they can find.

Re: Medical Breakthroughs

PostPosted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 7:27 am
by surfsteve
Hmm. If I am remembering correctly it said in the video that they genetically tested the bottled herbs and genetically tested each species of plant. Where did they get these plants? I am assuming they bought them at a local nursery or from someone. It's equally possible somebody sold them the wrong plant to test as it is the supplement seller bought the wrong ones. Without being able to read the details of the study all we can do is blindly trust TNT that it is accurate... or not. Either way. If you want to totally dismiss the medicinal value of herbs based on that, there's nothing my intellect can do about it but waste both our times. TNT is named after a subversive political party and is a political show owned by Al Jazeera. Why would they lie?

Re: Medical Breakthroughs

PostPosted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 7:50 am
by surfsteve
I watched the video again. I stand corrected. Actually there was no mention where the genetic fingerprint of the plants were obtained. I must have read that while researching the actual study.

Re: Medical Breakthroughs

PostPosted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 8:52 am
by surfsteve
If herbs don't work then why would senna function as a laxative?

It really irks me to see TYT mislead people. If they really wanted to do any good they would have given us a clue as to who the bad companies were instead of coming to an erroneous conclusion that herbs are bad because some of the companies that sell them are bad. Somehow I can't help believing that there is a bright side to all of this because somewhere out there, there is a guy who can't take a shit, who doesn't care because he is no longer depressed!

Re: Medical Breakthroughs

PostPosted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 6:53 am
by cactuspete
Can heart attack damage be reversed?
This is promising! If this works this could make a huge difference in the lives of individuals who have suffered heart attacks!