Articles from ‘elocal magazine’

Experts say mRNA vaccine can make cells of the immune system “lazy” when it comes to fighting off viral and bacterial infections. · MARYANNE DEMASI, PHD · Last week, a new peer-reviewed paper published in Frontiers in Immunology has sparked concern over whether mRNA shots could be weakening a person’s immune response. · The small study involved 29 children aged 5-11 years. Blood samples were taken from the children before and 28 days after a…

Dippy-eggs and toast soldiers for breakfast? M&S ham salad sandwich for lunch? Do you ever wonder where the bread came from to create such traditional British culinary delights… well it is more than likely that it is all thanks to the Chorleywood Experiment. · During the 1960s when US scientists were involved in some serious research into how to conquer space and deliver a man to the moon, the finest scientists in ‘Good Ole Blighty’ were given…

There has been an outcry in recent weeks about the race-based differentiation of access to, and allocation of, health services. The spotlight on health came from the confirmation that identifying as Maori is a factor in determining a patient’s position on surgical waiting lists. This discrimination is not new but has been escalated by the establishment of the Maori Health Authority. · The severing of our health system into two was opposed…

I read with dismay this week that the Labour Party is contemplating removing GST from fresh fruit and vegetables. It will seem such a sensible policy to a great many people, and may therefore attract a lot of votes. As somebody who wants rid of this present Government, that caused some of my dismay. · But the main part of my dismay was because exempting fruit and vegetables from GST – or exempting anything else – is seriously bad policy. ·…

There is a small town in western Arizona, relatively close to Fort Yuma, named Oatman, in honor of a girl of the 19th century named Olive Oatman. Most of her family lost their lives to Native Americans in 1850, and Olive went on to live two separate existences. In her “first” life she spent five years living among the Mohave, who took care of her. They inked a tattoo on her face and counted her as one of their own. In her “second” life, when…

Quitting antidepressants is challenging for about half of people who take them, particularly if they’ve been medicated for prolonged periods. Danish data show that one third of people taking antidepressants continue to do so for the next decade. · For some it can take over six months to slowly taper off the pills, for others, they struggle to stop entirely. That’s because these psychoactive drugs alter the levels of neurotransmitters in the…

When a road is covered in snow or obscured by fog, the navigation systems of self-driving cars may have trouble seeing where that road is. Specially equipped pavement markers could soon help, by continuously transmitting radio signals to passing vehicles. · Currently being developed by scientists from the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Western Michigan University (WMU), the technology incorporates raised…

Researchers have transplanted cells capable of forming specialized brain support cells into mice brains and found that they not only competed with and replaced unhealthy cells but aged ones, too. The findings open the door to developing an effective treatment for a range of conditions like multiple sclerosis, ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, autism and schizophrenia. · ‘Glial cells’ is an umbrella term for the cells that are a support system to nerve…

Earlier today, I was sent a statement which read: · “On 9 July, an FTA [Free Trade Agreement] between Aotearoa and the European Union was signed. As part of our mandate, we prepared a Te Tiriti o Waitangi assessment of the FTA. We found that: · ‘The Crown continues to exceed its authority as kawanatanga in the negotiation of trade agreements and deny Maori the right to exercise our rangatiratanga in the process, the content and the…

A significant event on the Māori calendar, Matariki takes its name from a cluster of stars that reappears in the night sky over New Zealand during mid-winter. Made up of hundreds of member stars, it’s one of the brightest clusters found in the sky and signals the Māori New Year. Known as Pleiades in other parts of the world, the reappearance of the Matariki constellation represents the end of the Māori lunar year and marks the beginning of a…