Tuesday Afternoon Massacre

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/climate/alaska-carbon-dioxide-co2-tundra.html?_r=0 This is an article from the NYT about a Harvard study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the carbon emissions from the North Slope tundra of Alaska showing that the carbon emissions have increased 70% since the 1970s. The "greening of the Arctic" is occurring as temperatures rise globally but also the study shows that by delaying freeze-up this warming trend also allows the processes that release carbon dioxide to continue longer.


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/nyregion/dead-rivers-closed-beaches-an-acute-water-crisis-on-long-island.html An article from the NYT about the water crisis on Long Island and the water quality in the Great South Bay. Suffolk County has fewer houses using sewers than Nassau County to the west. A sewer was built for Babylon and parts of Islip but was so mired in corruption that other municipalities have not followed suit. There are algal blooms in the Great South Bay and the shellfish industry has fallen more than 90% since 1980. Homeowners are advised to invest in denitrification systems.




https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2017-05-09/study-side-effects-emerge-after-approval-for-many-us-drugs This is an article in USNews about site effects that have emerged after drug approval by the FDA. This study was published in JAMA and reviewed 222 prescription drugs approved by the FDA from 2000 to 2010.   71 flagged drugs caused reactions from serious skin reactions, liver damage, cancer and even death. These had all pass clinical trials for safety but possibly were not tested for a long enough interval.




https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/10/health/brain-defect-gut-bacteria-microbiome.html?_r=0 Article from NYT about a study published in Nature about a brain disease that has been linked to a gut microbe. Hereditary cerebral cavernous malformations cause bubbles in the brain which can burst, causing a brain hemorrhage and death. Manipulating the microbiome of newborns with a fecal transplant may provide a cure.


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/health/new-gene-tests-pose-a-threat-to-insurers.html This is an article from the NYT Business section about people who are using 23andMe genetic testing kits to find out whether they have the ApoE4 and therefore are possible candidates for Alzheimers Disease. This revelation of their genetic propensity towards AD is enough to make them purchase the expensive Long Term Care Insurance. 23andMe promises not to reveal the results to insurance companies but if everyone who finds out about their genetic risks buys these policies and those with no such risk do not, paying out could be a crisis for the companies.



https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/nyregion/exotic-animal-hospital.html This is an article about NY's only exotic pet hospital. They do not see cats and dogs. The article spotlights a duck with reproductive problems. The veterinarian had previously removed the duck's reproductive tract but somehow she kept laying eggs. She required $1,200 in reproductive surgery.




https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/health/salt-health-effects.html?_r=0 An article in the BYT about two studies done on Russian cosmonauts published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation that determined that eating salt made one less thirsty and a further study that mice burned more calories when they consumed more salt. A theory from one of the observations was that the body produced more water with a higher sodium intake, possibly due to the effects of glucocorticoid hormones.