The Microwave Factor

Microwave - and other forms of electromagnetic - radiation are major (but conveniently disregarded, ignored, and overlooked) factors in many modern unexplained disease states. Insomnia, anxiety, vision problems, swollen lymph, headaches, extreme thirst, night sweats, fatigue, memory and concentration problems, muscle pain, weakened immunity, allergies, heart problems, and intestinal disturbances are all symptoms found in a disease process the Russians described in the 70's as Microwave Sickness.

Monday, July 28, 2014

Researchers Use Smartphone App to Track Gut Bacteria and their Impact

Posted by: Enozia Vakil 15 days ago

Interesting results about the composition of gut bacteria and its close relationship with health has been resulted in the development of a new smartphone app which has supposedly eased up things for scientists.

The researchers collected information about the study subject’s gut bacteria by using the app.

Diet, exercise, bowel movements and mood are the daily activity logged by them and submit regular stool and saliva samples. The researchers analysed the samples in detail to determine what had the greatest effect on the composition of gut bacteria.

The participants had a ‘default’ gut bacteria which remained unaffected by sleep levels, exercise and mood.

Smartphone app tracks how gut bacteria affect health, Study
Photo Credits: Flickr

The researchers also found two life events that had a significant effect on the gut bacteria – one subject moved abroad while the other had a significant bout of food poisoning which caused most pre-existing gut bacterial species to decline. What’s more, this relationship between diet and specific bacterial groups showed themselves in a single day.

“Life events such as visiting another country or contracting a disease cause a significant shift in the make-up of the gut bacteria – the community of gut bacteria living in the digestive system,” the researchers explained.

“This has given us a lot of new ideas for follow up studies and analyses of gut microbial ecology as well as infectious diseases in humans,” professor Lawrence David from Duke University, explained. “I was surprised by our results in several ways. First, I wasn’t sure we would find correlations between fiber intake and gut bacterial dynamics on such short time scales.”

Germany - Important Court Victory for Electro Hyper Sensitivity Victim

I have some doubts about aspects of this news.

The judgement is for loss of earning capacity due to occupational exposure to x-rays from working close to a 24 MW (yes, megawatt!) pulsed magnetron in military attack radar units – which would also have exposed him to excess microwave RF energy, but the judgement was (cleverly) just for damage due to ionizing x-ray exposure above the allowed occupational limit in Germany.

He claimed EHS (as we know it) but the judgment was specifically not for that as I understand it and I believe hypersensitivity due to non-ionising RF was not formally investigated by the court.

I can’t get to the bottom of what EHS usually stands for in Germany, but it seems to be related to “Occupational Health & Safety” law rather than electrohypersensitivity. There are multiple large companies offering “EHS Consultancy” – and certainly not for EHS as we call EMF/RF sensitivity.

Best wishes

Alasdair Philips

Read the post here.

Germany - Important Court Victory for Electro Hyper Sensitivity Victim

from Martin Weatherall:

EHS of a former German Army Radar-mechanic acknowledged as occupational disease by the court of appeal for administrative litigation in German state Schleswig-Holstein (Schleswig-Holsteinisches Oberverwaltungsgericht)

3 LB 21/11, September 13, 2012

The plaintiff worked for the German army (Bundeswehr) from 1970 to 1992 as a mechanic for Radar systems. While working he was exposed to ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. Since 1973 the plaintiff suffered from inflammation, infectious diseases and palpitations. From 1976 he also suffered from agitation, sleep disorders, fatigue, lack of concentration and extreme forgetfulness, extreme headaches, disorder of the immune system, food allergies and other allergic symptoms, non-functioning eyesight, sweats, exhaustion until mid 90ies.

SNIP

Read the post here.

Black weekend shows scale of suicide crisis in Galway

Thursday, 22 May 2014 7:00
Written by: Dara Bradley

There were at least five suicides on a black weekend for the county – underlining a senior Garda’s warning that this is now the single biggest threat facing communities across the West.

Superintendent Gerry Roche, in Ballinasloe, said that there is an epidemic of suicides ravaging families in Galway City and County, and he warned there needs to be societal changes to tackle the problem.

“The problem is not going away,” said Supt Roche, one of the founders of Galway East Life Support (GELS), which was set up last year to tackle the problem.

“Suicide is the biggest single issue facing every community in the West of Ireland. The number of people that have contacted us in GELS in the past year in relation to the problem is just phenomenal – it’s a huge problem.”

The suicide problem, that devastates communities, was brought into sharp focus at the weekend with a total of five tragic deaths in Galway, including two in Connemara, one in the city, one in North Galway and one in South Galway.

Last year, a total of 31 people took their own lives in Galway. According to the official Garda statistics, so far this year, there have been some 22 suicides recorded in Galway.

“There have been 22 suicides so far this year, which is well up on last year at this stage,” said Supt Roche who agreed the Galway suicide figures were frightening

Supt Roche said depression, loneliness, loss of hope, financial pressures and rural isolation were among the contributory factors in the surge in suicides. He said that often consumption of alcohol can be a contributory factor.

Supt Roche said that, even though the evenings are getting brighter, it doesn’t necessarily brighten the mood. “There’s a perception that with longer evenings people are happier but that’s not always the case and obviously people are struggling, even at this time of year.”

He said it is almost impossible for untrained civilians to ‘spot the signs’ of suicide in a loved one, and he urged members of the public to get training.

The HSE west has an ongoing ASIST (Applied Suicide Interventional Skills Training) course, to help people identify the signs of suicide; a Gatekeeper suicide prevention training; as well as other intervention and suicide ‘first-aid’ training courses.

“The problem of suicide needs to be highlighted. We are looking for a societal change; we have to change minds and the approach and the stigmatization,” added Supt Gerry Roche.

Anyone feeling suicidal, depressed or troubled can contact the following lifelines anonymously: Console – 1800 201890, the Samaritans – 1850 609090, 1 Life on 1800 247100 or text HELP to 51444.

http://connachttribune.ie/black-weekend-shows-scale-suicide-crisis-galway/

Colleges face up to crisis in mental health

Sunday, 8 June 2014 12:28
Written by: Dara Bradley

Students with suicidal thoughts are presenting at counselling services in Galway’s third level institutes ‘every second day’.

The country’s third level counsellors’ association says its members are encountering a “tsunami of students presenting with mental health problems”, at NUI Galway and GMIT.

The Irish Association of University and College Counsellors (IAUCC), says that its services are partly snowed-under because the Health Service Executive (HSE) – who should be providing counselling – is making referrals of people with mental health difficulties to its services.

Dr Declan Aherne of IAUCC, and Head of Counselling at University of Limerick, said counselling services across the country including Galway’s two third level institutes – NUIG and GMIT – have lengthy waiting lists as suicide and mental health remains a huge issue among young people. This is at a time when third level colleges are facing budget cutbacks and recruitment embargoes.

Dr Aherne says society has ‘lost its way’ since the fall-off in trust in the Catholic church, and the collapse of the Celtic Tiger, which has contributed to the explosion in mental health problems and suicide.

“When the Church was gone we lost our way . . . people are asking ‘what’s it all about?’ The recession has had an effect, too. People lost hope after the Celtic Tiger collapsed. They had something to aspire to and a purpose even if that was just about money and to be rich and famous. That’s gone now and people are lost,” he said.

Dr Aherne added: “We’re getting referrals from the HSE from people who need access to mental health services and who are being sent to us because the HSE doesn’t have the services to deal with them. Five years ago we had maybe 500 students a year. Now we’re over 1,000. We have 60 on a waiting list. That’s the same in Galway – it’s right across the board. It’s both good and bad: For years we were saying to people ‘come and talk to us’. Now we’re forced to say ‘come and talk to us but you’ll have to join the queue’.”

The students who present with suicidal thoughts, he said, are encountering the same difficulties as everybody else, it’s just that their coping mechanism isn’t as effective.

He said that some students are suicidal because they don’t have the “resilience to cope with life” for a variety of reasons including a lack of a support structure or breakdown of the family.

“Every second day we have students presenting with suicidal thoughts. Ten years ago that was unheard of – now it is every second day.”

Dr Aherne made the comments on the eve of IAUCC’s annual conference in Galway this weekend. The 20th annual anniversary of the association took place in Salthill Hotel this week..

The conference opening address was given by Kieran Loftus who is the Executive Director of Operations, NUIG and Michael Hannon, GMIT Registrar. The conference heard calls for the HSE to provide counselling drop-in centres in the community – based on the sort of services offered by third level institutes – to tackle the problem of suicide and mental health in the wider community.

Students can log on to pleasetalk.ie to find a range of relevant contact details including Samaritans (091-561222 or 1850-60-90-90) or Pieta House (093-25586).

http://connachttribune.ie/colleges-face-crisis-mental-health/

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Philippine Media Outlets Continue to Promote Misconceptions About Wireless Radiation Health Hazards

Cell phone radiation dangerous? PCHRD speaks up

ABS-CBNnews.com

Posted at 07/27/2014 2:10 AM | Updated as of 07/27/2014 2:10 AM

MANILA - There is no conclusive evidence that electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from cellular phones poses risks to humans.

Jaime Montoya, Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) executive director, said this finding is based on scientific studies that have been published.

PCHRD is an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
Montoya gave the assurance during a presentation at the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST)’s 36th Annual Scientific Meeting at the Philippine International Convention Center last July 10.

Montoya is chairman of the Health Sciences Division of NAST, an advisory body of DOST.
Montoya said everyone is exposed to EMR, whether voluntary or involuntary.
“You know there is that risk, but you still take that risk because you have to use the cell phone,” he said.

The average person’s exposure to cellphones and their electromagnetic field falls under voluntary exposure.

In involuntary exposure, people do not know that they have been exposed to EMR.
Montoya said involuntary exposure affects people living near high-voltage areas like transmitters of cell sites.

Based on current literature, this kind of exposure is still within the threshold, he added.
Montoya said 50 years must pass to determine whether an adverse event directly related to the use of cell phones would crop up in any individual.

But whether such will translate to negative health effects in the long run, the medical community is still not sure, he added.

Montoya said the direct biological effect of using cell phones close to the ear is that it gives warmth and generates heat.

“This is because the rapid movement of molecules actually transforms to heat energy and that is the biological effect,” he said.

“But biological effect is not synonymous to the disease effect.”

Montoya said these are high-intensity, short-period exposures to EMR.

“What is not available at present is information relating to long-term, low-intensity exposures,” he said.

Another E-health forum will be held today during the DOST’s National Science and Technology Week celebrations.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/07/26/14/cell-phone-radiation-dangerous-pchrd-speaks

Report from the BioEM2014 for the Pandora Foundation

Posted on July 27, 2014

I have written a brief report from the BioEM2014 for the Pandora Foundation, who sponsored my travel and participation in the meeting in Cape Town, South Africa. Parts of the report were already published on BRHP in blogs from the meeting but parts are new, unpublished, thoughts.

Read full post here: http://betweenrockandhardplace.wordpress.com/2014/07/27/report-from-the-bioem2014-for-the-pandora-foundation/

*****************
Dariusz Leszczynski, PhD, DSc

Chief Editor
Specialty 'Radiation and Health'
Frontiers in Public Health, Lausanne, Switzerland
http://www.frontiersin.org/Radiation_and_Health/about
http://www.frontiersin.org/people/DariuszLeszczynski/110354/blog

Adjunct Professor
Department of Biochemistry & Biotechnology
University of Helsinki, Finland
dariusz.leszczynski@helsinki.fi

Science Blog (from 2009): http://betweenrockandhardplace.wordpress.com

Healing is Voltage: The Handbook

Product Description

Paperback: 332 pages

Every cell in the body is designed to run at -20 to -25 millivolts. To heal, we must make new cells. To make a new cell requires -50 millivolts. Chronic disease occurs when voltage drops below -20 and/or you cannot achieve -50 millivolts to make new cells. Thus chronic disease is always defined by having low voltage. This book tells you how to measure your voltage in each organ, how to correct it, and how to determine why your voltage dropped enough to allow you to get sick.

http://www.tennantinstitute.us/store/books/healing-is-voltage-the_2.html