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World’s Top Medical-Ethics Body Just Installed a Corrupt President

The World Medical Association (WMA), the top medical-ethics body, has appointed Dr. Ketan Desai, an Indian doctor facing corruption charges, as its president.
The France-based association sets ethical standards for physicians worldwide and represents millions of doctors. Its members include the American Medical Association (AMA) and the British Medical Association (BMA).
In his speech, Desai warned against “unqualified people indulging in professional medical practice causing endless harm to society.” [2]

New Discovery Could Help Humans Win the War on Superbugs

Scientists are working on finding solutions to the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. The latest weapon in their arsenal is Tasmanian devil milk.
The Tasmanian devil is a marsupial, which means it’s a mammal that is born very early in its development and spends a few months growing and suckling inside their mothers’ pouches, just like kangaroos and opossums. [1]

If You See Teal Pumpkins This Halloween, This is What it Means

Halloween is fast approaching, so you’re probably seeing pumpkins with all kinds of interesting carvings and elaborate colors. Gone are the days of simple jack-o-lanterns. Pinterest has put those to shame. But if you see a teal pumpkin, it has special meaning.
Teal-colored pumpkins signify participation with and support of the Teal Pumpkin Project, an initiative started by FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education), to provide children with food allergies a safe trick-or-treating experience. [1]

Toxic Chemical Leak in Kansas Town Prompts Evacuations

A huge chemical leak sent a large plume marching its way through the town of Atchison, Kansas, this morning, and authorities asked residents to shelter in place for nearly 2 hours.
Source: The Kansas City Star
Those in the plume area were told to shut their doors and windows and stay inside, while those in its path were evacuated. Residents were being instructed to avoid the area north of MGP Ingredients, where the leak originated. The Atchison County courthouse closed and employees were evacuated.

Are Omega-3 Fatty Acids the Key to Preventing Most Disease?

Well, in a way, omega-3-fats could be ‘the new cholesterol.’ It seems as though we hear about omega-3 fats and their apparently never-ending list of benefits so much that many people just roll their eyes whenever they’re mentioned. But some health experts, like Dr William Harris, will freely talk about them as if they are the holy grail of health.

Scientists are Growing Brains in the Lab, Like 100’s of Brains

British researcher Madeleine Lancaster is growing human brains in her Cambridge University lab. A few hundred of them, in fact. That’s about 2 million neurons. [1]
No, this isn’t a Halloween gag. This sci-fi experiment is intended to help scientists understand disorders like autism and schizophrenia.
It’s not just Lancaster who is invested in growing human brains outside of the body. It’s a project being undertaken by scientists around the world.

A Scientific First: Lab-Grown Eggs Produce Healthy Mice

The birth of baby mice made from eggs grown in a lab has sparked an ethical debate over whether the technique should ever be offered for humans by fertility clinics.
The experiment is a step up (or down, depending on how you look at it) from creating human organs from stem cells, which scientists at the University of Edinburgh successfully did for the first time in 2014.