Articles by Christian Evans:

FDA Plots to Disolve Labelling Requirement for Irradiated Foods (NewsTarget) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has decided to relax its stance on food labeling to allow some foods which have been irradiated to be labeled as "pasteurized" instead. The proposed rule changes would allow companies to label...

Satori Movement Hemp Clothing Product Review (NewsTarget) The free movement used in skateboarding has transcended into a clothing line that uses only natural fibers and prohibits the use of chemicals. Goods distributed by Satori Movement are made with alternative fabrics, and cater to a unique...

Common crop herbicide Atrazine linked to reproductive mutations in amphibians Pollutants such as pesticides and toxins damage the ecosystem and cause a variety of damaging ailments in humans. One particular herbicide, Atrazine, has now been found to turn male frogs into hermaphrodites, rendering them impotent by causing their...

Clean energy legislation would require U.S. to shift to 20 percent renewable energy by 2020 The Union of Concerned Scientists has praised the introduction of a House bill that will move the world toward energy independence. With efforts to lessen the nation's reliance on foreign oil, energy bills could soon be voted down in favor of alternative...

Children routinely prescribed adult medications never approved for use in children According to a new study published in the March issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, few medications are actually studied in children or specifically approved for that age group. Despite this, a continuing practice among the medical...

Sick patients used as human guinea pigs in GM foods experiment Patients have been fed genetically modified (GM) Russet Burbank potatoes in an experiment to determine their nutritional effects on the human body. Developed by Monsanto, a multinational biotech company, the potatoes, modified to resist Colorado beetles,...

Chili peppers found to have been domesticated more than 6000 years ago According to new research, the chili pepper has been found to be the oldest spice in use in the Americas, and one of the oldest in the world. Described in a February 2006 report in the journal Science, the research findings provide details about early...

Synthetic chemicals in food, personal care products found to influence obesity According to University of Missouri-Columbia scientist Frederick vom Saal, endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in everyday plastics and pesticides may influence obesity. A study conducted there has found that these environmental substances can change...

Termites may hold the answer to cheap, efficient ethanol fuel production Scientists and several companies are currently experimenting with using termites to convert wood, corn stalks and other plant waste into ethanol in an effective and economic way. The hope is that through the study of a termite's unique digestive processes...

Cold medicines harm children's health, charge pediatric doctors The Commissioner of Health for Baltimore, MD and 15 leading pediatric experts have petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to stop drug makers from marketing their products to young children. According to this distinguished group, over-the-counter...

Lindane pesticide banned by the EPA, but still allowed by FDA in children's products After being under review for nearly 30 years, the pesticide lindane was finally withdrawn by the Environmental Protection Agency for use in agriculture last summer. Called by the EPA "one of the most toxic, persistent, bioaccumulative pesticides ever...

Real ID Act hopes to microchip Americans' ID cards, privacy advocates oppose By the year 2013, nearly every American will be outfitted with a new digital ID card, according to a recent Bush administration announcement. Opponents of this legislation have been advising states to publicly oppose a system that is insufficient in...

Big business leans green in an environmentally aware consumer marketplace Several major American corporations are teaching customers about energy conservation, recycling, producing less waste and reducing heat-trapping carbon emissions as a way of showing they care about the planet. In the world of big business, weather disasters...

Coffee myth busted: morning cups offer no boost in mental alertness New research presented to the British Nutrition Foundation shows that regular consumption of coffee does not affect a person’s alertness. University of Bristol researchers have carried out a review of previous studies into the effects of caffeine, and...

Breakthrough anti-reflection coating could mean advances in optics, LED lighting and lenses A team of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has created a new optical coating that enables greater control over the basic properties of light. The world's first material that reflects virtually no light can eliminate unwanted reflections,...

Hybrid hard drives to offer cleaner, greener and faster data storage A new hybrid hard drive has been developed by Samsung Electronics which promises a power-saving technology revolution. Samsung claims that their hybrid unit will speed up computer boot times and consume 70-90% less power than traditional hard drive units,...

Grassroots organization POWA launches campaign to outlaw fluoridation of municipal water supplies Whenever a faucet is turned on, the question looms as to the safety of the water that flows out of it. The practice of water fluoridation is a controversial issue which affects families around the world. The Union of Concerned Scientists has called for...

Mysterious collapse of honeybee populations threatens national food supply The honeybee population in the United States is currently suffering a devastating collapse. Honeybees are flying off in search of pollen and nectar and simply never returning to their colonies. Have they all been kidnapped by mad beekeepers, or is something...

Mortgage meltdown kicks in as sub-prime lenders collapse under weight of bad loans Federal regulators are currently investigating the policies of a large number of major U.S. Lenders - including New Century Financial Corporation and Fremont General Corporation - to determine whether impropriety was used in their business practices....