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LYS E S fat Ny WW ANTI-MMR VACCINE DOCTOR OUSTED spreading unfolds through volcanic activity. Defying expectations, the Gakkel Ridge appears to be highly volcanically active. The mission also retrieved evidence of a vast field of undersea vents known as "black smokers". Gakkel Ridge is considered the world's slowest-spreading mid- ocean ridge. Because the southern end of the ridge spreads somewhat more quickly than the northern end, the scientists had expected that vol- canic activity would peter out as they headed north. Instead, they discovered irregular pockets of vol- canic activity rather than a uniform nattaen D: Andrew Wakefield, the con- QM sultant gastroenterologist whose research has linked the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine to autism and bowel dis- ease, announced on December 1 that he had been asked to resign because of his work. He had been testing the theory that measles virus from MMR vac- cine can colonise the bowel of sus- ceptible children, producing inflammatory bowel disease which then, via a disruption of the chemi- cal balance in the body and the brain, leads to autism. Dr Wakefield's departure comes a month after he was made a Fellow of the Royal College o Pathologists in recognition of his research work. Parents of autistic children involved in his research expressed their anger at the news. Some demanded reas- surances that the Royal Free Hospital will continue treating their children. Dr Wakefield told the Telegraph that he had seen almost 170 children with a simi- lar story and claimed that the Department of Health's contention that MMR had been proven to be safe did not hold up. Pressure on the children's gastroenterol- ogy unit is so great that its waiting list risks breaking the NHS's 18-month limit. (Source: The Telegraph, London, December 2, 2001, http://news.telegraph.co.uk) pattern. (Source: Reuters, Nov. 28, 2001) DUTCH STUDY MAY PROVE EXISTENCE OF THE SOUL AS of Dutch research doctors has conducted a study of 344 heart attack survivors and found that more than one in 10 of them had experienced "emotions, visions or lucid thoughts" while they were considered "clinically dead"—meaning that they were unconscious with no signs of pulse, breathing or brain activity at the time. Some of them reported having "out- of-body" experiences. The survey took two years to conduct and is the largest study to date on the phe- nomenon of near-death experience (NDE). The study itself raises some important questions about the continuation of con- sciousness after death and whether the mind and the brain can function indepen- dently. It also suggests the possibility of a spiritual component of human beings out- lasting their mortal existence, and hints at the Universe being meaningful and not just random. No doubt the debate about how to inter- pret the results of the study will continue for some time to come. (Source: The Lancet, via the website www.cosmiverse.com, December 12, 2001) VOLCANIC ACTIVITY FOUND BENEATH ARCTIC ICE CAP nder the frozen surface of the Arctic Ocean, scientists aboard a US Coast Guard icebreaker have unexpectedly dis- covered a searing cauldron of activity, including underwater volcanic movement and deep-sea hot springs. Scientists have mapped and studied the Gakkel Ridge, which runs for 1,100 miles from north of Greenland to Siberia beneath the Arctic ice cap. This is the deepest and most remote portion of the global mid- ocean ridge system, where new ocean crust continuously is created as sea floor SOY ISOFLAVONES MAY PROMOTE BREAST CANCER lhe increasingly consumed isoflavone, genistein—a plant oestrogen linked to the health benefits of soy, has been shown in a series of University of Illinois studies to stimulate the growth of oestrogen- dependent human breast cancer cells. The findings of three studies, funded by ia a e —" 6 ¢ NEXUS —— = a. —————— a WWW.NeXU smagazi ne.com FEBRUARY — MARCH 2002