Nexus - 1002 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

LYS a Ay EWN? NEGATIVE IONS WIPE OUT HOSPITAL INFECTIONS mutations. What's more, there's a” no reason why human DNA should be immune from the same pollution. Our genes may also be damaged and then inherited by our children. Researchers say there is an urgent need to investigate the genetic consequences associated with exposure to chemical pollu- tion through the inhalation of urban and industrial air. Indeed, with the vast majority of us now living in urban areas and millions of people exposed to air pollu- tion from steel mills, coal-fired power plants and automobiles, we cannot afford simply to accept the industry line of doing nothing—especially when it could be the next generation that suffers the most. (Source: Environment Network News.com, January 7, 2003) Rees airborne infections of XY the bacteria Acinetobacter in an intensive care ward have been eliminated by the installation of air ionisers. In the first such epidemiologi- cal study, researchers found that the infection rate fell to zero dur- ing the year-long trial. "We were absolutely astounded to find such clear-cut results," said engineer Clive Begg at the University of Leeds. Stephen Dean, a consultant at the St James's Hospital in Leeds, where the trial took place, said: "The results have been fantastic— so much so, that we have asked the university to leave the ionisers with us." The ionisers produce negative ions that collide with suspended particles and give them a charge. The scientists believe charged particles aggregate and fall out of the air, thereby disinfecting the atmosphere and stopping the trans- ission of infection. Research by electronics company Sharp has shown that positive and nega- tive ions produced by their air condition - ing systems can inactivate viruses, including those that cause influenza. But this new study is the first to link such an effect with negative ions to reduced infections in hospitals. (Source: New Scientist, January 3, 2003, http://www.newscientist.com. news/news. jsp ?id=ns99993228) AIR POLLUTION CAN CAUSE GENETIC MUTATIONS ix years ago, scientists found that herring gulls living near steel mills around the harbour in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, tended to have high DNA muta- tion rates. These mutations were then transferred to the next generation of gulls, increasing the offspring's chances of developing genetic diseases like can- cer and birth defects. Researchers sus- pected at the time that air pollution was causing the mutations, but they couldn't eliminate other factors, such as polluted water or contaminated fish, that also could have been responsible. Now, other scientists have published a paper indicating that air pollution is indeed the likely culprit behind the IMF APPROVES SINGLE CURRENCY FOR GULF STATES lhe International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved plans that will achieve monetary union for Persian Gulf states by 2005 and the launch of a single currency by 2010. The IMF has mapped out the steps that will be taken during the unification period to establish the single Gulf currency within the first decade of the new millennium. The new currency will initially be lim- ited to members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes some of the most wealthy nations on Earth. The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia (the world's most important source of oil) as well as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and United Arab Emirates. (Sources: "On a Common Currency for the GCC Countries", IMF's Policy Discussion Paper No. 02/12, December 2, 2002; Common Currency, IMF's Finance & Development magazine, vol. 39, no. 4, December 2002) The Digital Camera a LAWSUIT CHARGING LAB ORIGIN OF AIDS TO BE FILED [ a November 20, 2002, letter from the Office of the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, AIDS origin researcher Boyd E. Graves, JD, was given 60 days to file suit in the US federal court of his choosing. "The people have forced the right to 6 = NEXUS www.nexusmagazine.com FEBRUARY — MARCH 2003