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Natural products with medicinal value are gradually gaining importance in clinical research due to their well-known property of no side effects as compared to drugs. Tinospora cordifolia commonly named as “Guduchi” is known for its immense application in the treatment of various diseases in the traditional ayurvedic literature. Recently the discovery of active components from the plant and their biological function in disease control has led to active interest in the plant across the globe. Our present study in this review encompasses (i) the genetic diversity of the plant and (ii) active components isolated from the plant and their biological role in disease targeting. The future scope of the review remains in exploiting the biochemical and signaling pathways affected by the compounds isolated from Tinospora so as to enable new and effective formulation in disease eradication.

Tinospora cordifolia commonly named as “Guduchi” in Sanskrit belonging to family Menispermaceae is a genetically diverse, large, deciduous climbing shrub with greenish yellow typical flowers, found at higher altitude.[ 1 – 3 ] In racemes or racemose panicles, the male flowers are clustered and female are solitary. The flowering season expands over summers and winters.[ 4 ] A variety of active components derived from the plant like alkaloids, steroids, diterpenoid lactones, aliphatics, and glycosides[ 4 ] have been isolated from the different parts of the plant body, including root, stem, and whole plant. Recently, the plant is of great interest to researchers across the globe because of its reported medicinal properties like anti-diabetic, anti-periodic, anti-spasmodic, anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, anti-oxidant, anti-allergic, anti-stress, anti-leprotic, anti-malarial, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory and anti-neoplastic activities. In this review, we focus our attention to: (i) the reported genetic diversity in the Plant (ii) biological roles reported in humans and animals and active components from the plant. (iii) biological roles reported in humans and animals.

All the reports of experiments on different model types (in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo) were taken varying from animal and human model systems. Reported data was analysed and represented in the form of figures and tables for the current review. ChemDraw Ultra 9.0 Software, Cambridge soft Life Science Enterprise Solutions was used for drawing the figures in the review. The figures of the compounds were obtained as reported in different journal sources.

Published literature on recent developments in research in Tinospora cordifolia, including original articles and papers in Pubmed and Pubmed Central Databases were taken into study for the report. Information extracted from a total of 175 published articles of which five review articles and cross references thereof were collected. The search criteria were restricted to the roles of the plant in the field of medical advancements and the effects that has been observed with different experiments.

RESULTS

(i) Tinospora cordifolia: A genetically diverse plant Reports on studies of morphological and physiological characters of the plant, including plant length, stem diameter, growth habit, floral morphology, flower color, stomatal density, trichomal density, lenticels density, petiole length, plant biomass, and other characteristics of the plant and diversity in the genetic components identified by markers have indicated the diversity in the medicinal plant which has profound importance for efficient and effective management of plant genetic resources. Reports using markers for random amplified polymorphic DNA,[5] and inter-simple sequence repeat primers[1,5] have pointed toward the genetic variation within the population. However, reports on conservation strategies and propagation of the germplasm are few.

(ii) Tinospora cordifolia: Biological roles A myriad of biologically active compounds, including alkaloids, diterpenoid lactones, glycosides, steroids, sesquiterpenoid, phenolics, aliphatic compounds, and polysaccharides have been isolated from different parts of the plant body [ [4–39], ]. These compounds have been reported to have different biological roles in disease conditions thus enabling potential application in clinical research. Tinospora cordifolia extracts are extensively used in various herbal preparations for the treatment of different ailments for its anti-periodic, anti-spasmodic, anti-microbial, anti-osteoporotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, anti-allergic, and anti-diabetic properties[6] [ ]. Table 1 Open in a separate window Open in a separate window The major biological property of Tinospora cordifolia includes:

Immunomodulatory property The immuomodulatory property of Tinospora cordifolia is well documented.[40–42] Active compounds 11-hydroxymustakone, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, N-formylannonain, cordifolioside A, magnoflorine, tinocordiside and syringin[6] has been reported to have potential immunomodulatory and cytotoxic effects.[13,40–42] They have been reported to function by boosting the phagocytic activity of macrophages, production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human neutrophil cells,[43] enhancement in nitric oxide (NO) production by stimulation of splenocytes and macrophages indicative of anti-tumor effects.[44] Aqueous Tinospora extracts has been also reported to influence the cytokine production, mitogenicity, stimulation and activation of immune effector cells.[44] In mice, Tinospora cordifolia extracts has been shown to result in up-regulation of IL-6 cytokine, resulting in acute reactions to injury, inflammation, activation of cytotoxic T cells, and B cell differentiation.[45] Active compounds in aqueous extracts like alkaloids, di-terpenoid lactones, glycosides, steroids, sesquiterpenoid, phenolics, aliphatic compounds or polysaccharides[19] in experimental rat model have been reported for their cytotoxic action. Dry stem crude extracts of Tinospora cordifolia with a polyclonal B cell mitogen, G1-4A on binding to macrophages have been reported to enhance immune response in mice by inducing secretion of IL-1, together with activation of macrophages. Reports on Tinospora cordifolia in prevention of oxidative damage also exist.[46] The (1,4)-alpha-d-glucan (alpha-d-glucan), derived Tinospora cordifolia have been shown to activate human lymphocytes with downstream synthesis of the pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, in vitro.[47] Synergistic effects of compounds in the immunomodulatory activity of Tinospora cordifolia are reported.[6]

Anti-diabetes property The stem of Tinospora cordifolia is widely used in the therapy of diabetes by regulating the blood glucose[48] in traditional folk medicine of India. It has been reported to mediate its anti-diabetic potential through mitigating oxidative stress (OS), promoting insulin secretion and also by inhibiting gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis, thereby regulating blood glucose.[48] Alkaloids, tannins, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, saponins, and steroids as the major phytoconstituents[49] of Tinospora cordifolia have been reported to play an anti-diabetic role. The isoquinoline alkaloid rich fraction from stem, including, palmatine, jatrorrhizine, and magnoflorine have been reported for insulin-mimicking and insulin-releasing effect both in vitro and in vivo.[10] Oral treatments of root extracts have been reported to regulate blood glucose levels, enhance insulin secretion and suppress OS markers. Initiation and restoration of cellular defence anti-oxidant markers including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione (GSH), inhibition of glucose 6-phosphatase and fructose 1, 6-diphosphatase, restoration of glycogen content in liver was reported in in vitro studies.[10] The crude stem ethyl acetate, dichloromethane (DCM), chloroforms and hexane extracts of Tinospora cordifolia inhibited the enzyme's salivary and pancreatic amylase and glucosidase[50] thus increasing the post-prandial glucose level and finds potential application in treatment of diabetes mellitus. The root extract has been reported to decrease the levels of glycosylated hemoglobin, plasma thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, hydroperoxides, ceruloplasmin and vitamin E diabetic rats.[51] Oral administration of Tinospora cordifolia extract in “Ilogen-Excel” formulation (Ayurvedic herbal formulation) composed of eight medicinal plants including Curcuma longa, Strychnos potatorum, Salacia oblonga, Tinospora cordifolia, Vetivelia zizanioides, Coscinium fenestratum, Andrographis paniculata, and Mimosa pudica is reported to reduce GSH and vitamin C[51] in blood and urine glucose and lipids in the serum and tissues in alloxan diabetic rats with a subsequent decrease in body weight.[52] Decreased concentration of GSH, GPx, and SOD, catalase activity is reported in heart and brain of diabetic rats.[53] T. cardifolia root extract (TCE) has been reported to cause an increase in body weight, total hemoglobin and hepatic hexokinase[54] and lowering hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase, serum acid phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in diabetic rats thus having hypoglycemic and hypolipidaemic effect.[54] The protective effects of TCE were reported in presence of higher levels of anti-oxidant molecules and enzymes.[55] TCE has been shown to significantly counterbalance the diabetes-associated OS in the maternal liver by lowering the levels of malondialdehyde and ROS and the increased levels of GSH and total thiols.[56]

Anti-toxic effects Tinospora cordifolia extracts have been reported to scavenge free radicals generated during aflatoxicosis.[57] It exhibited protective effects by lowering thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) levels and enhancing the GSH, ascorbic acid, protein, and the activities of anti-oxidant enzymes viz., SOD, CAT, GPx, Glutathione S-transferase (GST) and glutathione reductase (GR) in kidney. Alkaloids such as a choline, tinosporin, isocolumbin, palmatine, tetrahydropalmatine, and magnoflorine from Tinospora cordifolia showed protection against aflatoxin-induced nephrotoxicity.[57] Tinospora cordifolia stem and leaves extract has shown hepatoprotective effect in Swiss albino male mice against lead nitrate induced toxicity.[58] Oral administration of plant extracts prevented the occurrence of lead nitrate induced liver damage.[59] Decreased level of SOD, CAT and increased level of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), ALP, and ACP were observed in mice suffering from lead toxicity.[59] Synergistic administration of aqueous extract of stem and leaf along with the lead nitrate increased the activities of SOD and CAT and decreased the levels of AST, ALT, ALP, and ACP enzymes.[59] Protective role of aqueous extract of stem and leaves of Tinospora cordifolia overcoming the toxic effects of lead is shown as its effects on the hematological values.[58] Cyclophosphamide (CP) an anti-cancer drug has been reported to reduce the GSH content in both bladder and liver and lowered levels of cytokines Inerferon-γ and IL-2 an increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α. This effect could be reversed on Tinospora cordifolia treatment indicating the role of Tinospora cordifolia in overcoming CP induced toxicities in cancer treatment.[60]

Anti-arthritic, anti-osteoporotic effects Single or synergistic formulations of Tinospora cordifolia with Zingiber officinale has been used in rheumatoid arthritis treatment in traditional medicine.[61] Tinospora cordifolia have been reported to affect the proliferation, differentiation and mineralization of bone like matrix on osteoblast model systems in vitro and hence finds potential application as an anti-osteoporotic agent. Alcoholic extract of Tinospora cordifolia have been shown to stimulate the growth of osteoblasts, increasing the differentiation of cells into osteoblastic lineage and also increasing the mineralization of bone like matrix.[62] Ecdysteroids isolated from the plant have been reported of protein anabolic and anti-osteoporotic effects in mammals. Beta-Ecdysone (Ecd) from Tinospora cordifolia extracts have been reported to induce a significant increase in the thickness of joint cartilage, induce the osteogenic differentiation in mouse mesenchymal stem cells[63] and to relieve osteoporosis in osteoporotic animal models.[63] Further 20-OH-β-Ecd isolated from Tinospora cordifolia has been reported of its anti-osteoporotic effects[62] thus highlighting the role of Tinospora cordifolia in the treatment of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.[64]

Anti-HIV effects TCE has been shown to demonstrate a decrease in the recurrent resistance of HIV virus thus improving the therapeutic outcome.[65] Anti-HIV effects of TCE was revealed by reduction in eosinophil count, stimulation of B lymphocytes, macrophages and polymorphonuclear leucocytes and hemoglobin percentage thus, revealing its promising role of application in management of the disease.[65,66]

Anti-cancer effects The anti-cancer effects of Tinospora cordifolia are mostly studied in animal models. TCE have been shown to have a radioprotective role by significantly increase in body weight, tissue weight, testes-body weight ratio and tubular diameter and inhibit the harmful effects of sub-lethal gamma radiation on testes in male Swiss albino mice. In pre-irradiating mice, TCE significantly affected radiation induced rise in lipid peroxidation and resulted in the decline of GSH concentration in testes.[67] Pre-treatment of HeLa cells by TCE have been shown to decrease the cell viability, increase LDH and decrease in GSH S-transferase activity.[68] Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in TCE has been reported to stimulate the growth and proliferation of Human LNCaP cells (which are androgen-sensitive human prostate adenocarcinoma cells). Androgenic compounds in TCE act via androgen receptor.[69] Newly isolated compounds like (5R, 10R)-4R, 8R-dihydroxy-2S, 3R: 15, 16-diepoxycleroda-13 (16), 17, 12S: 18,1S-dilactone (ECD), a diterpenoid from Tinospora cordifolia has been reported for its chemopreventive potential in diethylnitrosamine (DEN) induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in rats by decreasing anti-oxidant activities via SOD, CAT and detoxification enzymes like GSH, GPx and subsequent increase in the activities of the hepatic markers ((Serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase)SGOT, (Serum Glutamic Pyruvate Transaminase) SGPT, LDH) and decreased serum transaminase level thus confirming its anti-tumor effects and promising application as a potent chemo preventive drug for HCC.[26] The radiosensitizing activity of DCM extract of Tinospora cordifolia has been reported in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) mice enabling tumor-free survival via depletion of GSH and glutathione-S-transferase by elevated levels of lipid peroxidation and DNA damage to tumor cells.[9,57,70] TCE hexane fraction has been shown to block the G1 phase in EAC mice and cause apoptosis by the formation of apoptotic bodies, nuclear condensation, activation of caspase-3, decreased cell number and ascites volume, increased expression of pro-apoptotic gene, Bax, and decreased expression of anti-apoptotic gene, Bcl-2.[71] TCE could induce a reduction of papillomas, tumor yield, tumor burden, and tumor weight while increase phase II detoxifying enzymes[72] in skin carcinoma animal models. The effect of a hydroalcoholic (80% ethanol: 20% distilled water) extract of aerial roots of Tinospora cordifolia on Swiss albino mice[73] revealed a significant increase in acid-soluble sulfhydryl (-SH), cytochrome P (450) contents, and enzyme activities of cytochrome P (450) reductase, cytochrome b5 reductase, GST, DT-diaphorase (DTD), SOD, catalase, GPX, and GR activity in the liver highlighting the chemopreventive role of Tinospora cordifolia against carcinogenicity.[73] In vivo anti-angiogenic activity of TCE in B16-F10 melanoma was detected by increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1 β, IL-6, TNF-α, granulocyte monocyte-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and the vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF), increased production of anti-angiogenic agents IL-2 and tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease-1 (TIMP-1) in the B16-F10 extract-treated animals.[74] The polysaccharide fraction from Tinospora cordifolia was found to be very effective in reducing the metastatic potential of B16-F10 melanoma cells. Markers of neoplastic development were reduced significantly in the treated animals compared with the untreated control animals.[75] Most of the synthetic chemotherapeutic agents suffer from toxic side effects.[76] The effect of Guduchi extracts was comparable or better than doxorubicin treatment.[77]

Tinospora cordifolia: Anti-microbial activity The methanol extracts of Tinospora cordifolia have been reported to have potential against microbial infections.[78] The anti-bacterial activity of Tinospora cordifolia extracts has been assayed against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus vulgaris, Salmonella typhi, Shigella flexneri, Salmonella paratyphi, Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter aerogene, and Serratia marcesenses (Gram-positive bacteria).[78–80] In mice models, TCE has been reported to function in bacterial clearance and improved phagocytic and intracellular bactericidal capacities of neutrophils.[81] TCE has been reported of immunostimulant properties on macrophages.[82] Intra-mammary infusion of hydro-methanolic extracts of Tinospora cordifolia treatment showed enhanced phagocytic activity of polymorphonuclear cells in bovine subclinical mastitis.[39,83]

Tinospora cordifolia: Anti-oxidant activity The anti-oxidant capacity of Tinospora cordifolia stem methanol extracts administered orally increased the erythrocytes membrane lipid peroxide and catalase activity. It also decreased the activities of SOD, GPx in alloxan-induced diabetic rats.[52,84,85] Tinospora cordifolia Willd.(Menispermaceae) extracts possess possible inhibitors of aldose reductase and anti-oxidant agents[86] thereby reducing chemotoxicity induced by free radicals.[87] TCE has been reported of its strong free radical scavenging properties against superoxide anion (O 2 -), hydroxyl radicals (OH), NO radical, and peroxynitrite anion (ONOO-).[87] The extract was also found to reduce the toxic side effects of CP in mice by the free radical formation.[88,89] Tinospora cordifolia lowers the levels of malondialdehyde and ROS and the higher levels of GSH and total thiols. The protective effects of Tinospora cordifolia could be observed even in the fetal milieu, with higher levels of anti-oxidant molecules and enzymes.[56] Tinospora cordifolia has the ability to scavenge free radicals generated during aflatoxicosis. Tinospora cordifolia showed protection against aflatoxin-induced nephrotoxicity due to the presence of alkaloids such as a choline, tinosporin, isocolumbin, palmatine, tetrahydropalmatine, and magnoflorine.[8] A significant increase in the concentration of TBARS in brain along with a decrease in heart has been observed in diabetic rats.[53] It also enhanced formation of SOD, GPx, and GSH in liver. Treatment with Tinospora cordifolia also inhibited glucose 6-phosphatase and fructose 1, 6-diphosphatase; and restored glycogen content in liver. Tinospora cordifolia has been shown to regulate blood glucose.[90] (5R, 10R)-4R, 8R-dihydroxy-2S, 3R: 15, 16-diepoxycleroda-13 (16), 17, 12S: 18,1S-dilactone (ECD), a diterpenoid from Tinospora cordifolia has been shown to possess chemo-preventive potential in DEN induced HCC rats. Treatment of ECD in both preventive and curative DEN induced animals increased the level of anti-oxidants and detoxification enzymes.[26] An aqueous extract of Tinospora cordifolia has a radio-protective enhancing the survival of mice against a sub-lethal dose of gamma radiation.[64–65] Tinospora cordifolia was effective in elevating the GSH levels, expression of the gamma-glutamylcysteine ligase and Cu-Zn SOD genes.[91] Aqueous extract of Tinospora cordifolia inhibited radiation mediated 2-deoxyribose degradation by inhibiting the formation of (Fe2+)-bipiridyl complex formation to confer radio-protective effects.[92] The arabinogalactan polysaccharide (TSP) isolated from Tinospora cordifolia showed good protection against iron-mediated lipid peroxidation of rat brain homogenate as revealed by the TBARS and lipid hydroperoxide (LOOH) assays.[42] Tinospora cordifolia also has the components that decrease the recurrent resistance of HIV virus to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and improve the outcome of the therapy.[93] The effect of a hydroalcoholic (80% ethanol: 20% distilled water) extract of aerial roots of Tinospora cordifolia on carcinogen/drug metabolizing phase-I and phase-II enzymes, anti-oxidant enzymes, GSH content, LDH and lipid peroxidation has been shown in liver of Swiss albino mice. The enhanced GSH level and enzyme activities involved in xenobiotic metabolism and maintaining anti-oxidant status of cells are suggestive of a chemo-preventive efficacy of Tinospora cordifolia.[73] Tinospora cordifolia has been reported to contain an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor, characterized as saponarin (apigenin-6-C-glucosyl-7-O-glucoside). The leaf extract had appreciable anti-oxidant and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities.[20] Pepticare, a herbomineral formulation of the Ayurveda medicine consisting of the herbal drugs: Glycyrrhiza glabra, Emblica officinalis and Tinospora cordifolia, has anti-ulcer and anti-oxidant activity in rats.[94] Hyponidd is another herbomineral formulation composed of the extracts of 10 medicinal plants (Momordica charantia, Melia azadirachta, Pterocarpus marsupium, Tinospora cordifolia, Gymnema sylvestre, Enicostemma littorale, Emblica officinalis, Eugenia jambolana, Cassia auriculata and Curcuma longa). Hyponidd administration also decreased levels of glycosylated hemoglobin, plasma thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, hydroperoxides, ceruloplasmin and alpha-tocopherol in diabetic rats.[95] Anti-oxidant activities of Dihar, a polyherbal formulation containing drugs from eight different herbs viz., Syzygium cumini, Momordica charantia, Emblica officinalis, Gymnema sylvestre, Enicostemma littorale, Azadirachta indica, Tinospora cordifolia and Curcuma longa in streptozotocin induced type 1 diabetic rats. Dihar produced a significant decrease in serum creatinine and urea levels in diabetic rats.[7]


KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A missing Malaysian airliner appears to have been deliberately steered off course after someone on board shut down its communications, Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Saturday.

A week after the disappearance of flight MH370, Najib said its last transmission of satellite data came nearly seven hours after it disappeared from radar screens.

But the new satellite data gave no precise location, and the plane’s altered course could have taken it anywhere from central Asia to the southern Indian Ocean, he said.

Minutes after the Malaysian leader outlined investigators’ latest findings, police began searching the house of the aircraft’s 53-year-old captain for any evidence that he could have been involved in foul play.

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in the early hours of March 8 with 239 passengers and crew aboard.

Najib, giving his first statement at a news conference since then, confirmed reports that investigators believe somebody cut off the plane’s communications reporting system, switched off its transponder and steered it west, far from its scheduled route.

“In view of this latest development the Malaysian authorities have refocused their investigation into the crew and passengers on board,” he said.

“Despite media reports the plane was hijacked, I wish to be very clear, we are still investigating all possibilities as to what caused MH370 to deviate.”

Search operations by navies and aircraft from more than a dozen nations were immediately called off in the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea to the east of Malaysia, where the plane dropped off civilian air traffic control screens at 1:22 a.m. last Saturday (1722 GMT on Friday).

Malaysia said new data showed the last communication between the missing plane and satellites at 8:11 a.m. (0011 GMT), almost seven hours after it turned back and crossed the Malay peninsula.

The data did not show whether the plane was still flying or its location at that time, presenting searchers with a daunting array of possible last locations. Seven hours’ more flying time would likely have taken it to the limit of its fuel load.

TWO CORRIDORS

Najib said the plane’s final communication with satellites placed it somewhere in one of two corridors: a northern arc stretching from northern Thailand to the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, or a southern one stretching from Indonesia to the vast southern Indian Ocean.

“Clearly, the search for MH370 has entered a new phase,” said Najib, whose government has come under criticism for its slow release of information surrounding one of the most baffling mysteries in aviation history.

Related Coverage Malaysian plane saga highlights air defense gaps

India stepped up its search in two areas at the request of Malaysia - one around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and another further west across the Bay of Bengal - but found no evidence that would indicate that the plane had come down in its waters, the Defence Ministry said.

A senior military official in Port Blair, capital of the archipelago, said Indian aircraft had combed waters stretching up to 300 nautical miles offshore and overflown all 572 islands in the chain but “we don’t have anything so far”.

India’s Eastern Naval Command was investigating a separate rectangular ‘box’ 15 km wide by 600 km long, some 900 km east of Port Blair, but had found nothing.

About two-thirds of the passengers on board the flight were Chinese, and Beijing has been showing increasing impatience with the speed and coordination of the Malaysian search effort.

On Saturday, China said it had demanded that Malaysia keep providing more thorough and accurate information, and added that it was sending a technical team to Malaysia to help with the investigation.

China’s Xinhua state news agency said in a commentary that Najib’s disclosure of the new details was “painfully belated”.

“And due to the absence - or at least lack - of timely authoritative information, massive efforts have been squandered, and numerous rumors have been spawned, repeatedly racking the nerves of the awaiting families,” it said.

The fate of flight MH370 has been shrouded in mystery since it disappeared off Malaysia’s east coast less than an hour into its scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8.

But investigators have increasingly discounted the possibility of an accident due to the deliberate way it was diverted and had its communications switched off.

EXPERIENCED CAPTAIN

Investigative sources told Reuters on Friday they believed the plane was following a commonly used navigational route when it was last spotted early on Saturday, northwest of Malaysia.

Their suspicion has hardened that it was flown off-course by the pilot or co-pilot, or someone else with detailed knowledge of how to fly and navigate a large commercial aircraft.

No details have emerged of any passengers or crew with militant links or psychological problems that could explain a motive for sabotaging the flight.

The experienced captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, was a flying enthusiast who spent his off days tinkering with a flight simulator of the plane that he had set up at home, current and former co-workers said. Malaysia Airlines officials did not believe he would have sabotaged the flight.

Japan Coast Guard pilots look out from the cockpit of their Gulfstream V Jet aircraft, customized for search and rescue operations, as they search for the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 plane over the waters of the South China Sea March 15, 2014. REUTERS/Edgar Su

The 27-year-old co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, was religious and serious about his career, family and friends said, countering news reports suggesting he was a cockpit Romeo who was reckless on the job.

As the search enters its second week, several governments are using imagery satellites - platforms that take high definition photos - while data from private sector communications satellites is also being examined. China alone says it has deployed 10 satellites.

“The area is enormous. Finding anything rapidly is going to be very difficult,” said Marc Pircher, director of the French space centre in Toulouse. “The area and scale of the task is such that 99 percent of what you are getting are false alarms.”

The corridors given by Najib represent a satellite track, which appears as an arc on a map. The plane did not necessarily follow the corridor, but was at some point along its path at the moment the signal was sent.

Officials at Kazakhstan’s state air navigation service were not available for comment while in Turkmenistan, state aviation officials referred queries to the Foreign Ministry.

Afghanistan’s ministry of aviation said its controllers were certain the plane had not crossed their airspace. A spokesman for Pakistan’s civilian airspace authority said: “We have not received any requests from Malaysia authorities for help, nor have we any information on the plane’s whereabouts.”

SATELLITES

Earlier, a source familiar with official U.S. assessments of electronic signals sent to geostationary satellites operated by Britain’s Inmarsat said it appeared most likely the plane had turned south over the Indian Ocean, where it would presumably have run out of fuel and crashed into the sea.

If so, just finding the plane - let alone recovering the “black box” data and cockpit voice recorders that hold the key to the mystery - would be a huge challenge.

The Indian Ocean has an average depth of more than 12,000 feet, or two miles. This is deeper than the Atlantic, where it took two years to locate wreckage on the seabed from an Air France plane that vanished in 2009, even though floating debris quickly gave an indication of the area of the crash.

Any debris would have been widely dispersed by Indian Ocean currents in the week since the plane disappeared.

“We have many radar systems operating in the area, but nothing was picked up,” Rear Admiral Sudhir Pillai, Chief of Staff of India’s Andamans and Nicobar Command, told Reuters.

“It is possible that the military radars were switched off as we operate on an as-required basis. So perhaps secondary radars were operating, which may not have the required range to detect a flight at an altitude of 35,000 feet.”

The other interpretation was that the aircraft continued to fly to the northwest and headed over Indian territory.

The source said it was believed unlikely the plane had flown for any length of time over India because it has strong air defence and radar coverage that should have allowed authorities to see the plane and intercept it.

Slideshow (16 Images)

It is extremely rare for a modern passenger aircraft to disappear once it has reached cruising altitude, as MH370 had. When that does happen, the debris from a crash is usually found relatively quickly, close to its last known position.

In this case, there has been no trace of the plane, nor any sign of wreckage.

The maximum range of the Boeing 777-200ER is 7,725 nautical miles or 14,305 km. It is not clear how much fuel the aircraft was carrying, though it would have been enough to reach its scheduled destination, Beijing, a flight of five hours and 50 minutes, plus some reserve.


The relentless attacking football implemented by Brendan Rodgers at Anfield has acted as a major inspiration for the Reds' U21s team this season, according to Alex Inglethorpe.

On Friday, the coach takes his Academy youngsters into a Barclays U21 Premier League semi-final clash with Manchester United on the back of a campaign which has featured 55 goals in just 21 outings.

Kick-off at Anfield is at 7.45pm BST; tickets for the Kop are available to purchase now, while the game will also be broadcast live on LFC TV and LFCTV GO from 7.15pm. Click here for details.

Ahead of the encounter, Inglethorpe reflected on how he and his players are inspired by Rodgers' approach and the footballing philosophy the Northern Irishman has installed at the club.

"I think it's a very clear philosophy that runs from the top," he explained to Liverpoolfc.com.

"We've got incredible mentors and fantastic people to look up to in the first team in the style which they have played all season, irrespective of systems, because the first team have played a few different systems.

"The style has been consistent, they want to have the ball, they want to attack, they want to press high on the pitch, they want to entertain and they certainly do that.

"They are a side which people will regularly tune in and want to watch a Liverpool match because you are guaranteed excitement and a return to the values that the club was associated with for so many years, and it's our job as an U21s team to do our best to imitate that.

"At times we've been able to do that, other times we've tried but not been successful, but that's the nature of youth football and development, but we certainly know what we are trying to do."

Watch the video here »

The young Reds are now one step away from a final against Chelsea to determine who will be this year's national U21 champions, and Inglethorpe is relishing another date in front of the Kop.

This season at Anfield, the U21s have won four games out of five - firing 14 goals in the process - and the coach knows his young charges are keen to impress once more.

He added: "We're looking forward to it as a group. We feel as though we've worked hard all season and it's always nice, when you get to the end of the season, to have something to play for.

"It's great because the lads have more opportunities to impress and improve and there's no greater chance than at Anfield on Friday.

"To get the chance to play at Anfield I think is everything, not just the players but for the staff as well. Anfield generates an incredible atmosphere and there's an incredible ambience about the place.

"It's a fantastic place to go and work and it does give the players that lift because it's ultimately where they want to go and play every week.

"They want to play at home, they want the ground to be full and they want to contribute to the club, so to have a little dress rehearsal before the future main event is inspirational for all of them."


Clarity is a short film project, estimated at under a half hour run time. It is currently in pre-production, and shoot dates will be in July, 2014 in the Phoenix, AZ area. Dustin Diamond and Lynn Lowry are acting in it! It was written by Jenny Brundage, and will be directed by Brian LaPan.

Cover Art

Near Future: About one-third of North America's population has either died, or is fatally ill due to side-effects of a commonly-ingested substance. The early symptoms can be mild, and include memory loss, but eventually lead to dementia and a horrible, painful death.

Krystal, a young woman, stops off for a bite to eat, on her way to the city, and is reunited with her childhood best friend's older sister, Hope, whom invites her to visit a resort for a few days to catch up. Days pass, and romantic feelings blossom between the women. The resort and its inhabitants seem more and more like home and family. Unfortunately, many of the people are fatally ill, and some of them are not as stable as they initially seem...

Everybody is preparing for the punch toast at midnight... but with different drink options, and different reasons behind their choices.

Click here for CAST and CREW UPDATES!

Cast:

Lynn Lowry as Mrs. Diamond

Lynn Lowry

Dustin Diamond as Dusty Diamond

To be clear, Dustin Diamond, best known for his portrayal of Samuel "Screech" Powers on Saved by the Bell, will be portraying a regular, nice, somewhat sarcastic guy. Ever want to see him in something serious, dark and eerie? Back this Kickstarter to get your chance!

Dustin Diamond, known mostly to starring in Saved By The Bell, is an actor who has hit most screens in the recent past. He played the role of Samuel Power for almost thirteen years since it began. He played the role so well that he continued the role in the college series where it went by the name, Saved By The Bell: The College Years. Other than appearing on this show, he also appeared in number of games and some reality shows. Some of the reality shows that he appeared in are The Weakest Link, Celebrity Boxing 2, Celebrity Fit Club, and Professional Wrestling. He has also appeared in films like Dickie Roberts: Former Child star in 2003. Dustin has performed stand-up comedy for several years. He has a stage humor which most comedians don’t have. He also commentates on TruTV’s, The Smoking Gun Presents: World’s Dumbest… He has written Behind the Bell, the inside story of the young cast from Saved by the Bell. You can see him in the upcoming film Scavenger Killers (A New Kind of Crazy).

E.E. King as Tia... and she's also doing the cover art!!!

E.E. King

E. E. King is a performer, writer, biologist and painter. Ray Bradbury called her stories “marvelously inventive, wildly funny and deeply thought provoking. I cannot recommend them highly enough.” She is the recipient of various international biology and painting grants. She has murals in Los Angeles and Spain.

You might have even seen Meeting of Minds, Mural on Mercado La Paloma, Los Angeles, 2000 121’ x 33’. Also, E.E. King will be Artist in Residence in the Bermuda Museum of Master Artists in 2015. Did I mention she's doing the cover art for Clarity???

Director:

Brian LaPan

Brian LaPan--Background includes being writer/producer on television shows, including Roseanne, Dinosaurs, Unhappily Ever After, The Sinbad Show, and Parker Lewis Can't Lose. Because of his television background, he is especially suited to skillfully handle our short shoot, work with both novices and seasoned Hollywood actors, and help Clarity become an utterly amazing film.


If you believed the internet, you'd think there's huge debate over whether eggs, coffee, or salt are good or bad for you. In reality, there's significant agreement on diet and health issues among experts, but the general public is conflicted. So why are we so confused when experts agree? Let's clear the air.

If you asked most people about foods that are "good" or "bad" for you, you'd get a dozen different answers. You'd find people who vehemently argue that eggs are both good or bad for you, that sodium does and doesn't contribute to hypertension, or that carbs do or don't make you sick. In general, you'll find a lot of laypeople with opinions that may or may not be based in real science. Researchers however, generally have some pretty solid opinions on these issues, and are quick to note where their own shortcomings are.

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So where's the disconnect? In this post, we'll look at where the breakdown happens, who's to blame, and what you can do about it all. We sat down with a number of our own experts to get their input. It's going to be a bumpy ride, so let's get started.

The "Health and Diet" Industry Carries Much of the Blame

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Americans spend billions on health and diet products every year. From books and meal plans to prepackaged foods and DVDs, we eat the stuff up (pun intended). It's natural to be attracted to any path that promises big results for little effort, but there's more to it. People who would otherwise consider themselves rational are often duped by marketing and half-truth statements made in the name of science.

This is where the diet industry flourishes. By taking advantage of the public's desire for practical health information, so-called "experts" sell us everything from juicers to supplements, convincing us the whole time we'll live forever thanks to their advice. It shouldn't work, but it does. Beth Skwarecki, a science writer and educator, explains why:

We respond strongly to warnings about danger, and promises of really awesome stuff (like health, or weight loss)—but only if those warnings or promises are actionable. And with food, that really applies: We can act on a warning to avoid gluten or eat superfoods (or whatever) at our next meal or our next trip to the grocery store. It makes us feel good to have control over ourselves. I'm not a psychologist and this is just my personal opinion, but I'm sure there is research that backs this up.

Why this causes confusion: Truth and falsehoods are both presented this way. “Vitamins are magical substances that will make you more healthy if you are deficient!” Well, yeah. That's actually true. “Vitamins are magical substances that will make you more healthy!” Sounds similar, but it's not the same, and it's not true in most cases. Then you can substitute various other chemicals or superfoods for the word "vitamins" in that sentence. True claims and misleading ones sound very similar. People selling diets or exercise programs will latch on to true things that help them sell their product; they'll also latch onto false ones. Just look at Dr. Oz: plenty of what he's pushing is true, but lots of it isn't, or is misleading. Which is which? I don't know that he cares. He just needs a steady stream of things to endorse.

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We don't mean to single out Dr. Oz here. There are a number of physicians and other medical professionals who are highly educated, but have made the decision to "sell health." They may believe they're doing good, or just want to make a living. In all of those cases, the message is similar: "Living healthy doesn't have to be hard, just do this thing/eat this food/buy my book."

Selling health is only half of the job. The other half is undermining public trust in science-based medicine and traditional authorities (although they carry blame too—we'll get to that in a moment) so they can swoop in to the rescue. Andy Bellatti, registered dietitian and frequent Lifehacker contributor, explains:

The food industry thrives on confusion, and it loves to propagate the notion that "Gee whiz, one day you're told coffee is good for you, the next day you're told it's unhealthy!" By making nutrition advice seem "confusing," they attempt to gain the public's trust.

It also doesn't help that, increasingly, food companies are setting up "institutes" (i.e.: Coca-Cola's Beverage Institute for Health and Wellness, General Mills' Bell Institute) that are essentially PR efforts that oh-so-coincidentally frame these companies' products as healthful (or, in the case of soda, in no way problematic from a health standpoint). To make matters more confusing, these institutes have doctors, cardiologists, and dietitians on their payroll—as well as key media contacts—resulting in a health professional talking to media about, say, how soda is "unfairly vilified." Most times, the general public isn't aware that this isn't an objective health professional choosing to say that.

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When we debunked stubborn exercise myths, we ran headlong into one of these groups. The "Gatorade Sports Science Institute" has papers explaining why Gatorade is better than water for exercise—papers we saw copied word-for-word on other sites. In reality, depending on the exercise you do there's either no difference between water or sports drinks, and for most people (and for moderate exercise) there's clear evidence that water is the better option unless you're doing for bouts of prolonged exercise.

All of these tactics may seem underhanded, but they're just part of the marketing game. By playing on the public's confusion and presenting their own products as quick fixes they convince us to buy their books, follow their diet plans, and perhaps most dangerously, ignore legitimate advice and real research.

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It's not just companies that do this though. Individuals with a message to sell also do it. Skwarecki's article, Why It's So Easy to Believe Our Food is Toxic, is an exceptional case study in this. She explains how "experts" take good premises—like the need to take your health in your own hands and be critical of the things you eat and buy—and go off the rails when the sales pitch gets involved. She calls out nutrition gurus and health "experts" you've likely seen reposted on Facebook, like Vani Hari (aka The Food Babe,) and Joseph Mercola, among others, who thrive on obfuscating nutrition so much that the only clear thing they do suggest is that you should buy their books, sponsored foods, and DVDs.

Food industry marketing firms and "diet guru" salesmen both use the same tactics, and both groups make money from your fear and lack of knowledge about health. You should treat both with the same skeptical eye, even if one's message is more attractive than the other.

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Corporate-Influenced Government Writes the Guidelines

The diet industry only shares part of the blame here. Much rests squarely on the shoulders of our government. We're not talking about a political party or person. This problem extends back for over 50 years, and it's not just an American problem. Our dietary guidelines and food industries have far-reaching global impact. People in countries around the world aim to adopt a more luxurious, first-world lifestyle, and that includes all of the food products available in countries like ours. Our industry reps are at the table when writing trade agreements. Nutrition scientists however, are not.

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Dietary guidelines issued by government agencies responsible for food (largely the USDA) have changed over the years. They now focus less on foods and more on nutrients, which has three big problems:

A "balanced diet" has transformed from a selection of foods and portion suggestions into a concoction of nutrients that people have to "make sure they're getting enough of," (which they would anyway with a balanced diet.) It's led the public to panic over specific nutrients and ingredients in our foods. So-called "nutritionism" has led to the low-fat craze, the salt-is-evil scare, and the eggs-cause-heart-disease panic, all of which have been largely refuted (with special cases excepted.) The people responsible for dietary guidelines are directly at odds with (and often influenced by) food industry groups, agricultural companies, and other businesses with a massive stake in making sure you eat the food they pack and sell—and they're willing to spend politically to make sure the government recommends their products.

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Just like money can buy influence in politics, it can buy influence in dietary guidelines. Kamal Patel, director at Examine.com, a site that aims to bring relevant studies to nutrition topics, explained the connection this way:

The USDA created the food pyramid to encourage a healthy diet, but the USDA also has a mission to encourage agricultural products grown in the US. There can be a LOT of conflict between those two goals. So the food pyramid (ahem, I mean "MyPlate") is not simply an objective summary of the available evidence. In fact, if the dietary guidelines had to go through peer review, I'm not sure it would be accepted for publication.

Speaking of the dietary guidelines...some people are of the mindset that they don't really matter. Nobody really reads the whole guidelines document, unless you're a researcher or just really into nutrition. But the guidelines are actually hugely important. Who's the biggest provider of food in the US? It's not McDonald's. It's the US government, by far. They provide food for the school lunch program and for over a million military members, in addition to subsidizing food for people with low incomes and a variety of other groups. And that's outside the indirect effect the guidelines have on physicians, who then inform their patients, who often aren't Lifehacker types who do their own research but rather just do exactly as their doctor directs. Or at least attempt to.

Equally important is the huge size of supplement industry and the food lobby. Farmers have little to no power compared to Unilever, General Mills, etc. They made it so that packaged foods are the norm, food and supplement marketing has become insane, and whole foods have lost out big time. In the beginning days of the food pyramid, they were using the slogan "Eat Right". Kraft used that slogan, so they told the government to stop, and they did! Companies always win. A few more examples: Government policy favors packaged foods that can display health claims (e.g. Granola bars, Lunchables) rather than natural foods that come loose or in clear plastic (e.g. strawberries, chicken thighs). Grains were originally 2-3 servings per day until food companies complained and they more than doubled the recommendation. Fruit and veggie manufacturers make very little money compared to General Mills and Unilever, so it took the National Cancer Institute to step in and tell the first-draft writers for the food pyramid that they really need to bump up the fruit and veggie intake. Even the person in charge of the first pyramid, Louise Light, wrote a book about how screwed up the process was by industry and differing interests. She said that the grain-based pyramid would cause obesity and diabetes, and it did. The people in charge told her that fruits and veggies are kind of interchangeable with grains, plus grains are cheaper for food stamps. Although few if any researchers are out to lie to the public, note that for the 2000 Dietary guidelines committee, 6 out of 11 members had financial ties to food and agriculture manufacturers. Researchers have pet projects and advocate for them, and funding and careers are dependent on that.

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When Patel explained this, I asked how the government—probably the closest thing to a trusted resource—could re-shape its recommendations. He explained:

A better way to form the guidelines may be to avoid focus on individual nutrients (since few nutrients are categorically good or bad, other than manmade trans-fats which are always bad) and rather encourage whole foods. But if that message was the basis of a more simple guideline, and processed packaged foods were discouraged, where would that leave General Mills, Monsanto, and Unilever? Not that they directly write the guidelines, but they have lobbies and fund studies. And the government allows them to label Fruity Pebbles as healthy, just because they add some sprinkling of vitamins into the sugary mix. One last reason why it's good to focus on foods rather than nutrients for recommendations: single vitamins often fail in trials. Researchers used to think that vitamins E and A may protect against disease if supplemented. Dozens of trials later, it turns out that both may slightly lower lifespan or cause a bit more disease. One reason is that nutrients work in concert — eating a healthy diet where the foods naturally have a variety of nutrients is probably a better idea than relying on supplements to save you from a crappy diet. Indeed, there are no "superfoods" or "supernutrients"...it's probably more important to eat a natural diet that has some of each nutrient in addition to some healthy plant and animal components that aren't classified as essential nutrients (these are good/great for optimal health, but not technically necessary to live).

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Unfortunately, that won't happen as long as major food industry groups play a significant role in drafting nutritional guidelines. This isn't to say they're not at all useful, but they should be viewed with a skeptical eye. Alannah Dibona, frequent Lifehacker contributor, MS in Nutrition Studies and registered dietitian, sums it all up:

We humans are experts at changing our minds, issuing inaccurate self-reports, and, well, living. Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health explains this beautifully alongside other issues with nutrition research in his latest book "Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating." Dr. Willett takes care to point out another major factor: in this country, nutrition research for governing bodies is frequently in direct conflict with agriculture and its stake in the economy. The research that contributes to the USDA food pyramid, for example, is largely funded by grants from the dairy and beef industries. Thus, dietary "recommendations" from different bodies should be examined with a critical, research-oriented eye. The consumer must ask, "Who paid for this?"

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The Media and the Scientific Community Communicates Poorly

So we've established that money talks. But surely science-based medicine must offer useful data that we can all use, right? Not quite. When I asked Skwarecki about it, she explained it this way:

The other reason there is confusion? Because there really ARE old beliefs that were held as true that are being corrected. Saturated fat is a subject with genuine controversy. Experts have not come to a consensus, but decades of public-health messages are in the process of being potentially overturned. When you hold to something as a foundation (Of course fat is bad for you! Of course stretching prevents injury!) and that belief gets challenged, you're tempted to give up on everything. It's a very reasonable thing to do: My facts were wrong, I need to reevaluate all my facts.

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The truth is, while there's consensus on many things, there's a huge lack of it on others. Epidemiology, or the study of the patterns and causes of disease, is extremely difficult to do. Says Patel:

Nutritional epidemiology is a really, really tough thing to study. Harder than most other areas of health. Much harder than it sounds. Some people think "Oh nutrition! I know about food and nutrition! That's much easier than some analyzing some obscure medication that I can't even pronounce." Wrong. Medication effects can be complex, but nutritional epidemiology makes that look like child's play. ... It's easy to see how the public can get mixed messages. Research results are notoriously unpredictable, since only some of the total number of studies get published. Studies have a higher chance of getting published if they show positive results, and food and supplement manufacturers can keep funding trials until one gets published. Nutrients interact with each other, so the effects of any one nutrient are hard to predict, let alone the effect of any one food in the midst of a diet comprised of dozens or hundreds of foods. So while I don't agree with everything Michael Pollen says, his message is generally on point: "nutritionism" is bound to fail. If you obsess about your diet and individual nutrients, you not only lose the benefit of the occasional cronut or thanksgiving dinner, but you lose the forest for the trees. Natural foods are what's healthy, nutrients and the controversies they cause are what keeps research dollars flowing and flip-flops popping up every couple weeks. It's important to get nutrients, but it's wise to get them mostly through food, and only after that supplement what you need in a very targeted manner.

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In short, the science here is complex, difficult, and slow-moving. Patel explained that while there is consensus on some things, everyone's body is different. For every factor where there is agreement, there's another factor that influences everything:

There is a rough agreement that a balanced diet is probably a good idea. While there are some regular people who experiment with meat-only diets, macrobiotic diets, etc, most researchers are old dudes who eat normal diets and believe that veggies and fruits and whole grains are good, and red meat is bad, and some other things are in between. I'm just one person who has had the opportunity to make a career out of reading articles and grading their study quality — but I can honestly say that I don't know what is correct for sure. Gluten and wheat is bad for some people, low carb could help certain diabetics but so could a very nutritious diet, and low carb can also cause side effects in some people. Some people live long lives with "healthy" diets, some live long lives eating milk chocolate and fried chicken every day. For any specific nutrient, I can summarize the evidence. And for any type of diet, I can find the totality of observational evidence for it. But there haven't been many (any?) long term randomized trials of low carb, high carb, etc etc. It would be too expensive, deemed unethical, and just not logistically feasible for compliance — the primary researcher for long term observational trials (where they just follow people and collect data, not make them eat certain diets) often die in the middle of the trial, so it's quite an effort to keep a long randomized trial going that costs millions. Especially when food trials are funded at levels so much lower than pharmaceutical trials.

This is where the media comes in. Research that you hear about may be just one study designed to tackle a specific angle to a much larger problem. This is where the media (yes, ourselves at Lifehacker included) are at fault. Preliminary results published and popularized as cure-alls, rat cures touted as future human cures, it makes the public believe every miracle is a few trials away, and when it's not, people are frustrated and confused. This kind of poor communication and science reporting is a topic we've covered before in detail, and it plays a huge role in making the public's perception of science and medicine worse. As a result, it sends people running into the arms of diet hucksters and snake oil salesmen, eager to capitalize on that lack of trust.

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We Are Predictable and Easily Influenced

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We're part of the problem too. Our buying habits are predictable and easy to capitalize on. Our psychology is even predictable, and well studied by marketers. The power of the word "natural" to drive sales even though we all know it's meaningless is a good example, as is the fear around the word "processed" without context.

The scare over the "yoga mat chemical" (aka azodicarbonamide) is a good example too - we're poorly educated when it comes to science issues, don't read beyond headlines, succumb to confirmation bias, take up sides and arms in specific camps, and carry our message around to anyone who'll listen without listening ourselves.

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Similarly, where we put our money influences who has power and amplifies their message, even if it's not backed by science. We put our money where those opinions are, and those opinions are influenced easily. The industries and companies we support grow, even as we look elsewhere in the world for examples of healthy living. Those companies in turn export our lifestyle into new markets. Unless there's strength in the food traditions in those markets, they become more like us and suffer the same illnesses we do. In the process, they lose the very things we could learn the most from.

So What Can We Do?

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By now it may seem like we're pretty screwed. Where can you turn for legitimate advice? I asked our panel for their suggestions, and unfortunately they all agreed that we have to properly calibrate our bullshit detectors, and seek out multiple, trustworthy resources. Be ready for conflicting data—if you find it, it just means the topic isn't settled. The image above, from this pocket guide to bullshit prevention over at io9, is a good starting point.

You could ask your doctor, or a nutritionist—but Patel explained that's not always the best route. Most physicians get minimal nutrition training during medical school. A "nutritionist" could be anyone with a range of certifications, some of which can be earned in months without any real science study or knowledge. Even some registered dietitians (RDs) can unflinchingly toe the official government line just because it's easy and the closest thing we have to an evidence-backed recommendation, even though it's far from perfect.

When I asked Patel, he suggested everyone take time to learn about nutrition science and empower themselves:

It's best to learn a bit of basic nutrition science (like from a free online course or book—online courses from Udemy, Khan, MIT, etc), and then get to finding people who seem logical to discuss things with. These people can be at a local meetup, they could be a doctor or an alternative medicine practitioner or a dietician. Do not rely on Mayo Clinic, WebMD, etc. They are very conservative and go with whatever the government says for the most part. People who like food, who like cooking in particular, often eat healthy even if they don't know everything about nutrition. This is because eating plants and animals is probably the healthiest diet, rather than eating mostly packaged foods comprised of some type of flour, some type of vegetable oil, and a long list of other ingredients.

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Bellatti suggests you be critical, but also don't boil it down to the old adage, "everything in moderation." It oversimplifies things:

The basic principles of healthful eating—eat a generous amount of fruits and vegetables, eat as little sugar as possible, prioritize whole foods (i.e.: avocados and chickpeas as opposed to Lucky Charms and Cheetos)—have remained unchanged for decades. The issue of moderation is problematic because it sounds good in theory, but it has been so watered down and so co-opted by the food industry that it now means nothing. The food industry loves to use "everything in moderation" to state that all their offerings—no matter how heinous—"fit in a healthy diet." Alas, a diet that includes frozen pizza, sugary cereal, soda, chips, and fast food all in "moderation" quickly becomes a diet where these foods, "in moderation," take up the most real estate. I urge people to remain curious and open-minded, but also to remember common sense and, whenever possible, read the actual study or seek the opinion of a well-informed individual who is able to understand the studies. Sometimes, a study like "X food lowers diabetes risk by 35%" is based on a study where the servings needed to slash that risk are preposterous.

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At the end of the day, the reason why there's so much confusion is because there's too much to be gained by keeping us all confused and looking for guidance. Similarly, the fact that nutrition and health science is difficult and slow doesn't engender much faith from a quick-fix addicted public.

The big lessons here though are ones you probably knew already: Eat smart, cook your own food, and think critically when someone tries to sell you a diet or lifestyle. Think just as critically when someone is trying to sell you fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Do your own research, challenge your confirmation bias, and be willing to change your mind as new evidence arises (don't fall for the "I've done this my whole life and I'm fine" excuse.) Finally, and most importantly, remember that what works for you may not work for someone else. Nutrition is never a one-size-fits-all science.

Kamal Patel is the director of Examine.com. He's a nutrition researcher with an MPH and MBA from Johns Hopkins University, and is on hiatus from a PhD in nutrition in which he researched the link between diet and chronic pain. He has published peer-reviewed articles on vitamin D and calcium as well as a variety of clinical research topics. Kamal has also been involved in research on fructose and liver health, mindfulness meditation, and nutrition in low income areas. Examine.com and Kamal are both on facebook.

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Beth Skwarecki is a science writer and educator. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, PLOS Public Health Perspectives, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. You can find more of her work in her portfolio here, and you can follow her on Twitter at @BethSkw .

Andy Bellatti, MS, RD is a Las Vegas-based dietitan and the author of the nutrition blog Small Bites. You can follow him on Twitter at @andybellatti.

Alannah DiBona, MA, MS, is a Boston-based nutritionist and mental health counselor, and the woman behind mindbodysportconsulting.com.

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All four graciously volunteered their expertise for this story, and we thank them.


Tax and spend: Seattle outpaces other governments

The City of Seattle's operating budget has increased by 65 percent since 2000, a significantly faster clip than the jumps in spending at King County and the state.

But it still hasn't been enough.

Seattle faces a $67 million deficit next year, a situation that has led Mayor Mike McGinn to propose broad cuts to next year's city budget -- including the elimination of nearly 300 jobs and reductions to the arts, neighborhoods and human services.

Most governments are underwater due to a combination of rising expenses and tax revenues coming in at a slower than expected rate due to the Great Recession. However, Seattle has outpaced others when it comes to taxing and spending, according to a review by seattlepi.com.

King County's operating budget has gone up 32 percent during the decade, while its general fund revenues have increased 41 percent. The state's operating budget increased by about 53 percent in 10 years while its revenues rose by about 50 percent. The money the city gets from taxes, fees and other sources to pay for day-to-day services has gone up 67 percent over the past decade .

It's tricky to compare governments because they do different things and serve different populations. King County has fewer taxing resources and it's charged with providing services for unincorporated areas that are expensive to cover, for example. And the state's operations dwarf those of cities and counties, while Olympia lawmakers can rewrite tax and spending laws to help deal with downturns. And the state writes its budget on a two-year cycle. Seattle and King County operate on one-year budgets.

Seattle, the state's largest city, has a famously tax-friendly electorate. It's rare for Jet City residents to reject a tax hike, so its political leaders are less wary than their counterparts elsewhere to reach for that option.

"The vast majority of the differences between growth at the county and the city are the revenue tools allowed by state law. The city has the ability to rely on property taxes, sales taxes, B&O (business) and utility taxes, while the county does not have the B&O or utility tax," said Hall Walker of Seattle's budget office.

King County relies on the property tax for the bulk of its funds. In 2001, voters passed Initiative 747, which limits property tax growth to 1 percent plus new construction. It had been 6 percent before that. "King County's general fund revenues are more constrained than either the state's or a city's," said Frank Abe, spokesman for Executive Dow Constantine.

Walker said there were other reasons for the discrepancy in government growth. The county removed park funding from its general fund and the Emergency Medical Services levy renewed at a much higher rate in 2007, $630 million over six years. The owner of a $400,000 home is paying $120 a year for the service. The county funnels the EMS monies into a separate account, while Seattle puts its EMS revenue in its general fund. And Seattle has raised its business and occupation tax rates and added more paid, on-street parking spaces to try to bring in more money.

In 2000, Seattle's adopted operating budget was $548 million. This year it was just over $905 million. Ten years ago the city took in $542 million from taxes and other sources to pay for its daily operations. This year that figure was about $900 million.

In his budget for next year, McGinn proposed no general tax increases. But he did suggest $23 million in higher fees and other revenue-generating proposals. The business community objected to plans to significantly raise the hourly parking rate.

Last month McGinn and a coalition of city unions announced they'd tentatively agreed to forgo automatic 2 percent cost-of-living raises in future years. Previously, unions got at least a 2 percent annual bump, regardless of inflation.

Going forward through 2013, raises will track the Consumer Price Index. For next year that would mean a 0.6 cost-of-living increase and a $2.3 million savings for the general fund. Labor costs are the biggest chunk of the operating budget, and, since 2000, what the city has paid its workers in salary and benefits has gone up 58 percent -- from $733.8 million to $1.1 billion.

On Monday, McGinn, the City Council and labor leaders have scheduled a news conference to discuss potential labor savings.


random schedule, VI Felipe de Bourbon, became at midnight the new King of Spain, one hour after the removal of the national football team, the defending champion, the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. At 46, the young monarch was sworn in Madrid during a simple ceremony, during which he swore allegiance to the Constitution of 1978, the founding base of Spanish democracy.Modern and discreet.

he succeeded his father Juan Carlos, who on Wednesday signed his abdication. His wife, Princess Letizia, a former television news presenter, becomes Queen of Spain the same occasion.

Study Abroad, military training: “His goal, his only goal is to serve Spain. It was instilled in his heart, he must be the first servant, “said one day his mother, Queen Sofia. Its mission is to ensure the continuity of a parliamentary monarchy gradually introduced with the arrival on the throne in 1975, Juan Carlos, the hero of the democratic transition after the death of dictator Francisco Franco. Contested in the polls by a Spanish two in a country plagued by economic crisis and unemployment. Monarchy

12:05. Royal Parade new king meets a great success The decorated in the colors of Spain, a convertible sedan, a king physique which has just passed his first inauguration speech … Felipe VI through no fault this morning streets handover. The people cheered.

12 hours. Moment of communion with the Spaniards It declared a national holiday in Spain has allowed citizens to travel to attend the handover. Returning to the palace, the new king salutes the crowd during forty minutes to give a strong signal to his country.

11h, 55. Letizia smiling and happy this crazy woman temperament, divorced once, and daughter taxi driver, who has often been described as “ambitious” suggests his happiness to become Queen of Spain through its mine happy and relaxed.

11h 50. Letizia and Felipe VI ride in the convertible Rolls to greet the crowd Felipe VI standing in convertible sedan embodies the crown in sunny Madrid. A beautiful image to create enthusiasm. Favorable to the monarchy polls back for fifteen days.


The story of the ExMoi occupation in Turin, a solution by radicals and refugees to the problems of homelessness amongst migrants in a city full of empty buildings, and the reaction of racist organisations to the project.

The story of ExMoi begins with two open wounds: the countless empty buildings in Turin, and the countless refugees living on Italian streets and in Italian train stations.

Back in 2006, the Turin municipality and the national government spent over 140 million euros in building a new neighbourhood to host athletes for the Winter Olympic Games. This was in an area that once held the city’s biggest wholesale market (MOI – Mercato Ortofrutticolo all’Ingrosso). Designed by international architects and built according to the latest ecological and sustainable design criteria, the Olympic Village was finished in 20 months. It was used for around 16 days and left mostly empty after the Games ended.

Little by little, the regional government has sold off some of the buildings; some have been converted into student housing and a youth hostel. At the same time, serious structural problems have emerged, revealing the poor quality of the buildings: as a consequence, no-one wants to invest in them. The potential for regenerating the deprived Lingotto area has been squandered. Four buildings were sold off to a private holding (35% owned by the city, the rest by Pirelli and the Intesa San Paolo bank) and left empty for seven years.

Even though no official investigation has been carried out, many claim that the Mafia was involved in the construction work (as has been proved the case in many other public tenders for public housing and private buildings). Many believe that quick and shoddy building for money laundering purposes is the reason for structural and other problems (the concrete is breaking up, the solar panels have never worked, countless minor pieces of heating insulation and pipework were never finished, and the paint is peeling off).

In the meantime, between 2011 and 2013, a steady stream of refugees continued to arrive in Italy. These asylum seekers were able to benefit from the ENA (North Africa Emergency Plan), an Italian government comprehensive integration project to tackle the humanitarian crisis following the turmoil in North Africa and the war in Libya. While actively supporting the Libyan war, the Italian government was unable to host the 30,000 ENA refugees properly. This programme reinforced the SPRAR project (Services for the Protection of Asylum Seekers and Refugees), providing funds to support the refugees’ insertion into training placements and the labour market as well as providing access to public healthcare and to dignified shelter. These projects were lacking in many ways: they failed to teach Italian, many were set in distant locations, no social integration or any understanding of Italian bureaucracy was provided, and job training just did not take place. Some locations were simply hotels or other facilities where the refugees were forced to stay with nothing to do. The ENA ended abruptly and in March 2013 many refugees ended up on the street.

Some refugees were in contact with local squatters and housing rights activists. Together, they decided to occupy the ExMoi buildings in the former Olympic Village and on 30 March 2013 about 300 refugees took part in the action. Currently around 800 people of over 26 different nationalities live at the ExMoi, in four different buildings. This is the largest, most stable and important occupation by and for refugees that has ever taken place in Italy. On 23 May 2014 UNHCR reported that “thousands of refugees are forced to live in empty buildings in the main Italian cities like Rome, Milan and Turin, due to the lack and insufficiency of the projects.” The ExMoi is a prime example of this.

The Refugees and Migrants Solidarity Committee is a group of volunteers which includes students, migrants, committed citizens and social activists. It is linked politically to two autonomist squats in the city, CSOAs Askatasuna and Gabrio, is also supported by various local associations and the local church, and is connected to the national grassroots housing movement. The Committee has been supporting the ExMoi occupation with the aim of providing refugees with housing after they were abandoned by the government. Since the occupation, the Committee has provided medical, language and legal care, created a school on the premises, and co-ordinated the distribution of food, furniture and other basic supplies. This is a significant development but not without precedent in Turin. Refugees were squatting in the city long before the ExMoi occupation. The movement started in 2007 with refugees from Darfur and there are currently at least eight occupied buildings for refugees (among 27 with other housing or political aims). Together, these buildings are home to more than 1,000 people.

An eight-month-long political battle, begun by refugees and the Committee, has included various demonstrations and temporary blockades of public offices in order to get legal permanent residency (Residenza) for the refugees. Permanent residency grants access to all social and health services, and (for children) to school. It is necessary to renew the Permesso di soggiorno (permission to stay) which all refugees require in order to stay in Italy. It allow refugees to have a driving licence and legal job contracts. At long last, the Turin municipality granted all refugees permanent residency which gives them access to public healthcare and allows them to sign up with the employment agency. It does not, though, grant access to social services (which is discriminatory, according to Italian legislation).

In early 2014 the Committee supported another occupation. A five-storey building was occupied, following the overcrowding of the ExMoi building complex. It currently hosts around 60 people. The internal yard has been converted into a vegetable garden run by the residents, and there is also a self-managed bike repair workshop. Formerly a nursing home managed by the local Catholic parish, today the building is managed by its residents, who take most decisions via a weekly assembly/meeting. Ownership remains in the hands of the Church, however, which has decided to form a refugee project in order to legalise the building’s status.

Meanwhile the ExMoi occupation lives on. Many among the refugees are families (15% of the inhabitants are women and more than 30 children under 10 live there), some have found jobs and continue living there to support their friends. Many people have not been able to find a proper job but survive by selling metal or other materials found in rubbish bins. A community has somehow been created, with a mix of ethnic groups living peacefully together. Although there have been some minor personal clashes, life goes on, even if the structural problems make everyday living challenging: water pours from some ceilings, the electricity system cuts out, and only half of the apartments have hot water, not to mention the lack of any heating system. Despite all this, the refugees and the Committee have managed to keep ExMoi clean and working, repairing the worst problems in three out of four buildings.

Unfortunately, a wave of racist reaction from the usual suspects (Lega Nord, Fratelli d’Italia and Forza Italia) has managed to destabilise the situation. These parties have joined together to create a political campaign with the aim of forcing the municipality to evict the residents, who they call “criminals” and “illegal immigrants”. Through contacts in the Turin municipality, they arranged an “institutional visit to check the situation”. Following negotiation with ExMoi, this was cancelled but a right-wing politician decided to come anyway, before being shown the door by the refugees. The far-right groups then held a racist demonstration in the area in December 2013, attended by around 50 people, mostly from Gioventù Nazionale, the youth wing of Fratelli d’Italia. They have now invited the head of Lega Nord, Matteo Salvini, well known for his racist statements and his hatred of social movements and immigrants. Thankfully, nothing has come of this. So far.

Finally, in December 2014, a judge signed an authorisation order to evict the residents. It usually takes a long time for an order to lead to an actual eviction but the news made the papers immediately and right-wing parties are exerting pressure for an eviction to take place. It is highly unlikely that the municipality will use the police to evict the refugees, although this has happened in other places. In this case, both police and judges would like a peaceful solution, especially because of the large number of residents involved. It seems that the Mayor of Turin (Fassino, Democratic Party) will ask the national government for exceptional funding. The Mayor is also the president of ANCI, the association of Italian local councils, and has a direct channel to the prime minister, Matteo Renzi. This situation could have serious repercussions for Renzi and the PD.

The experience of the 2007 Darfur refugees indicates how the institutions are likely to act: ask for funding, offer a legal temporary solution to those who accept, force out those who do not comply. It is worth mentioning that the police are both the authority that has to perform the eviction and acquire all possible information to perform it, and also the authority in charge of renewing the visas the refugees need (most of those living at ExMoi have humanitarian one-year visas, which are very hard to renew).

The solution offered by the local government is quite clear: get millions of euros from national government, perform the eviction by any means, give the money to a well known association already handling refugee projects, give the association some breathing space with the funds, let the projects run for three to 12 months and then, once the money has run out and the story is no longer newsworthy, kick the refugees out again.

(The associations which handle refugee projects tend to be linked to political parties or to the Catholic church. They include those recently implicated in the ongoing “Capital Mafia” scandal.)

In the end, money comes and goes, not into new solutions but into this well-established system, a system which is certainly not improving matters for refugees. The existence of ExMoi is testament to that.

The process will take some time to work through, due to the large size of ExMoi. Meanwhile, the right-wing parties will have an easy target for the next elections and will keep on pushing for the harshest punitive measures.

The refugees and the supporting Committee know this, and most are willing to stay and resist. In the months approaching the second anniversary of the occupation the refugees will have to weigh up the offer, if there is one, and make a very difficult decision.

For more information, see the original article here.


Thanks to a recent poll from ABC News and the Washington Post, we know that nearly two-thirds of American adults think global warming is “a serious problem facing the country.”

And now, thanks to a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change (full study available at this link), we know exactly how many people are out there taking money from dirty energy interests to try and confuse Americans about climate changeto derail overdue action and protect the fossil fuel industries' profits.

Justin Farrell, a professor of sociology at Yale’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and the author of the report, studied both the institutional and social network structure of the climate denier movement and found that there are some 4,556 individuals with ties to 164 organizations that are involved in pushing anti-climate science views on the public.

“The individuals in this bipartite network include interlocking board members, as well as many more informal and overlapping social, political, economic and scientific ties,” Farrell wrote in the report. “The organizations include a complex network of think tanks, foundations, public relations firms, trade associations, and ad hoc groups.”

Farrell notes that while funding from ExxonMobil and the Koch family foundations have notoriously played a part in building the climate denial movement, there was very little empirical evidence demonstrating exactly how much influence these corporate benefactors had on the actual output of climate deniers and, in turn, how much they affected what politicians and other decisionmakers were saying about climate change.

So Farrell studied all of the written and verbal texts relating to climate change produced between 1993 and 2013 by climate denial organizations (40,785 documents comprising nearly 40 million words), as well as any mention of global warming and climate science by three major news channels (14,943 documents), every US president (1,930 documents) and the US Congress (7,786 documents).

He focused on Exxon and the Koch Brothers’ family foundations because, he writes, they are “reliable indicators of a much larger effort of corporate lobbying in the climate change counter-movement.”

What Farrell found was that organizations taking funds from “elite” corporate funders of climate denial like Exxon and the Koch Brothers — groups like the CATO Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and the Heartland Institute — “have greater influence over flows of resources, communication, and the production of contrarian information” than other denial groups.

After performing a sophisticated semantic analysis, Farrell was able to show that climate denial organizations with ties to those two major funders were more successful at getting their viewpoint echoed in national news media. Presidential speeches and debate on the floor of Congress showed less of an impact.

According to Bloomberg, Robert Brulle, a sociology professor at Drexel University who has conducted similar research but was not involved in the Nature Climate Change study, said that Farrell’s findings beg a very obvious question:

“Why is the media picking up and promulgating the central themes of climate misinformation?”

That is very similar to the questions posed by DeSmog's executive director Brendan DeMelle in his coverage of Justin Farrell's other recent study on this issue: Research Confirms ExxonMobil, Koch-funded Climate Denial Echo Chamber Polluted Mainstream Media. DeMelle listed three questions for media outlets to ponder:

Will this study, published in a highly authoritative journal, finally compel the newsrooms and boardrooms of the traditional media to take responsibility to undo some of the damage done by their complicity in spreading fossil fuel industry-funded misinformation? Will false balance — quoting a distinguished climate scientist and then speed-dialing Pat Michaels at the Cato Institute for an opposing quote — finally stop? Will editors commit to serving as referees to ensure the same industry PR pollution isn’t published any longer?

Image credit: P.WOLMUTH/REPORT DIGITAL-REA/Redux


By By Andrew Moran Jul 19, 2009 in Health In recent preliminary reports published on the internet, Baxter Healthcare Corporation applied for a patent for the vaccine that would immunize the H1N1 Swine Flu. After the application was leaked on the World Wide Web by a United Kingdom publication, justoneclickgroup, it showed that the company also applied for patents to other diseases: “In particular preferred embodiments the composition orvaccine comprises more than one antigen…..such as influenza A and influenza B in particular selected from of one or more of the human H1N1, H2N2, H3N2, H5N1, H7N7, H1N2, H9N2, H7N2, H7N3, H10N7 subtypes, of the pig flu H1N1, H1N2, H3N1 and H3N2 subtypes, of the dog or horse flu H7N7, H3N8 subtypes or of the avian H5N1, H7N2, H1N7, H7N3, H13N6, H5N9, H11N6, H3N8, H9N2, H5N2, H4N8, H10N7, H2N2, H8N4, H14N5, H6N5, H12N5 subtypes.” Head of Virology at Baxter’s Austrian subsidiary Otfried Kistner was part of the Austrian-based team that applied for the patent for the H1N1 Swine Flu on August 28, 2007. Many countries are ordering vaccinations for the recently declared pandemic. Some countries are even making it In August 2007, Baxter Healthcare Corporation, the company developing the swine flu vaccination, applied for a patent on many vaccines including H1N1 Swine Flu After the application was leaked on the World Wide Web by a United Kingdom publication, justoneclickgroup, it showed that the company also applied for patents to other diseases:“In particular preferred embodiments the composition orvaccine comprises more than one antigen…..such as influenza A and influenza B in particular selected from of one or more of the human H1N1, H2N2, H3N2, H5N1, H7N7, H1N2, H9N2, H7N2, H7N3, H10N7 subtypes, of the pig flu H1N1, H1N2, H3N1 and H3N2 subtypes, of the dog or horse flu H7N7, H3N8 subtypes or of the avian H5N1, H7N2, H1N7, H7N3, H13N6, H5N9, H11N6, H3N8, H9N2, H5N2, H4N8, H10N7, H2N2, H8N4, H14N5, H6N5, H12N5 subtypes.”Head of Virology at Baxter’s Austrian subsidiary Otfried Kistner was part of the Austrian-based team that applied for the patent for the H1N1 Swine Flu on August 28, 2007.Many countries are ordering vaccinations for the recently declared pandemic. Some countries are even making it mandatory now . However, since the fifty countries have ordered the vaccines , Baxter has declared that it cannot accept any more requests. Baxter Spokesman Chris Bona said, "At this time we're not in a position to take additional orders." More about Swine flu, Vaccinations, Baxter healthcare group swine flu vaccinations baxter healthcare gr...