Interesting News Of The Week - 07/05/2012

Before anyone says it, yes I have put the right title on this post.

You may have noticed a gap in my blog posts as there is no post of the week beginning 30/04/2012, this is mostly because I was busy with many things within my personal life and preparation for exams, so I'm sorry, but i am back this week with two more news stories.

So lets get started shall we?

Curry's ability to fight cancer put to the test

Here's the first interesting news story this week, this story is not really a story set for one place it is more of a story based around general help and within that cancer, so this news story hasn't got a specific place were its happened, so lets say the world.

I chose this story basically because its about curry and from my about me page you can see I love curry.
well anyway, here's a basic summary of what has happened. in my own words.

Chemists/Chemical people were researching curry and they discovered a chemical that will soon be tested for its abilities, which believe it or not it is said that the chemical can be used to kill bowel cancer tumours.

The chemical they found was called "Curcumin", which is found in the spice Turmeric, and it has been said to be linked to a range of health related benefits (except for hotter curry's that just burn your throat).
They've done several studies that have shown that it can beat the cancer cells from some that were grown in and tested against.
They're also benefits that have been suggested in stroke and dementia patients as well.

Now they are going to do trial tests at hospitals all around Leicester will be looking at giving Curcumin alongside other drugs.
Here a bit of statistics, there is about 40,000 people that are diagnosed with bowel cancer in the UK each year and a lot more in the rest of the world.
If the disease spreads around the body, patients are normally given a collection of three different drugs, but about half will not work.

The cancer is seen as usually 'Difficult to treat'.
Prof William Steward, who is the leader of the tests, said animal tests combining the two were "100 times better" than on their own.

Here's some other quotes of things (some important people) said about the story.
"Once bowel cancer has spread it is very difficult to treat, partly because the side effects of chemotherapy can limit how long patients can have treatment".

"The prospect that Curcumin might increase the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapy is exciting because it could mean giving lower doses, so patients have fewer side effects and can keep having treatment for longer.

"This research is at a very early stage, but investigating the potential of plant chemicals to treat cancer is an intriguing area that we hope could provide clues to developing new drugs in the future."

Joanna Reynolds: "By doing a clinical trial like this, we will find out more about the potential benefits of taking large amounts of Curcumin, as well as any possible side effects this could have for cancer patients."

Now there's no video for this news story so here's a nice picture of curry instead:

 

US 'foils new underwear bomb plot' by al-Qaeda in Yemen

The second interesting news story this week is a United States/Middle Eastern story.

This news story has taken place withing the Middle East just outside Yemen within the past 10 days (of this post).

Here's basically what has happened. in my own words.

Lets start this story with an important quote from US Officials:

"The US has foiled a plot by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to detonate an upgraded version of the failed 2009 "underwear bomb".

So after loosing Osama bin Lardin the al-Qaeda have gone from suicide bombers that hijack planes and other form of transport to strapping deadly weapons and bombs to their underwear?
Sounds like an ultimate plan of mass destruction there.

But anyway the device (bomb) was seized in the Middle East after a CIA operation in Yemen and is now being studied by the FBI (taking a look at some guys dirt underwear, nice).

Reports say no target had been chosen and no plane tickets purchased by the time the plot was ruined for the al-Qaeda.

Officials also say there was never any risk to the public, so there is no need to bring in a law to have to check underwear at airports, fortunately as that would be kind of awkward really.

It is also not clear what has happened to the would-be bomber as he probably ran away as soon as he heard them coming, because he seemed to have some common sense.

Peter King said counter-terrorism officials had told him: "We don't have to worry about him anymore." that's probably because they are now worried about other people trying to strap things to themselves not just the al-Qaeda.

The FBI made a statement saying "As a result of close co-operation with our security and intelligence partners overseas, an improvised explosive device (IED) designed to carry out a terrorist attack has been seized abroad,".

They also said that "Initial exploitation indicates that the device is very similar to IEDs that have been used previously by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in attempted terrorist attacks, including against aircraft and for targeted assassinations," within their statement.

President Barack Obama was said to have been first informed of the plot back in April.

White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden also said adding the device had not posed a threat to the public.

This news story has two video's attached to it (making up for the curry stories lack of video), the first being the official news coverage:

Here's the second which is a simulation of what would happen if the bomb went off:

Summary for this week

So an overall summary this week shows that curry could be the break through we've all been waiting for to beat cancer meaning anyone who eats enough curry with the spice Turmeric in it could beat cancer and that the al-Qaeda have got to the point of which are using there suicide bombers to carry bombs in there underwear in an attempt to regain their "Fear Factor" (in other words showing no care for their dignities).