Guillain-Barre Syndrome: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

 Posted on September 10, 2022  |  6 minutes  |  1132 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Named for the two French physicians who first detected it, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare neurological disorder in which a person's own immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system, the network of nerves found outside of the brain and spinal cord. (The disorder is pronounced ghee-yan bah-ray.) Specifically, GBS damages the myelin sheath, a protective covering that surrounds the axons (or core) of nerve cells. This damage interferes with the transmission of nerve signals to the brain and the muscles may lose their ability to respond to the brain's commands and function properly, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. [Read More]

Husband and wife poison themselves trying to self-medicate with chloroquine

 Posted on September 10, 2022  |  4 minutes  |  673 words  |  Patria Henriques

An Arizona man is dead and his wife is hospitalized after both of them self-medicated with chloroquine phosphate, a chemical used to treat fish for parasites, in an effort to ward off the novel coronavirus.  The couple, both in their 60s, listened to President Donald Trump tout chloroquine, a decades-old antimalarial drug, as a very promising treatment for COVID-19 in a recent press conference. The woman, who asked not to be named, said she was familiar with the chemical because she used it to treat her koi fish. [Read More]

King Solomon's mines in Spain? Not likely, experts say.

 Posted on September 10, 2022  |  6 minutes  |  1238 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

A maritime archaeologist has put forward a bold theory — that King Solomon, a king of Israel who controlled a vast amount of wealth according to the Hebrew Bible, financed Phoenician mining expeditions to Spain. However, archaeologists and historians not involved with the researcher's work are skeptical.  Sean Kingsley, director of the Wreck Watch consultancy company, published his theory recently in Wreckwatch Magazine, a publication that he edits, putting forward several arguments to support this idea. [Read More]

One Conspiracy Theory at a Time: Flat-Earthers Don't Reject Climate Science

 Posted on September 10, 2022  |  1 minutes  |  195 words  |  Patria Henriques

One conspiracy theory at a time, folks: Flat-Earthers aren't on board with climate change denial. A screenshot that appeared on the subreddit r/facepalm on Tuesday (Aug. 28) received more than 39,000 upvotes. In it, someone tweets at the Flat Earth Society's official Twitter handle, "OK. Real Question. But do you guys believe in climate change?" The Flat Earth Society's account replies, "Certainly. It would be nothing short of irresponsible to question something with so much overwhelming evidence behind it and something that threatens us so directly as a species. [Read More]

Pentagon's secret, defunct UFO-hunting program may still exist

 Posted on September 10, 2022  |  2 minutes  |  405 words  |  Fernande Dalal

The U.S. government's search for unidentified flying objects (UFOs) is ongoing, and is part of a program called the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force (UAPTF) that operates under the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence, according to recent Senate committee reports.  This agency appears to have assumed the responsibilities of another UFO-hunting Pentagon group that was purportedly disbanded in 2012; UAPTF's findings could be made public within the next six months, The New York Times reported on July 23. [Read More]

Psy-Ops: Military Experts Say It's Not 'Brainwashing'

 Posted on September 10, 2022  |  5 minutes  |  964 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Rolling Stone magazine caused turmoil in the U.S. military this week with a report that a commander in Afghanistan ordered a "psychological operations" team to help him manipulate visiting U.S. senators into providing additional funds and soldiers to the war effort. Lt. Gen. William Caldwell may well have broken the law, which prohibits psychological operations from being used against U.S. citizens. But shelve those "Manchurian Candidate" fantasies: those familiar with psy-ops (PSYOP in military parlance) and propaganda say the field is a closer cousin to public relations than its intimidating moniker would suggest. [Read More]

Study casts doubt on 'sky disk' thought to be oldest representation of the heavens

 Posted on September 10, 2022  |  6 minutes  |  1091 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

One of Germany's most famous ancient artifacts may not be what it seems, if a new study is to be believed. Fierce debate over the Nebra Sky Disk has been reignited by a new study that suggests it is at least 1,000 years younger than previously thought, and probably doesn't have any of the elaborate meanings proposed for it. The 12-inch-wide (30 centimeters) bronze disk inlaid with gold circles, arcs and crescents was reportedly unearthed in 1999 near the town of Nebra, in Germany's Saxony-Anhalt state. [Read More]

Suzanne Somers' Health Advice May Be Dangerously Wrong

 Posted on September 10, 2022  |  6 minutes  |  1264 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Things are going great for Suzanne Somers. She has a new book out, sure to be a best-seller, as it has been promoted on countless morning talk shows. At 67, she looks great and feels great, she has said during TV appearances. She's having sex with her husband twice daily, she confessed this month on the TV show "The Talk." And in recent years, with the promotional help of Oprah and the like, she has positioned herself as a women's health advocate and anti-aging expert. [Read More]

What smacked Uranus on its side? Something icy and as massive as Earth, scientists say.

 Posted on September 10, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  570 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

The impactor that knocked Uranus on its side long ago isn't quite so mysterious anymore. Uranus is tipped over more than 90 degrees relative to the plane of the solar system, and so are the gaseous planet's ring system and the orbits of its 27 known moons. Astronomers think this unique configuration is evidence of a violent collision Uranus suffered shortly after it was born, which also apparently supercharged the planet's rotation. [Read More]

Where Yellowstone's Hot Water Comes From

 Posted on September 10, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  626 words  |  Trudie Dory

When you think of Yellowstone National Park's famous Old Faithful geyser, you may think of its power, its size or even its reliability. But you probably don't think about where its water comes from. Unless you're a geochemist. A team from the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif., recently dove into the question of just where Yellowstone's water comes from. Their findings indicate that the region — and its variety of geysers, mud pots and hydrothermal pools — could be supplied by a single water source that continuously boils, mixes and flows its way through the park. [Read More]