n2doc
n2doc's JournalZinc eaten at levels found in biofortified crops reduces 'wear and tear' on DNA
A new study by researchers from the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Research Institute (CHORI) shows that a modest 4 milligrams of extra zinc a day in the diet can have a profound, positive impact on cellular health that helps fight infections and diseases. This amount of zinc is equivalent to what biofortified crops like zinc rice and zinc wheat can add to the diet of vulnerable, nutrient deficient populations.
The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was led by CHORI Senior Scientist Janet King, PhD. King and her team are the first to show that a modest increase in dietary zinc reduces oxidative stress and damage to DNA.
"We were pleasantly surprised to see that just a small increase in dietary zinc can have such a significant impact on how metabolism is carried out throughout the body," says King. "These results present a new strategy for measuring the impact of zinc on health and reinforce the evidence that food-based interventions can improve micronutrient deficiencies worldwide."
Zinc is ubiquitous in our body and facilitates many functions that are essential for preserving life. It plays a vital role in maintaining optimal childhood growth, and in ensuring a healthy immune system. Zinc also helps limit inflammation and oxidative stress in our body, which are associated with the onset of chronic cardiovascular diseases and cancers.
more
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170103084620.htm
Cuomo celebrates New Years by denying effective counsel to the states poor
Hours before the start of the new year, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) vetoed legislation that would have required the state to provide legal assistance to poor defendants in all New York counties.
The legislation, supported by both Democrats and Republicans, would have given the state seven years to take over indigent defense from local jurisdictions, including many that have been accused of violating the Constitution by failing to provide effective counsel.
But Cuomo’s office said in a statement late Saturday that the governor would not be enacting the bill, citing the high cost to taxpayers and the failure of last-minute attempts at a compromise with the legislature.
more
https://thinkprogress.org/cuomo-veto-public-defense-24cc966692f1#.8cjbiiqg7
What we're really paying for Christie's fanatical secrecy
By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
The Christie administration's attempts to keep public records out of our view has cost taxpayers more than $900,000, according to a recent report in The Record.
About half of that is just over the last two years. This amount counts only the cases they lost, after wrongly denying the public release of public records.
And it doesn't include legal costs for government lawyers - only the costs of reimbursing the plaintiff's lawyers' fees.
So much for that "new era of accountability and transparency" that Gov. Christie promised at his 2010 inauguration. Just last year, his administration was awash in nearly two dozen public records lawsuits from watchdogs and news organizations.
more
http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/01/what_were_really_paying_for_christies_fanatical_se.html#incart_river_home
Why Corporations Are Helping Donald Trump Lie About Jobs
President-elect Donald Trump would like everybody to believe that his election is energizing the economy by forcing businesses to create thousands of jobs in the United States. And companies like Sprint seem perfectly happy to go along with this fiction because they know they can profit handsomely by cozying up to Mr. Trump.
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump said Sprint’s top executive had told him the company would add 5,000 jobs “because of what’s happening and the spirit and the hope.” But it turns out that the jobs are part of a previous commitment by Sprint’s parent company, SoftBank, whose chief executive said at Trump Tower in December that it would invest $50 billion and create 50,000 jobs in the United States. And even that promise was part of a $100 billion technology fund that SoftBank announced in October, before the election. In sum, Mr. Trump’s statement was hot air, just like his tweet in which he thanked himself for an increase in a consumer confidence index last month.
more
http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/02/opinion/why-corporations-are-helping-donald-trump-lie-about-jobs.html
Marijuana Is Officially Legal In Nevada
With the stroke of midnight in Nevada, marijuana is officially legal. Freedom! Nevada becomes the 7th state to legalize recreational marijuana, behind Colorado, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, California, Massachusetts, and also Washington D.C.. Maine voters also approved marijuana legalization on Election Day 2016, but its initiative has not taken effect yet. You can read the full text of the Nevada initiative at this link here. Below is a reaction that I received about Nevada from NORML earlier this week:
On Sunday, January 1, Nevada will become the seventh US state to eliminate criminal penalties specific to the adult possession and personal use of cannabis.
“What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas,” NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri said. “Voters in the western region of the United States are leading the way toward the eventual nationwide re-legalization of marijuana by responsible adults. Federal laws need to reflect this reality, not deny it.”
more
http://www.weednews.co/marijuana-is-officially-legal-in-nevada/
Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Made over $420,000 Selling Access to the President-elect on New Year's Eve
"The transition is not concerned about the appearance of a conflict," a spokesperson said.
by Lauren Duca
According to Politico, Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida charged a reported minimum of $525 per person for a New Year's Eve celebration that Trump and his family were set to attend. On Friday, Trump's incoming White House press secretary told reporters that the party was "sold out," with over 800 guests expected at the event. That's more than $420,000 made off of dinner, dancing, and access to the incoming President of the United States.
Incoming White House Director of Strategic Communications Hope Hicks attempted to dismiss concern that the Mar-a-Lago's pricy New Year's Eve Party comprised yet another conflict of interest issue for Trump. "The transition is not concerned about the appearance of a conflict," she told Politico. "This is an annual celebratory event at the private club, like others that have continued to occur since the election. Additionally, the president cannot and does not have a conflict."
To be clear, simply saying "the president cannot and does not have a conflict" in no way eliminates the obvious potential conflict of interest. Previous issues include but are not limited to Trump's hotel in Washington D.C. and its pay-for-play potential, Trump's attempt to prevent development on British wind farm because it would block the view from his golf course, and his diplomacy-disrupting call to Taiwan after scoping out the possibility of building Trump property in the region. There are a lot of other examples.
more
http://www.teenvogue.com/story/trump-mar-a-lago-conflict-of-interest
Sunday Toon Roundup 1: Unhappy New Year
Mr. Fish video (long!)
https://vimeo.com/197561927
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