Word: potassium
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Omen The U.S. Postal Service is stockpiling 1.6 million potassium iodide pills to give employees in order to protect them against thyroid cancer in the event of a nuclear attack
...those quintessential autumn vegetables, are much more than Halloween decorations. Pumpkins and other orange-colored fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, folate and carotenoids. Carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, are excellent cancer-prevention compounds. Yellow and orange squashes are rich in vitamins A and C, potassium and fiber. Squashes, like pumpkins, are good sources of carotenoids. And if you are looking for berries that ripen in the fall, cranberries contain the same heart-healthy condensed tannins found in tea and red wine...
...says. Even pills that do not contain fenfluramine can pose health risks. Some contain diuretics or laxatives that can cause skin rashes, diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome. "I've encountered women who are taking diuretics without being aware of it," says Dr. Lee. "They lose water and with it, potassium and other vital body-regulating electrolytes." Reduced potassium can cause an irregular heartbeat, even coma. "What can be O.K. for a month can cause serious damage over the long term," says Professor Leung Ping-chung, chairman of the Institute of Chinese Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong...
Ideally, the researchers would have preferred to find the bones sandwiched between layers of volcanic ash containing potassium and argon, as these can be precisely dated by tests involving radioactive decay. Unfortunately, the geology at Toros-Menalla did not cooperate. But the scientists found something nearly as good. The site was replete with fossils from all sorts of other primitive animals, including fish, crocodiles, rodents, elephants, giraffes, aardvarks and more--42 types in all. Many were identical to specimens that have been radiometrically dated with great precision elsewhere. As a result, a team led by Vignaud confidently pinpointed the skull...
...Potassium-iodide pills are becoming to dirty bombs what Cipro was to anthrax. Potassium iodide can help prevent thyroid cancer following exposure to a nuclear explosion, by saturating the gland with benign iodine, preventing the thyroid from soaking up radioactive iodine, I-131, released by the blast. But that won't help in the case of a dirty bomb, as a homemade explosive is unlikely to contain radioactive iodine. The half-life of the I-131 isotope is only eight days, making it a poor choice for a weapon that counts on radioactivity for its effectiveness. If a terrorist obtained...