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Astronaut Edgar Mitchell Claims Alien Cover-up

Dr. Edgar Mitchell is a veteran of the Apollo 14 mission and he was the sixth man to walk on the Moon. Dr. Mitchell also insists that aliens have visited Earth and that governments are actively covering it up. "I happen to have been privileged enough to be in on the fact that we've been visited on this planet and the UFO phenomena is real," Dr Mitchell said. "It's been well covered up by all our governments for the last 60 years or so, but slowly it's leaked out and some of us have been privileged to have been briefed on some of it. "I've been in military and intelligence circles, who know that beneath the surface of what has been public knowledge, yes - we have been visited. Reading the papers recently, it's been happening quite a bit." Dr Mitchell, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering and a Doctor of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics claimed Roswell was real and similar alien visits continue to be investigated. He told the astonished Kerrang! radio host Nick Margerrison: "This is really starting to open up. I think we're headed for real disclosure and some serious organisations are moving in that direction." NASA issued a quick denial. In a statement, a spokesman said: "NASA does not track UFOs. NASA is not involved in any sort of cover up about alien life on this planet or anywhere in the universe. "Dr Mitchell is a great American, but we do not share his opinions on this issue." If Dr. Mitchell is correct about a cover-up than this is exactly the type of denial one would expect NASA to make. You can listen to the interview with Dr. Mitchell where he discusses the UFO phenomena here. Permalink | Recent Headlines | News Feeds Read more…

Contrast Agent Trials In Swine

18.10.2007 13:43 Science - Source: ScienceDaily Headlines

Science Daily — Mammography continues to be the method of choice for the early detection of breast cancer. However, because this technique is not as selective or specific as one would wish, and does not deliver reliable results for every level of tissue density, alternatives are being sought. Near-infrared fluorescence mammography, which works with rays of near-infrared (NIR) light instead of X-rays, is a highly promising technique—although effective contrast agents have thus far been lacking.

A team led by John V. Frangioni at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center of the Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, has developed a contrast agent that makes visible the microcalcifications related to malignant breast tumors. The researchers report in the journal Angewandte Chemie that in validation trials in swine their new contrast agent distinguishes specific calcium salts in soft tissues, as well as depicting bones.

As breast cancer develops, calcium salts are deposited in breast tissue. These microscopic calcium deposits consist mostly of hydroxyapatite, a salt containing calcium and phosphate that is also present in bones.

As the basis of their NIR contrast agent, the researchers chose to use the osteoporosis drug pamidronate, a biphosphonate. Biphosphonates, which are also used for the treatment of bone metastases in breast cancer patients, preferentially bind to bone. Frangioni and his team attached a dye that both absorbs light and fluoresces in the NIR region of the spectrum to a pamidronate derivative. Light in this region of the spectrum penetrates especially well into living tissue without damaging it, and is also easy to detect.

Thanks to a simplified, reliable synthetic route to a new pamidronate derivative developed by Kumar R. Bhushan, the American team has now been able to synthesize large quantities of a contrast agent called Pam800—enough to run a trial with large animals. Pigs are particularly well suited to such trials because their organs are of approximately the same size as human organs.

As confirmed by surgical incisions, intravenously administered Pam800 reveals the bones of pigs with very high sensitivity. When hydroxyapatite is injected into the soft tissues, the contrast agent marks only the tiny hydroxyapatite crystals with high selectivity and sensitivity. This could allow it to selectively reveal malignant abnormal tissue. The swine trials demonstrated that the use of real-time NIR fluorescence images even make possible image-guided surgery of the soft tissues and bones.

Reference: Synthesis of Conjugatable Bisphosphonates for Molecular Imaging of Large Animals, Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2007, 46, 7969–7971 doi: 10.1002/anie.200701216

Note: This story has been adapted from material provided by John Wiley & Sons, Inc..