In The News Today...

'a florida city' ?????
It is a poor, largely black enclave and it seems strange that journalists are starting off with 'a florida city' and only later identifying it.

Young blood. Literally.
Although the FDA looks askance those clinics selling youthfulness enhancing young blood cells are back in business.

FDA ban on fecal transplants remains in effect.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-48706822

New cure for blood cancer

Quote: petroglyph

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-48706822

New cure for blood cancer

The treatment is pretty rough. The other choice is possibly worse depending on your point of view.

Quote:

Mike says the side-effects of his treatment were worse than either of his two batches of chemotherapy.
Short-term neurotoxicity, where the brain and nerves are affected, can lead to confusion, difficultly speaking and a loss of consciousness.
There are five days after the treatment, when Mike was on intensive care, that he cannot remember at all.

I wonder how many people with terminal cases of disease would take the experience of 5 minutes feet first into a wood chipper an inch at a time to be cured?

Side effects from cut, burn and poison are hell.

Am I the only one who didn't know there
is a huge worldwide helium shortage. The
largest supplier of helium in the world is a
mine in Texas and it's running out. Helium
is the second most plentiful element in the
universe. It's also the coldest. As soon as it's
exposed to air, it turns into a gas. This means
storing helium in large quantities is very
problematic. A lot a party stores that depend
on helium for their balloons are going out of
business. I was just in the dollar store today
and she told me they haven't had helium in
2 months.

Because helium is so cold it's used to cool MRI
machines and other important things. Apparently
this helium shortage of the second most plentiful
element in the universe is a pretty big deal.

Quote: Evenbob

Am I the only one who didn't know there
is a huge worldwide helium shortage. The
largest supplier of helium in the world is a
mine in Texas and it's running out. Helium
is the second most plentiful element in the
universe. It's also the coldest. As soon as it's
exposed to air, it turns into a gas. This means
storing helium in large quantities is very
problematic. A lot a party stores that depend
on helium for their balloons are going out of
business. I was just in the dollar store today
and she told me they haven't had helium in
2 months.

Because helium is so cold it's used to cool MRI
machines and other important things. Apparently
this helium shortage of the second most plentiful
element in the universe is a pretty big deal.

I've known about this for about 5 years. Went for balloons for some bday and they had none, said there was a shortage. Did some research. Helium has a lot of important uses and we are using it to fill balloons.

Multi stage problem. Some congressional order to sell it off. Hard to make the stuff profitably, USA was and is by far the leader. In a few years other production will come online, but we really should stop wasting it on those balloons.

I believe the source for helium is within natural gas. We have lots of that, so ... I started to wonder if the problem is the usual problem: politicians. Politicians under pressure to keep the price low

and

Quote: link

The trouble, says a new report, is actually political, a string of bad decisions that threw helium prices into chaos

The feds created a helium reserve, helium pumped into and stored in that mine in Texas, which allows them to control the price of helium by selling off a reserve they should have, well, kept as a reserve, hence the name. This interferes with market forces, which would create an unknown real price, initially now clearly going to be very high. Allowed to have operated normally all along, it is possible the price would be acceptable, possibly even quite low, considering that there has been a boom in natural gas production generally.

https://www.wired.com/2015/07/feds-created-helium-problem-thats-screwing-science/

Quote: odiousgambit

I believe the source for helium is within natural gas. We have lots of that, so ... I started to wonder if the problem is the usual problem: politicians. Politicians under pressure to keep the price low

Not "within" natural gas, but a co-product. I do not think it comes from fracked wells, though.

Quote:

The feds created a helium reserve, helium pumped into and stored in that mine in Texas, which allows them to control the price of helium by selling off a reserve they should have, well, kept as a reserve, hence the name. This interferes with market forces, which would create an unknown real price, initially now clearly going to be very high. Allowed to have operated normally all along, it is possible the price would be acceptable, possibly even quite low, considering that there has been a boom in natural gas production generally.

https://www.wired.com/2015/07/feds-created-helium-problem-thats-screwing-science/

This always happens. Both parties are at fault. GOP wants free market and Democrats want the quick cash from a sale. Same problem with the SPR. Oil price goes up, gas goes up, and pols think it is the end of the world. So they try to force releases. When an emergency comes, then you get screwed.

Perhaps should have made it like the USPS. Independent from government but not. Run on break-even basis. But not under any Cabinet Dept. Maybe?

Quote: odiousgambit

I started to wonder if the problem is the usual problem: politicians.

It was with the hindenberg, UK politicians pressured the USA not to sell helium to Germany.