Archive for July 21st, 2010

BP Tests Continue While Cap Prevents Oil from Gushing into Gulf

BP said Wednesday that the cap on the damaged Gulf wellhead is still keeping the oil contained and no oil is leaking into the water as pressure slowly rises.

Critical tests on the capped well continued Wednesday as scientists worked on the ultimate solution to end the disaster.

Pressure testing on the well was extended for another 24 hours Tuesday, said retired Coast Guard Thad Allen, the federal government’s point man on the spill.

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Posted in Class Actions, Gulf Coast Oil Spill, Water Contamination

Zinc homeopathic cold remedies ineffective, can cause loss of smell

A study recently published in the Archives of Otolaryngology–a journal of the American Medical Association–concluded that not only are over-the-counter zinc-based cold remedies ineffective, they can cause a potentially permanent loss of smell.

Clinical trials of the popular treatment for the common cold found that zinc nasal sprays and gels were ineffective in preventing or reducing the duration of cold symptoms.  Only one of the studies analyzed by the study’s authors showed that zinc-based remedies reduced the symptoms of a cold, but that study was funded by the makers of the remedy tested.

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Posted in Product Liability, Unsafe Drugs and Medical Devices