When the United States Environmental Protection Agency wrecked the ecosystem in Colorado, CEOs across the America likely had a private sentiment - if a corporation not being paid by the EPA had done it, they'd be in jail.

Sure enough, when the EPA caused toxic sludge to spill into a river, their bureaucrats assured us nature would fix itself.

New Haven, Conn.--The most effective prescription drug used to quit smoking initially helps women more than men, according to a Yale School of Medicine study.
The study, published Oct. 7 by the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, found that varenicline, marketed as Chantix, was more effective earlier in women, and equally effective in women and men after one year.

Back in February, General Mills announced that five varieties of gluten-free Cheerios (Apple Cinnamon, Frosted, Honey Nut, Multi Grain, and Original) would be available nationwide for purchase later in the year. With the launch of gluten-free Cheerios in recent months, General Mills embarked on one of the company's largest marketing offensives for cereal in many years.

It was great marketing, food is all about chasing the latest fads. But it was not without missteps. On October 5th they recalled 1.8 million boxes of original and Honey Nut Cheerios labeled gluten-free because they contained wheat and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had received 125 complaints from consumers who ate gluten-free Cheerios and experienced gastrointestinal problems.

Fresh research at Sahlgrenska Academy has found that antioxidants can double the rate of melanoma metastasis in mice. The results reinforce previous findings that antioxidants hasten the progression of lung cancer. According to Professor Martin Bergö, people with cancer or an elevated risk of developing the disease should avoid nutritional supplements that contain antioxidants.

Researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, demonstrated in January 2014 that antioxidants hastened and aggravated the progression of lung cancer. Mice that were given antioxidants developed additional and more aggressive tumors. Experiments on human lung cancer cells confirmed the results.

Scientists writing in Environmental Research Letters estimate that the onset of spring plant growth will shift by a median of three weeks over the next century - and global warming is to blame.

The scholars from University of Wisconsin-Madison applied the extended Spring Indices to predict the dates of leaf and flower emergence based on day length. These general models capture the phenology of many plant species.  Their results show particularly rapid shifts in plant phenology in the Pacific Northwest and Mountainous regions of the western US, with smaller shifts in southern areas, where spring already arrives early. Much of their data is available at http://silvis.forest.wisc.edu/

Researchers have developed a new strategy for helping African farmers fight a parasitic plant that devastates crops - plants in the genus Striga, also known as witchweed.

Though their purple flowers are pretty to look at, a field full of Striga plants is in fact a nightmare for a farmer who wants to grow corn, sorghum, rice or other subsistence crops. The problem affects more than 100 million people across 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

 University of Toronto  chemical engineering professor Alexei Savchenko, along with professor Peter McCourt in the Department of Cell and Systems Biology, have created a genetically engineered plant biosensor, a tool that will help them hunt for molecules that could prevent Striga infestations.