In Gaza, 'American hospital' fuels suspicions

Yahoo – AFP, Adel Zaanoun with Joe Dyke in Jerusalem, December 4, 2019

Palestinian construction workers in October at the site of the future medical facility
next to the Erez Israel-Gaza crossing (AFP Photo/MAHMUD HAMS)

Erez (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Volunteers with a US Christian charity group pose for a selfie in front of tents and crates of equipment to build a contentious new field hospital on the Israel-Gaza border.

The facility, to be located right next to a crossing into Israel, has rare joint support from the Jewish state and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas as part of an informal truce deal.

But its existence, and the way it has been advertised by the US non-government group running it, is fuelling suspicions and rumours among some Palestinians.

Nicknamed the "American hospital" by Palestinians, it is funded by the evangelical Friend Ships organisation based in the US state of Louisiana.

Pictures posted on the Christian group's Facebook page show young volunteers in dark t-shirts hammering pegs into the ground and erecting a row of tents.

The dusty 10-acre (four hectare) site is right next to the Erez Israel-Gaza crossing, making access possible from both sides -- though likely only with Israeli permission.

The charity website said the hospital would offer telemedicine for remote consultations with specialists worldwide. It could later include cancer care as well as less conventional offers, including treatments that involve horse-riding.

The medical camp would be staffed heavily by volunteers after they have received 12 weeks training, it said, urging Christians to sign up.

"We will offer services to the public four days a week," the website said -- promising that on their days off volunteers can also enjoy cultural experiences.

"For those who would like to tour, you will have the option of making your own arrangements to spend three days on your own, experiencing Israel."

A post on Facebook by the group said volunteers would learn about the region and "become part of what God is doing there today".

The organisation, which previously operated a tent hospital on the Israeli side of its disputed border with Syria, did not respond to a request for comment and AFP was not permitted to visit.

The timeline for opening was unclear.

COGAT, the Israeli body responsible for coordinating access to Gaza, said the hospital was "not connected to Israel".

'Not needed'

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008.

Hamas does not recognise Israel's right to exist, while Israel's new defence minister, Naftali Bennett, has pledged a hard line.

Yet the hospital is indicative of a thawing after a longer-term truce was brokered this year by Qatar, the United Nations and others.

The facility has rare joint support from the Jewish state and Gaza's Islamist rulers 

Hamas as part of an informal truce deal (AFP Photo/MAHMUD HAMS)

Gaza, which has been blockaded by Israel for a decade, suffers crippling energy shortages and high poverty.

Its medical sector is overstretched, with hospitals chronically short of drugs and others goods, many of which are restricted by Israel.

If successful, the new tent hospital could provide an alternative for those in need, while its close proximity to Israel would assuage the Jewish state's fears over imports being syphoned off by Hamas.

Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas's deputy head in Gaza, told journalists in a recent briefing they would "evaluate the work of the hospital and its services to the public".

"If it is not the required level we will work to close it," he warned.

An official at the Hamas-run health ministry insisted they would oversee the facility, for which the first equipment was imported in September.

But multiple aid sources said there had been little coordination with the United Nations or the international humanitarian agencies which work in Gaza.

A humanitarian aid staffer who worked in Gaza pointed out the location was only a few minutes drive from two Palestinian hospitals inside the enclave.

"What Gaza needs is money to pay its medical staff and access to more equipment and drugs, not another basic hospital," he said.

Palestinian split

The initiative has met with fierce opposition from some quarters.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement, which is based in the West Bank and opposes Hamas, even alleged it would be an American "military base".

"Hamas is committing a crime against the Palestinian cause and against our people with this approval," Fatah said in a statement on the new hospital.

Multiple statements by Abbas's government have warned of "dubious intentions," suggesting, without citing evidence, that Washington was involved or that the facility was part of attempts by the US and Israel to weaken the Palestinian cause.

Abbas cut off talks with the United States in late 2017 and accuses President Donald Trump of trying to destroy Palestinian hopes of statehood.

Hamas seized Gaza from Abbas's forces in a 2007 near civil war, but the international community has continued to call for his internationally recognised Palestinian Authority (PA) to return to power there.

Mukhaimer Abu Saada, a politics professor in Gaza, said for Hamas the hospital was a tangible result of the truce and could allow patients who are refused Israeli travel permits to get treatment.

But Abbas, he said, fears that the United States and Israel are seeking to de facto recognise Hamas' rule in Gaza.

"The PA is not part of the deal and worries that Hamas is competing with them to represent the Palestinian people," Abu Saada said.

Malawi tobacco pressured as US butts in over labour abuses

Yahoo – AFP, Jack MCBRAMS, December 1, 2019

Tobacco is known locally in Malawi as "green gold", but the southern African nation
must wrestle with allegations of child labour if the industry is to have a future
(AFP Photo/GIANLUIGI GUERCIA)

Blantyre (Malawi) (AFP) - Malawi is being forced to confront child and forced labour practices after the US restricted tobacco imports from the impoverished southeastern African nation over allegations workers including children were being exploited.

Although exports to the United States make up only a small part of Malawi's total, the US move could make it harder selling its tobacco elsewhere and has sparked anxiety among farmers who fear they will be forced to accept lower prices.

As tobacco, known locally as "green gold", is Malawi's top crop in terms of employment, foreign exchange earnings (60 percent) and tax revenue (25 percent), any trouble the sector runs into could quickly reverberate throughout the economy.

The US decision piles even more pressure on the tobacco sector, already confronted with global anti-tobacco campaigns.

The trouble began in late October. British law firm Leigh Day announced it was preparing a landmark class action case against British American Tobacco (BAT) on behalf of 2,000 Malawian farmers, including hundreds of children, for forced labour and poverty wages.

BAT, which says it "takes the issue of child labour extremely seriously", has denied any wrongdoing and noted that it buys tobacco from Malawi via international dealers who are required adhere to a code of conduct that does not tolerate child and forced labour.

The US suspended imports of tobacco from Malawi, saying it had information that reasonably indicated it was being produced using forced labour and forced child labour.

Third of children work

According to a survey conducted in 2017 by the country's statistics agency the use of child labour in Malawi is extensive. It found that 38 percent of the country’s children aged between five and 17 were working.

Although the survey did not provide specific information about the tobacco sector, it is widely acknowledged that child labour is a problem.

Betty Chinyamunyamu, who heads an association of smallholder farmers, said incidents of child labour occur despite efforts to eliminate the practice.

"In some cases, farmers may think that that is the way things are supposed to be without knowing that they are engaging in child labour," she said.

Tobacco and Allied Workers Union general secretary Raphael Sandram accused the government of dithering in addressing child labour in the industry.

"In our labour report in 2015, we raised the issue that there were some irregularities in the industry that government needed to address," he said.

"The fact that the government did not respond according to the requirements of the US government means that they delayed to act on these issues. But these issues have been there for a long time," he said.

Malawian children carrying tobacco leaves on a farm in 2009. A government survey 

conducted two years ago found that more than one in three childen work (AFP Photo/

FELIX MPONDA)

Pushing for compliance

Agriculture Minister Kondwani Nankhumwa acknowledged pockets of child and forced labour in Malawi, but downplayed the US action saying it "is not a ban, they are just pushing for compliance".

US authorities said firms wishing to import Malawi tobacco into the country will need to demonstrate it was not produced with forced labour. But what will be needed to convince US authorities and how much effort firms will be willing to take is unclear.

Nankhumwa said 80 percent of Malawi's tobacco was grown under a special scheme which is free from child or forced labour.

"So, we are only grappling with the 20 percent within which there is also some kind of compliance," he said.

The law firm Leigh Day described a tobacco farming system that puts farmers under extreme pressure.

Leaf buyers who sell to multinational tobacco firms make contracts with landowners who then engage tenant farmers who spend 10 months on the plantations. Each tenant farmer is allotted around a hectare but needs four workers to work that amount of land.

"However, the amount the tenant farmers are paid for their crop is too low for them to be able to afford to employ workers to help on the farms. As a result, they have no option but to rely on their children to work on the farms," said Leigh Day in a statement.

Bone of contention

Nankhumwa pledged Malawi would conduct the necessary policy reviews to protect the tobacco industry and bring the country into compliance with global standards.

"The government is reviewing the tenancy system, which is a bone of contention but also perceived to be catalyst for child and forced labour," he said.

Farmers -- who are starting to prepare their fields for the next planting season -- are distraught at the prospect of being squeezed further by falling prices.

"We are baffled and confused," said Alick Yagontha, a small farmer in the northern Rumphi district who has been growing tobacco for two decades and harvested 28,000 kilograms this year.

He fears there will be "no future for tobacco farming in Malawi" if prices fall.

Japan store to replace staff 'period badges' after uproar

Yahoo – AFP, November 29, 2019

One of Daimaru's upscale department stores in the western city of Osaka adopted
'period badges' proposed by female employees (AFP Photo/Kazuhiro NOGI)

Tokyo (AFP) - A Japanese department store has scrapped a "period badge" for employees that let colleagues know they were menstruating, after the policy sparked an internet storm, a spokeswoman said Friday.

One of Daimaru's upscale department stores in the western city of Osaka began the programme last month, adopting an idea proposed by female employees.

The voluntary badges were intended to alert colleagues to the idea that coworkers with severe menstrual pains -- or other period-related needs -- might require longer breaks or extra help lifting heavy objects.

But after local media reported the policy, prompting outrage on Twitter, several customers rang the store to question the merit of what is now dubbed a "period badge".

"We are not scrapping the programme itself because it is strictly for internal communication, among those who work here," a company spokeswoman told AFP.

But she said the store will use something other than the badge.

"Most of our staff are women and staff members support this programme. We will continue in a better way," she said.

The idea came as the luxury store prepared to launch a new section for products related to female hygiene on a floor dedicated to young women's fashion.

During its planning, staff openly discussed their experiences with periods and ways to improve the work environment.

To launch the section, the store worked with "Seiri-chan", a comic-book character whose name means "Ms. Period", which has been made into a new movie.

The store then created a badge that announced the start of the section's opening from November 22 on one side, with the pink character on the other.

"There was a time when speaking openly about periods just did not happen. Now we can do this," the Daimaru spokeswoman said.

"Everyone experiences periods differently. Through discussions, we believe this can lead to greater understanding of our experiences," she said.

Government gives green light to new healthy food logo

DutchNews, November 29, 2019 

A Nutri-score logo on yoghurt. Photo: Cz ja [CC0] via Wikimedia Commons

The government has given the green light to a new system of food labeling which it hopes will help consumers make ‘healthy choices’ when it comes to buying food. 

Junior health minister Paul Blokhuis announced the government’s decision in favour of the French food labelling system Nutri-Score on Thursday and said the definitive logo should see an end to the confusion surrounding food quality logos. 

Supermarkets had earlier opposed the system because it includes a red logo denoting unhealthy products while critics claimed the way the system is set up would only increase confusion, the NRC reported. 

Nutri-Score, which replaces manufacturers’ own ‘tick’ (V) logo, grades food between A (green) and E (red). The scores indicate calorific content, the amount of sugar, saturated fat, salt, protein, fruit, vegetables and nuts. A is the healthiest option while red means the product is bad for your health. 

Confusion 

Critics of the new label said the logo would confuse consumers because the new system looks at separate ingredients. That could lead to a green A or B label for products that fit into unhealthy eating patterns (such as pizza and sugary cereals) while tea and cheese could end up with a yellow C label, the NRC said. 

Blokhuis has said that the logo will be adjusted to make a better fit with the Schijf van Vijf, the official Dutch recommendations on healthy eating, which takes eating patterns into account as well as ingredients. 

France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Spain have already adopted the system. Its introduction in the Netherlands is part of the agreement reached by ministers, consumer groups and industry last year to tackle unhealthy eating habits. Half of Dutch people are currently overweight.

In US, plant-based diet easier than ever, even at Thanksgiving

Yahoo – AFP, Bob Chiarito, November 26, 2019

US President Donald Trump will "pardon" turkeys Bread and Butter (seen here)
before Thanksgiving, but some Americans do not eat turkey at all on the holiday,
preferring to embrace plant-based diets (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB)

Chicago (AFP) - When Elysabeth Alfano hosts a Thanksgiving dinner for 12 next week at her home in Los Angeles, the menu will be traditional -- with a few key changes that were all but impossible just a decade ago.

For dessert, she'll have the staples that feature on nearly every American dinner table -- pumpkin and apple pie. And the huge number of vegetable side dishes are not unusual.

But the "turkey" -- the centerpiece of the meal -- will be a vegan-stuffed breast made of chickpeas, wheat gluten, tomato paste, mushroom broth, seasonings and red wine.

Her main dish reflects a shift in eating habits in the United States: there are an increasing number of Americans choosing a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. But they're calling it something else.

While still only around three percent of Americans identify as vegan and six percent identify as vegetarians, more and more offerings are being marketed as "plant-based" -- a term which food industry watchers say is more palatable to all.

"Veganism is often linked with some sort of deprivation," explains Michael Robbins, spokesman for the three-year-old Plant Based Foods Association, which represents more than 100 companies including food giants like the Campbell Soup Company.

Pumpkin pies are part of a traditional Thanksgiving meal, but some Americans 

are changing up their menus to accommodate their plant-based diets (AFP Photo/

Olivier DOULIERY)

"Plant-based is generally associated with the general benefits of eating plants" and "has been shown in research to have a greater acceptance to a broader set of consumers," he told AFP.

Indeed, nothing is more mainstream in America than fast food, and the giants are all in -- Burger King is serving meatless Impossible Whoppers, and McDonald's is test-marketing its plant-based burger.

"Just as the horse and buggy gave way to the car and the typewriter gave way to the computer, we are seeing more and more people go plant-based," says Alfano, a chef, coach and lifestyle expert.

"In the first half of 2019, 248 million plant-based burgers were sold, 95 percent of which were bought by meat-eaters. The meat-eaters are the largest segment incorporating plant-based."

Diet vs lifestyle

For decades in America, veganism has been linked to a way of life that transcends food choices.

Practitioners often don't only refuse to consume any animal-based products -- they also don't wear clothes made from animal products like wool or leather.

Eating vegetarian or vegan has become a lot easier in the United States 

in recent years (AFP Photo/Olivier DOULIERY)

Devotees of plant-based diets are generally all about the food, but they are happy to embrace the ethical debate as well, within reason.

Chicago-based artist Tammy Kohl grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin but has gradually shifted her diet, which has been completely plant-based for a year.

"To keep weight off by taking dairy out of my diet made sense. I did vegan cleanses and felt great and that inspired me," said Kohl, who added that anti-animal cruelty efforts made cutting out meat easier.

But she noted: "I still wear leather. If you own leather, you might as well wear it."

Holiday options

Jean Johnson, a sales consultant from Colorado, converted to a plant-based diet for health reasons and shies away from the term "vegan," which she says conjures up an image to which she does not subscribe.

On Thanksgiving, she says she'll stick to eating vegetable side dishes at a friend's home -- and isn't all that worried if she happens to inadvertently consume animal products.

"I'm not so OCD about it where you can't put any butter in the mashed potatoes -- it's such a small portion," Johnson said.

Tofu may feature on some Thanksgiving menus in the United States

(AFP Photo/Olivier DOULIERY)

Alfano, who splits her time between Los Angeles and Chicago, went completely vegan in 2016.

Her Thanksgiving plans are proof positive that the stigma which once surrounded non-carnivores, especially on traditional American holidays, is slowly fading away.

"What we have now that we didn't have 10 years ago is good taste. We have convenience and we have price," she says.

Kohl said she will celebrate the holiday with some relatives who raise beef cattle -- a profession that hardly aligns with her veganism. But another family member is a vegetarian, and everyone gets along.

"I usually bring my own plate and very quietly fill it up," Kohl said. "I'm not one of those preachy vegans."

Fad or trend here to stay?

Johnson believes that her plant-based diet helped her beat cancer, and she identifies another benefit of plant-based diets these days -- she has seen her grocery bills plummet.

Different takes on plant-based burgers are even being offered at the nation's

largest fast food chains such as Burger King (AFP Photo/ERIC BARADAT)

"Meat and dairy, that's not cheap stuff, whereas rice and beans, lentils and potatoes are cheap,” Johnson said.

Alfano agreed, saying it would also help Americans save money if healthier eating meant they could stop taking certain medications such as those to control cholesterol.

"It's really expensive to be sick. If you can get off the pills, you'll really be saving money," she said.

Of course, meat producers are hardly on board for all this, but they're not really worried either.

Hillary Makens, director of media relations for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, said vegans and vegetarians constitute a tiny portion of the US market, and her industry has bigger concerns.

"The beef industry has been competing against other proteins for a long time. When you think of chicken, pork, beans, peanut butter, all types of protein, it's not really a new thing." Makens said.

However, consumer research company Mintel said the number of new US food and drink products that mentioned "plant-based" grew 268 percent between 2012 and 2018.

Additionally, in a May 2019 report, Mintel said 38 percent of US consumers report trying to incorporate more plant-based items into their diet.

"Rarely in life do you ever get a triple winner -- where one thing positively effects your health, positively effects your wallet, positively effects the environment and the planet," Alfano says.

US meat producers want a slice of vegan market

Yahoo – AFP, Juliette MICHEL, November 24, 2019

Agri-business giants are branching out with plant-based meat alternatives to
try to capitalize on the new trend (AFP Photo/Angela Weiss)

New York (AFP) - The growing craze for vegetarian versions of juicy burgers and sausages has created such a buzz that even traditional meat producers are trying to get in on the action.

The big players are trying to capitalize on the success of products from companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger.

JBS, the world's largest beef producer, has been marketing a soy burger in Brazil since the summer, which contains beets, garlic and onions and is similar to a rare ground beef.

The largest US meat producer, Tyson Foods, in June launched a new line of plant-based proteins and meat-vegetable blends called "Raised & Rooted."

And competitors Hormel Foods, Perdue Farms and Smithfield have unveiled similar initiatives to take a slice out of this new market.

"Our food culture is changing at a rapid pace," said Bryan Kreske, brand manager at Hormel Foods.

There is an "increasing curiosity and motivation to try great-tasting, alternative protein sources like plant-based proteins while decreasing their consumption of animal-based protein."

Regardless of whether it is the start of a new trend, or a passing fancy, the agri-food giants do not want to miss the opportunity.

Rather than target vegetarians, they are going after the 95 percent of consumers who eat meat.

But unlike the upstart alternative meat companies, which cite the carbon footprint of raising cows and other livestock, traditional players have a harder time using environmental or animal rights arguments to promote their products.

Instead they often focus on health benefits.

"It's more about our clients wanting to get more plants and vegetables into their diet and less about reducing meat consumption," said Eric Christianson, marketing manager at Perdue.

Best known for its chicken, Perdue in September released their "Chicken Plus" products, which include kid-friendly nuggets, made of a mix of chicken, chickpeas and cauliflower -- which they say is perfect for parents trying to get their kids to eat vegetables.

Beyond Meat "Beyond Burger" patties are one of the options for plant-based proteins, 

which now include chicken, shrimp and sausage alternatives (AFP Photo/Angela Weiss)

The company is betting big on this new product: earmarking half of its 2020 marketing budget to promoting it, spending especially heavily in January, "when people are really going to be in the mood to eat healthy," Christianson said.

'Plant curious' consumer

Soy burgers have been around for decades. But Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger have been working for the last 10 years to create products that are closer to the taste, texture and flavor of real meat, thanks to ingredients such as beets.

These products jumped into the headlines this year with their introduction in fast food chains, such as Burger King's Impossible Burger, and with Beyond Meat's spectacular Wall Street debut.

Traditional meat producers quickly jumped on the bandwagon.

At Hormel, the Happy Little Plants brand "moved swiftly from a conceptual idea rooted in the 'plant curious' consumer... to a commercially viable product line in just under 13 weeks," Kreske said.

But while these meat producers have no plans to abandon their main business, Impossible Foods says its mission is to replace animal proteins in the food system by 2035.

That might be overly optimistic. In the market for milk alternatives, plant-based drinks such as soy or almond milk make up just 13 percent of sales.

"For dairy, there's really a health reason" to not consume milk products, including allergies, said Perdue's Christianson.

But for meat, "it becomes more of a lifestyle choice to eat healthier."

Still, the alternative meat segment could become "significant," he said.

Robert Martin, who specializes in food policies at the Center for a Livable Future at Johns Hopkins University, said the traditional producers are entering the plant-based meat market "in their own economic self-interest," so they do not lose market share.

He called the trend "troubling" and cautioned "it could have the side effect of stifling innovation and competition."

Even so, he views any plant-based alternative as "a positive step," adding that bigger players can bring "economies of scale" to producing these plant-based products, therefore reducing prices.

"They quit talking about themselves as meat companies, they now call themselves a protein company," Martin said.

Related Article:

Vegetarian Butcher to supply 2,500 Burger Kings with meat-free patties

Monsanto pleads guilty to using banned pesticide on research crop

Yahoo – AFP, November 22, 2019

A picture taken on May 24, 2016 in Lillo near Antwerp shows the Monsanto logo on a
building at the firm Manufacturing Site and Operations Center. (AFP Photo/JOHN THYS)

Biotech giant Monsanto on Thursday agreed to plead guilty to illegally using a banned and highly toxic pesticide on research crops at one of its facilities on the Hawaiian island of Maui and to pay $10 million in fines.

The company admitted in court documents filed in US District Court in Honolulu that it sprayed the pesticide known as Penncap-M on corn seed and other crops at its Valley Farm facility in 2014, even though it knew the chemical had been banned by the Environmental Protection Agency the year before.

"The illegal conduct in this case posed a threat to the environment, surrounding communities and Monsanto workers," said Nick Hanna, the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, whose office handled the case. "Federal laws and regulations impose a clear duty on every user of regulated and dangerous chemicals to ensure the products are safely stored, transported and used."

The case against Monsanto was brought as the agriculture giant faced a slew of lawsuits arguing that its Roundup weed killer causes cancer.

Federal prosecutors had initially sought to file felony charges against the company for illegally spraying Penncap-M, a nerve agent. But they reportedly agreed to let the company plead to a lesser misdemeanor offense after Monsanto's lawyers intervened at the highest levels of the Department of Justice.

In its guilty plea, Monsanto admitted that after the 2014 spraying, it told employees to enter the sprayed fields a week later even though it knew the workers should have been kept from entering the area for 31 days.

The plea calls for Monsanto to pay a $6 million criminal fine and $4 million in community service payments to Hawaiian government entities.

Hanna's office said the government agreed to dismiss felony charges in two years if Monsanto abides by the plea agreement.

Strong support for euthanasia, majority back help for people ‘tired of life’

DutchNews, November 19, 2019

Photo: DutchNews.nl

A narrow majority of the Dutch support the introduction of assisted suicide for people who feel their life is at an end, even though they are physically healthy, according to a representative survey of 3,600 people by national statistics agency CBS. 

In total, 55% said they believed people who are tired of life should be able to get help to die, while 33% said this should not be an option. 

A third of those who backed assisted suicide said they favoured the introduction of a lower age limit, while half said age should not play a role at all. 

Euthanasia continues to have widespread support in the Netherlands, with 87% backing the practice in some circumstances. Muslims and strict Protestants are least likely to support any form of euthanasia, but even among them there is a majority support for the principle. 

Eight in 10 people also support euthanasia for people with severe dementia, if they had made their wishes plain before they became ill. Some 74% backed euthanasia for people with severe psychiatric problems and 75% for children with terminal illnesses. 

The Liberal democratic party is drawing up its own legislation which would make it possible for the over-75s who consider their life is at an end to be helped to die and aims to present the measure to parliament early next year. 

Euthanasia was legalised in the Netherlands in 2002 for those over 12 experiencing ‘hopeless and unbearable suffering’, who want to die and have come to the conclusion independently. Two doctors have to agree that the conditions have been met. 

Euthanasia currently accounts for around 4% of Dutch deaths, mostly involving cancer patients.

Radboud research offers new hope to MS sufferers, identifies key genes

DutchNews, November 18, 2019

Photo: Depositphotos.com

Scientists at Radboud University teaching hospital in Nijmegen say they have discovered multiple dna variants which indicate an increased risk of developing Muscular Sclerosis. 

The discovery will allow researchers to carry out more targeted research into the disease, according to MS charity Nationaal MS Fonds.  MS is a disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. 

The most important of the Radboud discoveries focuses on the MBP gene, which produces a protein that forms a protective layer around the nerves. In MS patients, antibodies stop the protein being made, leaving the nerve unprotected. 

This, in turn, leaves the nerves unable to send signals to the brain, leading to paralysis. 

The scientists now want to use MS sufferers’ skin cells to grow stem and nerve cells to look for new remedies. 

‘We want to use some of the genes which have been found in a functional study to test at cell level how the genetic defects work,’ research association Geert Poelmans said. ‘The results of this follow-up research will focus on developing long-term new treatments to counteract MS’ 

Scientists believe that a combination of environmental and genetic factors contribute to the risk of developing MS. Some 17,000 people in the Netherlands currently have MS, with 800 new cases being diagnosed every year. 

The new discoveries were made comparing the dna of MS sufferers and their healthy family members.

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"The Addictive Old Energy" + "Timing", US (3), August 12-13, 2017(Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)  (The Addictive Old Energy - Text version)

"... Is He Alone? How About You?

What kind of addiction does the old energy have for you? Are you continuing to do things that you think are absolutely correct, working with perceptions that have been given to you in an old energy that you are still wallowing in? Of course, reading this you will say, "Not me." Remember the Korean leader. He still thinks he is right and never saw it. How invested in struggle are you? I have some news. You can't do it for long. First, you lose friends. You can't claim to be one thing and be another anymore.

So let's start extending this teaching. If the darkness is so attractive, is it affecting anything else? The answer? It is absolutely affecting everything else. There's an entire industry we have told you about that will eventually fail because it has been developed in an older energy, worked in an older energy, and has no integrity. The industry is Big Pharma. We've told you that its fall is imminent and the attributes will come from the ones within it, who will expose it. When this actually happens is up to you, since this is free choice of the developing consciousness of your country. However, let's look for a moment, not at the event, but what it may then lead to.

Big Pharma is invested in an old idea that designer chemistry is the answer to healing. This idea has been prevalent for decades and many feel that it is the highest technology available. However, instead, and in the light, there starts to appear another idea entirely: The Human body has an unrealized awareness and it is actually the master healer! The Human body is designed to self-correct. So, therefore, don't put foreign chemistry into it, but instead find out how to give it elegant, specific instruction sets to heal itself. Make them high-technology instruction sets to inform it to heal itself!

This is homeopathy expanded, you might say. There are processes coming that understand that this Human body of yours is so much better than any chemist has ever realized, and the new energy is starting to expose this fact. The answer to healing is not chemistry. The answer to health and healing is by addressing the "smart part" of the Human body, giving it instructions to utilize former unknown systems that are ready to create spontaneous remission and beyond.

Remember my channelling given on the "youthing template" or the fact that you all have dormant "genesis cells" within your body (cells that have the full body blueprint and a source for very young stem cells)? These both were expositions of systems that are smart and ready to create new cells and healing in ways that will seem miraculous! But they need to be "instructed". 

Funding Will Trail for Awhile

How much money do you think is invested in the old ways? Right now, there is an industry of investment that is going to fail. So, do you think all this money will then be invested into the new methods? The answer is NO, not right away. Just like the North Korean leader's blindness, the old ways are just too addicting. "Keep it the same," they will yell. "The fall is temporary," they will say. "It always worked before, and it always will." Many investors will lose fortunes. The dysfunction is already being seen clearly. When you turn on your media at night, much of what you hear in the commercial breaks is how the chemistry didn't work! Now you get a chance to join others and sue the pharma companies for bad chemistry! You think something is beginning to break? It is. You see, they are already wallowing in something that's going to make them fail. They are advertising how broken the very system is. Both big pharma and their investors don't see the light coming yet, even though it is becoming dysfunctional before their eyes.  ..."

"The Innate Revealed" (3) - Nov 22/23, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… Survival Programming

Whereas the Human brain is programmed for corporeal survival, Innate is programmed for spiritual survival. You might ask, "What is the difference?" Corporeal survival is your ability to get away from the tiger chasing you and find food and shelter. It gives you the logic to figure out these things and to stay alive. Spiritual survival is a very different thing, and it's very esoteric. It's a much larger kind of survival. It pushes humanity's spiritual evolution and provides a higher working level of your DNA. Let me explain.

Innate knows what the ancients knew. It knows the grand plan; remember, it's connected to the Higher-Self. It knows how long humanity has on this planet before it will no longer be able to make a decision toward planetary graduation. Innate knows that; your DNA knows that. What is the prime directive of Innate? It is to do everything it can for you, giving you multiple chances at free choice, allowing an awakening to take place, therefore, allowing humanity to go across the bridge of survival and move into an ascended planet status. That is the prime directive.

Spiritual survival represents the potential evolution of Earth, and everything is designed around that. Innate is designed to push you forward in any way possible within the free choice system into spiritual awareness. That is what Innate is for. Do you see the grand plan in all this? You have a built-in guidance system to help you navigate your potential.

In this process, Innate also crosses the bridge with corporeal chemistry in very different ways. Innate is responsible for spontaneous remission. Now you know where that comes from. Did you really think that came out of the brain? How can a Human have a disease disappear overnight? How is it possible that the corporeal body can cleanse itself of something so unbalanced overnight? How can tissue grow in a greatly accelerated rate to cause healing almost overnight? I have just given you things that hospitals have seen over and over. They have X-rayed them and verified them and chemically tested them. There is no way, they might say, that this could normally happen. For those who are spiritual, it has to be a miracle! For the science minded, it remains unexplainable. The beauty of this is that it is, indeed, explainable. It's the miracle of Innate! It's your own body keeping you alive. It's a profound, miraculous back-up system.

That's the power that you have. When Innate finally starts to build the bridge to the corporeal self, the Human Being as you know it today will disappear. The one who takes its place will have a much longer life, able to repair itself and even grow limbs back. This is how it was designed, dear ones, and this should start to make sense to you. …”

"The Mysterious Innate" – Aug 31, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“.. Mining the Akash - The Role of Innate

What I'm going to tell next, we have given you before. However, I wish to explain it better in this communication. Your innate is also a governor of what you personally need. Let me explain: Turn a page with me. We have talked in the past about mining the Akash. So let us open that door for a moment. Is it possible, dear one, that you could go into the vast storehouse of the attributes of your past lives and pick out something that you need today? The answer is yes. It's called mining the Akash, and it is a staple of the Kryon teaching. However, the way it's accomplished by the individual Human is really difficult to describe. It's a personal intuitive process. However, one attribute of it that is often misunderstood is that permission from the innate is needed. This is because the innate smart body knows what you need. It is then the governor, or the filter, giving you permission regarding what can be pulled out of your Akash and used. It will say no to frivolous things and yes to the things that will allow you to cure yourself of disease, live longer, and increase the efficiency of your DNA. It's a smart body regulator.

Innate doesn't care how you look. It cares about your health. If you want to go into your Akash and pull out something that you need for survival, it's right there with you. If you want to make clearer skin, it won't respond. Do you see what I mean? It's the governor for mining the Akash. By the way, the Akash is very ready to be used for this. [Kryon wink]

You have earned what you've lived, dear ones, and it's very available. It lies in a quantum soup of lifetime information that is ready to be used. If you have a disease in your body right now, and perhaps you want to mine the Akash in a way that will create healing, you can. Like all nonlinear things, it requires a new, mature consciousness and practice to work. But the body is ready for you to "go get" the cellular structure of a past life that had no disease. The blueprint for this resides within you since you earned it and lived it. The innate is responsible for spontaneous remission! Science has no idea how a Human does this. The innate can help you "go get" the things within your earned Akash and place them into your cellular structure. That's how smart it is! Imagine clearing disease so completely that there is no sign it was ever there? It happens all the time. Imagine being able to drop a chemical dependency overnight? It's exactly the same principle.

Did you ever sit in a meeting and something is said or a feeling can happen, and you get chills? What are they? You might say, "They are chills of validation." Guess where they came from? The innate! The innate has the ability to signal you the truth. The brain does not. In fact, your brain will often get in the way. It's the brain that contains your box of belief. It's the brain that contains the perception of who you are based on experience and memory. It's your 3D survival instrument. But the brain can't give truth. It can only give you what it perceives as the truth, based on logical, processed, computed, synaptic reasoning and only based on your past experience.

Your brain can tell you not to touch the stove because of what happened once before. But it can't give you chills of validation from information it does not have. The intellect wants you to believe that your brain is supreme. However, the brain is only one part of the body system and not a very intuitive part. It is the innate that knows the truth. The innate is connected to the quantum parts of your DNA and, therefore, also knows of your spirituality and the truth of God inside. …”

"The Quantum Factor" – Apr 10, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Galaxies, Universe, Intelligent design, Benevolent design, Aliens, Nikola Tesla (Quantum energy), Inter-Planetary Travel, DNA, Genes, Stem Cells, Cells, Rejuvenation, Shift of Human Consciousness, Spontaneous Remission, Religion, Dictators, Africa, China, Nuclear Power, Sustainable Development, Animals, Global Unity.. etc.) - (Text Version)

“… Cell Division - a static process?

Let me take you to the cellular division process. We've said this before, but you need to hear this to understand how it works. A cell is ready to divide. The Human body is designed to rejuvenate... all tissue. You've been told that there's some tissue that does not rejuvenate, but that is incorrect. It all rejuvenates at different speeds at different times and in different ways. It rejuvenates. So now you know that the Human body is designed to live a long time. Unfortunately, the energy that you have created on this planet and what you've gone through, has beat it up. You don't live much more than 80 years. That was not the design.

The Biblical personalities were sometimes prophets and sometimes masters and sometimes just there... and lived for hundreds of years. Did they really? Or perhaps this is that just a metaphor? Did they get that right in the Bible without a error in transcription? I'm going to tell you the truth. It's very accurate. Thousands of years ago you lived a very long time, Lemurian. If you knew your lifespan, you'd gasp. But not anymore. Instructions have been given over time to DNA, literally, by the energy of the planet... en energy that you have created through consciousness.

A cell divides. Right before it divides, it needs the blueprint to clone itself. The blueprint is available from the stem cell. The stem cell gets its information from the quantum part of the DNA, which has never changed since you were born. It's remained static, since nothing has ever changed it... and the fact that you don't believe it's changeable and have just accepted aging. There's not a conscious effort to do anything with it, and it just lays there like it always did.

The diving cell "talks" to the stem cell and says, "Do the same thing you always did? Change anything?" And the stem cell talks to the cell that is dividing, saying, "Make another one just the same." Then you rejuvenate just like the last one, accepting everything you received when you were born.  …”