| Asbestosis Like Mesothelioma Can Kill
But deaths from the cancer, largely of former workers from the long-closed Turner Brothers in Hindley Green, may have now peaked in the town.Seven local people died in 2003, latest figures in a Parliamentary written question reveal, compared with 11 the previous year and nine in 2001 and the illness claimed a high of 13 Wiganer's lives in 1999. Newcastle remains the main place for asbestosis in Britain with 101 people currently receiving treatment. The statistics were announced as Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) John Hutton gave new details of how the system for compensating sufferers and their survivors would be improved and speeded up. He said that interim measures would be put into action and he was also determined to put a long-term solution into place.
Details announced of improvements to mesothelioma compensation system
John Hutton today gave details of how the system for compensating sufferers of mesothelioma, the debilitating form of lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, would be improved and speeded up. After working with key stakeholders, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions said interim measures to speed up current claims would be put into action and he was determined to put in place a long-term solution. "I am committed to ensuring sufferers of this awful disease, which progresses so rapidly from the time of diagnosis, will get compensation before they die," said Mr Hutton. "There are a series of measures we will put into action straight away, such as clarifying with claims handlers best practice to ensure priority is given to those with mesothelioma.
Widow gets $10.4 million in asbestos suit
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) -- A Newport News Circuit Court jury awarded $10.4 million to the widow of a former shipyard worker who died of lung cancer after four years of working with materials that contained asbestos.
The verdict in Wanda Jones' wrongful death lawsuit against three companies that manufactured the materials was announced Wednesday, the first anniversary of the death of 60-year-old Buddy Jones.
"It's a mixed day," Mrs. Jones said. "At least there's been some justice and recognition for what he went through, certainly through no fault of his own. He just went to work and did what he was trained to do on the job."
Her attorney, Robert Hatten, called the verdict a landmark one because one-third of the judgment will come from John Crane Inc., which has refused to settle other asbestos cases.
Meghan Daum: I'm with Google
BECAUSE YOU'VE surely been wondering, you can now find out that Brisbane, Australia, is the city that most often googles the word "bestiality," and Toronto and New York are in a deadlock for searching the phrase "outside the box" (pity them both). You can also learn, for instance, that interest in Labradoodles spiked in 2004, and Fendi handbags hit their peak late last year.
The reason you can know these things is the introduction of Google Trends, a search tool that allows you to check the popularity of any given keyword or phrase versus another. You can see how that popularity changed over the months, what cities most commonly google a word or phrase and whether interest is likely to increase or decrease over the coming months. Best of all, this information is presented in the form of a very serious looking graph, which means you can look up "Nicole Richie" at the office and appear to be hard at work on those P&L spreadsheets.
New Data Shows Promising Antiviral Activity of AC-03 636, a Novel ...
BLOOMFIELD, N.J., Aug. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alfacell Corporation (Nasdaq: ACEL - News) today announced new data highlighting the definitive antiviral activity of AC 03-636, one of the Company's novel drug candidates from its proprietary ribonuclease (RNase) technology platform. The in vitro studies were conducted by scientists at a major research institute for tropical diseases as part of a collaboration with Alfacell. The methodology used was a cell-based infection assay based on immunodetection of the Dengue fever antigen. The researchers found that AC 03-636 displayed meaningful antiviral activity in both BHK21 (animal) and A549 (human) cell lines, and that its potency was "quite considerable compared to the reference compounds." Dengue fever is a mosquito-born infection.
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