From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4@msn.com)
Date: Mon Sep 09 2002 - 11:36:30 PDT
----- Original Message -----
From: What's New
Sent: Monday, September 09, 2002 1:01 PM
To: ljk4@msn.com
Subject: What's New for Sep 09, 2002
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 6 Sep 02 Washington, DC
1. HERBAL NONSENSE: DON'T MESS AROUND WITH MOTHER NATURE. Even
as many of the most popular herbal medications failed miserably
when subjected to actual tests (WN 23 Aug 02), one concoction of
saw palmetto, said to include seven Chinese and Indian herbs,
seemed to be just as effective in treating prostate cancer as the
latest prescription drugs. This was not as remarkable as it
seemed: as a natural dietary supplement, PC-SPES could be sold
over the counter without proof of purity or effectiveness (WN 16
Aug 02). But the FDA contended PC-SPES contained prescription-
only drugs, and pulled it off the market. It is now confirmed by
independent laboratories that PC-SPES contained warfarin, a blood
thinner, indomethacin, an analgesic, and synthetic estrogen.
These are prescription-only drugs not found in nature.
2. PATENT NONSENSE: COURT DENIES BLACKLIGHT POWER APPEAL. The
status of BlackLight Power's intellectual property is fuzzier
than ever. BLP was awarded Patent 6,024,935 for "Lower-Energy
Hydrogen Methods and Structures," a process for getting hydrogen
atoms into a "state below the ground state" (WN 18 Feb 00). You
might expect these shrunken hydrogen atoms, called "hydrinos," to
have a pretty special chemistry. Do they ever! Indeed, a second
patent application titled "Hydride Compounds" had been assigned a
number and BLP had paid the fee. Several other patents were in
the works. That's when things started heading South. Prompted
by an outside inquiry (who would do such a thing?), the patent
Director became concerned that this hydrino stuff required the
orbital electron to behave "contrary to the known laws of physics
and chemistry." The Hydride Compounds application was withdrawn
for further review and the other patent applications were
rejected. Since the one patent already issued involves the same
violations of basic laws of physics, there is a cloud over its
status as well. BLP filed suit in federal court arguing that it
was too late for the Patent Office to change its mind. The court
was not impressed, so BLP appealed the decision. In denying the
appeal, the court said the Patent Office has a responsibility to
take "extraordinary action" to withdraw a questionable patent.
The long-awaited IPO may have to wait a little longer.
3. LANCE BASS: MAYBE THE RUSSIANS JUST DON'T LIKE MUSIC. Russian
space officials say the boy-band star stiffed them on the $20M
fare to the ISS, so they evicted him from Star City and gave his
seat on Soyuz to a box of supplies. But MirCorp still needs the
dollars and deals are still being discussed. One deal is said to
involve a major soft drink company. Pepsi and Coke have fought
it out in space for years. Mir cosmonauts inflated a giant Pepsi
can on a space walk (WN 5 Nov 99), while Coke was involved in
developing a $3M micro-gravity Coke machine that gave only foam
when it was tested before a world-wide audience on television.
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND and THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY
Opinions are the author's, and are not necessarily shared by the
University or the American Physical Society, but they should be.
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