Lynn Desjardins, Wojtek Gwiazda, Marc Montgomery

The LINK online Sat Dec 20, 2014

The full team is with you this week, Wojtek Gwiazda, Lynn Desjardins, and Marc Montgomery.

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Agent Orange and other defoliants that were used during the Vietnam war were also used at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown causing disease among the military, families and people living near the base. © U.S. Air Force

Starting in the mid 1950’s chemical defoliants were sprayed in tests over forests around the Canadian military base at Gagetown New Brunswick.

In the 1960’s Agent Orange, a dioxin-containing defoliant made by U.S. and German chemical multinationals such as Monsanto, Dow Chemical and Bayer. It was sprayed on trees around the base in preparation for its use in Viet Nam. Soldiers would be sent on exercises in the forests

Over the several decades of testing a variety of chemicals were tested including Agent Orange, Agent Purple, and Agent White amongst others.

Years later soldiers began experiencing a number of ailments connected to the toxins their bodies had absorbed.

Some military personnel were eventually given financial compensation for disabilities such as prostate and bone cancer believed connected with the toxic spraying.

One former soldier, now aged 83, has finally won his decades old battle with the Veteran’s Affairs Department and will get compensation.  Wojtek talks with the New Democratic Party Official Oppostion Member of Parliament, Peter Stoffer, who is the NDP critic for Veterans Affairs.

In northern Ontario,scientists last year came across a prehistoric reservoir of salty water deep underground at the bottom of a mine two and half kilometres underground.

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© Barbara Sherwood Lollar

They say it’s the oldest water on earth.

Now, scientists are saying these ancient waters flow in Precambrian rock in many places around the world. The waters have a chemical makeup that suggests they can support types of microbes millions of years old that live off chemical reactions rather than sunlight.

This changes traditional notions of where life is on earth and may be useful in the exploration of Mars.

Lynn spoke with Barbara Sherwood Lollar, professor of earth sciences at the University of Toronto and lead author of this study.

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The UBC resaarch team found that mice without Granzyme B (RIGHT) had much younger, unwrinkled skin skin after repeated exposure to UV compared to the obvious ageing and wrinkling of the “normal” mice © Granville et all- UBC

It was a very interesting discovery that came from research into heart disease.  Scientists at the University of British Columbia were looking into the weakening of tissue of blood vessels and other things like hardening of arteries.

They were focussing on a specific enzyme found in immune cells called Granzyme B.

This enzyme is useful in attacking pathogens, but with ageing, and as they discovered, when skin exposed to UV light, (sunlight) the enzyme leaks out of cells and begins degrading collagen which supports the skin. As collagen is degraded, skin loses its firmness and begins to wrinkle.

The researchers found that by removing Granzyme B, skin was not damaged or degraded by exposure to sunlight.

In addition to their research which has significant potential in heart medicine, in treatment against scarring caused by lupus, and possibly arthritis, the finding may help prevent ageing and wrinkling of skin caused by sunburn.

Marc spoke to David Granville (PhD) who lead the research, He is a professor at the University of British Columbia, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

This is the last show before the Christmas vacation so we would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and all the best in the New Year.

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