Senaat stemt vóór onderzoek 'mini-atoombommen'

[Waterval]

Uitgegeven: 21 mei 2003 04:58

WASHINGTON - De Amerikaanse Senaat heeft dinsdag (plaatselijke tijd) ingestemd met de opheffing van het verbod op onderzoek naar de mogelijkheid 'mini-atoombommen' te bouwen. Dat soort onderzoek was jarenlang verboden, maar president Bush had om de opheffing gevraagd.

Hij kreeg zijn zin, met 51 stemmen vóór en 43 tegen. Het gaat om atoombommen met een kracht van een derde of minder van die van de bom van Hiroshima, die in 1945 aan meer dan 100.000 Japanners het leven kostte.

Minister van Defensie Rumsfeld zegt dat hij slechts onderzoek wil doen naar atoombommetjes, die volgens hem nuttig kunnen zijn bij de vernietiging van voorraden chemische of biologische wapens. De regering wil de mini-atoombommen "niet ontwikkelen, niet in gereedheid brengen, niet inzetten".

Naïef

Maar Democratische senatoren vonden het naïef te denken dat de regering in onderzoek zou investeren zonder de intentie de wapens ook daadwerkelijk te bouwen. Bovendien vrezen zij dat de plannen andere landen zullen aansporen ook nieuwe kernwapens te ontwikkelen, na decennia van Amerikaanse inspanningen om verdere proliferatie van kernwapens te voorkomen.

"De haviken zeggen dat de dingen vandaag anders liggen. Een kernoorlog zou zo erg niet zijn, als we de atoombommen maar een beetje kleiner maken", aldus de Democratische senator Edward Kennedy. "Is een half Hiroshima oké? Is een kwart van Hiroshima oké?"

[mrz]

Ach ja je bent oud en je wilt wat en je moet wat verzinnen om nieuwe medicijnmarkten te openen. :mad:


Radiation sickness drug could save thousands
15:02 20 May 03
NewScientist.com news service

An experimental drug that protects against radiation sickness could save tens of thousands of lives in the aftermath of a nuclear attack by terrorists, claim the scientists developing the treatment.

The detonation of a "dirty bomb", an attack on a nuclear power plant or even a nuclear accident would release radiation into the atmosphere. The short-term effect of the release would very likely cause more deaths than the blast itself.

The drug, being developed by US military researchers and Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, tackles a key short term effect of radiation sickness - reduced immune system function.

Test results in animals so far have been promising and researchers suggest HE2100 may be available for humans by early 2005. "It may offer a cost-effective treatment that could significantly improve the chance of survival," says Dwight Stickney, a radiation oncologist and medical director at Hollis-Eden.

"If the drug is non-toxic in humans, then it could be very useful," agrees Bill McBride, a radiation oncologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. And unlike previous potential radiation sickness drugs, HE2100 appears effective when taken after exposure, as well as before, he adds.


Stockpiled locally


Chris Reading, head of scientific development at Hollis-Eden, says HE2100 could be stockpiled locally and distributed immediately following an attack. It could also be given ahead of time to emergency services or military personnel sent into contaminated areas.

The drug works counteracting the destruction of bone marrow that follows radiation exposure. Bone marrow is vital for manufacturing white blood cells, the body's first line of defence against infections.

In particular, special infection-fighting cells called neutrophils can be wiped out and most of the fatalities in the weeks following a dirty bomb blast would die from common infections such as influenza.

Reading told New Scientist that HE2100 acts on the earliest type of stem cells in the bone marrow called haemopoeitic cells, stimulating the production of neutrophils and blood platelets.


Phenomenal findings


In experiments led by Mark Whitnall, at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, every mouse given HE2100 before radiation exposure survived, while every mouse in the control group died.

Other tests involved giving HE2100 to non-human primates two to four hours after radiation exposure. The animals receiving the drug exhibited severe neutropenia on only nine per cent of days in the month after exposure, compared to half of the primates not given the drug.

The drug has shown no side effects in primates, leading Reading to be confident that it will be safe in humans. It would be unethical to expose humans to radiation in a clinical trial, so the US Food and Drug Administration allows a drug to be approved if its efficacy is shown in animals and its safety demonstrated in humans. A larger efficacy trial is planned for later in 2003, says Reading.

But, even if successful, HE2100 will not protect against all effects of radiation sickness. For example, high levels of radiation can cause fatal damage to the lungs or brain. HE2100's effectiveness may therefore depend on a person's distance from "ground zero".

It is also unlikely to protect against long-term effects like cancer. But, says McBride, radiation-induced cancers would be less of a priority in a terrorist situation than protecting individuals exposed to high doses.

Shaoni Bhattacharya


http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993745

[mrz]

:wat?!: