Typhoon Prapiroon hits south China

Typhoon Prapiroon smashed into the coast of southern China Thursday as hundreds of thousands evacuated to temporary shelters.

About 400,000 people were evacuated from flood-prone areas of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan Island ahead of the storm, which packed 75 mph winds.


Zhongshan residents are evacuated before the arrival of Typhoon Prapiroon, in China's southern Guangdong province Thursday Aug. 3, 2006. AP Photo/Color China Photo via Yahoo News.

The same area is still recovering from direct hits by Typhoon Kaemi that killed 35 people last week, and Tropical Storm Bilis that killed more than 600 people last month.

Chinese officials estimate more than 1 million homes have been damaged and millions of acres of farmland and forest have been destroyed during this typhoon season.

Curry with onions may help reduce colon cancer

Researchers at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore said that compounds found in curry and onions may help prevent colon cancer in those at risk.

Patients with pre-cancerous colon polyps took a combination of curcumin, which is found in the curry spice turmeric, and quercetin found in onions, resulting in smaller and fewer polyps.


Curry for sale at a market in Lamno, Indonesia, January 31, 2005. Enny Nuraheni en/JJ/Reuters photo via Yahoo News.

Earlier studies with rats, and observation of Asian cultures that eat lots of curry support the recent test results.

"We believe this is the first proof of principle that these substances have significant effects in patients with FAP (familial adenomatous polyposis)," Dr. Francis M. Giardiello of The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore said in a statement.

GMO debate in Asia continues

China says it intends to test 'space-enhanced' crops in a future satellite launch as it mulls over the possibility of introducing transgenic rice.

Meanwhile in France, Greenpeace has been concentrating efforts against the introduction of GMO crops. The group though was ordered to remove a map from its website showing transgenic 'contamination' zones throughout the country, after incidents in which test fields were destroyed by activists.

Also, a recent study shows that transgenic crops, including experimental ones that have not been approved as safe, continue to contaminate non-GMO plants.


A young transgenic salmon is shown as much larger than a natural salmon of the same age. Over time, though, the average weight evens out between the two types. According to one study "fast-growing transgenic salmon were found to dominate feed acquisition and exhibit strong agonistic and cannibalistic behavior toward their [nontransgenic] cohorts when there were inadequate feed resources." Photo from Science Daily.