'The world is too messy for bureaucratic hurdles': Canada still bars Afghanistan aid
Ottawa has plans to finally stop blocking Canadian development aid to Afghanistan this year.
Man-made chemicals found in industrial products, commonly referred to as “forever chemicals,” have been linked to the most common type of liver cancer, a new study has found.
Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are called “forever chemicals” because they last so long in the environment and are hard to break down. They pollute the atmosphere and can affect organ tissues in exposed animals and humans.
Researchers at the University of Southern California gathered data from human blood and tissue samples of more than 200,000 residents in Los Angeles and Hawaii to study the development of cancer or other diseases. Through their data they found 50 people who eventually developed liver cancer and compared their samples before diagnosis to 50 other participants who did not develop the disease.
Blood samples taken from the cancer patients prior to their diagnoses contained several types of PFAS, specifically, perfluorooctane sulfate (PFOS) a class of PFAS. The study found that patients in the top 10 per cent of PFOS exposure were more likely to develop non-viral hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of liver cancer, in comparison to those with lower percentage levels of the chemicals in their blood samples.
The study concludes that PFOS can disrupt the metabolic process in the liver which affects the process of glucose metabolism, bile acid metabolism and branched chain amino acids. Abnormal metabolic processes in the liver can lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the study says, which has become concerning as cases of NAFLD have increased across the world in recent years.
While past studies have indicated how harmful these chemicals can be to animals, researchers of this study say the new evidence from human samples is a step forward to understanding the graver consequences of exposure to PFAS.
“We believe our work is providing important insights into the long-term health effects that these chemicals have on human health, especially with respect to how they can damage normal liver function,” lead researcher Leda Chatzi said in a news release.
Ottawa has plans to finally stop blocking Canadian development aid to Afghanistan this year.
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war at at universities across U.S., some of whom have clashed with police in riot gear, dug in Saturday and vowed to keep their demonstrations going, while several school faculties condemned university presidents who have called in law enforcement to remove protesters.
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'oesn't get' the global phenomenom.
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”