John Elder

Australia

Science Editor, The New Daily. Writing book about birds and the meaning of the meaning of life. Keen to hear from people with bird stories from childhood 🦉

Articles

COLUMN: Robbinsdale police captain on ICE, local law enforcement

4 weeks ago | hometownsource.com | John Elder

As a police captain for the Robbinsdale Police Department, one of the biggest questions I am getting is how are local law enforcement agencies dealing with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE)? The fact of the matter is that we really don’t. ICE is a federal entity, and we are municipal. We deal with Minnesota state statutes and city ordinances, none of which address immigration. That is a federal code. kAm{@?8 8@?6 2C6 E96 52JD H96?
COLUMN: February 14 marks a sad anniversary

2 months ago | hometownsource.com | John Elder

The work shift on Tuesday, February 13, 1985, started as usual for John Thomas Scanlon as he began his patrol shift for the Robbinsdale Police Department. He and his partner, Lowell Hughes, were charged with keeping the city safe. At 2:30 a.m., a call came in of a possible burglary of business located on the second floor of the Mark 2 office building at 3735 Lakeland Ave. N. Both officers arrived and made contact with the reporting party, a man working in a different office in the building.
How raw milk is gaining traction, despite the risks

Nov 24, 2024 | thenewdaily.com.au | John Elder

Robert F. Kennedy jr – the incoming boss of the US Department of Health and Human Services – is a fan of raw milk, believing that it “advances human health”. Raw milk is milk from cows, horses, camels, sheep or goats that has not been pasteurised to kill dangerous bacteria, including Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, and Staphylococcus aureus. US health agencies have pushed back against Kennedy’s raw milk evangelism.
Your fat cells have 'memories' of your obesity

Nov 23, 2024 | thenewdaily.com.au | John Elder

When does the notorious yo-yo dynamic for weight loss and gain actually begin? Yo-yoing is the maddening turnabout where you lose a chunk of weight … only for the weight to creep back on in short order. A new study suggests the seeds of the yo-yo effect are planted when you first suffer obesity. Researchers from ETH Zurich made this discovery when they went looking for the molecular causes of the yo-yo effect in mice.
A nasal spray for Alzheimer's? A new idea, very early days

Nov 22, 2024 | thenewdaily.com.au | John Elder

Researchers say they have developed a promising nasal spray therapy that could potentially delay the progression of Alzheimer’s disease by more than a decade. Early-stage Alzheimer’s animal models by Texas A&M university showed the treatment reduced inflammation and protein build-up in the brain. Does this idea have a future? It’s worth exploring, especially given the slow and expensive process of developing wonder drugs – monoclonal antibodies– that haven’t proved as wonderful as initially hoped.
Phenergan should not be given to children under 6

Nov 21, 2024 | thenewdaily.com.au | John Elder

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has ruled that the popular allergy medicine Phenergan should not be given to children under six years of age. Following an investigation, the TGA said it was updating its advice on the drug “to include the risks of psychiatric and central nervous system side-effects in children under six, including hyperactivity, aggression and hallucination”.
Florence Pugh and her problems with fertility explained

Nov 20, 2024 | thenewdaily.com.au | John Elder

Oppenheimer actor Florence Pugh, at the age of 27, has decided to freeze her eggs. This came after Pugh received a surprise and “bizarre” diagnosis with two conditions that are leading causes of infertility. Pugh had met Dr Thaïs Aliabadi, known also as “Dr A”, who describes herself as the official gynaecological surgeon to celebrities and royal families. Aliabadi also runs a podcast, SHE MD.
Buy an extra five years of life with your feet by walking

Nov 17, 2024 | thenewdaily.com.au | John Elder

If you’re over 40, and spend more time on the couch than not, have you ever wondered what difference it would make to your life if you went for a walk? Australian researchers have asked and answered this question with encouraging results. In a predictive modelling study, they have estimated “the impact of different levels of increased physical activity on life expectancy”. On average, the researchers found, taking a single one-hour walk could add an extra three hours to your life.
Drivers over 50 forced to take refresher driving lessons? Really?

Nov 16, 2024 | thenewdaily.com.au | John Elder

In the past couple of days, you might have read that Australians aged 50 and over could soon be subjected to mandatory driving lessons. According to news.com.au, the recommendation for mandated lessons “has surfaced in a new study which is set to spark major debate”. The news has spread across the world, and was also reported in the New York Post. There’s a problem here. The authors are not recommending mandatory lessons for middle-aged drivers, or anybody.
Are Millennials our sickest generation? The evidence is mystifying

Nov 15, 2024 | thenewdaily.com.au | John Elder

In August, the American Cancer Society published shock findings of a major study: millennials and the tail-end of Generation X were at more risk of developing 17 types of cancer than older generations. Overall, those born in the 1980s and 1990s are increasingly likely to develop cancer in their 30s and 40s compared to Baby Boomers and earlier generations.