BYO Death Ray: Smoking bushfires are bad for your health

Bushfire smoke covers Melbourne.

Victoria has been hit by large bushfires, resulting in dangerous smog over Melbourne. Dylan is here to explain.

The recent mix of wind and heat over Victoria led to an emergency situation, with bushfires burning around the state. The after-effects of bushfires include smog or haze. This smog/haze has been blown over Melbourne and with many fires still burning, the smog is likely to continue. Haze is defined as “an atmospheric phenomenon where dust, smoke and other dry particles obscure the clarity of the sky”.

The smoke presents a serious health risk, and health authorities and organisations continue to urge residents to be vigilant and take action to protect their health and the health of others. EPA Victoria issued an alert to residents about this issue. Their advice is as follows:

• People with respiratory or cardiac disorders should take their medication and minimise strenuous outdoor activity on smog alert days.
• Avoid driving where possible. Consider public transport, cycling or walking.
• Do not burn off outdoors or light incinerators (most local councils have restrictions on burning off).

Victorian Chief Health Officer Dr Rosemary Lester released a statement saying that children and the elderly should decrease outdoor activity when smoke levels are high to prevent medical issues. “Where possible, this sector of the community should also limit the time spent outdoors,” Dr Lester said. “Anyone with a heart or lung condition should take their medication as prescribed by their doctor... People with asthma should [also] follow their asthma management plan.”

Hazey links

• In Victoria, www.emergency.vic.gov.au has up-to-date information on bushfires and other emergency situations.
• The Country Fire Authority (CFA) has an awesome website for kids, where you can explore a bushfire, play games and more.

RETRACTED: When science rights a wrong

A widely criticised 2012 paper claiming that genetically modified (GM) corn causes cancer has been retracted.

A scientist's worst nightmare

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms that have had their DNA changed in the laboratory, usually by adding some DNA from a different organism. The idea is to give the organism a special ability such as protection from insects, faster growth or healthier food, or to create some kind of half human, half animal monstrosity.

The retracted paper was published in the September 2012 edition of the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology and was written by a French professor named Gilles-Éric Séralini and his colleagues.

Dr Séralini studied NK103 corn (also called maize), which has been modified to protect it from a common herbicide (or weed killer) called glyphosate. Farmers growing this corn can spray their fields with glyphosate and all of the weeds will be killed, but the corn will survive.

Measles Alert! Measles Alert!

Lock your doors! Bar your windows! A measles epidemic is sweeping across Australia!

10 people in Victoria and four in Queensland have caught the potentially fatal disease in the last month.

OK, so maybe 'epidemic' is a bit of a strong word to use. 14 sick people is not quite the zombie apocalypse but it's 14 people too many. Why? Because measles is nasty and it must be destroyed.