Aim for the Top!

Something any hardcore old-school anime fan should appreciate. The (English Subtibled) DVC release of Gunbuster is finally coming out this month -- the official release date is the 20th. Cleaned up and remastered. I've seen bits of the Japanese release, it's impressive.

This was one the first anime programs I found way back when I was discovering non-Americanized Japanese animation for the first time; and is still right up there at the top of my list of favorites. Despite a few flaws, it's still one of the best shows ever made. It almost single-handedly created studio Gainax's reputation, and was the first anime to showcase the "Gainax Bounce" (bouncing-breasts effect) that was soon picked up by nearly everyone else in the industry.

I got my copy pre-ordered from Amazon already!

New Cure for Cancer Suppressed by Pharmaceutical Corps

Except, you know, not. I know a number of people on my friends list beleive this is a miracle drug and that it's yet another example of the Evils of the Drug Companies; but that's mainly because they really don't know anything about the drug itself.

A couple of more cluesticks on dichloroacetate (DCA) and cancer

Just to recap a few important points:

1) There is currently no solid evidence that DCA will kill human cancers. All of the tests so far have been in vitro with a few in animals. There have been many many "promising" cancer treatments that looked good in the test tube and in animals, but which proved to be useless in humans.

2) DCA actually causes cancer. Specifically, it's known to cause liver cancer in mice and rats. That doesn't necessarily translate to human cancers, but it's definitely not a good effect to have on a potential cancer treatment.

3) It isn't a "cancer" cure. At best, it could be a treatment for certain types of cancers. "Cancer" isn't a single disease, but a very large class of diseases. Not all cancers are the same in how they develop and grow, and what triggers them; there is a lot of variety. Best estimates are that, if it does actually do what it appears to do, it may be an effective treatment for up to sixty percent of known cancers. A bit more than half is very good, but it's a long way from a miracle cure for all cancer.

4) Big Pharma is not suppressing it. There is research money out there, and research is being done, funded by the NIH and university grants. But it takes time, it doesn't happen overnight. And as for the "it'll never be produced because it can't be patented and make big money". Actually, it can be patented under "novel use/fomulation" guidelines. And it's already being produced, since it's a treatment for an unrelated condition. And it can be produced by smaller non-research-oriented manufacturers, just like a huge number of other drugs are.

5) This wasn't covered in the articles, but DCA has been used to treat congenital lactic acidosis; and is known, in large doses, to have neuropathological effects on the peripheral nervous system, with the potential to create leprosy-like symptoms. It's also known to cause severe pain with extended use (like many other current cancer treatments).

There simply aren't any miracle cancer cures, and not likely to ever be any; despite what the conspiracy theorists and quack-medicine peddlers claim. There are a number of very promising treatments, but their uses will be limited to only certain types of cancers, and may have other, undesirable effects.