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Researchers from the University of Cologne have found a new use for cnicin, a substance produced in blessed thistle. Blessed thistle (Cnicus benedictus) is a plant in the family Asteraceae and also grows in our climate. For centuries, it has been used as a medicinal herb as an extract or tea, e.g. to aid the digestive system. Researchers at the Center for Pharmacology of University Hospital Cologne and at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Cologne have now found a completely novel use for cnicin under the direction of Dr. Philipp Gobrecht and Professor Dr. Dietmar Fischer. Animal...

Move over, Trust Fund Ted Hall, with your "Help us now!" meltdown. Make room, OccuPoet Misty Rowan, you and your "The Huff and Puff of My Frustration." Say hello to Thistle Pettersen and her "It’s very frustrating to be an anarchist in America" rant! Who is this "Thistle," you ask? A little digging--her blog is thistlespace.org--reveals that she is Kristine "Thistle" Pettersen, "bike activist and folk singer," and someone who likes to go to protests. She's part of a group called "Cycles of Uprising": "Cycles of Uprising is an interactive, bicycle village, folk music show, circus, dance party and...

Wisconsin anarchist Thistle Pettersen speaks to the MacIver News Service on June 6, 2012, the day after Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker thwarted attempts to recall him. The interview gives you an uncut (edited for profanity only) look into the perspective of one well known Wisconsin protester. (Video Only)

Silibinin, a drug derived from milk thistle, destroys lung cancer in mice, investigators at the University of Colorado, Denver report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Lead investigator Dr. Rana P. Singh told Reuters Health, "We have been studying milk thistle components, silymarin and silibinin, to examine their efficacy and mechanisms against different...cancers for over a decade." In the current study, Singh's team injected mice with a chemical called urethane to induce lung cancer. The animals then received diets containing different doses of silibinin. "We obtained pure silibinin from Sigma Chemical Co., and silibinin diets were commercially prepared...