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Medical copays reduce health care access in MS prisons; Israel planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah according to official sources; Serving looks with books: Libraries fight 'fast fashion' by lending clothes; Menhaden decline threatens Virginia's ecosystem, fisheries.

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JD Vance calls for toning down political rhetoric, while calls for his resignation grow because of his own comments. The Secret Service again faces intense criticism, and a right to IVF is again voted down in the US Senate.

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A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

CA Cancer Survivor Pushes Congress to Save Nature’s Medicine

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Thursday, April 22, 2010   

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - On this Earth Day, a California woman is thanking "nature's pharmacy" for helping her survive breast cancer. Jeanette Vagnozzi credits a medicine derived from the Pacific yew tree for her recovery. She's part of a group of chronic disease survivors in Washington D.C. this week to push Congress to protect threatened ecosystems where plants and animals that produce life-saving drugs can be found.

"Without these drugs, chances are I may not be here today. And it's very important to me that we preserve the places in this world where the next cure is coming from."

Jeff Wise, director of global conservation for the Pew Charitable Trusts, says drugs in the future will depend on what we find from nature.

"Only something like one-percent of all species has ever been cataloged and studied. So, when you think, we just don't know what's out there."

Half of the pharmaceutical drugs prescribed over the last 25 years reportedly were developed from plants and animals in threatened natural habitats. Scientists say the current rate of destruction for the world's rainforests and coral reefs will result in the loss of one major new drug every two years.

Congress is considering a bill that would establish a global effort to aid developing countries in protecting their environment.




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