NOTES

  1. Some larger molecules can pass from the mother’s bloodstream to an unborn child because they fool the placental barrier into treating them like nutrients. The best known and most tragic of these large molecules is thalidomide, which was a commonly used sedative for pregnant mothers in Europe during the 1960’s... but it was soon discovered that thalidomide prevents the formation of normal limbs in children exposed to it in their first trimester of development; instead, they are born with flipper-like limbs. Not surprisingly, thalidomide lost its popularity when this fact was proven. There is no evidence that the indigo molecule is carried across the placental barrier in this way.
  2. A newer form of this deoxygenated blood is now caused by overdoses of drugs containing sulphur; the condition is called Sulfhemoglobinemia. In these cases, the iron in the normal hemoglobin picks up a sulfide ion instead of oxygen, becoming sulfhemoglobin, and incapable of normal oxygen transfer... stranger still, these new cells are green in color! The June 11, 2007, issue of The Lancet, a premiere medical journal, includes an account of a 42-year-old man from Vancouver who was found to have green blood when it was drawn; he had been overusing a prescription medication called sumatriptan which contained sulphur.
  3. An Afternote: As of October 2009, colloidal silver vendors are now claiming that their product will prevent and/or cure the Swine Flu that has become a public concern, even going so far as to post ads for themselves in the user commentaries of a Newsweek article about the disease, and to post commentaries meant to undercut an article that states colloidal silver is a bad choice for fighting the disease. One site even claims that the FDA approves of the production and sales of colloidal silver!

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