New Weapons Research Committee

Structural birth defects in the Gaza Strip, occupied Palestinian territory: a cohort study

A medical team interviewed pregnant women giving birth at the Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza Strip, using a questionnaire that included questions from the International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects. The defects were then classified according to Eurocat-International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision.

Six years and too many wars

There is no much to celebrate since war continues, migrates and worsens. Thus, the life of the people becames more precarious and their future well being is prejudiced. Newweapons was born with the war to Lebanon and comes of school age in these days. We publish these 2 files to inform, illustrate in a rapid fashion our doings as working group in these years.

New study finds strong correlation between birth defects and white phosphorus exposure of parents

According to a new scientific study there is "a strong correlation of birth defects newborns and parent's exposure to attacks with white phosphorus": at the registation at birth 27% of parents with birth defect children declared exposure to white phosphorus while only 1.7% of parents with normal children made the same declaration.

Prevalence of children with major structural birth defects in pediatric hospitals of Gaza Strip

The present study aimed to collect and evaluate the available recorded information about the occurrence of major structural birth defects (BD) in the Gaza Strip in patients between 0 and 2 years of age referred to 5 major pediatric hospitals of Gaza strip ( Nassr, Rantissi, Dorra, EGH, and Emarati) and the major pediatric surgeries (Al Shifa and EGH) registered during the first semester of 2010.

Increase of birth defects and miscarriages in Fallujah

Newweapons Press release

Increase in time of birth defects and miscarriages in Fallujah since 2003 and its association with toxic metals load in the population and in newborns and children with birth defects and their families

We present here a full scientific investigation on the birth defects increase in Falluhja. Unusually high frequency of birth defects and miscarriages was observed over the years following 2003, with gradual increase since then and with birth defects frequencies not decreasing up to November 2010.

Four Polygamous Families with Congenital Birth Defects from Fallujah, Iraq

Study to be published soon on International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

 

Abstract:

Call for data collecting on reproductive health: Newweapons publishes a specific protocol

War has long term effects on reproductive health, but large amounts of data to  are needed to examine the problem. Nwrc has released a protocol to collect data, that every scientific body can use.

In order to help those involved in collection of data in Gaza, Nwrc ha released also a modified version of the protocol.

 

We publish here the text of the call:

Weapons without fragments, long-term risks

The amount and identity of metals incorporated into “weapons without fragments” remain undisclosed to health personnel. This poses a long-term risk of assumption and contributes to additional hazards for victims because of increased difficulties with clinical management. We assessed if there was evidence that metals are embedded in “wounds without fragments” of victims of the Israeli military operations in Gaza in 2006 and 2009.

New weapons experimented in Gaza: population risks genetic mutations

PRESS RELEASE - 2010 may 11th

Toxic and carcinogenic metals, able to produce genetic mutations, have been found in the tissues of people wounded in Gaza during Israeli military operations of 2006 and 2009. The research has been carried out on wounds provoked by weapons that did not leave fragments in the bodies of the victims, a peculiarity that was pointed out repeatedly by doctors in Gaza. This shows that experimental weapons, whose effects are still to be assessed, were used.

The researchers compared the quantity of 32 elements present in the tissues through ICP/MS (a type of highly sensitive mass spectrometry) . The job, carried out by laboratories of Sapienza University of Rome (Italy), Chalmer University (Sweden) and Beirut University (Lebanon), was coordinated by the New Weapons Research Group (Nwrg), an independent committee of scientists and experts based in Italy, who is studying the use of unconventional weapons and their mid-term effects on the population of after-war areas. The relevant presence of toxic and carcinogenic metals found in the wound tissues points to direct risks for survivors, but also to the possibility of environmental contamination.


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