James S. Turner
Stevia.netSat, 12 Apr 2008 10:41 UTC
Many health-conscious people believe that avoiding aspartame, found in over 5000 products under brand names such as Equal and NutraSweet, can improve their quality of life. The history of this synthetic sweetener's approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including a long record of consumer complaints and the agency's demonstrated insensitivity to public concern, suggests they're right.
A man who used to be a woman is five months pregnant, according to an article he has written for a national magazine that features a picture of him at 22 weeks, with facial hair and a man's flat chest above a swollen belly.
The case of Thomas Beatie, who was born a woman and describes himself as a "transgender male", has triggered discussion among ethicists and family groups with one expert describing the development as "playing with fire".
WASHINGTON - The only U.S. facility allowed to research the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease experienced several accidents with the feared virus, the Bush administration acknowledged Friday.
A 1978 release of the virus into cattle holding pens on Plum Island, N.Y., triggered new safety procedures. While that incident was previously known, the Homeland Security Department told a House committee there were other accidents inside the government's laboratory.
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is likely to move its research on one of the most contagious animal diseases from an isolated island laboratory to the U.S. mainland near herds of livestock, raising concerns about a catastrophic outbreak.
Charles Shaw
AlterNetFri, 11 Apr 2008 19:10 UTC
The pattern of out-of-control consumption in the U.S. is not too different from the well-known behavioral patterns of substance abusers.
"An addict is someone who uses their body to tell society that something is wrong." --Stella Adler (1901-1992)
In last year's powerful independent documentary, What A Way To Go: Life at the End of Empire, producer Sally Erickson pulled from her 20 years working as a therapist in private practice to attempt to explain why so many people, perhaps even you, are so unhappy.
Vietnam is bracing to cope with an outbreak of cholera, which has expanded to eight provinces in the north and infected nearly 60 people since the beginning of this year, a health official said Wednesday. The Ministry of Health on Tuesday sent an urgent message to provinces nationwide, requiring them to take the necessary measures to contain the outbreak, according to the director of the Health Ministry's Preventive Medicine Department, Nguyen Huy Nga.
Even after the age of 70, people prone to feelings of anxiety, worry, distress and insecurity face a risk for a first lifetime episode of clinically significant depression, according to a unique study led by a University of Rochester Medical Center researcher.
"We assume that because depression has not developed for people with these personality traits by the age of 70 that it won't develop," said Paul R. Duberstein, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry who led the study. "But even in older adulthood, these traits confer risk. Presumably something about aging helps take down the façade or destroys the protective sheath that has kept them from significant depression."
The findings from the prospective study, the first of its kind, are published in the May issue of the journal Psychological Medicine.
Having a working-class background also may place older adults at heightened risk for depression, particularly prior to the age of 80, the study found. Consistent with previous research, women were found to be at greater risk than men. The study enhances the understanding of late-life depression and could aid in the identification and treatment of people at risk.
Lauren Cox
ABC NewsThu, 10 Apr 2008 13:01 UTC
Orthopaedic Surgeons Explain How Some Common Body Features Cause Pain
People may not always talk about it, but many in America feel hurt over their body type and physical features.
There's the obvious emotional angst of those whose figures don't compete with those of swimsuit models or Hollywood starlets. But then, there's the actual physical pain.
At least 15 percent of the population has complained of musculoskeletal pain in the last year: more than people with allergies and headaches combined, according to The Burden of Musculoskeletal Disease in the United States, a publication from the United States Bone and Joint Decade.
Some of this pain comes from injury, but some also occurs as a result of a person's specific body type. If you ask orthopaedists, it turns out that, what we might think makes us beautiful, doesn't help us feel pain-free.
The American Cancer Society recently came out with a
new batch of statistics on cancer prevalence and death rates. While the news might appear positive overall and reflect advances in cancer treatments and screening technology, the United States continues to deliver the best care to wealthier, white citizens.
Nina Muslim
GulfnewsFri, 11 Apr 2008 04:59 UTC
Dubai: The public do not have the basic knowhow that can save their lives in a disaster. In a recent study it was found most 16-year-olds in Bahrain and Scotland did not know that simply by boiling water it would be made safe to drink.