Thursday, August 31, 2006

Childhood obesity linked to below normal I.Q.

Children who are very obese by age four have a higher likelihood of having lower I.Q. scores, a new study shows.

Daniel J. Driscoll, M.D., Ph.D, says the study indicates "a sense of urgency to really address the obesity problem — the younger the better.

"It’s right to worry about heart disease in 20-30 years, or hypertension in 20 years, and diabetes in 10 years," Driscoll says. "But there could be consequences now."

Driscoll’s team studied 18 people who had been morbidly obese (more than 150% of the ideal weight for their height) by age four.

"We’re not talking about a little baby fat," Driscoll says. "We’re talking about a very select group."

Those who were obese at age four had an average IQ of 77, which classifies them by the "archaic" method as "moron." Tests of their siblings who were not obese at age four showed an average IQ of 106. A score of 100 is average.

Read more about the study.

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South metro Atlanta poisoned by toxic chemical

South metro Atlanta stinks. The birds and wild animals have fled, and pets are getting sick and refusing to go outside.

That's the story told by The Citizen of Fayette County, Georgia.

Though Phillips Service Corp. and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division deny it, over 600 residents claim that since Memorial Day a sickening, onion-like small has surrounded the Phillips factory. Residents and those traveling through north Fayette and south Fulton still report the smell, which is believed by many to be the chemical odorant and restricted use pesticide MOCAP. The stink is apparent in a 40 square mile zone around the plant.

MOCAP is extremely toxic to birds and aquatic life, and is a strong dermal irritant. Lifestock and humans should not come into physical contact with the substance.

Pets and humans are experiencing vomiting, diarrhea, skin irritation and problems breathing. Many small pets have died. Reports of usually healthy commercial beehives say entire colonies of bees have died or fled.

This story is getting little local and no national exposure. Why not?

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Wednesday, August 23, 2006

One day's headlines tell us how toxic, dangerous, and deadly our world is

A quick look at today's headlines reminds us how toxic and deadly our world really is:
  • Human body parts used for transplants are being recalled after the FDA shut down a "body harvester" who couldn't be bothered to work in a sterile environment while carving up corpses. Body parts from people who died of cancer are showing up as transplant organs, too.
  • Recently withdrawn from the worldwide market, Bausch & Lomb's contact lens solution increased the risk 20-fold of developing the Fusarium keratitis, a serious bacterial infection that can in certain cases lead to permanent vision loss.
  • Nearly a quarter of all American women have genital herpes, as do 11 percent of American men
  • West Nile virus is back with a vengeance this year, especially in Texas, where the cure — massive spraying of toxic chemicals — may be worse than the disease.
  • Canada today confirmed its fifth case of Mad Cow Disease this year. Of course, the cow's carcass didn't make it into the food chain. Of course not.
  • One and a half million people in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province have the parasite-caused disease clonorchiasis. Also, last week, 70 people in Beijing became sick after eating contaminated snails.
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Overweight Baby Boomers may die prematurely

A new study contradicts a previous one that said that being "a little bit" overweight might be a good thing. A study of a half million AARP members (age 50+) conducted by the National Cancer Institute indicates that "those who were somewhat overweight had a mild, 20 percent to 40 percent increased risk of dying prematurely compared with people of normal weight."

This contradicts a recent study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control which said that showed that while being grossly overweight can be deadly, being moderately overweight was no indicator of premature death.

The new study was based on a larger population, and corrected sampling errors critics of the CDC study said were inherent in the government study. The CDC refuses to comment on non-CDC studies.

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Saturday, August 19, 2006

Tasty! FDA approves virus as food additive

Your bologna has a second name, spelled V-I-R-U-S.

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved as a safe food additive the spraying of bacteria-kililng viruses on cold cuts, hot dogs and sausages to combat common microbes that kill hundreds of people a year, CNN reported.

Manufactured by Intralytix, Inc., the combination of six viruses is designed to be sprayed on ready-to-eat meat and poultry products, including sliced ham and turkey, said John Vazzana, president and chief executive officer.

The FDA says the special viruses, called bacteriophages, are meant to kill strains of the Listeria monocytogenes bacterium.

The company also plans to seek FDA approval for another bacteriophage product to kill E. coli bacteria on beef before it is ground, Vazzana said.

Read more about bacteriophages at Wikipedia.


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Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Cancer-causing water; Morning-after pill to go OTC; Anti-obesity vaccine on the way

One of the most common industrial pollutants in drinking water has been declared a carcinogen. TCE is found in about 60% of the Superfund sites still needing cleanup in the United States.

In a surprise move, the FDA is considering allowing the "morning after" birth control pill to be sold over-the-counter. Religious "pro-lifers" are already complaining.

Can't lose weight 'cause you can't push away from the table? Fear not... there's a vaccine coming just for you.

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