LS,
RN12 - June 2007
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Risk Of Parkinson's Disease Increases With Pesticide Exposure And
Head Trauma
The European Commission funded study is one of the largest
case-control studies to date of genetic, environmental and occupational
risk factors for Parkinson's disease or other degenerative parkinsonian
syndromes. It involved 959 prevalent cases of parkinsonism (767 with
Parkinson's disease) and 1989 controls recruited in Scotland, Italy,
Sweden, Romania and Malta.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070529201027.htm
Increase In Cancer In Sweden Can Be Traced To Chernobyl
In two studies using different methods, Martin Tondel has shown a
small but statistically significant increase in the incidence of cancer
in northern Sweden, where the fallout of radioactive cesium 137 was at
its most intense.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070530080956.htm
Scottish Archaeological Sites Threatened
Experts say major archaeological sites on the Scottish coast are in
danger of being washed away as sea levels rise. The sites most at risk
include Iron Age and Viking settlements in the Shetland and Orkney
islands and the Hebrides.
http://www.postchronicle.com/news/science/article_21283583.shtml
http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=840532007
Increased Coffee Consumption Linked To Decreased Risk Of Gout In Men
Over Age 40
The risk of gout was 40 percent lower for men who drank 4 to 5 cups
a day and 59 percent lower for men who drank 6 or more cups a day than
for men who never drank coffee. There was also a modest inverse
association with decaffeinated coffee consumption.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=72324
Drinking coffee ‘can be good for you’
Drinking coffee can help ward off type 2 diabetes and may even help
prevent certain cancers. However, there is also evidence that coffee
may increase the risk of leukemia and stomach cancer, with the case for
leukemia being strongest.
http://www.health.am/ab/more/drinking-coffee-can-be-good-for-you/
First confirmed common genetic risk factors for breast cancer
The most powerful genetic analysis of the DNA codes of over 40,000
women -- including those with breast cancer as well as those without
the disease – has uncovered five common genetic variants that increase
an individual’s risk for breast cancer.
http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2007/05/29/first_confirmed_common_genetic_risk_factors_for_breast_cancer.html
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyid=2007-05-28T142700Z_01_N27224197_RTRUKOC_0_US-CANCER-BREAST-GENES.xml
http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=829092007
Public needs more data on food safety
Restaurants and food service establishments are a significant
source of the food-borne illness that strikes up to 30 per cent of
citizens in so-called developed countries each and every year. The
results of restaurant and other food service inspections must be made
public.
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/foodsafety/news/fsnews.cfm?newsid=19142
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=71898
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/foodsafety/news/fsnews.cfm?newsid=18837
Marine life at risk as traditions decline
Weather disasters, economic pressures and other problems have
disrupted the lives of Pacific Islanders to the point that they too are
now mismanaging their natural resources. Low human population densities
in these areas primarily kept marine resources in check in the past.
But population and export market growth have contributed to the current
imbalance.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/2007/1935040.htm
High salt diet linked to increased risk of ulcer and gastric cancer
High salt can activate two genes in Helicobacter pylori, a
bacterium responsible of 90 percent of duodenal ulcers and 80 percent
of gastric cancer, increasing the virulence of the bacterium and the
odds of developing gastric disease.
http://foodconsumer.org/7777/8888/C_ancer_31/052602452007_High_salt_diet_linked_to_increased_risk_of_ulcer_and_gastric_cancer.shtml
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-05/asfm-siu051707.php
Smoking During Pregnancy Can Increase Risk Of ADHD In Child
In utero exposure to smoking is associated with attention
deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) problems in genetically
susceptible children.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070523103740.htm
Fetuses, babies said at high risk from pollutants
Fetuses and babies are more vulnerable than previously thought to
chemical pollutants that can cause disease or disability, even in tiny
doses that do not harm adults.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyid=2007-05-24T135558Z_01_L24166523_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENVIRONMENT.xml
Using drugs as weapons 'unsafe'
UK doctors fear public safety could be compromised by the growing
interest of world governments in using drugs for law enforcement. A
report by the British Medical Association points to the example of the
Moscow theatre siege of October 2002 where over 120 hostages died. The
Russian authorities had used a drug delivered through the
air-conditioning system to end the siege.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6687279.stm
Genetic Modification laws too risky
NEW EMERGENCY powers that allow Australian authorities to
fast-track the release of genetically modified organisms could pose
unacceptable risks, say critics.
http://bathurst.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=lifestyle%20news&subclass=habitat&story_id=588068&category=environment
One In Six European Mammals Threatened With Extinction
The first assessment of all European mammals, commissioned by the
European Commission and carried out by the World Conservation Union
(IUCN), shows that nearly one in every six mammal species is now
threatened with extinction. The population trends are equally alarming:
a quarter (27%) of all mammals has declining populations and a further
33% had an unknown population trend. Only 8% were identified as
increasing, including the European bison, thanks to successful
conservation measures.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070522175213.htm
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/942841/european_mammals_threatened_group_says/index.html
Passengers, not just mobile phones, contribute to road accidents
Carrying passengers in the car has a number of potentially
distracting effects that also occur with mobile phone use while
driving. Moreover, carrying passengers may have additional effects on
the driver, including peer influence. Drivers with passengers were
almost 60% more likely to have a motor vehicle crash resulting in
hospital attendance, irrespective of their age group. The likelihood of
a crash was more than doubled in the presence of two or more passengers.
http://www.health.am/ab/more/passengers-contribute-to-road-accidents/
House Dust May Protect Against Allergic Disease Early In Life
Endotoxin, a toxic substance made by certain types of bacteria, may
reduce the risk of developing the allergic skin condition eczema or
wheezing in children if they are exposed to it up to age 3, suggests a
new study.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070520183538.htm
Eating Apples And Fish During Pregnancy May Protect Against
Childhood Asthma And Allergies
Children of mothers who ate the most apples were less likely to
ever have wheezed or have doctor-confirmed asthma at the age of 5
years, compared to children of mothers who had the lowest apple
consumption. Children of mothers who ate fish once or more a week were
less likely to have had eczema than children of mothers who never ate
fish.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070520183550.htm
Drinking Farm Milk Reduces Childhood Asthma And Allergies
But consuming farm milk that hasn't been boiled poses serious
health risks and further research is needed to develop a safe product
that still provides good protection against these common childhood
diseases.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070510093349.htm
Drugs have risks, but so does life
Is it riskier to take a daily aspirin, drive a car or fight fires?
Turns out they all carry about the same risk -- between 10.4 and 11
fatalities per 100,000 person-years.
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/05/28/hlsa0528.htm
http://health.yahoo.com/news/174913
DNA Analysis Suggests Under-reported Kills Of Threatened Whales
A new study analyzing whale meat sold in Korean markets suggests
the number of whales being sold for human consumption in the Asian
country is much higher than that being reported to the International
Whaling Commission -- putting threatened populations of coastal minke
whales further at risk.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070517092309.htm
Aquarium fish 'threaten biodiversity'
The millions of exotic fish imported each year to fill Australia's
aquaria and ornamental ponds are a ticking time bomb for the
continent's biodiversity, say some experts. There is no doubt that
aquarium fish that are being imported carry pathogens that have the
potential to cause severe ecological impacts.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/2007/1925566.htm
Industry must prove GM safety
The biotech industry has spent millions lobbying governments to
fight the introduction of food-labelling laws. Biotech companies refuse
to subject GM products to independent, long-term health and
environmental impact studies. Instead, they rely on industry-funded
research to "prove" they are safe.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/letters/industry-must-prove-safety/2007/05/17/1178995319797.html
Risks of rapid GM approvals
New emergency powers that allow Australian authorities to fast
track the release of genetically modified (GM) organisms, could pose
unacceptable risks, say critics.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/2007/1914761.htm?health
Biodiversity loss linked to economic inequality worldwide
An interdisciplinary team of McGill researchers has uncovered a
connection between growing economic inequality and an increase in the
number of plant and animal species that are threatened with extinction:
societies with more unequal distributions of income experience greater
losses of biodiversity.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-05/plos-bll051007.php
No danger from young cows infected with BSE
Japanese experts have concluded that their tests failed to
demonstrate that young cows infected with bovine spongiform
encephalopathy posed any danger to humans.
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/foodsafety/news/fsnews.cfm?newsid=18761
compiled by PBP
risk (-at-) sciencemedia.eu