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The British Journal of Ophthalmology has reported that omega-3-fatty acids may slow the progression of early age-related macular degeneration to advanced disease. May is the operative word here, warns ACSH's Dr. Ruth Kava.

Over the past few weeks, the World Health Organization has been claiming repeatedly that the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, will be declared a level six pandemic, the designation of highest possible concern. The virus has infected 26,563 people in seventy-three countries and caused 140 deaths. ACSH staffers believe that the WHO should take action. We see articles like this every other day, and they re always saying they re on the verge of raising H1N1 to level six. So when will they do it and get it over with so they can stop talking about it? asks ACSH s Dr. Elizabeth Whelan.

In a blog entry published on Friday, Anrew Van Dam with the Association of Health Care Journalists finally noticed the media bias against bisphenol-A (BPA) that ACSH staffers almost alone against the crowd have been condemning for some time. In a review of American media coverage of the controversy of bisphenol-A, researchers at STATS (a nonprofit, nonpartisan Statistical Assessment Service affiliated with George Mason University), say the media failed to properly weight different studies based on their size and research methodology.

Ethiopian geneticist Gebisa Ejeta of Purdue University was honored with the 2009 World Food Prize for developing strains of sorghum that are resistant to drought and the parasitic weed Striga. The prize was established in 1986 by agronomist and ACSH founding trustee Dr. Norman Borlaug, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his production of a high-yield variety of wheat, which marked the beginning of the Green Revolution and has saved some 1 billion lives to date.

The CDC recently rejected reports from Brazilian scientists who claimed to have discovered a novel strain of the H1N1 virus. ACSH staffers were skeptical of the report when it was released, and we are pleased to see such an issue addressed objectively without unnecessary media attention.

American women, and their doctors, have been thrown into a state of confusion by the release of a new study of the likely benefits--and possible harms--of screening mammography among 40-49 year olds. A federal panel--the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)--analyzed examined recent studies and came to a very different conclusion than they did seven years ago: mammograms for women under 50 should be deferred, and women over 50 need only get the exam every two years.

November 20th, 2009
EPA, Breast Exams, Cervical Exams
By Curtis Porter

Dr. Ross in the Wall Street Journal

Check It Out ACSH's Jeff Stier is scheduled to be on CNBC this afternoon at 1:48 PM (Eastern) in order to discuss the New York City Department of Health's campaign to reduce the city's salt intake.

Salt Is the New Asbestos? Mr. Bloomberg's war on salt has drawn the ire of many chefs who understand the nutritional and gustatory necessity of salt, so the New York City mayor decided to sidestep reasonable arguments and go straight to comparing salt to asbestos.

Gov. Paterson caved in to New York State healthcare workers’ superstitious fears of the new H1N1 vaccine. With the compliance of the State Health Commissioner Richard Daines, Paterson rescinded the mandatory vaccination program. This weekend, during my afternoon spent volunteering as a physician supervisor at one of the seven free flu vaccine locations sponsored by the New York City Health Department, I watched a similar retreat from sound science.

The Wall Street Journal reports, "A working group made up of officials from several federal regulatory agencies Tuesday proposed restricting marketing of foods and beverages that contain significant amounts of sugar, sodium, and saturated fat, in response to concerns about childhood obesity."
"While these guidelines from this working group are voluntary at this point, it seems to me that the road leads to some official government restriction," says ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross."

The French news agency AFP brings us a story that seems at first like a parody in the style of The Onion but apparently is quite serious: "The current image of Santa Claus promotes obesity, drink-driving, speeding, and an unhealthy lifestyle, says a study from Australia's Monash University published in the British Medical Journal."

This piece first appeared in the Wall Street Journal on January 7, 2010.

This letter -- reacting to a piece by Kyle Smith noting that "fat acceptance" efforts are usually just a short-lived gesture and that that may be just as well -- first appeared on January 14, 2010 in the New York Post:
Smith's extremely well-written commentary, "Fat Chance," is excellent.

An article in TIME reveals that "[o]ne in 110 American children are considered to fall somewhere along the autism spectrum, according to the latest report released by the federal government. ... The estimate also represents a stunning 57% increase in prevalence since 2002, when health officials first began a nationwide effort to quantify the risk of autism in childhood."
"The question is: is there really an increase or is this a matter of expanding the definition for purposes of enhanced and more accurate detection?" asks ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan.

At least 152 people in New York have been diagnosed with mumps since a boy who unknowingly carried the illness over from England exposed a Jewish summer camp in Sullivan County.
"The majority of those affected were vaccinated against mumps," says ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. "The protection rate with the mumps vaccine is somewhere in the 75% to 95% range."

Senator Diane Feinstein of California has called on Congress to ban bisphenol-A (BPA) from all food and beverage containers.
"Thanks to BPA, botulism from industrially canned food products has disappeared over the past thirty years," says Dr. Whelan. "This is a perfect example of a case of banning a substance with no regard for the benefits it provides."

An increase in the prevalence of cavities in children has prompted dental experts to seek out new ways to fight tooth decay.
"We encourage the development of new technology to address these problems," says ACSH's Jeff Stier. "However, it's also important that we continue to use old technologies that are proven to work, such as water fluoridation."

In a welcome change of direction, the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has shifted their focus to consumer products safety. They dispelled rumors that the popular Zhu Zhu pets are hazardous after yesterday's antimony scare, and released an advisory warning of fires, falling toy-stuffed stockings attached to mantle pieces with heavy metal or brass stocking holders, and other actual dangers commonly posed by holiday decorations.

Billy Joel's daughter Alexa Ray is fine after an unsuccessful suicide attempt.
"While there's nothing funny about a suicide attempt," says ACSH's Jeff Stier, "there is a bit of a sad irony here. She attempted to 'overdose' on the homeopathic sleep aid Traumeel. She tried to kill herself using a homeopathic drug, so it didn't do anything. It couldn't have done anything to her at any dose, because there is no active medicine in there." You never know what's in a so-called homeopathic remedy, though, so ACSH wouldn't recommend experiments and stunts using one.

Lincoln University in Pennsylvania is requiring that clinically obese students take a "Fitness for Life" course that provides information on exercise, nutrition, and other lifestyle topics. The Associated Press quotes an article in the student newspaper by Tiana Lawson, a twenty-one year-old senior, who wrote that she "didn't come to Lincoln to be told that my weight is not in an acceptable range. I came here to get an education."

ACSH's friend and co-author of our 2006 report on tobacco harm reduction Bill Godshall passed along a study published in the Annals of Oncology about cancer rates in Europe.

DEHP, a phthalate used to make vinyl plastics soft and flexible, is the target of a study published in Pediatrics, which purports to find a relationship between exposure to the chemical and marginally early delivery dates for pregnant women.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports: "Despite months of additional study and a self-imposed timetable, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration likely will not release its ruling Monday on the safety of bisphenol-A."