Syngenta, maker of the herbicide atrazine, just announced a settlement with litigants in a case based on allegations that the widely used chemical caused water contamination despite the fact that it s beensafely used by farmers for over fifty years.
Some may wonder, if atrazine is so safe and important to American agriculture, why did Syngenta decide to pay off the plaintiffs?
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Postmenopausal women have long been told that in order to prevent fractures and protect against osteoporosis, they should include plenty of calcium in their diets. Because women often find it difficult to obtain all of the recommended calcium from their food intake alone, however, many rely on supplements to make up the difference. However, a new study, published in the journal Heart, warns that taking calcium supplements may actually increase one s risk of heart attack.
It appears that women who begin their pregnancies overweight or gain too much during pregnancy put themselves and their newborns at greater risk for adverse health effects, according to a newly published study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Hormone replacement: yes or no? That seems to be the evergreen question when it comes to this therapy, and the answer is not as straightforward as one would hope. In its latest draft guidelines, the U.S.
A November 21, 2006 entry on the Nictotine News blog mentions an observation from ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross:
From the American Council on Science and Health:
Although almost half of all smokers had a routine medical checkup in 2003, only 63.6% of those were counseled by a physician to stop smoking -- and this is an improvement from 2000's rate of 57%!
In Dispatch, we frequently cover the latest findings on screenings for a variety of health conditions. Annual EKG's, Pap smears, and prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests have all come under scrutiny within the past year, with the latest research advising far fewer of them. More often than not, that research shows that screening too often is not only unnecessary, but also costly and potentially even harmful.
One of the most lamentable aspects of science reporting in the popular press is, no doubt, the headlines. As we often have occasion to note, the value or complexity of new scientific research is frequently reduced to an attention-grabbing but inaccurate headline by the time it goes to press.
For many years now, ACSH has been reminding folks of the importance of vaccines. And though we constantly come across blogs and celebrities (e.g. Jenny McCarthy) who warn parents about the alleged dangers of getting their kids immunized, we were pleased to read Courtney Wheeler s piece on the 7 Real-Life Consequences of Refusing Vaccines.
Diesel exhaust is linked to an increased risk of lung and bladder cancer, according to a report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The latest assessment reclassifies diesel exhaust from probably carcinogenic a categorization the group made in 1988 to level I, carcinogenic" to humans.
In yet another controversial announcement, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is recommending that healthy postmenopausal women put away their vitamin D and calcium supplements, stating there s not enough evidence to demonstrate that either prevents bone fractures.
And because, you know, it's getting sunny out there, we'd like to give a shout-out to former Cincinnati Reds great, Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench. It s possible that during his 17-year career with the Reds, he may not have applied sunscreen as recommended. Well, he s now very aware of the consequences.
Bench, now 64, recently received treatment for basal cell carcinoma and is now a spokesman for the Play Sun Smart program, a skin cancer awareness initiative launched by The Major League Baseball Players Association, and the American Academy of Dermatology.
And speaking of tobacco harm reduction, we've just learned that a proposal to ban e-cigarettes in New York was introduced in the State Senate. While no one thinks that the bill will become law in the near future, Long Island Republican Kemp Hannon, the Senate Health Committee chair who proposed it, says that he did it "to get some discussion going." Hannon says that, by gauging the reactions of people for and against a total ban, as well as gathering information "that would provide a rational basis for action or inaction," the Health Committee can decide where to go from there.
When it comes to diabetes, the best medical practice has long been to try to control blood sugar. However, the evidence that such strict control helps improve the many adverse health effects in diabetic patients has been surprisingly and frustratingly scant. Now, though, an observational study seems to indicate that better glycemic control actually helps diabetes patients reduce their risk of various cardiovascular events, including death.
A recent study published in the Archives of Dermatology is giving smokers another reason to quit: cigarette smoking has been associated with an increased risk of a type of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma.
Researchers from the University of Nottingham in England conducted a meta-analysis that included 25 observational studies and found that current smokers had a 50 percent increased risk of squamous cell skin cancer. Among those who had already kicked the habit, the increased risk of the disease was still present, but at a reduced rate of about 20 percent.
For the first time in over a decade, the FDA has approved a new weight-loss drug: Arena Pharmaceuticals' Belviq (lorcaserin). The drug, which works by stimulating specific serotonin receptors in the brain to create a sense of satiety, is approved for use in obese people and those with a body mass index (BMI) of 27 or higher although those in the latter group must also have at least one weight-related health condition.
A surprising one in five drug recalls of the most serious type (Class I) were never formally announced or communicated to doctors by the FDA, according to the results of a report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The agency has two systems in place the Recall Alert System and Medwatch that it uses to send out notifications to doctors and patients about drug recalls and, while recalls may vary in their degree of danger, Class I recalls are reserved for those drugs that, if taken, have the potential to cause serious adverse health consequences or death.
For early-stage breast cancer patients, a simple blood test may one day lead to better diagnosis, prognostic capabilities, and targeted treatment. According to a recent study published in The Lancet Oncology, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) detected in the patient s blood accurately predicted both progression-free and overall survival in a group of early-stage breast cancer patients.
We've discussed before the dangers of routinely screening for prostate cancer, a test that too often leads to unnecessary treatments with damaging consequences. Earlier this year, in fact, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) formally advised against routine prostate cancer screening.
Last week, Dr. John Howard, director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, announced that 50 cancers would be added to a list of health conditions covered by a $4.3 billion fund for those who were exposed to carcinogenic dust following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
We try not to think too much about California's Proposition 65, the 1986 law that purports to protect individuals from knowingly touching anything that may be theoretically associated with cancer or developmental problems. It just raises our blood pressure. However, we'd be remiss not to point our readers toward Dr. Joe Schwarz's excellent take on this misguided law (which has now expanded to cover over 800 substances).
This year's World No Tobacco Day found Dr. Ross chatting with two different radio personalities about the topic that's never far from his mind: tobacco harm reduction.
You can hear Dr. Ross on WOR Radio's Joan Hamburg Show, where he headed after talking to Mike Murillo on FM News New York.
Thanks to a new algorithm that uses readings from a highly sensitive blood test, doctors may soon be able to diagnose acute heart attack within just one hour of emergency room arrival.
Though it s widely known that smoking cigarettes accelerates the thickening of fatty deposits that clog arteries, a new study has found that the same might also be true of eggs at least for those aged 40 and older who eat them on a regular basis. These dubious results were not only published in the journal Atherosclerosis but, sadly, they were also widely reported by the news media.
Is there a safe, effective vaccine that not only protects young people from the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in America, but also protects them from a wide variety of cancers later on? If I were to tell you that such a vaccine exists, but only a small minority of teens receives this protection, would you be shocked, surprised?
And while over-zealous activist groups continue to scare parents about the hypothetical risks that certain chemicals (often found in parts per billion) represent, a new German study finds that even newborns exposed to chemotherapy in utero manage to come out pretty well despite exposure to such well-known toxic agents.
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