Category: Scientific/Technical Items
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Processed Meat Consumption Allegedly Linked to Bladder Cancer Risk
A recent study has purportedly linked an increased risk of bladder cancer to “meatrelated compounds,” including nitrate and nitrite. Leah Ferrucci, et al., “Meat and components of meat and the risk of bladder cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study,” Cancer, August 2010. Researchers apparently identified 854 transitional cell bladder-cancer cases among the 300,933…
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Study Claims Pancreatic Cancer Cells Thrive on Fructose
A recent study has reportedly suggested that pancreatic cancer cells “can readily metabolize fructose”—but not glucose—“to increase proliferation.” Haibo Lu, et al., “Fructose Induces Transketolase Flux to Promote Pancreatic Cancer Growth,” Cancer Research, July 20, 2010. The abstract maintains that “fructose and glucose metabolism are quite different,” as fructose “induces thiamine-dependent transketolase flux and is preferentially…
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CMAJ Editorial Urges Energy Drink Regulation
“Caffeine-loaded energy drinks have now crossed the line from beverages to drugs delivered as tasty syrups,” opines a July 26, 2010, Canadian Medical Association Journal editorial, which recommends “strict regulations” and warning labels comparable to those required for caffeine tablets. According to the authors, these sweetened beverages pose a unique health risk to adolescents, 73 percent…
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Obesity Eclipses Tobacco as No. 1 Public Health Priority
A recent editorial in The New England Journal of Medicine has warned that health care reform, rising medical costs and childhood obesity have overtaken tobacco as the top public health priorities, even though smoking “remains by far the most common cause of preventable death and disability in the United States.” Titled “Don’t Forget Tobacco,” the…
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Researchers Find BPA in Cash Register Receipt Paper
Two recently released studies have purportedly found high concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA) in the thermal paper used by many retailers to print cash register receipts. Researchers with the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry in Massachusetts tested 10 blank cash register receipts from Boston-area businesses and found some had BPA concentrations as high as…
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CDC Report Claims Most Sodium Comes from Common Foods
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a report that claims less than 10 percent of American adults limit their daily sodium intake to recommended levels. Titled “Sodium Intake Among Adults—United States, 2005-2006,” the report also suggests that processed grains and meats, including poultry and luncheon meats, provide two-thirds of sodium in the U.S.…
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Study Claims Consumers Underestimate Calories of “Organic” Foods
A forthcoming Judgment and Decision Making study has reportedly suggested that consumers underestimate the calorie content of foods deemed “organic.” According to media reports, University of Michigan researchers found that students presented with identical food choices were more likely to describe the option labeled “organic” as having fewer calories than the “conventional” product. Participants also…
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Harvard Study Claims to Demonstrate Effectiveness of Soda Tax
A recent study has reportedly linked a 35 percent tax on sugar-sweetened beverages to a 26-percent reduction in sales over a four-week period. Jason Block, et al., “Point-of-Purchase and Education Intervention to Reduce Consumption of Sugary Soft Drinks,” American Journal of Public Health, June 2010. Harvard University researchers apparently imposed the equivalent of a penny-per-ounce…