Abuse of oxycodone, a prescription opioid painkiller, is an epidemic responsible for millions of overdoses and at least 11,000 deaths annually.
A pharmaceutical form of heroin, the drug is now a top seller, with 100 million prescriptions written over the past 15 years – the equivalent of 1 bottle of pills for every 3 Americans.
Read about it here: http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/why-its-so-hard-win-war-against-us-oxycodone-epidemic
In an analysis of nearly 30 million patients, the inhospital mortality rate was significantly higher for those admitted on the weekend across a range of diagnoses (2.7% versus 2.3%, P<0.001), according to Rocco Ricciardi, MD, MPH, of Tufts University Medical School in Burlington, Mass., and colleagues.
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/PublicHealth/26507
China is importing millions of chopsticks from a small Geogia town 2 hours south of Atlanta.
Professor Ning Li of China Agriculture University has successfully led a team that introduced the human gene for breast milk into cows.
Human genes were inserted in the DNA of Holstein dairy cows, and modified embryos were implanted into surrogate cows.
The offspring contained lysozyme, an anti-bacterial protein found in human breast milk that protects infants from infection during their first days of life.
They also created cattle containing lactoferrin, an immune system booster for babies that is found in human milk.
Fat content was raised by about 20% as well, and the level of milk solids was altered to make the final product as close to human milk as possible.
300 of these cattle have been produced.
Professor Li Ning, the director of the project, stated: “There are 1.5 billion people in the world who don’t get enough to eat. It’s our duty to develop science and technology, not to hold it back. We need to feed people first, before we consider ideals and convictions.”
The ultimate goal is to sell the milk as an alternative to cow milk, which is less nutritious than human milk. The modified milk is currently undergoing safety tests, but those who have tasted the milk say it is stronger tasting and sweeter than cow’s milk.
This isn’t the first genetically engineered food China has created. Known for having a more liberal approach toward genetically modified food, China has already created modified fruits and vegetables such as papayas and tomatoes, as well as insect-resistant rice and corn.
In 1944, 3-Nitro (Roxaserone, marketed by Pfizer) became the first arsenic-containing new animal drug product approved by the FDA. It is used primarily in broiler chickens.
Combined with other animal drugs, 3-Nitro has been used by some in the poultry industry to help control coccidiosis, a parasitic disease that affects the intestinal tracts of animals. It has also been used for weight gain, feed efficiency and improved pigmentation.
Published scientific reports have indicated that organic arsenic, a less toxic form of arsenic and the form present in 3-Nitro could transform into inorganic arsenic.
“FDA detected increased levels of inorganic arsenic in the livers of chickens treated with 3-Nitro, raising concerns of a very low, but completely avoidable, exposure to a carcinogen,” said Michael R. Taylor, FDA deputy commissioner for foods.
Read more here: http://www.grist.org/food-safety/2011-06-08-fda-admits-supermarket-chickens-test-positive-for-arsenic
Thanks to Esquire C for bringing this to the attention of the It’s Interesting community.
The Journal of Applied Psychology found that women who are 25 lbs. below average weight take home an additional $15,572 each year.
On the other hand, men who are 25 lbs. below average weight take home $8,437 less each year.
“Perhaps the most startling finding of this investigation is that men and women experience opposite incentives regarding weight in the very thin to average weight range. Whereas women are punished for any weight gain, very thin women receive the most severe punishment for their first few pounds of weight gain. This finding is consistent with research showing that the media’s consistent depiction of an unrealistically thin female ideal leads people to see this ideal as normative, expected, and central to female attractiveness.“
“Studies have demonstrated that people assign positive personality traits to drawings or photographs of mesomorphic (muscular) men and mostly negative traits to nonmesomorphic men. For example traits ascribed to mesomorphic men were very positive (i.e., best friend, has lots of friends, polite, happy, helps others, brave, healthy, smart, and neat). By contrast … ectomorphic (slender) men were described with a different set of negative traits (i.e., nervous, sneaky, afraid, sad, weak, and sick).”
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/skinny-women-make-more-money-2011-6#ixzz1PGurvRmL
35 year old competitive weight-lifter Kulsoom Abdullah of Atlanta is getting international attention as she challenges the USA Weightlifting rules that won’t allow her to compete wearing a hijab.
And just a couple weeks ago, Iran’s women’s soccer team was disqualified during an Olympic qualifying competition against Jordan after athletes wore a full-body outfit with a head scarf.
The new USDA guidelines are that pork and other whole cuts of meat only need to be cooked to 145 degrees fahrenheit, in contrast to their decades-old mandate of 160 degrees fahrenheit.
“Our consumer research has consistently shown that Americans have a tendency to overcook common cuts of pork, resulting in a less-than-optimal eating experience,” says Dianne Bettin, a pork producer from Truman, Minn., and chair of the Checkoff’s Domestic Marketing Committee. “The new guidelines will help consumers enjoy pork at its most flavorful, juicy – and safe – temperature.”
All ground meat, however, still needs to be cooked to the standard 160 degrees fahrenheit, for now.
http://www.imperfectparent.com/topics/2011/05/25/pork-cooking-temperature-changed/
When it comes to radiation levels, all phones aren’t equal.
Below are lists of the models available from major carriers that emit the highest and lowest levels of radiofrequency energy.
Lowest radiation levels:
1. LG Quantum (AT&T): 0.35 watts per kilogram
2. Casio EXILIM (Verizon Wireless): 0.53 W/kg
3. Pantech Breeze II (AT&T, AT&T GoPhone): 0.55 W/kg
4. Sanyo Katana II (Kajeet): 0.55 W/kg
5. Samsung Fascinate (Verizon Wireless): 0.57 W/kg
6. Samsung Mesmerize (CellularONE, U.S. Cellular): 0.57 W/kg
7. Samsung SGH-a197 (AT&T GoPhone): 0.59 W/kg
8. Samsung Contour (MetroPCS): 0.60 W/kg
9. Samsung Gravity T (T-Mobile): 0.62 W/kg
10. (tie) Motorola i890 (Sprint); Samsung SGH-T249 (T-Mobile): 0.63 W/kg
Highest radiation levels:
1. Motorola Bravo (AT&T): 1.59 W/kg
2. Motorola Droid 2 (Verizon Wireless): 1.58 W/kg
3. Palm Pixi (Sprint): 1.56 W/kg
4. Motorola Boost (Boost Mobile): 1.55 W/kg
5. Blackberry Bold (AT&T, T-Mobile): 1.55 W/kg
6. Motorola i335 (Sprint): 1.55 W/kg
7. HTC Magic (T-Mobile): 1.55 W/kg
8. Motorola W385 (Boost Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon Wireless): 1.54 W/kg
9. Motorola Boost i290 (Boost Mobile): 1.54 W/kg
10. (tie) Motorola DEFY (T-Mobile); Motorola Quantico (U.S. Cellular, MetroPCS); Motorola Charm (T-Mobile): 1.53 W/kg
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/06/01/cell.phones.radiation.levels/index.html?hpt=hp_p1
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