Archive for June 12th, 2012
Associations among 25-year trends in diet, cholesterol & BMI from 140,000 observations in men & women in Northern Sweden
Background
In the 1970s, men in northern Sweden had among the highest prevalences of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) worldwide. An intervention program combining population- and individual-oriented activities was initiated in 1985. Concurrently, collection of information on medical risk factors, lifestyle and anthropometry started. Today, these data make up one of the largest databases in the world on diet intake in a population-based sample, both in terms of sample size and follow-up period. The study examines trends in food and nutrient intake, serum cholesterol and body mass index (BMI) from 1986 to 2010 in northern Sweden.
Conclusions
Men and women in northern Sweden decreased their reported fat intake in the first 7 years (1986-1992) of an intervention program. After 2004 fat intake increased sharply for both genders, which coincided with introduction of a positive media support for low carbohydrate-high-fat (LCHF) diet. The decrease and following increase in cholesterol levels occurred simultaneously with the time trends in food selection, whereas a constant increase in BMI remained unaltered. These changes in risk factors may have important effects on primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Time to Retire the Low-Carb Diet Fad — The Atlantic
A Father’s Love Is One of the Greatest Influences On Personality Development
A father's love contributes as much — and sometimes more — to a child's development as does a mother's love. That is one of many findings in a new large-scale analysis of research about the power of parental rejection and acceptance in shaping our personalities as children and into adulthood.
Diesel Exhaust Causes Lung Cancer
Diesel engine exhaust fumes cause cancer in humans and belong in the same potentially deadly category as asbestos, arsenic and mustard gas, World Health Organisation (WHO) experts said on Tuesday.
The experts, who said their findings were unanimous and based on "compelling" scientific evidence, urged people across the world to reduce their exposure to diesel fumes wherever possible.
Risks: Diabetes Drugs Carry Vision Risks
A popular class of drugs [thiazolidinediones, a group of drugs that includes the well-known medications Actos and Avandia] used to treat Type 2 diabetes may increase the risk of vision problems, a new study suggests.
Humans Are Primary Cause of Global Ocean Warming Over Past 50 Years, Research Shows
New research by a team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists and international collaborators shows that the observed ocean warming over the last 50 years is consistent with climate models only if the models include the impacts of observed increases in greenhouse gas during the 20th century.
Though the new research is not the first study to identify a human influence on observed ocean warming, it is the first to provide an in-depth examination of how observational and modeling uncertainties impact the conclusion that humans are primarily responsible.
Science Daily
Science Daily
Do You Really Want to Live Forever?
Imagine you are offered a trustworthy opportunity for immortality in which your mind (perhaps also your body) will persist eternally. Let’s further stipulate that the offer includes perpetual youthful health and the ability to upgrade to any cognitive and physical technologies that become available in the future. There is one more stipulation: You could never decide later to die. Would you take it? Metaphysician and former British diplomat Stephen Cave thinks accepting such an offer would be a bad idea.
Cave’s fascinating new book, Immortality, posits that civilization is a major side effect of humanity's attempts to live forever. He argues that our sophisticated minds inexorably recognize that, like all other living things, we will one day die. Simultaneously, Cave asserts, “The one thing that these minds cannot imagine is that very state of nonexistence; it is literally inconceivable. Death therefore presents itself as both inevitable and impossible. This is what I will call the Mortality Paradox, and its resolution is what gives shape to the immortality narratives, and therefore to civilization.”
Predicting Side Effects Through New Technology
What if a computer had the ability to predict the likelihood drugs would cause adverse events in clinical trials? "In a study published in Nature, the researchers created a database of 73 proteins that were associated with adverse events and used a computer program that could quickly analyze drug molecules to predict whether 656 approved drugs were likely to interact with any proteins linked to side effects," blogger Ed Silverman writes. Through this database, more than 1,000 predictions have been made through searching published materials and piloting new lab tests.
Pharmalot
Pharmalot


