Warning labels on junk food would be more effective than a "fat" tax for deterring overweight people from making unhealthy purchases, a new University of Alberta study has found.
A survey of 364 shoppers in random Alberta grocery stores showed that while price alone wouldn't deter people from reaching for junk food, shoppers—including those with the heaviest body mass index—did heed a label that warned of high fat content and included a note that the item was being taxed because of it.
[April 7, 2011, WASHINGTON] – To head off a health care disaster, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has developed a plan to combat deadly antibiotic-resistant "super bugs" and is rolling out the multi-pronged plan today, on World Health Day 2011.
WASHINGTON—Concentrated waste plumes from fish farms could travel significant distances to reach coastlines, according to a study to be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Environmental Fluid Mechanics, available online now. Roz Naylor, Oliver Fringer and Jeffrey Koseff of the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University found that relatively high concentrations of dissolved waste from fish pens do not consistently dilute immediately.
Social scientists are struggling with a perplexing earth-science question: as the power of evidence showing manmade global warming is rising, why do opinion polls suggest public belief in the findings is wavering? Part of the answer may be that some people are too easily swayed by the easiest, most irrational piece of evidence at hand: their own estimation of the day's temperature.
In the wake of yet another e-commerce data breach in which the names and email addresses of millions of online shoppers and credit card users have been accessed illegally, researchers in the US suggest that privacy discussions, and ultimately legislation must urgently focus on the expanding roles of third-parties handling pervasive online customer profiles.
WASHINGTON—April 6, 2011—With Congress at a budget impasse, a new poll suggests the nation's leaders should look more deeply at the public's priorities, particularly regarding proposed cuts to medical, health and scientific research. Research!America urges our nation's leaders to put the public's interest and the nation's future ahead of politics and to move past polarizing budget battles and the uncertainty of continuing resolutions that resolve nothing. Americans are hungry for solutions from Washington.
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Youths identified as American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) have the greatest lifetime smoking rate of all racial groups, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Nearly half of the 1.2 million AI/AN youths in the U.S. smoke cigarettes. A University of Missouri study found that public health strategies to combat smoking should teach refusal skills to help youths combat smoking influences, including family members and peers.
Alexandria, Va., USA – During the April 5 White House Press Briefing, President Barack Obama articulated that his administration is willing to work with leaders in Congress from both political parties in order to avoid a government shutdown later this week. The President stated that he has matched the initial House of Representatives' proposal to make $73 billion in cuts for FY11, with differences existing only in areas of priority.
Scientists at the University of Hull have identified a cellular 'on-off' switch that may have implications for treating cardiovascular disease and cancer.
The team has found the mechanism which controls the inclusion of a protein called tissue factor into endothelial microparticles, tiny vesicles which are released from cells in the lining of blood vessels.
ORLANDO, FL (April 6, 2011) – Numerous studies show that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduce the risk of colon cancer. However, animal studies testing the NSAID naproxen or its derivative, NO-naproxen, have focused primarily on chemically-induced tumor formation. Now, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center find that naproxen and NO-naproxen reduce tumor formation in a strain of mutant mice that spontaneously develop colon tumors. The data also suggest that naproxen blocks a gatekeeper step that initiates tumor formation.
WASHINGTON, DC, April 4, 2011 — While there is an increasing equality in terms of the likelihood that children from communities and families across the socioeconomic spectrum will be diagnosed with autism, a new study finds that such factors still influence the chance of an autism diagnosis, though to a much lesser extent than they did at the height of rising prevalence.
Exercise is important for preventing cardiovascular disease, especially in children and adolescents, but is all exercise equally beneficial? New research published today in the American Journal of Human Biology reveals that high intensity exercise is more beneficial than traditional endurance training.
In an analysis of opioid prescription patterns and deaths, receiving higher prescribed doses is associated with an increased risk of opioid overdose death, but receiving both as-needed and regularly scheduled doses is not associated with overdose risk, according to a study in the April 6 issue of JAMA.
Sussex, UK—April 5, 2011— Psychological research has consistently shown that women feel unhappy with their body after looking at images of thin, idealized models, which are typically represented in the media. However, today's consumer culture and media promote not only the ideal of perfect beauty, but also that of the material affluent lifestyle, both of which are commonly depicted together, and highlight the benefits of beauty and of owning material goods to one's personal success and fame.
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The long-standing conflicts over nuclear power and the risks of radiation exposure are nothing new – in fact, the debate over the damaged Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant in Japan are similar to arguments happening between scientists, governmental agencies and the public since 1945, according to an Oregon State University expert on the history of science.