Holy Cow! Respect the Sun God!!
Contents:
Holy Cow
Human Migration
Out of Africa
Andropause
Work and Family
Female Sexual Dysfunction
Erectile Dysfunction
Dementia
Diabetes
Ephedra
Cancer and Fat
Anger
Pomegranate
Smoking and Uneducated
Respect the Sun God and Cover
Yourself
Holy Cow!
Maseeh Rahman from New Delhi reports that the international animal-rights
group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has exposed horrendous
cruelty to Indian cows as they are transported, illegally, to slaughterhouses.
Many arrive dead or badly injured after long and torturous journeys in
trains and trucks or on foot. "It is Dante's Inferno for cows and bullocks,"
says PETA president Ingrid Newkirk. India's livestock population, estimated
at more than 500 million, is the world's largest, with 26 acknowledged
breeds of cattle and six breeds of buffalos. The unproductive animals are
sent to slaughterhouses. Although, there are 2,682 recognized slaughterhouses
throughout Bharat (the Indian Union), cow slaughter is permitted in just
two States, the communist-ruled states of West Bengal in the east and Kerala
in the south. Corrupt officials look the other way and allow illegal packing
of the cows into rail cars or trucks headed for West Bengal and Kerala.
The animals frequently gore one another or break their pelvises when forced
to jump from the trucks. Some suffocate inside boxcars. Thousands of others
are surreptitiously herded overland without food or water. If they collapse
from exhaustion, herders break their tails or throw chili pepper and tobacco
in their eyes to make them walk again.
Human Migration:
Scientists say they have discovered the earliest well-dated example of
an oyster bar: a fossil reef on Africa's Red Sea coast where ancestral
humans apparently waded out to collect oysters, clams and crabs some 125,000
years ago. The site, in Eritrea, contains stone tools along with shells
but no remains from whoever made the tools. The tools' makers were probably
early anatomically modern humans, said Robert Walter of the Center for
Scientific Investigation and Higher Education in Ensenada, Mexico. He led
the study, published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. AP
Out of Africa:
In a discovery with profound implications for the study of early human
history, scientists digging in the republic of Georgia have found 1.7-million-year-old
fossil human skulls that show clear signs of African ancestry and so may
represent the species that first migrated out of Africa. Scientists said
the discovery left unchanged current interpretations of the origin of anatomically
modern humans in Africa some 100,000 years ago. Being close to the boundary
between Europe and Asia, Georgia might have been a crossroads of dispersal
to the west in Europe as well as to southern and eastern Asia. John Noble
Wilford, NYTimes
Andropause:
You're facing 40 and wondering what changes lie ahead. One that's likely,
according to clinical studies, is a drop in testosterone. In a process
some doctors term "andropause," testosterone levels in the body often decrease
by one percent a year after age 40, and by age 70, many men produce only
a third of what they once pumped out. Many doctors aren't comfortable
with testosterone replacement except in the most extreme cases. NYT Syndicate
Work and Family:
Grzywacz looked at data collected in 1995 from over 1,500 men and women
aged 35 to 65 who participated in The National Survey of Midlife Development
in the United States. The survey assessed negative and positive work-to-family
spillover as well as negative and positive family-to-work spillover. Measures
of stress and encouragement in both environments were taken, and the effects
of such factors on physical and mental health were calculated. Grzywacz
found that a high level of negative spillover in both directions was associated
with poorer physical and mental health, while high levels of positive spillover
in both directions was associated with better physical and mental health.
Noting that men and women were affected equally, Grzywacz pointed out that
negative spillovers in either direction are often paired with higher levels
of stress, drinking and obesity, as well as lower levels of exercise. Reuters
Health
Female Sexual Dysfunction:
While Viagra and penile devices have revolutionized impotence treatment
for men, women's sexual problems haven't fared as well. In fact, women's
sexual dysfunction has largely been considered a psychological problem.
Now the Food and Drug Administration has approved a medical device
called Eros that treats a physical problem behind "female sexual arousal
disorder." The rationale behind the device is that blood flow into the
clitoris is as important for women's sexual arousal and satisfaction as
blood flow into the penis is for men.
Eros, made by UroMetrics Inc. of St. Paul, Minn., consists of a soft
suction cup to be placed over the clitoris. A tube attaches it to a handheld,
battery-operated vacuum device. Users need only to switch on the vacuum,
turning it up or down as needed, for a few minutes until the clitoris feels
engorged. They then turn it off and remove the suction cup. AP
Although most women can achieve orgasm by clitoral stimulation, a new
survey suggests that many older women also experience orgasm with stimulation
of the vagina or cervix, according to a Pennsylvania researcher. This finding
suggests that women who undergo hysterectomy may lose at least some of
their sexual sensation after surgery—although they seem to have orgasms
as often as women who have not had a hysterectomy, reported Dr. Winnifred
Cutler here on May 22 at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
meeting. Reuters.
Hopes that Viagra would do for women what it does for men were doused
in the first big study of the anti-impotence drug in females, according
to a study by University of British Columbia researchers. The study findings,
presented Tuesday May 23 at the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology
meeting in San Francisco, confirmed smaller preliminary tests that also
showed the little blue pill did not help women with sexual dysfunctions,
such as difficulty getting aroused. AP
Erectile Dysfunction:
Overweight men are more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction than
their slimmer counterparts, according to data presented at a meeting of
the American Urological Association. Men with a waistline measuring 42
inches were nearly twice as likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction
compared with men whose girth measured 32 inches. The data also showed
that men who were inactive were more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction
than men who exercised at least 30 minutes per day. Reuters
Dementia:
Reducing high blood pressure (BP), losing weight and lowering cholesterol
levels in middle age may help protect against dementia, according to a
study presented this week during the American Academy of Neurology's 52nd
annual meeting in San Diego, California. Reuters Health
Diabetes:
Staying active increases the chances that a person with diabetes will stay
alive, a study finds. Among people who have diabetes, exercise controls
conditions from weight gain to cardiovascular disease that are common outgrowths
of the disease. ``The bottom line is, you survive longer,'' said Dr. Ming
Wei of the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas, lead author
of the paper in Annals of Internal Medicine. This is the first study to
find a lower risk of death from any cause among those who report being
physically active. AP
Many diabetics can significantly lower their blood sugar - and maybe
even reduce their medication or stop taking it altogether - by eating lots
and lots of fruits, vegetables and high-fiber grain, researchers say in
a study published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Abhimanyu
Garg of UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas led the study. AP
A Study suggests that diabetics who consume a slow-release carbohydrate
before hitting the hay may decrease their blood sugar levels before and
after breakfast the next morning, according to a report in the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
And a second report in the same issue of the journal suggests that
consuming a particular type of fiber with breakfast reduces the boost in
blood sugar and insulin that usually occurs after the morning meal. American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2000;71:1108, 1123. Reuters.
Ephedra:
Ephedrine has been widely studied over the past few years, and studies
suggest that it can produce a wide array of possible side effects, including
anxiety, insomnia, hypertension, tachycardia, psychosis, kidney damage,
dependency, heart attack, stroke and death. And the Federal Food and Drug
Administration says it has received hundreds of reports from physicians,
health authorities and others about adverse reactions to ephedrine-based
products. Critics and proponents alike agree on one thing: ephedra is flying
off the shelves. Metabolife International Inc., a 5-year-old San Diego
company that sells an ephedra-based pill called Metabolife 356, says this
year's sales will reach $900 million. Mary Duffy, NYTimes.
Cancer and Fat:
A draft report from the Environmental Protection Agency suggests the cancer
risk from dioxins may be greater than previously thought, but only among
people who eat lots of fat. Eating a lowfat diet with lots of fruits and
vegetables, regular exercise and not smoking are the best recommendations
for preventing cancer and preventing heart disease, the nation's No. 1
killer. AP
Anger:
A study published in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association,
found that people who are highly anger-prone are nearly three times more
likely to have a heart attack. Another study published Journal of the American
Medical Association found that young adults who scored high on a test of
their hostility levels were 2.5 times more likely to have signs of heart
disease 10 years later than those who were rated average or below, a study
found. AP
Pomegranate:
A team of Israeli researchers found that the juice, which is rich in antioxidants,
prevented the buildup of plaque in the arteries of mice and inhibited further
damaging changes in mice who already had plaque in their arteries. Reuters
Smoking and Uneducated:
Smokers may be more likely than nonsmokers to experience a decline in mental
function as they get older, according to a report published in the Journal
of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, Cervilla and colleagues from
the University of London, UK. Reuters.
Smoking habits spread through countries in predictable stages, with
wealthier, more educated residents being the first group to begin to smoke
and the first to quit. This leaves poor and uneducated individuals at greatest
risk from smoking-related illnesses, according to a study comparing smoking
patterns in 12 European countries.
Higher rates of smoking in less educated people may be one reason northern
Europeans are at greater risk of heart disease and other chronic illnesses
than southern Europeans, a team of researchers report in the April 22nd
issue of the British Medical Journal. Reuters.
Respect the Sun God and Cover Yourself:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reminds Americans
that protecting their skin from the sun's damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays
can help reduce the risk of getting skin cancer. This year, more than 1
million new skin cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed. The most serious
form of the disease, melanoma, will claim an estimated 7,700 lives. CDC
recommends five easy options for protection:
Seek shade - especially during midday when UV rays are strongest and
do most damage;
Cover up - with clothing to protect exposed skin;
Get a hat - with a wide brim to shade the face, head, ears, and neck;
Grab shades - that wrap around and block as close to 100 percent of
both UVA and UVB rays as possible; and Rub on sunscreen - with SPF 15 or
higher and both UVA and UVB protection. InteliHealth
Dr. June K. Robinson of Loyola University in Chicago, said the survey
she conducted identified other common mistakes and misperceptions about
sun block. In an interview, she offered these suggestions:
•Sunblock is not enough. Even with it, try to limit time in the sun
to no more than two to three hours during the peak sunburn hours, 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m.
•Use enough. Most parents surveyed used half the recommended amount
-- one ounce to cover exposed skin -- sharply cutting the protection, Dr.
Robinson said. Colored sunblocks may be easier to apply evenly.
Remember the easily overlooked spots, like the tops of ears or feet.
•Put it on before leaving the house. Sunblock takes 20 to 30 minutes
to bind properly with skin, Dr. Robinson said.
•Reapply it every two hours, or after the skin gets wet from swimming
or sweating.
•Use a broad-spectrum block that protects against ultraviolet A and
B rays.
•Do not use sunblock on children younger than 6 months. Because
they dehydrate quickly, they should not be exposed to direct sun for any
extended time.
•Set an example. Children who see their parents wearing hats and remembering
the umbrella are more likely to develop habits to reduce their risk of
skin cancer. John Noel, NYTimes
Sreenivasarao Vepachedu, May 2000
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