Nuns should go on the pill for anti-cancer protection
Lifelong nuns, like all women who never have children, are at an increased risk of dying from breast, ovarian and uterine cancers, compared with mothers.
Writing in The Lancet yesterday Roger Short from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Kara Britt of Monash University, Melbourne, call for nuns to be given the contraceptive pill to reduce their risk of reproductive cancers. New Scientist weighs up the evidence.
Are nuns more likely to get reproductive cancers than other women? Why?In 1969, it was found that nuns were more likely to die from breast, ovarian and uterine cancers than the general population.
DHEC reopens Battery Creek clam and oyster harvesting areas
COLUMBIA, S.C. –Clam and oyster harvesting areas along Battery Creek that were closed last month have been reopened, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported today.
“These areas have been reopened because water quality sampling results indicate bacteria levels are suitable for clam and oyster harvesting,” said Mike Pearson, manager of DHEC’s Shellfish Sanitation program.
For more information on clam and oyster harvesting areas in Beaufort County, call DHEC’s Region 8 Environmental Quality Control office at (843) 846-1030. For information on Georgetown and Horry counties’ clam and oyster harvesting areas, call DHEC’s Region 6 EQC office at (843) 238-4378. F
Higher prices, frugality, healthy eating among ’12 food trends
It’s the time of year when all of the prognosticators to predict what’s in store for the food world in 2012.
Often, these predictions have the accuracy rate of Punxsutawney Phil.
Recall last year when every food expert claimed that the cupcake’s reign was over? Here we are in 2012 with more cupcake shops than before, leaving the pie, the whoopie pie, the cake pop and the French macaroon all behind in a trail of dusty cupcake crumbs.
But desserts aside, I have read every fact sheet and every trend report for the new year, I’ve scanned grocery store shelves and restaurant menus, and feel pretty confident about the predictions I’m about to present.
For better or for worse, here is what we can expect in 2012.
rising Food prices
Crops devastated by weather, rising fuel and packaging costs, and increasing global demand will send food prices up 2 percent to 3 percent on top of 2011 increases that exceeded 5 percent for some items.
The poster child for rising food prices this year will be everyone’s cupboard staple, the jar of peanut butter.
HEALTH Reports Pertussis Outbreak in Barrington; Works With School Officials, Providers
On December 22, HEALTH received a report from a Barrington pediatrician that a student had been diagnosed with pertussis. After working with Barrington school officials and other healthcare providers, the Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH) has confirmed a total of eight cases of pertussis in students who attend either Hampden Meadows Elementary School or Barrington Middle School.
HEALTH’s staff began working closely with school officials to identify any other symptomatic students, identify close contacts at home and at school who may need antibiotic prophylaxis, assess student immunization coverage rates, and consult with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on recommended next steps.