Best things to order for health at fast food restaurants

Every now and then, we all need to indulge in some quick and easy drive-thru fast food — whether it’s because we’re seriously pressed for time, have a massive craving, or just because we damn well feel like it. There’s no need to feel guilty about pleasures, and fast food in moderation won’t kill you. But if you ever find yourself at a chain restaurant and in search of something less likely to give you an energy crash or make you feel bloated later on, you still have options. We spoke to some registered dietitians to get the scoop on the healthiest things you can order at fast food chains. Check out their favorite options ahead. READ MORE

There is Urine in your swimming pool

If you like to swim laps, or spend summer days poolside, you'll want to read this. A new study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters suggests the average pool may contain a great deal of urine. Researchers at the University of Alberta in Canada set out to determine the extent of pee contamination in swimming pools. To do this, they tested water from pools and hot tubs in two Canadian cities for acesulfame potassium, or Ace-K, a widely consumed artificial sweetener found in supermarket staples like frozen meals, packaged cookies, and diet sodas. What does sweet pool water have to do with pee? The amount of Ace-K in a pool is a helpful measure of the amount of urine present, since the ingredient is not metabolized by the body, is excreted exclusively through urine, and doesn't get broken down by chlorine. When researchers compared the levels of the sweetener in pool water and tap water, they found that the former contained up to 570 times more Ace-K. Based on those concentrations, they concluded that a 220,000-gallon commercial-size swimming pool likely contains almost 20 gallons of urine. A residential pool probably holds about two gallons.

Ebola patient arrives in US

An American doctor who was exposed to the Ebola virus while volunteering in Sierra Leone was admitted Sunday to a hospital at the National Institutes of Health near the nation's capital.

The patient, who was not identified, arrived at NIH's Clinical Center about 4 p.m., NIH said in a statement on its website.

NIH said that out of "an abundance of caution," the physician was admitted to a special isolation unit. NIH infectious disease chief Dr. Anthony Fauci wouldn't discuss details about the patient but said that in general, an exposure to Ebola doesn't necessarily mean someone will become sick.
"When someone is exposed, you want to put them into the best possible situation so if something happens you can take care of them," Fauci said.
"NIH is taking every precaution to ensure the safety of our patients, NIH staff and the public," the agency said in a statement.
Four other American aid workers who were sickened by Ebola while volunteering in the West African outbreak have been treated at hospitals in Georgia and Nebraska. One remains hospitalized while the others have recovered.
An Associated Press photographer saw a person dressed in a white protective suit get off a plane and walk to a waiting ambulance at the Frederick Municipal Airport in Maryland about 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

The plane's tail number matched that of the aircraft that has been used previously to transport other Ebola patients to the United States from overseas.

NIH spokesman John Burklow confirmed that the plane carrying the patient landed at Frederick.

Hepatitis Scare at Restaurant Sparks Call for Vaccines

.. Email Share38 1 Print ... . . . Dessert is off the menu at one New York restaurant, after the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene found that one employee working in the pastry kitchen of the Alta restaurant had been infected with Hepatitis A. Health department officials are urging patrons who ate dessert at the West Village restaurant between the dates of March 23 and April 2 to get vaccinated against the disease. The restaurant owner estimated that approximately 450 people ate dessert during those dates. "This isolated incident has affected an employee who is no longer on the premises. That employee traveled to Mexico and was infected with Hepatitis A," the restaurant's manager, Manny Solano, told reporters Friday night. Solano said all the restaurant's employees will be vaccinated by Monday. The health department says currently no patrons have been reported to have been infected by the disease. The city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene wil make free Hepatitis A vaccinations available for people who are concerned they were exposed to the virus. "We are asking these restaurant patrons to get this vaccination as a precautionary measure," Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said in a statement. "If people experience symptoms, they should see a doctor immediately. This incident serves as an important reminder to always wash your hands thoroughly to prevent the spread of disease." Hepatitis A is a liver disease and symptoms of the disease can include jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea. Even after the health scare, the restaurant was bustling Friday night with one patron telling ABC News station WABC-TV in New York, "If the health department already cleared it, I'm not really worried. Currently the Alta restaurant has an "A" letter grade from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Russian Meteor Strike That Injures Thousands Much Bigger Than Thought, According to NASA

The meteor that exploded over Russia Friday was slightly larger than previously thought and more powerful, too, NASA scientists say. The Russian meteor explosion over the city of Chelyabinsk, on Friday (Feb. 15), injured more than 1,000 people and blew out windows across the region in a massive blast captured on cameras by frightened witnesses. Friday afternoon, NASA scientists estimated the meteor was space rock about 50 feet (15 meters) and sparked a blast equivalent of a 300-kiloton explosion. The energy estimate was later increased to 470 kilotons. But late Friday, NASA revised its estimates on the size and power of the devastating meteor explosion. The meteor's size is now thought to be slightly larger — about 55 feet (17 m) wide — with the power of the blast estimate of about 500 kilotons, 30 kilotons higher than before, NASA officials said in a statement. [See video of the intense meteor explosion] The meteor was also substantially more massive than thought as well. Initial estimated pegged the space rock's mass at about 7,000 tons. Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., now say the meteor weighed about 10,000 tons and was travelling 40,000 mph (64,373 km/h) when it exploded. "These new estimates were generated using new data that had been collected by five additional infrasound stations located around the world - the first recording of the event being in Alaska, over 6,500 kilometers away from Chelyabinsk," JPL officials explained in the statement. The infrasound stations detect low-frequency sound waves that accompany exploding meteors, known as bolides. The meteor entered Earth's atmosphere and blew apart over Chelyabinsk at 10:20 p.m. EST on Feb. 14 (03:20:26 GMT on Feb. 15). The meteor briefly outshined the sun during the event, which occurred just hours before a larger space rock — the 150-foot-wide (45 meters) asteroid 2012 DA14 — zoomed by Earth in an extremely close flyby. Asteroid 2012 DA14 approached within 17,200 miles (27,000 kilometers) of Earth Friday, but never posed an impact threat to the planet. The asteroid flyby and Russian meteor explosion had significantly different trajectories, showing that they were completely unrelated events, NASA officials said. Late Friday, another fireball was spotted over the San Francisco Bay Area in California. That event, also unrelated, occurred at about 7:45 p.m. PST (10:45 p.m. EST/0345 Feb. 16 GMT) and lit up the nighttime sky. Aside from the unexpected light show, the fireball over San Francisco had little other effect. NASA scientists said the Russian meteor event, however, is a rare occurrence. Not since 1908, when a space rock exploded over Russia's Tunguska River in Siberia and flattened 825 square miles (2,137 square km) of uninhabited forest land, has a meteor event been so devastating. "We would expect an event of this magnitude to occur once every 100 years on average," Paul Chodas of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at JPL said. "When you have a fireball of this size we would expect a large number of meteorites to reach the surface and in this case there were probably some large ones." According to the Associated Press, search teams have recovered small objects that might be meteorite fragments and divers are searching the bottom of a lake where a meteorite is thought to have landed.

Solar Flare; Intense and Earth is in the Path

A long-lasting solar flare erupted from the sun early Saturday (Feb. 9), triggering an intense sun eruption aimed squarely at Earth. The solar storm, however, should not endanger satellites or astronauts in space, but could amplify auroras on Earth, NASA says. The solar eruption —called a coronal mass ejection —occurred at 2:30 a.m. EST (0730 GMT) on Saturday during a minor, but long-duration, flare. It hurled a wave of charged particles at Earth at speeds of about 1.8 million miles per hour (nearly 2.9 million km/h). The sun eruption was captured in photos by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission by NASA and the European Space Agency. Coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, are eruptions of charged solar material that fling solar particles out into space. When aimed at Earth, they can reach the planet between one and three days later, and cause geomagnetic storms when they interact with the planet's magnetic field. They can also amplify the northern and southern lights displays over the Earth's poles. "In the past, CMEs at this strength have had little effect," NASA officials said in a statement. "They may cause auroras near the poles but are unlikely to disrupt electrical systems on Earth or interfere with GPS or satellite-based communications systems." Saturday's solar flare and sun eruption apparently also caught the attention astronauts living on the International Space Station, even though the solar weather event will have little impact on their daily routine. "We live right next to a star," wrote Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who currently lives on the International Space Station, in a Twitter post. "Today it ejected a huge blob at 500 mi/sec. But not to worry - should be good aurorae." The sun is currently in an active period of its 11-year solar weather cycle, and is expected to reach its peak this year. The sun's current weather cycle is known as Solar Cycle 24. The SOHO spacecraft and several other sun-watching observatories, such as NASA's twin Stereo spacecraft and the Solar Dynamics Observatory, constantly monitor the star for changes in solar weather.

Severe Winter Storm Blizzard Nemo Slams Northeast

The potentially historic blizzard that marched into the Northeast Friday put parts of the region in a virtual transportation lockdown, with the Massachusetts and Connecticut governors signing state orders banning cars from the road, trains ceasing service, and airlines halting flights in and out of Boston and New York. The storm picked up in intensity during the day Friday, and was expected to dump as much as 14 inches of snow on the New York City area and as much as three feet across New England before tapering off Saturday afternoon. Forecasters were warning of winds of up to 60 miles per hour, and snow drifts as high as five feet. "It definitely looks like it has the potential to be a historic event," said Lance Franck, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass. City and state officials were desperately trying to avoid the mayhem of the infamous Blizzard of 1978, which dumped three feet of snow across the Northeast, leading to dozens of deaths and scores of drivers stranded on the highways. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick took the rare step of signing an executive order outright banning motorists from all roads as of 4 p.m. Friday. Certain exceptions were being made for public-health workers, emergency vehicles, media and critical services. Violators could receive a civil fine. Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy issued a similar but less comprehensive order. To the north in New Hampshire, Gov. Maggie Hassan didn't go as far as ordering cars off state roads, but she did urge residents to stop driving by early evening. In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg encouraged people to leave work early Friday. New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo later declared a state of emergency to give local governments more flexibility in handling the anticipated snowfall, saying New York City and Long Island would be worst hit. "This is a storm of major proportions," warned Boston Mayor Thomas Menino in a public briefing, in which city officials also asked people to look out for the homeless, by alerting authorities if a homeless person was seen on the street and not in a shelter. Meteorologists were blaming the nor'easter on the collision of two storm systems: cold air traveling south from Canada bumping into a moist low pressure system heading north from the Carolinas. As conditions deteriorated in the Northeast, transportation all but ground to a halt. Boston's public commuter rail stopped operations. Amtrak canceled service between New York and Boston for Friday afternoon, and plans limited service for Saturday. A spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights at the three major New York-area airports alone on Friday. He said all operations at the airports would cease by late Friday afternoon, but that airlines could resume some flights on Saturday. At Boston Logan International Airport, officials said all operations would cease at 3 p.m. on Friday and flights may not resume until Sunday. Massachusetts General Hospital expected to have at least 200 employees sleeping on cots Friday night, and the 1,000-bed facility was making accommodations for patients who couldn't make it home because of the storm, said Paul Biddinger, medical director for the Boston hospital's emergency department. "We did try to discharge as many people who could be safely discharged, but the hospital is going to end up very, very full tonight," Dr. Biddinger said.

Five High-Pay Careers, No Grad School Required

Career #1 - Accountant and Auditor If you have a mind for math and distaste for graduate school, accountant or auditor could be a good career fit. While you won't need an advanced degree, most accountants and auditors do need a bachelor's degree in accounting or a business-related field, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The other good news? Not only are employers always hiring accountants and auditors, says Shapiro, but "pay is pretty high right off the bat." U.S. Department of Labor Salary Estimates*: •Median salary: $62,850 •Top ten percent: $109,870 •Bottom ten percent: $39,640 Life on the Job: As for what the job looks like on the ground level, an accountant might put together financial records and check to make sure they're accurate, according to the Department of Labor. They also may calculate taxes - so their mathematically impaired clients don't have to - and help people file their returns each April. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career #2 - Computer Programmer If you've answered to the unofficial nickname "computer whiz" since you were in grade school, a job as a programmer might be your calling. The best part? You won't be in school forever, so you can focus on pursuing a real career with a title that sounds a little more official. The U.S. Department of Labor specifies that most computer programmers have a bachelor's degree in computer science or a related subject, and says that some employers even hire workers with an associate's degree. However, Shapiro notes that although a master's isn't needed for the profession, "many computer programmers do have rigorous bachelor's degrees that may take more than four years to complete, because of the course load and complexity of the learning." While you may work hard studying the field, there is one big silver lining: "The pay is relatively strong just starting out if you're a skilled programmer," says Shapiro. U.S. Department of Labor Salary Estimates*: •Median salary: $72,630 •Top ten percent: $115,610 •Bottom ten percent: $41,710 Life on the Job: Computer programmers write code (in, for example, C++ or Java) to create software programs, according to the Department of Labor. They also might update and debug programs (like games and your favorite apps) that have already been created. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career #3 - Art Director If you've always had a mind for design (and know your way around a computer), a job as an art director might be the right fit. That's especially true if you don't want to go back to get a master's or graduate degree and still want a potentially high paying job. Art directors typically need only a bachelor's degree in an art or design subject, says the U.S Department of Labor. But it is also important that they have managerial skills (considering they're running the "art show," so to speak). To gain them, many candidates cut their teeth in feeder jobs like graphic designer, illustrator, copy editor, or photographer, says the Department of Labor. So while it may take a few years to develop the skill set, Shapiro notes that "art directors may be well-paid without more than a bachelor's degree." U.S. Department of Labor Salary Estimates*: •Median salary: $81,260 •Top ten percent: $166,620 •Bottom ten percent: $44,120 Life on the Job: Now that those dollar signs have your attention, here's a little about the career. Art directors might be responsible for the visual style and images in magazines, newspapers, product packaging, or movie and television productions, according to the Department. An art director typically acts as the "visual mastermind," creating the overall design while directing staffers who develop artwork or layouts. As far as day-to-day responsibilities, they might determine which photos, art, and other elements work best in the layout or production, the Department notes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career #4 - Registered Nurse Want to help people in the medical field, but not really jumping for joy at the prospect of grad school? If so, a job as a registered nurse might be a win-win. There are typically two paths to get into nursing - but neither of them require an advanced degree. An associate's degree in nursing or a diploma from an approved nursing program could help you pursue a career as a registered nurse. But you're not out of the woods yet. In all states (and the District of Columbia), registered nurses must have a nursing license, says the U.S. Department of Labor, which can be obtained by attending an approved nursing program and passing the National Council Licensure Examination. Although pay may vary across regions, notes Shapiro, nurses do make a great starting salary. U.S. Department of Labor Salary Estimates*: •Median salary: $65,950 •Top ten percent: $96,630 •Bottom ten percent: $44,970 Life on the Job: And now for the nuts and bolts of the job. Typically, registered nurses may provide and coordinate patient care, help patients learn about their conditions, and offer advice, according to the Department. Daily duties include recording patients' medical histories (we've all seen those clipboards at the doctor's office!), administering medicine, and performing diagnostic tests, according to the Department. And what exactly are the tests? They could be anything from taking blood pressure to testing for strep throat. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career #5 - Personal Financial Advisor Always giving your friends unsolicited financial advice like this: "Do you really want to open up another credit card - you're trying to save up for a house!" If you have a knack for finance, but a healthy fear of graduate school, you'll be relieved to learn that preparing to pursue a potentially high-paying career as personal financial advisor may be less involved than you think. Got a bachelor's degree? Good. Because that's what a personal financial advisor typically needs, says the U.S Department of Labor. If you don't have a degree yet, keep in mind that although employers usually do not require a specific field of study to be qualified for this career, a degree in finance, economics, accounting, business, mathematics, or law wouldn't hurt. While personal financial advisors typically have the potential to make good money, like anything, it doesn't come without hard work. "The starting salary doesn't always compensate for the job's late hours," Shapiro cautions, "but the curve does move up sharply to a good compensation level if you prove to be good at it." U.S. Department of Labor Salary Estimates*: •Median salary: $66,580 •Top ten percent: $111,880 •Bottom ten percent: $32,810 Life on the Job: So just what kind of advice do personal financial advisors give during those long hours at the office? They counsel people on how they can reach their financial goals and plan for retirement, according to the Department of Labor. On any given day, they might help with investments, taxes, and insurance decisions. Sound like a lot of work? Shapiro understands your concern. "The job can be demanding because you're advising someone on their financial future, but the salary may reward for this," she says. *All salary figures for careers per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011.

Strong earthquake hits japan

A strong earthquake has struck Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, but authorities say there is no danger of a tsunami and there are no immediate reports of injuries or damage. Japan's Meteorological Agency says the quake had a magnitude of 6.4 and hit at 11:17 p.m. (1417 GMT) Saturday in the Tokachi region in southern Hokkaido, at a depth of 120 kilometre (75 miles). The agency says there is no danger of a tsunami from the quake. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake's magnitude was 6.9. Japanese public broadcaster NHK says nearby nuclear power plants, including Tomari and Higashidori, which are currently idled for safety inspections, have reported no abnormalities.

Iran's newest fighter jet can evade radar

Iran on Saturday unveiled its newest combat jet, a domestically manufactured fighter-bomber that military officials claim can evade radar. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a ceremony broadcast on state TV that building the Qaher F-313, or Dominant F-313, shows Iran's will to "conquer scientific peaks." The Qaher is one of several aircraft designs the Iranian military has rolled out since 2007. Tehran has repeatedly claimed to have developed advanced military technologies in recent years, but its claims cannot be independently verified because the country does not release technical details of its arsenals. The Islamic republic launched a self-sufficient military program in the 1980s to compensate for a Western weapons embargo that banned export of military technology and equipment to Iran. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles, torpedoes, drones and fighter planes. "Qaher is a fully indigenous aircraft designed and built by our aerospace experts. This is a radar-evading plane that can fly at low altitude, carry weapons, engage enemy aircrafts and land at short airstrips," Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said. Vahidi said advanced materials were used to manufacture the body of the aircraft, making it Iran's best stealth plane. However, some reports suggest that Iran's program relies on equipment supplied by major international defense contractors and that it incorporates parts made abroad or uses outside engineered technologies in its domestic designs. Still photos of the Qaher released by the official IRNA news agency and pictures on state TV showed a single-seat jet. They described it as a fighter-bomber that can combat other aircraft and ground targets. Iran's English-language state Press TV said Qaher was similar to the American-made F/A-18, an advanced fighter capable of dogfighting as well as penetrating enemy air defenses to strike ground targets. But Hasan Parvaneh, an official in charge of the project, said the physical design of the Iranian plane was unique and bore no resemblance to any foreign fighter jet. "Development depends on our will. If we don't have a will, no one can take us there," Ahmadinejad told the inauguration ceremony in Tehran. "Once we imported cars and assembled them here. Now, we are at a point where we can design, build and get planes in the air." Ahmadinejad said Qaher was built for deterrence. "It's not for expansionism. It's for deterrence," he said, claiming the aircraft was among the most advanced fighter jets in the world. In 2007, Iran unveiled what it said was its first domestically manufactured fighter jet, called Azarakhsh or Lightning. In the same year, it claimed that Azarakhsh had reached industrial production stage. Saeqeh, or Thunder, was a follow-up aircraft derived from Azarakhsh. Iran unveiled its first squadron of Saeqeh fighter bombers in an air show in September 2010.

Misssing NYC mom found dead

A New York City woman who went missing while vacationing alone in Istanbul was found dead on Saturday, and police were questioning 11 people in connection with the case, Turkey's state-run news agency said. Sarai Sierra, a 33-year-old mother of two, was last heard from on Jan. 21, the day she was to fly home. Her disappearance attracted a lot of interest in Turkey, where the disappearance of tourists is rare, and Istanbul police had set up a special unit to find her. The state-run Anadolu Agency said the body of a woman was discovered Saturday evening near the remnants of ancient city walls and that police later identified it as Sierra's. The agency said she was found with a head wound and a blanket near her body. She was wearing jeans, a jumper and a jacket, and still had her earrings and a bracelet. Police reached by The Associated Press refused to comment on the case. Sierra, whose children are 9 and 11, had left for Istanbul on Jan. 7 to explore her photography hobby and made a side trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Munich, Germany. She had originally planned to travel with a friend, but ended up traveling alone when her friend canceled. She was in regular contact with friends and relatives, and was last in touch with her family on Jan. 21, the day she was due back in New York. She told them she would visit Galata Bridge, which spans Istanbul's Golden Horn waterway, to take photos. The body was found not far from the bridge and near a major road that runs alongside the sea of Marmara. Here tourists often photograph dozens of tankers waiting to access the Bosporus strait. On Saturday, police stopped traffic there as forensic police inspected the area. Anadolu suggested Sierra may have been killed at another location and that her body may have been brought to the site to be hidden there. At least 11 people were being questioned in Istanbul, Anadolu said, and a police official at the site told journalists that two of them were women. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters about the case. Earlier, Anadolu had said nine people were detained. It was not clear if a Turkish man Sierra had exchanged emails with during her stay in Istanbul was among those being questioned. He was detained for questioning Friday, then released. Turkish news reports said Sierra had arranged to meet the man on Galata Bridge, but he reportedly told police the meeting never took place. Shortly after her body was discovered, a woman came forward and told police she had seen a white car parked near the city walls as she was driving there the night of Jan. 29, Anadolu reported. She said a man was trying to remove "something" from the car. "At that moment, I noticed a woman's hand," Anadolu quoted the woman as telling reporters after talking with police. The agency said she declined to give her name. Sierra's husband, Steven, and her brother, David Jimenez, traveled to Istanbul to help search for her. Sierra's mother, Betzaida Jimenez, said Saturday that she couldn't talk about the case when reached in New York. Shortly after Sierra was reported missing, Turkey set up a special police unit which scanned hours of security camera footage in downtown Istanbul in search of clues. A Turkish missing persons association joined the search, handing out flyers with photos of Sierra and urging anyone with information to call police. While break-ins and petty thievery are common in Istanbul, the vast and crowded city is considered relatively safe compared to other major urban centers. Sierra's death was unlikely to have a significant impact on tourism, a large component of the Turkish economy. In 2008, an Italian artist, Pippa Bacca, was raped and killed while hitchhiking to Israel wearing a wedding dress to plead for peace. Her naked body was found in a forest in northwest Turkey. A Turkish man was sentenced to life in prison for the attack.

Women have caught up to men on lung cancer risk

Smoke like a man, die like a man. U.S. women who smoke today have a much greater risk of dying from lung cancer than they did decades ago, partly because they are starting younger and smoking more — that is, they are lighting up like men, new research shows. Women also have caught up with men in their risk of dying from smoking-related illnesses. Lung cancer risk leveled off in the 1980s for men but is still rising for women. "It's a massive failure in prevention," said one study leader, Dr. Michael Thun of the American Cancer Society. And it's likely to repeat itself in places like China and Indonesia where smoking is growing, he said. About 1.3 billion people worldwide smoke. The research is in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. It is one of the most comprehensive looks ever at long-term trends in the effects of smoking and includes the first generation of U.S. women who started early in life and continued for decades, long enough for health effects to show up. The U.S. has more than 35 million smokers — about 20 percent of men and 18 percent of women. The percentage of people who smoke is far lower than it used to be; rates peaked around 1960 in men and two decades later in women. Researchers wanted to know if smoking is still as deadly as it was in the 1980s, given that cigarettes have changed (less tar), many smokers have quit, and treatments for many smoking-related diseases have improved. They also wanted to know more about smoking and women. The famous surgeon general's report in 1964 said smoking could cause lung cancer in men, but evidence was lacking in women at the time since relatively few of them had smoked long enough. One study, led by Dr. Prabhat Jha of the Center for Global Health Research in Toronto, looked at about 217,000 Americans in federal health surveys between 1997 and 2004. A second study, led by Thun, tracked smoking-related deaths through three periods — 1959-65, 1982-88 and 2000-10 — using seven large population health surveys covering more than 2.2 million people. Among the findings: — The risk of dying of lung cancer was more than 25 times higher for female smokers in recent years than for women who never smoked. In the 1960s, it was only three times higher. One reason: After World War II, women started taking up the habit at a younger age and began smoking more. —A person who never smoked was about twice as likely as a current smoker to live to age 80. For women, the chances of surviving that long were 70 percent for those who never smoked and 38 percent for smokers. In men, the numbers were 61 percent and 26 percent. —Smokers in the U.S. are three times more likely to die between ages 25 and 79 than non-smokers are. About 60 percent of those deaths are attributable to smoking. —Women are far less likely to quit smoking than men are. Among people 65 to 69, the ratio of former to current smokers is 4-to-1 for men and 2-to-1 for women. —Smoking shaves more than 10 years off the average life span, but quitting at any age buys time. Quitting by age 40 avoids nearly all the excess risk of death from smoking. Men and women who quit when they were 25 to 34 years old gained 10 years; stopping at ages 35 to 44 gained 9 years; at ages 45 to 54, six years; at ages 55 to 64, four years. —The risk of dying from other lung diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis is rising in men and women, and the rise in men is a surprise because their lung cancer risk leveled off in 1980s. Changes in cigarettes since the 1960s are a "plausible explanation" for the rise in non-cancer lung deaths, researchers write. Most smokers switched to cigarettes that were lower in tar and nicotine as measured by tests with machines, "but smokers inhaled more deeply to get the nicotine they were used to," Thun said. Deeper inhalation is consistent with the kind of lung damage seen in the illnesses that are rising, he said. Scientists have made scant progress against lung cancer compared with other forms of the disease, and it remains the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. More than 160,000 people die of it in the U.S. each year. The federal government, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the cancer society and several universities paid for the new studies. Thun testified against tobacco companies in class-action lawsuits challenging the supposed benefits of cigarettes with reduced tar and nicotine, but he donated his payment to the cancer society. Smoking needs more attention as a health hazard, Dr. Steven A. Schroeder of the University of California, San Francisco, wrote in a commentary in the journal. "More women die of lung cancer than of breast cancer. But there is no 'race for the cure' for lung cancer, no brown ribbon" or high-profile advocacy groups for lung cancer, he wrote. Kathy DeJoseph, 62, of suburban Atlanta, finally quit smoking after 40 years — to qualify for lung cancer surgery last year. "I tried everything that came along, I just never could do it," even while having chemotherapy, she said. It's a powerful addiction, she said: "I still every day have to resist wanting to go buy a pack." ___ Online: American Cancer Society: http://www.cancer.org National Cancer Institute: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/tobacco/smoking and http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/lung Medical journal: http://www.nejm.org

Obama’s big three goals for second term: Gun control, gay marriage, immigration reform

On Monday, President Obama shared his vision for the next four years with the nation in his second inaugural address. In the speech the president laid out an ambitious agenda for the next four years and there’s been a lot of talk about how much can actually be accomplished. He touched on a series of issues including climate change, immigration reform, economic inequality and gay rights- becoming the first president in modern history to talk about gay rights in an inaugural speech. Many of you had questions about the president’s speech and also about what we can expect in the second Obama term. Well it will be Gun control, gay marriage, immigration reform.

What Your Blood Type Reveals About Your Health

If you’re wondering whether you’re at a higher-than-average risk for heart disease, your answer may very well be a pinprick away. A new Harvard study published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology shows that your blood type can actually predict your risk for heart disease. Additional current research shows that certain blood types are associated with other dangerous disorders as well. Which blood type puts people at highest risk for heart disease? The study investigated whether certain blood types were associated with the risk of coronary heart disease, by looking at information from two large observational studies, the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. These two studies followed a combined 89,501 American men and women over a 24 to 26 year period. Participants with the blood type AB had the highest risk of coronary heart disease, the Harvard researchers found. In fact, people with AB blood type were 23 percent more likely to develop coronary heart disease. People who were blood type B had a 15 percent increased risk, and those with blood type A had a 6 percent increased risk compared to the O blood group. Why would blood type affect the risk of coronary heart disease? The studies did not explain the exact link between blood type and heart disease. “Blood type is very complicated, so there could be multiple mechanisms at play,” study author Lu Qi said in a news release. However, blood type A has been linked to elevated levels of cholesterol, as well as high levels of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol. People with blood type O have been found to bleed more, which makes them less likely to have blood clots. Since clots which block blood flow through coronary arteries lead to heart attacks, this theory may very well explain the low risk for cardiovascular issues among people with blood type O. What’s the link between blood type and other diseases? There have been earlier studies showing links between blood type and risks of infections or diseases. Here are some examples. •Both men and women with blood type AB, and women with blood type B, are more likely to suffer from strokes than people with O blood type. •The gut pathogen Rotavirus, which causes diarrhea and vomiting, has certain strains which are more likely to infect people with blood type A. (Infants can get vaccinated against rotavirus, and frequent handwashing is a good preventative measure for older children and adults.) •People with type B blood have a 72 percent increased risk of pancreatic cancer, and the risk is also elevated for AB blood types (51 percent) and those with blood type A (32 percent) compared to people with blood type O, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. •It’s not all bad news for A and AB blood types, at least not for women seeking fertility treatments—research shows they have more eggs in their ovaries than women with type O blood, who are more likely to have difficulty with fertility treatments. •Certain types of cancers seem to be more prevalent in specific blood types, according to information compiled from 2640 male and female cancer patients in India. •People with type A blood appeared to have higher incidences of breast cancer and lung cancer, blood types B and O were more likely to suffer from gastrointestinal cancer, and people with type B and A blood had higher incidents of oral cancer. In general, those with blood type A seemed to have an increases probability of getting cancer, and those with blood type O had a significantly lower risk. Reducing Heart Attack Risk Taking steps to improve your cardiovascular health can save your life, no matter what your blood type is. Avoiding tobacco use, maintaining a healthy weight, and exercising for a half hour or more five days a week will reduce your risk of coronary heart disease. Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, including fish twice a week, and limiting sodium, alcohol and sugary drinks is also recommended.

Drunk people cameras??? Where is the liberty?

A picture of your face could reveal that you're drunk. But it won't be the droopy eyes and drool that give you away. A new study reports that a thermal camera could detect drunkenness in the temperature of the face. Researchers at the University of Patras in Greece had 20 healthy participants down an 11-ounce (330-milliliter) glass of beer every 20 minutes. In total, they had four drinks, and after each, the researchers took a sequence of infrared pictures of their faces. Twenty minutes after the last beer, another series of pictures was taken. The researchers showed that two different approaches could be used to spot a drunk. In the first method, an algorithm was used to compare the photos to a database of facial pictures of drunk and sober people. The model could pick out inebriated participants based on certain hotspots on the face that are signatures of drunkenness. The researchers said similar technology has been used to determine whether a person was infected with a virus, such as SARS. In the second approach, another algorithm analyzed the temperature differences on certain points in an individual's face. For drunk people, the nose and mouth regions are generally hotter compared with the forehead. The researchers, led by Georgia Koukiou and Vassilis Anastassopoulos, said such technology could be used to scan people before they buy more alcohol or enter airports and other public spaces. Their work was published in the latest edition of the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics.

McDonald to go vegetarian ?????

US fast food giant McDonald's, famed for its beef-based Big Mac burgers, on Tuesday said it will open its first ever vegetarian-only restaurant in the world in India next year. The world's second-biggest restaurant chain after Subway already tailors its menus to suit local tastes -- which in India means no beef to avoid offending Hindus and no pork to cater for Muslim requirements. It will open its first vegetarian outlet in the middle of next year near the Golden Temple in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar in northern India, where religious authorities forbid consumption of meat at the shrine. "It will be the first time we have opened a vegetarian restaurant in the world," a spokesman for McDonald's in northern India, Rajesh Kumar Maini, told AFP. After the opening in Amritsar, the US chain plans to launch another vegetarian outlet at Katra near the Vaishno Devi cave shrine in Indian Kashmir -- a revered Hindu pilgrimage site that draws hundreds of thousands of worshippers a year. It sees the potential for many more vegetarian restaurants across the country. McDonald's in India already has a menu that is 50 percent vegetarian. Its McAloo Tikki burger at 28 rupees or 50 cents -- which uses a spicy fried potato-based patty -- is the top seller, accounting for a quarter of total sales. Among the chicken-only meat offerings, the Maharaja Mac is also a favourite. Currently India, with its population of 1.2 billion, is still a "very small market for McDonald's", said Maini. "We have just 271 restaurants in India and across the world we have nearly 33,000," Maini said. The chain serves half a million customers a day in India, out of 50 million people it serves daily in over 100 countries. "When you look at the potential of the country, it's one of the top priority countries and we're laying the groundwork for capturing the market," said Maini. "We plan to nearly double the number of outlets to 500 plus within the next three years," he said. McDonald's realised soon after it entered the country that it had to rework its international menu to Indian tastes. "The reasons were very compelling -- cow slaughter is not allowed because of religious reasons and we couldn't do pork either," Maini explained. Hindus, who account for 80 percent of India's population, regard cows as sacred. For Muslims, the consumption of pork is prohibited in the Koran. "It was the whole idea of going local and creating flavours that would create acceptance for us," Maini said. "We had to look at the whole market innovatively and we realised only chicken-based and vegetarian food would work." McDonald's is not alone in "Indianising" its offerings. Domino's Pizza, another leading fast food chain in India, has created pizzas with extra spicy toppings. But growing consumption of food high in fat is spurring concern that India is importing the Western disease of obesity, creating a ticking public health timebomb.

Lots of things to cover soon

There is a lot to cover soon. I have been busy on my other site http://freestocksadvice.blogspot.com/

A little pepper spray=xbox???

A woman trying to improve her chance to buy cheap electronics at a Walmart in a wealthy suburb spewed pepper spray on a crowd of shoppers and 20 people suffered minor injuries, police said Friday. The attack took place about 10:20 p.m. Thursday shortly after doors opened for the sale at the Walmart in Porter Ranch in the San Fernando Valley. The store had brought out a crate of discounted Xbox video game players, and a crowd had formed to wait for the unwrapping, when the woman began spraying people "in order to get an advantage," police Sgt. Jose Valle said. "Faces were red," shopper John Lopez told ABC News Radio. "This one guy was coming up to my wife going, 'Call an ambulance! Call an ambulance!'" Matthew Lopez, 18, told the Los Angeles Times he heard screaming and yelling. "Moments later, my throat stung. I was coughing really bad and watering up," he said. In the aftermath, video showed dozens of shoppers milling around while employees urge them to back up and make room. It was the only major violence reported at a Southern California store involving Black Friday Thanksgiving holiday sales. Ten people were slightly injured by the pepper spray and 10 others suffered minor bumps and bruises in the chaos, Valle said. They were treated at the scene. "People could have gotten trampled," he said. "Good thing there were no small kids." The woman got away in the confusion, but it was not immediately clear whether she got an Xbox, Valle said. "Walmart is going through register receipts to see if it was purchased," he said. The store remained open and those not affected by the pepper spray kept shopping. "This was an unfortunate situation. We're glad everyone seems to be OK," Walmart said in a statement. "We're working with law enforcement to provide what information we have, such as surveillance video, to assist in their investigation." The woman could face felony battery charges if she is found, Valle said.

School Hygiene Program Reduce Flu

A hand hygiene and cough etiquette program for elementary school children reduced cases of flu and the number of absences, a new study says. The study included five Pittsburgh schools that received the training program and five schools that received no special hygiene training. Lessons taught to the children in the five-step "WHACK the Flu" program were: •Wash or sanitize your hands often. •Home is where you stay when you are sick. •Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. •Cover your coughs and sneezes. •Keep your distance from sick people. During the academic year, schools that received the training program had 52 percent fewer confirmed illnesses caused by influenza A and 26 percent fewer student absences. However, there was no decrease in the number of illnesses caused by influenza B. It's not clear why there was no decrease in influenza B, but the University of Pittsburgh researchers suggested it may be because of "basic differences in the biology or epidemiology" of influenza B, or because influenza B occurred later in the flu season and mainly in younger children. The study, published in the November issue of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, also found that the flu program was successful in getting students to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer regularly, an average of 2.4 times per day. "Respiratory hygiene education and the regular use of hand sanitizer can be an important adjunct to influenza vaccination programs to reduce the number of influenza A infections among children," Dr. Samuel Stebbins and colleagues wrote in a journal news release.

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