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14 Nov 2011 23:21

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World: Just in case we needed another reminder to exercise once in a while

  • 552 million people could have diabetes by the year 2030 source
  • » That’s 1 in 10 people worldwide. The World Health Organization says that the rise in diabetic adults will most likely be due to an aging world population, not the increasing rate of obesity. Most cases are Type 2 and come from “weight gain and a sedentary lifestyle.” Count this number as inspiration for 2012’s resolutions.
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 May 2011 17:23

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World: Smokers of the world, quit! Today is “World No Tobacco Day”

  • Never a bad time: The new, concerning report on cell phone use isn’t the only place you’ll hear the word “carcinogenic” being used today; May 31st is World No Tobacco Day, a cause that could probably benefit from a slightly less clunky title. The World Health Organization estimates that some 6 million people die each year from tobacco-related illness. Anti-smoking measures within the U.S. have blossomed over the last decade, with smoking bans in public places, restaurants, and bars becoming more and more prevalent across the states — check here for a list of smoking bans applicable in your area. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 May 2011 13:55

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Tech: Yeah, that’s scary: WHO calls cell phones “carcinogenic hazard”

  • The World Health Organization has a new study out that says cell phones are possibly carcinogenic to humans — they’re in the same class as lead, engine exhaust and chloroform. They based their findings on a number of peer-reviewed studies on cell-phone safety. Long-term effects from cell phone radiation remain unknown, but research suggests that cell phone radiation is non-ionizing — similar to a very low-powered microwave. “What microwave radiation does in most simplistic terms is similar to what happens to food in microwaves, essentially cooking the brain,” notes Dr. Keith Black, who leads the neurology department at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He notes that beyond brain cancer, this could also cause memory problems because we hold cell phones close to the memory temporal lobes. Looks like it’s time to break out the earbuds. (photo via ElvertBarnes‘ Flickr page) source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Apr 2011 10:44

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World: Stillborn babies: Very high rates worldwide, and even in the U.S.

  • 2.6M number of stillborn babies worldwide in 2009, according to reports published by The Lancet
  • 98% of the babies stillborn each day — roughly 7,200 — die in developing countries, some at alarming rates
  • six number of stillborn babies per 1,000 born in the United States — very high for a developed country source
  • » Controversial numbers: The numbers in the developing world are questionable simply because, being the developing world, they’re much harder to quantify. But that doesn’t make the numbers any less shocking. According to the World Health Organization’s estimates, these countries have two-thirds of the stillborn deaths worldwide: India, Pakistan, Nigeria, China, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Afghanistan and the United Republic of Tanzania. Yeah, that’s right. That’s only ten countries.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Nov 2010 22:20

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World: WHO: Second-hand smoke kills hundreds of thousands each year

  • 600,000 the number of people worldwide who die each year as a result of second-hand smoking (cough, cough)
  • 165,000 the number of children killed each year by second-hand smoke; they’re most heavily exposed to it source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Nov 2010 12:07

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World: Haiti’s cholera outbreak gets much larger after Hurricane Tomas

  • 500+ people have died in Haiti’s recent cholera outbreak
  • 7,000+ have fallen ill to the very scary waterborne disease source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Jun 2010 14:19

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World: Did the World Health Organization overhype swine flu?

  • Two new reports suggest they did. Last year, swine flu, or H1N1, was treated as the second coming of the black plague. A couple of new reports suggest the people making the recommendations to WHO had ties to the drug industry, and those recommendations led to governments wasting millions of dollars on H1N1 vaccines that would never actually get used. “We are left wondering whether major public health organizations are able to effectively manage the conflicts of interest that are inherent in medical science,” one report says. So, who’s the swine now? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

25 Oct 2009 13:47

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Tech: Daily poll: The link between cancer and cell phone usage

  • Word on the street is that the World Health Organization is about to release a report linking long-term cell phone usage to higher levels of certain kinds of cancer. The study recommends restricting – but not banning – usage for children, and perhaps investing in some sort of hands-free setup. Which leads to the question – would you cut back on heavy cell phone usage if you knew it was cancerous? It seems that, unlike cigarettes, they have an essential use, so we couldn’t seem them going away. But what do you think? Vote above. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jul 2009 18:15

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World: Not-so-breaking news: tanning beds and UV radiation cause cancer

  • Don’t fake+bake guys. Cancer researchers now have proof that radiation is carcinogenic – which isn’t so awesome. This puts it among the ranks of tobacco, chimney sweeping and all those fun and healthy things that are definite causes of cancer. No big deal, orange was so last year anyway. source
Posted by Nathalie Heiberg • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Jul 2009 10:27

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World: WHO sez the death toll from swine flu has gone way up

  • 429 the WHO’s official swine flu death toll two weeks ago
  • 700+ the WHO’s official death toll as of today; good God source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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