http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33433935/ns/world_news-africa/
updated 2:59 p.m. ET, Thurs., Oct . 22, 2009
NAIROBI, Kenya - Ethiopia said Thursday it needs emergency food aid for 6.2 million people (6,200,000), an appeal that comes 25 years after a devastating famine compounded by communist policies killed 1 million and prompted one of the largest charity campaigns in history.
The crisis stems from a prolonged drought that has hit much of the Horn of Africa, including Kenya and Somalia.
Drought is especially disastrous in Ethiopia because more than 80 percent of people live off the land. Agriculture drives the economy, accounting for half of all domestic production and most exports.
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http://www.oxfamamerica.org/
http://www.oxfam.org/
Friday, October 23, 2009
The future of facts: laboring to ensure our intellectual integrity
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=5&article_id=107788
The future of facts: laboring to ensure our intellectual integrity
By Esther Dyson
Commentary by
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
At a recent conference of newspaper editors in which I took part, a small crowd gathered to talk about journalism and new media. When I told the group that I had begun my career as a magazine fact-checker, several of them grew misty-eyed, as if someone had told a group of priests about his childhood as an altar boy.
I brought up my past because I think that fact-checking is the single best training not just for journalism, but for life in general. It teaches you to think skeptically. It is easy to believe something when someone who appears knowledgeable asserts it. But if you have a responsibility for checking facts, you listen more carefully.
On what sources does the speaker base his facts? Is there something in it for him – a higher stock price, an advertising fee, or someone else’s gratitude? Or is he simply biased because of the people he knows, the company he works for, or the attitudes he picked up at home?
I spent hours picking through sources – mostly dusty papers in the years before the Internet, or strangers on the telephone – to clarify questions of fact: Was this really the first such product? Was Mr. Smith 42 or already 43? Was his claim that revenues had grown for the last five years true merely because of acquisitions that his company had made? And so on.
My life was ruled by tk – which stands for “to kum,” or “to come,” in the jargon of reporters. We fact-checkers would joke about the lazy reporters who would hand us copy such as, “Juan Tigar, tk years old, grew up in tk before studying at tk. Now tk title at Widgets Corp., he …” Our job was to fill in the tk’s.
But we learned an enormous amount. We learned not just thousands of facts that I have since forgotten, but an attitude of skepticism coupled with reverence for the truth.
That attitude contrasts with the skepticism I once heard from a Russian reporter about her early days on the job. “Whenever we read an article about the health dangers of butter, we would immediately run out and buy as much butter as we could find,” she told me. “We knew it meant there was about to be a butter shortage.” In other words, Russians looked only for the agenda, the motivation behind the assertion. The actual truth was irrelevant.
Of course, spin, propaganda and censorship persist in journalism, but with one big difference: almost anyone can now operate as a reporter. How can we ensure that these self-nominated reporters respect the truth?
In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission has announced plans to require bloggers and celebrity endorsers to disclose gifts or payments from vendors and others seeking the bloggers’ positive comments online. But what about other kinds of bias?
As the journalistic priesthood erodes and everyone can become a citizen reporter or commentator, regulating or training all would-be journalists is not the answer. In line with the bottom-up, do-it-yourself ethos of the Internet, where people book their own flights, publish their own photos, and sell their own second-hand goods, it should be the users’ responsibility to do their own fact-checking.
This is not to say that journalists should not check their own facts (or that priests should not observe the tenets of their own religion). But in the end, everyone has to become a better reader – more skeptical and more curious. Why is this story getting so much attention? Does this blogger ever say anything negative, or is she always talking about the great products she uses? Does she have any kind of disclosures on her blog? Why is this politician saying nice things about that politician? What company does the product reviewer work for?
Governments can impose regulations, but in the end we will get the kind of journalism for which we ask. If we ask for it, Web sites will offer not just content but reputation systems, so that contributors will have reputations as reliable sources (or not).
We should not outlaw anonymity (which has its uses), but we can ask for details about the people whose words we are reading. Someone may legitimately want to remain anonymous, but we can draw our own conclusions about their reasons.
That much thinking may sound like a lot of work, but it is what is required of a responsible adult these days. Compared to a century ago, more people spend less time laboring to ensure their physical existence. But, in this increasingly confusing world, we need to spend a little more time laboring to ensure our own intellectual integrity – a task that we cannot outsource to governments or even to media. Facts are holy, but not all media that claim to report them, “new” or old, can be trusted.
The future of facts: laboring to ensure our intellectual integrity
By Esther Dyson
Commentary by
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
At a recent conference of newspaper editors in which I took part, a small crowd gathered to talk about journalism and new media. When I told the group that I had begun my career as a magazine fact-checker, several of them grew misty-eyed, as if someone had told a group of priests about his childhood as an altar boy.
I brought up my past because I think that fact-checking is the single best training not just for journalism, but for life in general. It teaches you to think skeptically. It is easy to believe something when someone who appears knowledgeable asserts it. But if you have a responsibility for checking facts, you listen more carefully.
On what sources does the speaker base his facts? Is there something in it for him – a higher stock price, an advertising fee, or someone else’s gratitude? Or is he simply biased because of the people he knows, the company he works for, or the attitudes he picked up at home?
I spent hours picking through sources – mostly dusty papers in the years before the Internet, or strangers on the telephone – to clarify questions of fact: Was this really the first such product? Was Mr. Smith 42 or already 43? Was his claim that revenues had grown for the last five years true merely because of acquisitions that his company had made? And so on.
My life was ruled by tk – which stands for “to kum,” or “to come,” in the jargon of reporters. We fact-checkers would joke about the lazy reporters who would hand us copy such as, “Juan Tigar, tk years old, grew up in tk before studying at tk. Now tk title at Widgets Corp., he …” Our job was to fill in the tk’s.
But we learned an enormous amount. We learned not just thousands of facts that I have since forgotten, but an attitude of skepticism coupled with reverence for the truth.
That attitude contrasts with the skepticism I once heard from a Russian reporter about her early days on the job. “Whenever we read an article about the health dangers of butter, we would immediately run out and buy as much butter as we could find,” she told me. “We knew it meant there was about to be a butter shortage.” In other words, Russians looked only for the agenda, the motivation behind the assertion. The actual truth was irrelevant.
Of course, spin, propaganda and censorship persist in journalism, but with one big difference: almost anyone can now operate as a reporter. How can we ensure that these self-nominated reporters respect the truth?
In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission has announced plans to require bloggers and celebrity endorsers to disclose gifts or payments from vendors and others seeking the bloggers’ positive comments online. But what about other kinds of bias?
As the journalistic priesthood erodes and everyone can become a citizen reporter or commentator, regulating or training all would-be journalists is not the answer. In line with the bottom-up, do-it-yourself ethos of the Internet, where people book their own flights, publish their own photos, and sell their own second-hand goods, it should be the users’ responsibility to do their own fact-checking.
This is not to say that journalists should not check their own facts (or that priests should not observe the tenets of their own religion). But in the end, everyone has to become a better reader – more skeptical and more curious. Why is this story getting so much attention? Does this blogger ever say anything negative, or is she always talking about the great products she uses? Does she have any kind of disclosures on her blog? Why is this politician saying nice things about that politician? What company does the product reviewer work for?
Governments can impose regulations, but in the end we will get the kind of journalism for which we ask. If we ask for it, Web sites will offer not just content but reputation systems, so that contributors will have reputations as reliable sources (or not).
We should not outlaw anonymity (which has its uses), but we can ask for details about the people whose words we are reading. Someone may legitimately want to remain anonymous, but we can draw our own conclusions about their reasons.
That much thinking may sound like a lot of work, but it is what is required of a responsible adult these days. Compared to a century ago, more people spend less time laboring to ensure their physical existence. But, in this increasingly confusing world, we need to spend a little more time laboring to ensure our own intellectual integrity – a task that we cannot outsource to governments or even to media. Facts are holy, but not all media that claim to report them, “new” or old, can be trusted.
First-time Internet Users Find Boost In Brain Function After Just One Week
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019134707.htm
ScienceDaily (Oct. 19, 2009) — You can teach an old dog new tricks, say UCLA scientists who found that middle-aged and older adults with little Internet experience were able to trigger key centers in the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning after just one week of surfing the Web.
The findings, presented Oct. 19 at the 2009 meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, suggest that Internet training can stimulate neural activation patterns and could potentially enhance brain function and cognition in older adults.
As the brain ages, a number of structural and functional changes occur, including atrophy, reductions in cell activity and increases in deposits of amyloid plaques and tau tangles, which can impact cognitive function.
Research has shown that mental stimulation similar to that which occurs in individuals who frequently use the Internet may affect the efficiency of cognitive processing and alter the way the brain encodes new information.
"We found that for older people with minimal experience, performing Internet searches for even a relatively short period of time can change brain activity patterns and enhance function," said study author Dr. Gary Small, a professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and the author of "iBrain," a book that describes the impact of new technology on the brain and behavior.
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ScienceDaily (Oct. 19, 2009) — You can teach an old dog new tricks, say UCLA scientists who found that middle-aged and older adults with little Internet experience were able to trigger key centers in the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning after just one week of surfing the Web.
The findings, presented Oct. 19 at the 2009 meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, suggest that Internet training can stimulate neural activation patterns and could potentially enhance brain function and cognition in older adults.
As the brain ages, a number of structural and functional changes occur, including atrophy, reductions in cell activity and increases in deposits of amyloid plaques and tau tangles, which can impact cognitive function.
Research has shown that mental stimulation similar to that which occurs in individuals who frequently use the Internet may affect the efficiency of cognitive processing and alter the way the brain encodes new information.
"We found that for older people with minimal experience, performing Internet searches for even a relatively short period of time can change brain activity patterns and enhance function," said study author Dr. Gary Small, a professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and the author of "iBrain," a book that describes the impact of new technology on the brain and behavior.
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Children's Blood Lead Levels Linked To Lower Test Scores
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019172630.htm
ScienceDaily (Oct. 20, 2009) — Exposure to lead in early childhood significantly contributes to lower performances on end-of-grade (EOG) reading tests among minority and low-income children, according to researchers at Duke University and North Carolina Central University.
"We found a clear dose-response pattern between lead exposure and test performance, with the effects becoming more pronounced as you move from children at the high end to the low end of the test-score curve," said lead investigator Marie Lynn Miranda, director of the Children's Environmental Health Initiative (CEHI) at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment.
"Given the higher average lead exposure experienced by African-American children in the United States, our results show that lead does in fact explain part of the observed achievement gap that blacks, children of low socioeconomic status and other disadvantaged groups continue to exhibit in school performance in the U.S. education system, compared to middle- and upper-class whites," Miranda said.
The study, published online in the peer-reviewed journal NeuroToxicology, linked data on blood-lead levels from the North Carolina Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program surveillance registry to EOG reading test scores for 4th graders in all 100 of the state's counties.
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Their analyses revealed that early childhood exposure to lead, the family's poverty status and parental education all account for test-score declines. On average, exposure to lead accounts for between 7 percent and 16 percent of the decline, with the larger declines associated with higher blood-lead levels.
By comparison, they found the family's poverty status, as indicated by enrollment in a free or reduced-price school lunch program, accounts for 25 percent to 28 percent of EOG declines.
And parental education accounts for the largest portion of the drop in test scores, between 58 percent and 65 percent of the total.
-----
The team's analysis showed that children already at the low end of the test-score curve were more greatly affected by lead exposure – the greater the exposure, the greater the impact on their scores. However, downward shifts were also documented in exposed children at the high end of the EOG curve. This is important, the study noted, because EOG scores are used to place students into advanced and intellectually gifted (AIG) programs at schools across the United States.
"Our findings show that even low-level lead exposure can push some children out of the score range that would make them eligible for these special programs," Miranda said. "To the extent that low-income and minority children are systematically exposed to more lead, AIG programs become less economically and racially diverse."
ScienceDaily (Oct. 20, 2009) — Exposure to lead in early childhood significantly contributes to lower performances on end-of-grade (EOG) reading tests among minority and low-income children, according to researchers at Duke University and North Carolina Central University.
"We found a clear dose-response pattern between lead exposure and test performance, with the effects becoming more pronounced as you move from children at the high end to the low end of the test-score curve," said lead investigator Marie Lynn Miranda, director of the Children's Environmental Health Initiative (CEHI) at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment.
"Given the higher average lead exposure experienced by African-American children in the United States, our results show that lead does in fact explain part of the observed achievement gap that blacks, children of low socioeconomic status and other disadvantaged groups continue to exhibit in school performance in the U.S. education system, compared to middle- and upper-class whites," Miranda said.
The study, published online in the peer-reviewed journal NeuroToxicology, linked data on blood-lead levels from the North Carolina Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program surveillance registry to EOG reading test scores for 4th graders in all 100 of the state's counties.
-----
Their analyses revealed that early childhood exposure to lead, the family's poverty status and parental education all account for test-score declines. On average, exposure to lead accounts for between 7 percent and 16 percent of the decline, with the larger declines associated with higher blood-lead levels.
By comparison, they found the family's poverty status, as indicated by enrollment in a free or reduced-price school lunch program, accounts for 25 percent to 28 percent of EOG declines.
And parental education accounts for the largest portion of the drop in test scores, between 58 percent and 65 percent of the total.
-----
The team's analysis showed that children already at the low end of the test-score curve were more greatly affected by lead exposure – the greater the exposure, the greater the impact on their scores. However, downward shifts were also documented in exposed children at the high end of the EOG curve. This is important, the study noted, because EOG scores are used to place students into advanced and intellectually gifted (AIG) programs at schools across the United States.
"Our findings show that even low-level lead exposure can push some children out of the score range that would make them eligible for these special programs," Miranda said. "To the extent that low-income and minority children are systematically exposed to more lead, AIG programs become less economically and racially diverse."
Killer Algae: Key Player In Mass Extinctions?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019134716.htm
ScienceDaily (Oct. 20, 2009) — Supervolcanoes and cosmic impacts get all the terrible glory for causing mass extinctions, but a new theory suggests lowly algae may be the killer behind the world's great species annihilations.
Today, just about anywhere there is water, there can be toxic algae. The microscopic plants usually exist in small concentrations, but a sudden warming in the water or an injection of dust or sediment from land can trigger a bloom that kills thousands of fish, poisons shellfish, or even humans.
James Castle and John Rodgers of Clemson University think the same thing happened during the five largest mass extinctions in Earth's history. Each time a large die off occurred, they found a spike in the number of fossil algae mats called stromatolites strewn around the planet. Castle will be presenting the research on October 19 at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Portland, Oregon.
"If you go through theories of mass extinctions, there are always some unanswered questions," Castle said. "For example, an impact – how does that cause species to go extinct? Is it climate change, dust in the atmosphere? It's probably not going to kill off all these species on its own."
But as the nutrient-rich fallout from the disaster lands in the water, it becomes food for algae. They explode in population, releasing chemicals that can act as anything from skin irritants to potent neurotoxins. Plants on land can pick up the compounds in their roots, and pass them on to herbivorous animals.
If the theory is right, it answers a lot of questions about how species died off in the ancient world. It also raises concerns for how today's algae may damage the ecosystem in a warmer world.
"Algae growth is favored by warmer temperatures," Castle said. "You get accelerated metabolism and reproduction of these organisms, and the effect appears to be enhanced for species of toxin-producing cyanobacteria."
He added that toxic algae in the United States appear to be migrating slowly northward through the country's ponds and lakes, and along the coast as temperatures creep upward. Their expanding range portends a host of problems for fish and wildlife, but also for humans, as algae increasingly invade reservoirs and other sources of drinking water.
ScienceDaily (Oct. 20, 2009) — Supervolcanoes and cosmic impacts get all the terrible glory for causing mass extinctions, but a new theory suggests lowly algae may be the killer behind the world's great species annihilations.
Today, just about anywhere there is water, there can be toxic algae. The microscopic plants usually exist in small concentrations, but a sudden warming in the water or an injection of dust or sediment from land can trigger a bloom that kills thousands of fish, poisons shellfish, or even humans.
James Castle and John Rodgers of Clemson University think the same thing happened during the five largest mass extinctions in Earth's history. Each time a large die off occurred, they found a spike in the number of fossil algae mats called stromatolites strewn around the planet. Castle will be presenting the research on October 19 at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Portland, Oregon.
"If you go through theories of mass extinctions, there are always some unanswered questions," Castle said. "For example, an impact – how does that cause species to go extinct? Is it climate change, dust in the atmosphere? It's probably not going to kill off all these species on its own."
But as the nutrient-rich fallout from the disaster lands in the water, it becomes food for algae. They explode in population, releasing chemicals that can act as anything from skin irritants to potent neurotoxins. Plants on land can pick up the compounds in their roots, and pass them on to herbivorous animals.
If the theory is right, it answers a lot of questions about how species died off in the ancient world. It also raises concerns for how today's algae may damage the ecosystem in a warmer world.
"Algae growth is favored by warmer temperatures," Castle said. "You get accelerated metabolism and reproduction of these organisms, and the effect appears to be enhanced for species of toxin-producing cyanobacteria."
He added that toxic algae in the United States appear to be migrating slowly northward through the country's ponds and lakes, and along the coast as temperatures creep upward. Their expanding range portends a host of problems for fish and wildlife, but also for humans, as algae increasingly invade reservoirs and other sources of drinking water.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Even "low" alcohol consumption has a negative impact on overall health
If their definition of a "unit" of drink is what U.S. researchers call "a drink", their definition of "low" is more than the amount that I've seen associated with possible positive health effects in some studies.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-10/bc-ela102109.php
Public release date: 22-Oct-2009
Contact: Charlotte Webber
BioMed Central
Even low alcohol consumption has a negative impact on overall health
Low alcohol consumption is bad for your health in general. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation studied the relationship between alcohol consumption and health to test the current theory which suggests improved health is responsible for the link found between low alcohol consumption and increased wages.
Johan Jarl, from Lund University, Sweden, worked with a team of researchers to determine the effect of low alcohol consumption on health by measuring alcohol-related medical care costs and episodes collected during the Swedish Cost of Alcohol Project in 2002. They found that, with the exception of people more than 80 years old, men who consumed up to five units a day and women who consumed up to 2.5 units a day cost the health service more than those who do not drink. Their finding calls into question the previous assumption that low alcohol consumption is good for your health.
Several studies show that people with low alcohol intake are more highly paid. One common, but untested, explanation for this link is that low consumers spend more time at work and therefore gets better pay due to the protective effect of alcohol on some diseases. According to Jarl, "In this study, however, we found that, when including also those diseases where low consumption increases the risk of morbidity and mortality, low-to-moderate alcohol intake actually has a net negative health impact", adding, "It is therefore doubtful if the common explanation of health as the link between alcohol consumption and increased wages is valid in its existing form."
Speaking about other factors that, in the light of these findings, could account for the alcohol-wage link, Jarl said, "Family background, social networking and subjective health benefits may be responsible. It is not unlikely that the link is actually compiled of several different factors that together give a significant effect of low alcohol consumption on wage. It should come as no surprise that the nature of links such as this is normally complex and care should be taken not to oversimplify".
Caterack, among world’s oldest cats, dies at 30
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33439100/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/
updated 2 hours, 13 minutes ago
Caterack, the kitty who kept owner Alisa Morris company the past 30 years, died on Thursday.
Morris, who shared her beloved cat's story with PEOPLEPets.com last month, said her pet — who may have been among the world's oldest living cats — had been experiencing kidney problems and had gotten very frail.
"I drove her to the vet wrapped in a towel," Morris told PEOPLEPets.com in an e-mail. "She purred when they prepped her and she went so peacefully."
In the cat's last days, Morris of Midlothian, Texas had switched Caterack to wet food because she was having trouble chewing. "I've had to go to the little package stuff that's wet," Morris had said earlier. "That's the only thing that she can get down."
The oldest cat ever recorded was a 38-year-old feline named Creme Puff, according to a rep from Guinness World Records. That cat died in 2005.
Morris had been readying herself to say goodbye to her daily companion of three decades, the one who helped her through a divorce and who was there to watch her two children grow up.
updated 2 hours, 13 minutes ago
Caterack, the kitty who kept owner Alisa Morris company the past 30 years, died on Thursday.
Morris, who shared her beloved cat's story with PEOPLEPets.com last month, said her pet — who may have been among the world's oldest living cats — had been experiencing kidney problems and had gotten very frail.
"I drove her to the vet wrapped in a towel," Morris told PEOPLEPets.com in an e-mail. "She purred when they prepped her and she went so peacefully."
In the cat's last days, Morris of Midlothian, Texas had switched Caterack to wet food because she was having trouble chewing. "I've had to go to the little package stuff that's wet," Morris had said earlier. "That's the only thing that she can get down."
The oldest cat ever recorded was a 38-year-old feline named Creme Puff, according to a rep from Guinness World Records. That cat died in 2005.
Morris had been readying herself to say goodbye to her daily companion of three decades, the one who helped her through a divorce and who was there to watch her two children grow up.
Pesticides exposure linked to suicidal thoughts
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-10/kcl-pel102209.php
Public release date: 22-Oct-2009
Contact: Melanie Haberstroh
King's College London
Pesticides exposure linked to suicidal thoughts
A new study in China has found that people with higher levels of pesticide exposure are more likely to have suicidal thoughts. The study was carried out by Dr Robert Stewart from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London together with scientists from Tongde Hospital Zhejiang Province.
The agricultural pesticides commonly used in China are organophosphates which are in wide use in many lower income countries but have been banned in many Western nations. It is well known that they are very dangerous if ingested as an overdose but there is also biological evidence that chronic low-grade exposure to these chemicals, which are very easily absorbed into the body through the skin and lungs, may have adverse effects on mental health. This study is the first epidemiological evidence to suggest possible effects on suicidal thoughts.
The study was carried out in central/coastal China, a relatively wealthy area with a rapidly developing economy. In a very large survey of mental health in rural community residents, participants were also asked about how they stored pesticides. The study found that people who stored pesticides at home, i.e. those with more exposure, were more likely to report recent suicidal thoughts. Supporting this, the survey also found suicidal thoughts to be associated with how easily accessible these pesticides were in the home and that the geographic areas with highest home storage of pesticides also had highest levels of suicidal thoughts in their populations.
Given the high level of pesticide exposure and the high suicide risk in rural China, clarification of the causal mechanisms underlying this association and the development of appropriate interventions should be priorities for public health and health policy.
Dr Robert Stewart comments: 'Organophosphate pesticides are widely used around the world although are banned in many countries because of their risk to health. They are particularly lethal chemicals when taken in overdose and are a cause of many suicides worldwide. Our research findings that suggest that higher exposure to these chemicals might actually increase the risk of suicidal thoughts provides further support for calls for tighter international restrictions on agricultural pesticide availability and use.'
Dr Jianmin Zhang, Associate Chief Psychiatrist, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, and Vice Director, Zhejiang Office of Mental Health, China added: 'The findings of this study suggested potential causal links and might partially account for the much higher incidence of suicide in rural than urban areas of China. However, further studies particularly with more precisely defined and assessed exposure are critically needed, as awareness of safer access to pesticides is important both to policy-makers and pesticide users.'
Public release date: 22-Oct-2009
Contact: Melanie Haberstroh
King's College London
Pesticides exposure linked to suicidal thoughts
A new study in China has found that people with higher levels of pesticide exposure are more likely to have suicidal thoughts. The study was carried out by Dr Robert Stewart from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London together with scientists from Tongde Hospital Zhejiang Province.
The agricultural pesticides commonly used in China are organophosphates which are in wide use in many lower income countries but have been banned in many Western nations. It is well known that they are very dangerous if ingested as an overdose but there is also biological evidence that chronic low-grade exposure to these chemicals, which are very easily absorbed into the body through the skin and lungs, may have adverse effects on mental health. This study is the first epidemiological evidence to suggest possible effects on suicidal thoughts.
The study was carried out in central/coastal China, a relatively wealthy area with a rapidly developing economy. In a very large survey of mental health in rural community residents, participants were also asked about how they stored pesticides. The study found that people who stored pesticides at home, i.e. those with more exposure, were more likely to report recent suicidal thoughts. Supporting this, the survey also found suicidal thoughts to be associated with how easily accessible these pesticides were in the home and that the geographic areas with highest home storage of pesticides also had highest levels of suicidal thoughts in their populations.
Given the high level of pesticide exposure and the high suicide risk in rural China, clarification of the causal mechanisms underlying this association and the development of appropriate interventions should be priorities for public health and health policy.
Dr Robert Stewart comments: 'Organophosphate pesticides are widely used around the world although are banned in many countries because of their risk to health. They are particularly lethal chemicals when taken in overdose and are a cause of many suicides worldwide. Our research findings that suggest that higher exposure to these chemicals might actually increase the risk of suicidal thoughts provides further support for calls for tighter international restrictions on agricultural pesticide availability and use.'
Dr Jianmin Zhang, Associate Chief Psychiatrist, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, and Vice Director, Zhejiang Office of Mental Health, China added: 'The findings of this study suggested potential causal links and might partially account for the much higher incidence of suicide in rural than urban areas of China. However, further studies particularly with more precisely defined and assessed exposure are critically needed, as awareness of safer access to pesticides is important both to policy-makers and pesticide users.'
Maternal Smoking May Increase Newborns' Discomfort
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021100738.htm
ScienceDaily (Oct. 21, 2009) — A new research study being published in the October 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry suggests that maternal smoking may increase the level of distress of newborns.
Studies have consistently found that prenatal cigarette smoke exposure is associated with increased rates of behavior problems, irritability, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, the risk of violent offenses, conduct disorder, adolescent onset of drug dependence, and the risk for criminal arrest in offspring. This study adds another potential negative outcome to the list of reasons for mothers to stop smoking while pregnant.
Most of the effects of tobacco either during pregnancy or on postnatal outcomes are attributed to nicotine. However, smoking is associated with reduced monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) activity, enzymes that degrade brain neurotransmitters in smokers. Prenatal smoke exposure-induced low MAO-A activity in fetal life may dysregulate brain neurotransmission, creating a potential vulnerability to develop behavioral disorders later in life. This dysregulation can occur with or without interaction with nicotine's effect on the developing brain.
French scientists compared blood biomarkers of MAO-A activity in smoking and non-smoking pregnant women and in the cord blood of their newborns. They also assessed the newborns' comfort level during their first 48 hours of life. They found that MAO-A activity is reduced both in pregnant smokers and in their newborns. The newborns of smoking mothers also showed significantly more discomfort than those of non-smoking mothers, potentially related to MAO-A inhibition.
Corresponding author Dr. Ivan Berlin explained that this paper's findings "may have implications for future research because it proposes a biological explanation for the previously demonstrated relationship between smoking during pregnancy and behavioral disorders in the offspring."
"We know that maternal smoking can negatively affect a newborn in many ways, such as contributing to low birth weight. Berlin and colleagues provide new evidence that the newborns of mothers who smoke experience more behavioral discomfort, and they suggest a mechanism that helps to explain the cause of this discomfort," commented Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. Although additional studies are needed, this work highlights the importance of targeting pregnant women for help to stop smoking.
ScienceDaily (Oct. 21, 2009) — A new research study being published in the October 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry suggests that maternal smoking may increase the level of distress of newborns.
Studies have consistently found that prenatal cigarette smoke exposure is associated with increased rates of behavior problems, irritability, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, the risk of violent offenses, conduct disorder, adolescent onset of drug dependence, and the risk for criminal arrest in offspring. This study adds another potential negative outcome to the list of reasons for mothers to stop smoking while pregnant.
Most of the effects of tobacco either during pregnancy or on postnatal outcomes are attributed to nicotine. However, smoking is associated with reduced monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) activity, enzymes that degrade brain neurotransmitters in smokers. Prenatal smoke exposure-induced low MAO-A activity in fetal life may dysregulate brain neurotransmission, creating a potential vulnerability to develop behavioral disorders later in life. This dysregulation can occur with or without interaction with nicotine's effect on the developing brain.
French scientists compared blood biomarkers of MAO-A activity in smoking and non-smoking pregnant women and in the cord blood of their newborns. They also assessed the newborns' comfort level during their first 48 hours of life. They found that MAO-A activity is reduced both in pregnant smokers and in their newborns. The newborns of smoking mothers also showed significantly more discomfort than those of non-smoking mothers, potentially related to MAO-A inhibition.
Corresponding author Dr. Ivan Berlin explained that this paper's findings "may have implications for future research because it proposes a biological explanation for the previously demonstrated relationship between smoking during pregnancy and behavioral disorders in the offspring."
"We know that maternal smoking can negatively affect a newborn in many ways, such as contributing to low birth weight. Berlin and colleagues provide new evidence that the newborns of mothers who smoke experience more behavioral discomfort, and they suggest a mechanism that helps to explain the cause of this discomfort," commented Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. Although additional studies are needed, this work highlights the importance of targeting pregnant women for help to stop smoking.
Explaining to Kids Helps Cognitive Growth
The title on this article "In Defense of Permissive Parenting: Why Talking Back May Lead to Smarter Kids" is not accurate. Explaining things to your children is not "Permissive Parenting".
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thehumancondition/archive/2009/10/21/in-defense-of-permissive-parenting-why-talking-back-may-lead-to-smarter-kids.aspx
Posted Wednesday, October 21, 2009 12:20 PM
Tony Dokoupil
Inside a convenience store, Xenia is battling her 4-year-old son, Paulino, over buying a soft drink. She wants him to try a small size, he wants a larger one. "That one does not work," she says, referring to the rack of big cups. "These [smaller] ones do."
Xenia eventually won the battle over beverages, but she may have lost the parenting war, according to a pair of new studies, highlighting how small differences in communication style can have a large impact on kids. And in many cases, it's minority families like this one (Xenia and Paulino are Mexican-American) that suffer the most.
Moms, dads, or caregivers who mainly talk to their offspring using commands, like Xenia, who was cited in the study, rather than reasoning may get their kids to do what they want, but they also fail to develop their children’s minds, the research out of the University of California, Berkeley, and UCLA suggests.
The findings have particular significance for minority communities where do-as-I-say exchanges have long predominated over more nuanced argument. But they may also resonant with policy wonks, as Washington debates whether to expand publicly funded preschool programs. Reading, singing, dancing and other activities at the heart of the government’s multi-billion-dollar Head Start program may help low-income kids aged zero to 5. But a crucial link, these studies suggest, is coaching parents to explain decisions with their children─and letting them talk back, at least just a little bit.
In one of the studies due out early next year in the journal of Developmental Psychology, researchers spent more than a year studying two dozen Mexican-American families, observing real-world mother-child interactions like those between Xenia and Paulino. Mexican-American kids were found to spend around twice as much time watching television than reading. But the study's most striking results had to do with parenting techniques. Of the more than 1,400 exchanges that researchers documented of a mother wanting her child to do something, a mere 8 percent included "reasoning," while just 9 percent included clarification of what the child should be doing instead. By far the biggest category was "direct verbal commands,” which accounted for 42 percent of parenting efforts. (Incidentally, the overall success rate with these strategies was almost 75 percent.) Other studies have found that white parents deploy reasoning techniques more than a third of the time—"inviting more complex thought and language development" as they do so, according to Bruce Fuller, a UC Berkeley professor of education and public policy, who coauthored the research.
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Eating Right -- Not Supplements -- Is Best At Keeping Your Good Bacteria Healthy
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021115153.htm
ScienceDaily (Oct. 21, 2009) — Healthy eating, not supplements, is the best way to keep the good bacteria in your gut healthy, says a dietitian and researcher.
As with vitamins, it's best to get the bacteria you need from healthy food rather than taking often expensive and potentially ineffective supplements, says Gail Cresci, Medical College of Georgia dietitian and researcher.
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There is even mounting evidence that a healthy gut microbiota helps maintain a healthy weight. Studies have shown, for example, that when bacteria from a genetically fat mouse are placed in a lean germ-free mouse, it gains weight without changing its food intake.
Unfortunately poor diets are hurting the bacteria in many of us and the overuse of antibiotics is taking its toll as well, she says, particularly the common, broad spectrum antibiotics that wipe out anything in their path, good and bad bacteria included.
Diarrhea is an extremely common consequence of disturbing the natural balance of your gut's microbiota. In generally healthy individuals, a good diet, rich in fiber, protein and low in fat, will quickly help restore good bacteria. But in older individuals or those with an underlying condition, probiotics may be needed to avoid potentially deadly problems such as overgrowth of bad bacterium like Clostridium difficile. When that bacteria starts to thrive, it can result in an extremely enlarged colon that must be removed and, even then, about 80 percent of patients die.
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Ms. Cresci says a good daily diet has:
* 30 percent or less of calories coming from fat and saturated fats comprising no more than 10 percent of that. The majority should come from monounsaturated fats such as olive and canola oils.
* 25-30 grams of fiber, not from supplements, but from fiber-rich foods like whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables, which also provide needed vitamins and minerals.
* If tolerable, dairy products to help ensure adequate protein, calcium, and other nutrients.
* Protein, through meat or dairy products, or nuts and beans, which also provide fiber and healthy fats.
ScienceDaily (Oct. 21, 2009) — Healthy eating, not supplements, is the best way to keep the good bacteria in your gut healthy, says a dietitian and researcher.
As with vitamins, it's best to get the bacteria you need from healthy food rather than taking often expensive and potentially ineffective supplements, says Gail Cresci, Medical College of Georgia dietitian and researcher.
-----
There is even mounting evidence that a healthy gut microbiota helps maintain a healthy weight. Studies have shown, for example, that when bacteria from a genetically fat mouse are placed in a lean germ-free mouse, it gains weight without changing its food intake.
Unfortunately poor diets are hurting the bacteria in many of us and the overuse of antibiotics is taking its toll as well, she says, particularly the common, broad spectrum antibiotics that wipe out anything in their path, good and bad bacteria included.
Diarrhea is an extremely common consequence of disturbing the natural balance of your gut's microbiota. In generally healthy individuals, a good diet, rich in fiber, protein and low in fat, will quickly help restore good bacteria. But in older individuals or those with an underlying condition, probiotics may be needed to avoid potentially deadly problems such as overgrowth of bad bacterium like Clostridium difficile. When that bacteria starts to thrive, it can result in an extremely enlarged colon that must be removed and, even then, about 80 percent of patients die.
-----
Ms. Cresci says a good daily diet has:
* 30 percent or less of calories coming from fat and saturated fats comprising no more than 10 percent of that. The majority should come from monounsaturated fats such as olive and canola oils.
* 25-30 grams of fiber, not from supplements, but from fiber-rich foods like whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables, which also provide needed vitamins and minerals.
* If tolerable, dairy products to help ensure adequate protein, calcium, and other nutrients.
* Protein, through meat or dairy products, or nuts and beans, which also provide fiber and healthy fats.
Smoking During Pregnancy A Cause Of Social Inequality In Stillbirths
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091010113638.htm
ScienceDaily (Oct. 21, 2009) — Tackling smoking during pregnancy may help to reduce socio-economic inequalities in stillbirths and infant deaths by as much as 30–40 per cent, according to a new Oxford University-led study published in the British Medical Journal.
Smoking during pregnancy has been clearly linked to stillbirth and infant deaths, and smoking rates during pregnancy vary markedly with socio-economic position. So a team of researchers led by Dr Ron Gray at the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at Oxford set out to measure the contribution that smoking during pregnancy has on the social inequality gap in stillbirths and infant deaths.
'Our study looked at data from all admissions to maternity units in Scotland between 1994 and 2003,’ says Dr Gray. ‘We found increased risk of stillbirths and infant deaths to women living in the most deprived areas of Scotland compared to those living in the most advantaged areas.’
The stillbirth rate increased from 3.8 per 1000 in the least deprived group to 5.9 per 1000 in the most deprived group. For infant deaths, the rate increased from 3.2 per 1000 in the least deprived group to 5.4 per 1000 in the most deprived group. Stillbirths were 56% more likely and infant deaths were 72% more likely in the most deprived compared with the least deprived category.
‘Some of the social inequality in these outcomes, perhaps 30–40 per cent, is accounted for by smoking during pregnancy,’ explains Dr Gray.
The researchers found that women in the most deprived category were three times more likely to smoke during pregnancy than were those in the least deprived category. The most deprived mothers tended to be younger and more likely to smoke and give birth to preterm or low birth weight babies. Equally, the least deprived mothers were more likely to be older, non-smokers, and less likely to give birth to preterm or low birth weight babies.
The authors conclude that tackling smoking during pregnancy and reducing infants’ exposure to tobacco smoke in the postnatal environment may help to reduce stillbirths and infant deaths overall, and help reduce the socio-economic inequalities in stillbirths and infant deaths.
‘Tackling smoking during pregnancy will be important in reducing this inequality gap, but such action on smoking is unlikely to be enough on its own. Other initiatives to support mothers and children, such as measures to deal with poverty among socially excluded families, will be necessary as well,’ says Dr Gray.
ScienceDaily (Oct. 21, 2009) — Tackling smoking during pregnancy may help to reduce socio-economic inequalities in stillbirths and infant deaths by as much as 30–40 per cent, according to a new Oxford University-led study published in the British Medical Journal.
Smoking during pregnancy has been clearly linked to stillbirth and infant deaths, and smoking rates during pregnancy vary markedly with socio-economic position. So a team of researchers led by Dr Ron Gray at the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at Oxford set out to measure the contribution that smoking during pregnancy has on the social inequality gap in stillbirths and infant deaths.
'Our study looked at data from all admissions to maternity units in Scotland between 1994 and 2003,’ says Dr Gray. ‘We found increased risk of stillbirths and infant deaths to women living in the most deprived areas of Scotland compared to those living in the most advantaged areas.’
The stillbirth rate increased from 3.8 per 1000 in the least deprived group to 5.9 per 1000 in the most deprived group. For infant deaths, the rate increased from 3.2 per 1000 in the least deprived group to 5.4 per 1000 in the most deprived group. Stillbirths were 56% more likely and infant deaths were 72% more likely in the most deprived compared with the least deprived category.
‘Some of the social inequality in these outcomes, perhaps 30–40 per cent, is accounted for by smoking during pregnancy,’ explains Dr Gray.
The researchers found that women in the most deprived category were three times more likely to smoke during pregnancy than were those in the least deprived category. The most deprived mothers tended to be younger and more likely to smoke and give birth to preterm or low birth weight babies. Equally, the least deprived mothers were more likely to be older, non-smokers, and less likely to give birth to preterm or low birth weight babies.
The authors conclude that tackling smoking during pregnancy and reducing infants’ exposure to tobacco smoke in the postnatal environment may help to reduce stillbirths and infant deaths overall, and help reduce the socio-economic inequalities in stillbirths and infant deaths.
‘Tackling smoking during pregnancy will be important in reducing this inequality gap, but such action on smoking is unlikely to be enough on its own. Other initiatives to support mothers and children, such as measures to deal with poverty among socially excluded families, will be necessary as well,’ says Dr Gray.
Mercury Levels In Children With Autism And Those Developing Typically Are The Same, Study Finds
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019162914.htm
ScienceDaily (Oct. 20, 2009) — In a large population-based study published online today, researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute report that after adjusting for a number of factors, typically developing children and children with autism have similar levels of mercury in their blood streams. Mercury is a heavy metal found in other studies to adversely affect the developing nervous system.
The study, appearing in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, is the most rigorous examination to date of blood-mercury levels in children with autism. The researchers cautioned, however, that the study is not an examination of whether mercury plays a role in causing the disorder.
"We looked at blood-mercury levels in children who had autism and children who did not have autism," said lead study author Irva Hertz-Picciotto, an internationally known MIND Institute researcher and professor of environmental and occupational health. "The bottom line is that blood-mercury levels in both populations were essentially the same. However, this analysis did not address a causal role, because we measured mercury after the diagnosis was made."
The study looked at a wide variety of sources of mercury in the participants' environments, including fish consumption, personal-care products (such as nasal sprays or earwax removal products, which may contain mercury) and the types of vaccinations they received. The study also examined whether children who have dental fillings made of the silver-colored mercury-based amalgam and who grind their teeth or chew gum had higher blood-mercury levels. In fact, those children who both chew gum and have amalgams did have higher blood-mercury levels.
But the consumption of fish — such as tuna and other ocean fish and freshwater fish — was far and away the biggest and most significant predictor of blood-mercury levels. Data on most possible sources of mercury — fish consumption and dental amalgams –— were collected by interviews with the study subjects' parents. Information on vaccines was obtained from the child's vaccination and medical records. A few children had recently had a vaccine containing mercury, and their blood-mercury levels were not elevated.
Of the 452 participants included in the research, 249 were diagnosed with autism, 143 were developing typically and 60 had other developmental delays, such as Down syndrome. At the outset, the children with autism appeared to have significantly lower blood-mercury levels than the typically developing children. But children with autism tend to be picky eaters and, in this study, ate less fish. When adjusted for their lower levels of fish consumption, their blood-mercury concentrations were roughly the same as those of children with typical development and very similar to those found in a nationally representative sample of 1- to 5-year-old children.
ScienceDaily (Oct. 20, 2009) — In a large population-based study published online today, researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute report that after adjusting for a number of factors, typically developing children and children with autism have similar levels of mercury in their blood streams. Mercury is a heavy metal found in other studies to adversely affect the developing nervous system.
The study, appearing in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, is the most rigorous examination to date of blood-mercury levels in children with autism. The researchers cautioned, however, that the study is not an examination of whether mercury plays a role in causing the disorder.
"We looked at blood-mercury levels in children who had autism and children who did not have autism," said lead study author Irva Hertz-Picciotto, an internationally known MIND Institute researcher and professor of environmental and occupational health. "The bottom line is that blood-mercury levels in both populations were essentially the same. However, this analysis did not address a causal role, because we measured mercury after the diagnosis was made."
The study looked at a wide variety of sources of mercury in the participants' environments, including fish consumption, personal-care products (such as nasal sprays or earwax removal products, which may contain mercury) and the types of vaccinations they received. The study also examined whether children who have dental fillings made of the silver-colored mercury-based amalgam and who grind their teeth or chew gum had higher blood-mercury levels. In fact, those children who both chew gum and have amalgams did have higher blood-mercury levels.
But the consumption of fish — such as tuna and other ocean fish and freshwater fish — was far and away the biggest and most significant predictor of blood-mercury levels. Data on most possible sources of mercury — fish consumption and dental amalgams –— were collected by interviews with the study subjects' parents. Information on vaccines was obtained from the child's vaccination and medical records. A few children had recently had a vaccine containing mercury, and their blood-mercury levels were not elevated.
Of the 452 participants included in the research, 249 were diagnosed with autism, 143 were developing typically and 60 had other developmental delays, such as Down syndrome. At the outset, the children with autism appeared to have significantly lower blood-mercury levels than the typically developing children. But children with autism tend to be picky eaters and, in this study, ate less fish. When adjusted for their lower levels of fish consumption, their blood-mercury concentrations were roughly the same as those of children with typical development and very similar to those found in a nationally representative sample of 1- to 5-year-old children.
Extremists More Willing To Share Their Opinions, Study Finds
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021115151.htm
ScienceDaily (Oct. 21, 2009) — People with relatively extreme opinions may be more willing to publicly share their views than those with more moderate views, according to a new study.
The key is that the extremists have to believe that more people share their views than actually do, the research found.
The results may offer one possible explanation for our fractured political climate in the United States, where extreme liberal and conservative opinions often seem to dominate.
"When people with extreme views have this false sense that they are in the majority, they are more willing to express themselves," said Kimberly Rios Morrison, co-author of the study and assistant professor of communication at Ohio State University.
How do people with extreme views believe they are in the majority? This can happen in groups that tend to lean moderately in one direction on an issue. Those that take the extreme version of their group's viewpoint may believe that they actually represent the true views of their group, Morrison said.
One example is views about alcohol use among college students.
In a series of studies, Morrison and her co-author found that college students who were extremely pro-alcohol were more likely to express their opinions than others, even though most students surveyed were moderate in their views about alcohol use.
"Students who were stridently pro-alcohol tended to think that their opinion was much more popular than it actually was," she said. "They seemed to buy into the stereotype that college students are very comfortable with alcohol use."
-----
ScienceDaily (Oct. 21, 2009) — People with relatively extreme opinions may be more willing to publicly share their views than those with more moderate views, according to a new study.
The key is that the extremists have to believe that more people share their views than actually do, the research found.
The results may offer one possible explanation for our fractured political climate in the United States, where extreme liberal and conservative opinions often seem to dominate.
"When people with extreme views have this false sense that they are in the majority, they are more willing to express themselves," said Kimberly Rios Morrison, co-author of the study and assistant professor of communication at Ohio State University.
How do people with extreme views believe they are in the majority? This can happen in groups that tend to lean moderately in one direction on an issue. Those that take the extreme version of their group's viewpoint may believe that they actually represent the true views of their group, Morrison said.
One example is views about alcohol use among college students.
In a series of studies, Morrison and her co-author found that college students who were extremely pro-alcohol were more likely to express their opinions than others, even though most students surveyed were moderate in their views about alcohol use.
"Students who were stridently pro-alcohol tended to think that their opinion was much more popular than it actually was," she said. "They seemed to buy into the stereotype that college students are very comfortable with alcohol use."
-----
Small Classes Give Extra Boost To Low-achieving Students
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091014122045.htm
ScienceDaily (Oct. 19, 2009) — Small classes in early grades improve test scores in later grades for students of all achievement levels, but low achievers get an extra boost. That's the finding of a study on the long-term effects of class size in the November issue of the American Journal of Education.
The study suggests that reducing class size in early grades provides a dual benefit: It raises achievement for all students through middle school, while also closing the persistently large gap between high- and low-achievers, say authors Spyros Konstantopoulos from Michigan State University and Vicki Chung from Northwestern University.
According to the study, small classes—13 to 17 students—are most effective when they are consistent from kindergarten through third grade. Students in consistently small early classes had substantially higher test scores in grades four through eight than students who had been in larger classes. Students at all achievement levels benefited, but low achievers showed stronger benefits in reading and science.
Exposure to a small class in third grade alone also had some long-term benefits, the study found. But those benefits were smaller, and about equal for high and low achievers.
"One year of exposure in small classes is not enough [to influence the achievement gap]," Konstantopoulos said. "It appears that class size reduction is most effective for all students and low achievers in particular, if it is implemented early in elementary grades and for multiple years."
ScienceDaily (Oct. 19, 2009) — Small classes in early grades improve test scores in later grades for students of all achievement levels, but low achievers get an extra boost. That's the finding of a study on the long-term effects of class size in the November issue of the American Journal of Education.
The study suggests that reducing class size in early grades provides a dual benefit: It raises achievement for all students through middle school, while also closing the persistently large gap between high- and low-achievers, say authors Spyros Konstantopoulos from Michigan State University and Vicki Chung from Northwestern University.
According to the study, small classes—13 to 17 students—are most effective when they are consistent from kindergarten through third grade. Students in consistently small early classes had substantially higher test scores in grades four through eight than students who had been in larger classes. Students at all achievement levels benefited, but low achievers showed stronger benefits in reading and science.
Exposure to a small class in third grade alone also had some long-term benefits, the study found. But those benefits were smaller, and about equal for high and low achievers.
"One year of exposure in small classes is not enough [to influence the achievement gap]," Konstantopoulos said. "It appears that class size reduction is most effective for all students and low achievers in particular, if it is implemented early in elementary grades and for multiple years."
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Husband joins Army so cancer-stricken wife can get health care.
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/10/19/man-joins-army-health/
One of the worst tragedies of the recession has been people losing their health insurance because they lost their job. Nearly 14,000 Americans lose their insurance every day. Wisconsin father Bill Caudle was laid off from his job at a plastics company in March 2009, which resulted in his family losing their employer-subsidized health care coverage. This put the family in an especially precarious position, because Bill’s wife, Michelle, was an ovarian cancer patient. After months of unsuccessfully looking for work, Caudle did the only thing he could to get his wife chemotherapy — he joined the Army:
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The United States is the only industrialized country in the world that does not guarentee comprehensive health coverage to all of its citizens. In the rest of the developed world, Bill would not have to leave his cancer-stricken wife behind and risk his own life in order to get her care
One of the worst tragedies of the recession has been people losing their health insurance because they lost their job. Nearly 14,000 Americans lose their insurance every day. Wisconsin father Bill Caudle was laid off from his job at a plastics company in March 2009, which resulted in his family losing their employer-subsidized health care coverage. This put the family in an especially precarious position, because Bill’s wife, Michelle, was an ovarian cancer patient. After months of unsuccessfully looking for work, Caudle did the only thing he could to get his wife chemotherapy — he joined the Army:
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The United States is the only industrialized country in the world that does not guarentee comprehensive health coverage to all of its citizens. In the rest of the developed world, Bill would not have to leave his cancer-stricken wife behind and risk his own life in order to get her care
If at first you don't succeed
From people on Facebook
If at first you don't succeed:
do something else
deny you were trying at all
blame the cat
skydiving is not for you
give up
If at first you don't succeed:
do something else
deny you were trying at all
blame the cat
skydiving is not for you
give up
The number of the beastly network
from
http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2009/10/links-for-2009-10-20.html#comment-6a00d83451b33869e20120a610f8fe970b
im1dc said...
I had not seen this until this evening and I find it hilarious:
Taken from "Cappy #6" in comments on:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/10/21/hannity-alexander-enemies/
"Oh, and still funny
F = 6th letter of the alphabet
O = 15th letter, 1+5=6
X = 24th letter, 2+4=6"
"FOX = 666, network of the antichrist!"
Reply Oct 21, 2009 at 04:38 PM
http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2009/10/links-for-2009-10-20.html#comment-6a00d83451b33869e20120a610f8fe970b
im1dc said...
I had not seen this until this evening and I find it hilarious:
Taken from "Cappy #6" in comments on:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/10/21/hannity-alexander-enemies/
"Oh, and still funny
F = 6th letter of the alphabet
O = 15th letter, 1+5=6
X = 24th letter, 2+4=6"
"FOX = 666, network of the antichrist!"
Reply Oct 21, 2009 at 04:38 PM
Death penalty's cost effectiveness evaluated in report
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/77435.html?storylink=MI_emailed
Posted on Tuesday, October 20, 2009
By Ron Sylvester | The Wichita Eagle
States could save hundreds of millions of dollars by eliminating the death penalty, according to a report released today. The report, which includes a national survey of police chiefs, was compiled by the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit group that researches capital punishment.
"Smart on Crime: Reconsidering the Death Penalty in a Time of Economic Crisis," cites recent efforts by Kansas and other states to abolish the death penalty for financial reasons.
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The death penalty also ranked last in the survey of police chiefs as a tool for fighting violent crime.
Posted on Tuesday, October 20, 2009
By Ron Sylvester | The Wichita Eagle
States could save hundreds of millions of dollars by eliminating the death penalty, according to a report released today. The report, which includes a national survey of police chiefs, was compiled by the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit group that researches capital punishment.
"Smart on Crime: Reconsidering the Death Penalty in a Time of Economic Crisis," cites recent efforts by Kansas and other states to abolish the death penalty for financial reasons.
-----
The death penalty also ranked last in the survey of police chiefs as a tool for fighting violent crime.
Robber pleads guilty after leech provides DNA
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091020/od_nm/us_leech;_ylt=AsJp2z1UcG629GyK.mf9Uoqs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFmaWc2dW90BHBvcwMyMDIEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlvbl9vZGRfbmV3cwRzbGsDcm9iYmVycGxlYWRz
Tue Oct 20, 1:47 pm ET
SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian man faces jail for armed robbery after police used blood from a leech to make a DNA match from a 2001 crime scene, a court spokeswoman said on Monday.
Peter Alec Cannon, 54, pleaded guilty to aggravated armed robbery in the Supreme Court in Launceston on the island state of Tasmania on Monday.
Crown prosecutor John Ransom told the court that a policeman had picked up a leech from near a safe at the scene of the crime from which forensic scientists extracted blood and a DNA sample, according to a report in local newspaper The Mercury.
Seven years later, when Cannon was arrested and charged with a drugs crime, police took a DNA sample from him and it matched the sample from the robbery.
The court heard that Cannon and another man had robbed and assaulted a 71-year-old woman at her bushland home, stealing $500 from her.
The court spokeswoman said Cannon was remanded in custody for sentencing on Friday this week.
(Editing by Sugita Katyal)
Tue Oct 20, 1:47 pm ET
SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian man faces jail for armed robbery after police used blood from a leech to make a DNA match from a 2001 crime scene, a court spokeswoman said on Monday.
Peter Alec Cannon, 54, pleaded guilty to aggravated armed robbery in the Supreme Court in Launceston on the island state of Tasmania on Monday.
Crown prosecutor John Ransom told the court that a policeman had picked up a leech from near a safe at the scene of the crime from which forensic scientists extracted blood and a DNA sample, according to a report in local newspaper The Mercury.
Seven years later, when Cannon was arrested and charged with a drugs crime, police took a DNA sample from him and it matched the sample from the robbery.
The court heard that Cannon and another man had robbed and assaulted a 71-year-old woman at her bushland home, stealing $500 from her.
The court spokeswoman said Cannon was remanded in custody for sentencing on Friday this week.
(Editing by Sugita Katyal)
CEOs no longer refute climate change
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE59I52820091019
Mon Oct 19, 2009 3:44pm EDT
By Chelsea Emery
CARY, North Carolina (Reuters) - U.S. chief executives no longer reject claims of human-caused climate change, putting to rest a dispute that has raged in boardrooms for decades, said the head of PG&E on Thursday.
Members of the Business Council, a group of executives from the top 120 U.S. companies, have altered their beliefs about climate change significantly, said PG&E Chief Executive Officer Peter Darbee in an interview.
Darbee was attending the Business Council's October gathering in Cary, North Carolina.
"No one among the group was arguing the science of climate change," said Darbee. "That debate, at least in that forum, appears to be over. The discussion was really about, 'climate change is happening, it is a challenge of vast proportions and it will require an effort on the part of mankind to respond to this challenge.'"
Darbee also said a tangled web of state and federal laws governing energy use and conservation was delaying action.
"The greatest challenge we face getting our business done is the unintentional gauntlet of government regulation," he said. "What renewable energy developers have to go through -- the hoops and hoops and hoops."
(Reporting by Chelsea Emery; Editing by Carol Bishopric)
Mon Oct 19, 2009 3:44pm EDT
By Chelsea Emery
CARY, North Carolina (Reuters) - U.S. chief executives no longer reject claims of human-caused climate change, putting to rest a dispute that has raged in boardrooms for decades, said the head of PG&E on Thursday.
Members of the Business Council, a group of executives from the top 120 U.S. companies, have altered their beliefs about climate change significantly, said PG&E Chief Executive Officer Peter Darbee in an interview.
Darbee was attending the Business Council's October gathering in Cary, North Carolina.
"No one among the group was arguing the science of climate change," said Darbee. "That debate, at least in that forum, appears to be over. The discussion was really about, 'climate change is happening, it is a challenge of vast proportions and it will require an effort on the part of mankind to respond to this challenge.'"
Darbee also said a tangled web of state and federal laws governing energy use and conservation was delaying action.
"The greatest challenge we face getting our business done is the unintentional gauntlet of government regulation," he said. "What renewable energy developers have to go through -- the hoops and hoops and hoops."
(Reporting by Chelsea Emery; Editing by Carol Bishopric)
Toddler denied insurance for being too small
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33411196/ns/today-today_health/
updated 1 hour, 41 minutes ago
First, a Colorado baby was turned down for health insurance for being too big. Now, another Colorado child has been turned down for health insurance for being too small.
Just a week after TODAY highlighted the story of 4-month-old Alex Lange, who at 17 pounds was considered obese, the show presented Wednesday the equally curious case of 2-year-old Aislin Bates, who at 22 pounds was turned down for health insurance for not meeting a proposed insurer’s height and weight standards.
Aislin’s dad, Robert Bates, told TODAY’s Erin Burnett he was shocked that United HealthCare turned down their request for coverage when their daughter is basically a picture of health, having suffered nothing more than a common cold in her life. Doctors have told Robert and his wife, Rachel, that Aislin’s small size is purely a matter of genes, not ill health.
“It seems as if they’re discriminating about the fact that she’s smaller, that her size is an issue,” Robert Bates said. “I don’t see why that would be a factor in whether or not a child is healthy.”
Bates told TODAY that he and his family were previously insured by United HealthCare. Two months after Aislin was born, his employer switched plans to Guardian Health Insurance. In August, Bates left his job to become self-employed, and he went back to United HealthCare requesting coverage. The insurer turned down coverage for Aislin — even though it had already insured Aislin as an infant — stating she did not meet height and weight standards and also noting the Bateses had sought treatment for Aislin’s finicky eating habits.
As the Bateses appealed the decision, their own family doctor went to bat for them, writing to the insurer and stating Aislin’s small size was genetic, that she was developing normally and there was no reason to deny coverage. But Robert Bates said the company rejected the appeal, simply reiterating that Aislin didn’t meet underwriting standards.
Rachel Bates told Burnett their daughter “is not sick at all; she’s just petite, and that’s the issue.” She said little Aislin has been graded in the 3rd percentile for child height and weight, but has been progressing normally in her own range.
-----
updated 1 hour, 41 minutes ago
First, a Colorado baby was turned down for health insurance for being too big. Now, another Colorado child has been turned down for health insurance for being too small.
Just a week after TODAY highlighted the story of 4-month-old Alex Lange, who at 17 pounds was considered obese, the show presented Wednesday the equally curious case of 2-year-old Aislin Bates, who at 22 pounds was turned down for health insurance for not meeting a proposed insurer’s height and weight standards.
Aislin’s dad, Robert Bates, told TODAY’s Erin Burnett he was shocked that United HealthCare turned down their request for coverage when their daughter is basically a picture of health, having suffered nothing more than a common cold in her life. Doctors have told Robert and his wife, Rachel, that Aislin’s small size is purely a matter of genes, not ill health.
“It seems as if they’re discriminating about the fact that she’s smaller, that her size is an issue,” Robert Bates said. “I don’t see why that would be a factor in whether or not a child is healthy.”
Bates told TODAY that he and his family were previously insured by United HealthCare. Two months after Aislin was born, his employer switched plans to Guardian Health Insurance. In August, Bates left his job to become self-employed, and he went back to United HealthCare requesting coverage. The insurer turned down coverage for Aislin — even though it had already insured Aislin as an infant — stating she did not meet height and weight standards and also noting the Bateses had sought treatment for Aislin’s finicky eating habits.
As the Bateses appealed the decision, their own family doctor went to bat for them, writing to the insurer and stating Aislin’s small size was genetic, that she was developing normally and there was no reason to deny coverage. But Robert Bates said the company rejected the appeal, simply reiterating that Aislin didn’t meet underwriting standards.
Rachel Bates told Burnett their daughter “is not sick at all; she’s just petite, and that’s the issue.” She said little Aislin has been graded in the 3rd percentile for child height and weight, but has been progressing normally in her own range.
-----
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Unemployed Wait
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/opinion/17sat2.html?_r=1
Published: October 16, 2009
More than a million jobless Americans are in danger of losing benefits by the end of the year unless Congress passes an extension of unemployment insurance. The House has acted, but the Senate, which has a better bill, has been bogged down by obstruction from Republicans. In these extraordinarily hard times, Congress should extend this vital safety net without further delay.
-----
There are now more than five million Americans — roughly one-third of the unemployed — who have been out of work for six months or longer, according to the National Employment Law Project, a record since data was first recorded in 1948.
Benefits vary by state, but most cut off benefits after 26 weeks. Congress has extended benefits several times, most recently in February, but for many workers they are again running out.
The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, and other Democrats have introduced a bill that would extend unemployment insurance by up to an additional 14 weeks in all 50 states, with another six weeks for states with a jobless rate above 8.5 percent. It is an improvement on a bill passed by the House, which would extend benefits only in states with unemployment above 8.5 percent.
February’s extension, which included a $25-a-week increase in benefits, kept 800,000 people out of poverty, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Putting more money in the pockets of the unemployed provided much-needed stimulus for the entire economy.
Every day that the Republicans continue to block an extension — fighting over amendments to the bill or delaying a vote — means thousands more Americans pushed closer to the edge of despair.
Published: October 16, 2009
More than a million jobless Americans are in danger of losing benefits by the end of the year unless Congress passes an extension of unemployment insurance. The House has acted, but the Senate, which has a better bill, has been bogged down by obstruction from Republicans. In these extraordinarily hard times, Congress should extend this vital safety net without further delay.
-----
There are now more than five million Americans — roughly one-third of the unemployed — who have been out of work for six months or longer, according to the National Employment Law Project, a record since data was first recorded in 1948.
Benefits vary by state, but most cut off benefits after 26 weeks. Congress has extended benefits several times, most recently in February, but for many workers they are again running out.
The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, and other Democrats have introduced a bill that would extend unemployment insurance by up to an additional 14 weeks in all 50 states, with another six weeks for states with a jobless rate above 8.5 percent. It is an improvement on a bill passed by the House, which would extend benefits only in states with unemployment above 8.5 percent.
February’s extension, which included a $25-a-week increase in benefits, kept 800,000 people out of poverty, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Putting more money in the pockets of the unemployed provided much-needed stimulus for the entire economy.
Every day that the Republicans continue to block an extension — fighting over amendments to the bill or delaying a vote — means thousands more Americans pushed closer to the edge of despair.
Bill Shields Most Banks From Review
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/business/16regulate.html
By STEPHEN LABATON
Published: October 15, 2009
WASHINGTON — Bowing to political pressure from community bankers, the House Financial Services Committee approved an exemption on Thursday for more than 98 percent of the nation’s banks from oversight by a new agency created to protect consumers from abusive or deceptive credit cards, mortgages and other loans.
The carve-out in legislation overhauling the regulatory system would prevent the new consumer financial protection agency from conducting annual examinations of the lending practices at more than 8,000 of the nation’s 8,200 banks, leaving only the largest banks and other lenders subject to the agency’s examiners.
Earlier in the day, the committee completed its work on a different contentious provision of the legislation when, on a nearly straight party-line vote of 43 to 26, it approved tougher regulations over the derivatives market. That provision, too, contained exemptions for many businesses.
The exemption for the banks was endorsed by the chairman, Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, who saw it as necessary to win support for the overall bill from the committee’s moderate and conservative Democrats. Their support is particularly important because the Republicans are unified against the legislation.
-----
The measure creating the new agency has already been significantly pared back from the Obama administration’s proposal. While the exemption approved on Thursday would cover a vast sector of the banking industry, those institutions control only about 20 percent of the roughly $14 trillion in assets held by commercial banks. The 150 largest banks, which would face more regulatory scrutiny, hold the remaining four-fifths of the assets.
-----
The amendment was warmly greeted by lobbyists for the smaller banks,
------
While the administration quickly embraced the derivatives legislation, a top regulator appointed by President Obama indicated that compromises made to win the support of moderate Democrats led to problematic loopholes. The regulator, Gary G. Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, vowed to try to strengthen the measure when it is considered by a second House committee next week.
-----
By STEPHEN LABATON
Published: October 15, 2009
WASHINGTON — Bowing to political pressure from community bankers, the House Financial Services Committee approved an exemption on Thursday for more than 98 percent of the nation’s banks from oversight by a new agency created to protect consumers from abusive or deceptive credit cards, mortgages and other loans.
The carve-out in legislation overhauling the regulatory system would prevent the new consumer financial protection agency from conducting annual examinations of the lending practices at more than 8,000 of the nation’s 8,200 banks, leaving only the largest banks and other lenders subject to the agency’s examiners.
Earlier in the day, the committee completed its work on a different contentious provision of the legislation when, on a nearly straight party-line vote of 43 to 26, it approved tougher regulations over the derivatives market. That provision, too, contained exemptions for many businesses.
The exemption for the banks was endorsed by the chairman, Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, who saw it as necessary to win support for the overall bill from the committee’s moderate and conservative Democrats. Their support is particularly important because the Republicans are unified against the legislation.
This seems to be poorly worded, and could be misleading. What the Republicans are unified against are the regulations themselves.
-----
The measure creating the new agency has already been significantly pared back from the Obama administration’s proposal. While the exemption approved on Thursday would cover a vast sector of the banking industry, those institutions control only about 20 percent of the roughly $14 trillion in assets held by commercial banks. The 150 largest banks, which would face more regulatory scrutiny, hold the remaining four-fifths of the assets.
-----
The amendment was warmly greeted by lobbyists for the smaller banks,
------
While the administration quickly embraced the derivatives legislation, a top regulator appointed by President Obama indicated that compromises made to win the support of moderate Democrats led to problematic loopholes. The regulator, Gary G. Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, vowed to try to strengthen the measure when it is considered by a second House committee next week.
-----
How Moody's sold its ratings - and sold out investors
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/77244.html
Posted on Sunday, October 18, 2009
WASHINGTON -- As the housing market collapsed in late 2007, Moody's Investors Service, whose investment ratings were widely trusted, responded by purging analysts and executives who warned of trouble and promoting those who helped Wall Street plunge the country into its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
A McClatchy investigation has found that Moody's punished executives who questioned why the company was risking its reputation by putting its profits ahead of providing trustworthy ratings for investment offerings.
Instead, Moody's promoted executives who headed its "structured finance" division, which assisted Wall Street in packaging loans into securities for sale to investors. It also stacked its compliance department with the people who awarded the highest ratings to pools of mortgages that soon were downgraded to junk. Such products have another name now: "toxic assets."
As Congress tackles the broadest proposed overhaul of financial regulation since the 1930s, however, lawmakers still aren't fully aware of what went wrong at the bond rating agencies, and so they may fail to address misaligned incentives such as granting stock options to mid-level employees, which can be an incentive to issue positive ratings rather than honest ones.
-----
Moody's wasn't alone in ignoring the mounting problems. It wasn't even first among competitors. The financial industry newsletter Asset-Backed Alert found that Standard & Poor's participated in 1,962 deals in 2006 involving pools of loans, while Moody's did 1,697. In 2005, Standard & Poor's did 1,754 deals to Moody's 1,120. Fitch was well behind both.
"S&P is deeply disappointed in the performance of its ratings on certain securities tied to the U.S. residential real estate market. As far back as April of 2005, S&P warned investors about increased risks in the residential mortgage market," said Edward Sweeney, a company spokesman. S&P revised criteria and demanded greater buffers against default risks before rating pools of mortgages, he said.
Still, S&P continued to give top ratings to products that analysts from all three ratings agencies knew were of increasingly poor quality. To guard against defaults, they threw more bad loans into the loan pools, telling investors they were reducing risk.
The ratings agencies were under no legal obligation since technically their job is only to give an opinion, protected as free speech, in the form of ratings.
Posted on Sunday, October 18, 2009
WASHINGTON -- As the housing market collapsed in late 2007, Moody's Investors Service, whose investment ratings were widely trusted, responded by purging analysts and executives who warned of trouble and promoting those who helped Wall Street plunge the country into its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
A McClatchy investigation has found that Moody's punished executives who questioned why the company was risking its reputation by putting its profits ahead of providing trustworthy ratings for investment offerings.
Instead, Moody's promoted executives who headed its "structured finance" division, which assisted Wall Street in packaging loans into securities for sale to investors. It also stacked its compliance department with the people who awarded the highest ratings to pools of mortgages that soon were downgraded to junk. Such products have another name now: "toxic assets."
As Congress tackles the broadest proposed overhaul of financial regulation since the 1930s, however, lawmakers still aren't fully aware of what went wrong at the bond rating agencies, and so they may fail to address misaligned incentives such as granting stock options to mid-level employees, which can be an incentive to issue positive ratings rather than honest ones.
-----
Moody's wasn't alone in ignoring the mounting problems. It wasn't even first among competitors. The financial industry newsletter Asset-Backed Alert found that Standard & Poor's participated in 1,962 deals in 2006 involving pools of loans, while Moody's did 1,697. In 2005, Standard & Poor's did 1,754 deals to Moody's 1,120. Fitch was well behind both.
"S&P is deeply disappointed in the performance of its ratings on certain securities tied to the U.S. residential real estate market. As far back as April of 2005, S&P warned investors about increased risks in the residential mortgage market," said Edward Sweeney, a company spokesman. S&P revised criteria and demanded greater buffers against default risks before rating pools of mortgages, he said.
Still, S&P continued to give top ratings to products that analysts from all three ratings agencies knew were of increasingly poor quality. To guard against defaults, they threw more bad loans into the loan pools, telling investors they were reducing risk.
The ratings agencies were under no legal obligation since technically their job is only to give an opinion, protected as free speech, in the form of ratings.
Good article. Click on the link above to read the whole article.
‘Official’ job numbers don’t tell the whole story
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33377328/ns/business-personal_finance/
By John W. Schoen
Senior producer
msnbc.com
updated 7:31 a.m. ET, Tues., Oct . 20, 2009
Government jobs data are only estimates. The "official" numbers don't include everyone who wants and needs a fulltime paycheck.
-----
As for why this story isn’t reported “honestly,” we tend to give the participants the benefit of the doubt. It’s entirely possible that government statisticians put their thumb on the numbers to make them look “better” than they really are. In our experience, the folks at the Bureau of Labor Statistics take their work seriously and try to get it right. So do most of the news outlets that report the “official” number every month. Unfortunately, in a deep recession, that number just doesn’t tell the whole story.
So let’s take a deeper dive past the so-called “headline” number. The BLS publishes various series of jobs data every month, based on two separate surveys. The “household” survey, which covers only 60,000 households a month, asks people whether they have a job, or are looking for a job, or have given up, or gone back to school, or retired.
The problem starts with the official definition of who is unemployed. For example, if you’ve decided that you’re never going to find a job like the one you lost, and you go back to school to get retrained, you’re not in the work force, and you're not unemployed. Likewise, if you’re in your late 50s, and every potential employer tells you you’re just too old or overqualified, you may give up looking and hope your savings will carry you over until you can collect Social Security. In that case, you’re considered “retired” — again, not unemployed.
-----
Since 60,000 households is about four one-hundredths of one percent of the total work force, the results are then subject to a variety of statistical adjustments, just like any survey. Same goes for the separate “establishment” survey, which contacts roughly 150,000 business and government agencies to find out how many people are on the payroll that month. It’s a little broader, which is why most people believe the payroll survey is more accurate. But it still gets hit with a heavy round of adjustments. And that’s when things start getting a little murky.
When the economy is humming along smoothly, these adjustments tend to be relatively minor. But in the worst job market since the Great Depression, the data get much more difficult to pin down. The payroll survey for last month, for example, showed 263,000 jobs lost. But the household survey logged a drop of 710,000.
Worse, the BLS announced last month that it probably understated job losses this year by more than 800,000, in part due to an adjustment known as the “birth/death” model that tries to estimate the number of small businesses that go in and out of business each month. It turns out that in a deep recession the model doesn’t work very well.
Even in good times, the adjustments applied to the data tend to understate people who are what you or I would describe as unemployed. The BLS publishes the data showing how these adjustments are being made, though. So let’s take a stroll through Table A-12 where you’ll find “alternative measures of labor underutilization.”
The “official” number, also known as U-3, includes people who don’t have a job, “have actively looked for work in the prior four weeks, and are currently available for work.” By this definition, if you’re not looking for work or working part-time, you’re not unemployed.
The next broadest measure, U-4, adds “discouraged workers” who have given up looking. As of last month, that jobless rate was 10.2 percent. The next measure, U-5, which hit 11.1 percent last month, adds in “all other marginally attached workers.” That’s BLS-speak for “persons who currently are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the recent past.” The broadest measure, U-6, adds in people who are “employed part time for economic reasons.” That rate hit 17.0 percent last month
So the data is available if you’re willing to dig a little. There are plenty of economists and analysts who take issue with the “official” number. John Williams, who runs a Web site called Shadow Government Statistics, does his own calculations each month that adjusts U-6 to include an estimate of the number of “long-term” discouraged workers - those who have been in that category for more than a year - and fall off the BLS radar. By his count, the unemployment rate hit 21.4 percent last month.
In the end these are only estimates. But it seems clear the "official" estimate is not a true reflection of the number of people who want and need a fulltime paycheck but don't have one.
We’re hearing a lot of talk these days about how “the Great Recession is over.” But it’s hard to see how we can have an economic recovery if more than one in five people aren’t earning enough money to pay the bills..
By John W. Schoen
Senior producer
msnbc.com
updated 7:31 a.m. ET, Tues., Oct . 20, 2009
Government jobs data are only estimates. The "official" numbers don't include everyone who wants and needs a fulltime paycheck.
-----
As for why this story isn’t reported “honestly,” we tend to give the participants the benefit of the doubt. It’s entirely possible that government statisticians put their thumb on the numbers to make them look “better” than they really are. In our experience, the folks at the Bureau of Labor Statistics take their work seriously and try to get it right. So do most of the news outlets that report the “official” number every month. Unfortunately, in a deep recession, that number just doesn’t tell the whole story.
So let’s take a deeper dive past the so-called “headline” number. The BLS publishes various series of jobs data every month, based on two separate surveys. The “household” survey, which covers only 60,000 households a month, asks people whether they have a job, or are looking for a job, or have given up, or gone back to school, or retired.
The problem starts with the official definition of who is unemployed. For example, if you’ve decided that you’re never going to find a job like the one you lost, and you go back to school to get retrained, you’re not in the work force, and you're not unemployed. Likewise, if you’re in your late 50s, and every potential employer tells you you’re just too old or overqualified, you may give up looking and hope your savings will carry you over until you can collect Social Security. In that case, you’re considered “retired” — again, not unemployed.
-----
Since 60,000 households is about four one-hundredths of one percent of the total work force, the results are then subject to a variety of statistical adjustments, just like any survey. Same goes for the separate “establishment” survey, which contacts roughly 150,000 business and government agencies to find out how many people are on the payroll that month. It’s a little broader, which is why most people believe the payroll survey is more accurate. But it still gets hit with a heavy round of adjustments. And that’s when things start getting a little murky.
When the economy is humming along smoothly, these adjustments tend to be relatively minor. But in the worst job market since the Great Depression, the data get much more difficult to pin down. The payroll survey for last month, for example, showed 263,000 jobs lost. But the household survey logged a drop of 710,000.
Worse, the BLS announced last month that it probably understated job losses this year by more than 800,000, in part due to an adjustment known as the “birth/death” model that tries to estimate the number of small businesses that go in and out of business each month. It turns out that in a deep recession the model doesn’t work very well.
Even in good times, the adjustments applied to the data tend to understate people who are what you or I would describe as unemployed. The BLS publishes the data showing how these adjustments are being made, though. So let’s take a stroll through Table A-12 where you’ll find “alternative measures of labor underutilization.”
The “official” number, also known as U-3, includes people who don’t have a job, “have actively looked for work in the prior four weeks, and are currently available for work.” By this definition, if you’re not looking for work or working part-time, you’re not unemployed.
The next broadest measure, U-4, adds “discouraged workers” who have given up looking. As of last month, that jobless rate was 10.2 percent. The next measure, U-5, which hit 11.1 percent last month, adds in “all other marginally attached workers.” That’s BLS-speak for “persons who currently are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the recent past.” The broadest measure, U-6, adds in people who are “employed part time for economic reasons.” That rate hit 17.0 percent last month
So the data is available if you’re willing to dig a little. There are plenty of economists and analysts who take issue with the “official” number. John Williams, who runs a Web site called Shadow Government Statistics, does his own calculations each month that adjusts U-6 to include an estimate of the number of “long-term” discouraged workers - those who have been in that category for more than a year - and fall off the BLS radar. By his count, the unemployment rate hit 21.4 percent last month.
In the end these are only estimates. But it seems clear the "official" estimate is not a true reflection of the number of people who want and need a fulltime paycheck but don't have one.
We’re hearing a lot of talk these days about how “the Great Recession is over.” But it’s hard to see how we can have an economic recovery if more than one in five people aren’t earning enough money to pay the bills..
Baby food recalled for possible botulism
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33397420/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/
Plum Organics pulling apple and carrot pouches; no illnesses reported
updated 49 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - There's a national baby food recall.
Plum Organics is recalling some of its apple and carrot portable pouch baby food because of concerns over possible botulism contamination. The product was sold individually throughout the country at Toys-R-Us and Babies-R-Us stores.
The California-based company says the product did not meet the FDA guidelines for proper acidity level, leaving it vulnerable to botulism contamination. Botulism is a serious and sometimes life-threatening condition.
Consumers should not use these products, even if they appear to be normal, because of the possible health risk.
No illnesses have been reported in connection with the baby food, and the company says no other Plum Organics products are affected.
The recalled product is sold in 4.22-ounce pouches, with a "best by" date of May 21, 2010, and UPC 890180001221.
Plum Organics pulling apple and carrot pouches; no illnesses reported
updated 49 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - There's a national baby food recall.
Plum Organics is recalling some of its apple and carrot portable pouch baby food because of concerns over possible botulism contamination. The product was sold individually throughout the country at Toys-R-Us and Babies-R-Us stores.
The California-based company says the product did not meet the FDA guidelines for proper acidity level, leaving it vulnerable to botulism contamination. Botulism is a serious and sometimes life-threatening condition.
Consumers should not use these products, even if they appear to be normal, because of the possible health risk.
No illnesses have been reported in connection with the baby food, and the company says no other Plum Organics products are affected.
The recalled product is sold in 4.22-ounce pouches, with a "best by" date of May 21, 2010, and UPC 890180001221.
Perks keep rolling at rescued banks
A gift from the previous (Republican) administration that keeps on taking.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33391452/ns/business-washington_post/
By Tomoeh Murakami Tse
updated 4:35 a.m. ET, Tues., Oct . 20, 2009
NEW YORK - Even as the nation's biggest financial firms were struggling and the federal government was spending hundreds of billions of dollars to save many of them, the companies as a group were boosting the perks and benefits they pay their chief executives.
The firms, accounting for more $350 billion in federal bailout funds, increased these perks and benefits 4 percent on average last year, according to an analysis of corporate disclosures filed in recent months.
Some chief executives, such as Kenneth D. Lewis of Bank of America and Jeffrey M. Peek of CIT Group, the major small-business lender now on the brink of bankruptcy, each received about $100,000 more than a year earlier for personal use of corporate jets. Others saw an increase in the value of chauffeured services, parking or personal security.
Ralph W. Babb Jr., chief executive of Dallas-based lender Comerica, was compensated for a new country club membership, with an initiation fee and dues of more than $200,000. GMAC Financial Services chief executive Alvaro de Molina benefited from a $2.5 million payment from his company to help cover his personal tax bill.
-----
This year may turn out to be different. In June, the Treasury Department prohibited companies receiving bailout funds from reimbursing senior executives for their personal tax payments.
In the meantime, Kenneth R. Feinberg, the Obama administration official assigned to set pay for top executives at seven of the companies receiving the most help, plans to curtail perks such as country club fees when he rules on compensation later this month, according to people familiar with the matter. Perks worth more than $25,000 are getting particular scrutiny from Feinberg.
On average, the chief executives at 29 of the largest public financial companies that have taken bailout funds received perks and benefits worth more than $380,000 in 2008, according to compensation figures included in annual proxy statements and supplied by Equilar, a compensation data services firm. Individually, about half the banks increased their fringe benefits to the top executives. The figures do not include relocation costs and related taxes, typically one-time fees that can skew year-over-year comparisons.
In contrast to the 4 percent average increase in perks and benefits at these companies, the average awarded to top executives at non-financial companies in the Fortune 100 declined by more than 7 percent over the same period, according to Equilar.
Personal use of corporate aircraft and "gross-ups" — when the company pays taxes due on bonuses or other benefits — represented more than half of the $11 million in non-cash pay awarded to the 29 chief executives in 2008. Among the more common perks were company cars and drivers, as well as personal financial and tax-planning services.
-----
Still, some companies that have taken away perks are making it up to executives by boosting their pay. SunTrust Banks eliminated most executive perks in 2008, including financial planning services, club memberships and payment of taxes on the perks, according to a corporate filing. But the bank also noted that "base pay increases were made in 2008 to offset this reduction in perks."
A spokesman for SunTrust, a recipient of $4.9 billion in government funds, said in an e-mail that the bank seeks to "maintain an executive compensation framework that is competitive, appropriate and consistent with industry practice, and we periodically make adjustments in line with that goal."
So that's why Suntrust only pays 0.06% interest on my savings account. And no, that's not a typo. They also pay very little interest on CDs, which is why I got my CDs elsewhere.
-----
More Americans in poverty, formula shows
No surprise to me. Anybody who believed the previous definition of poverty made sense must have had an income far above the "poverty" level. I'd like to see them live on it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33395012/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/
updated 8 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The level of poverty in America is even worse than first believed.
A revised formula for calculating medical costs and geographic variations show that approximately 47.4 million Americans last year lived in poverty, 7 million more than the government's official figure.
The disparity occurs because of differing formulas the Census Bureau and the National Academy of Sciences use for calculating the poverty rate. The NAS formula shows the poverty rate to be at 15.8 percent, or nearly 1 in 6 Americans, according to calculations released this week. That's higher than the 13.2 percent, or 39.8 million, figure made available recently under the original government formula.
That measure, created in 1955, does not factor in rising medical care, transportation, child care or geographical variations in living costs. Nor does it consider non-cash government aid when calculating income. As a result, official figures released last month by Census may have overlooked millions of poor people, many of them 65 and older.
According to the revised NAS formula:
_About 18.7 percent of Americans 65 and older, or nearly 7.1 million, are in poverty compared to 9.7 percent, or 3.7 million, under the traditional measure. That's due to out-of-pocket expenses from rising Medicare premiums, deductibles and a coverage gap in the prescription drug benefit.
_About 14.3 percent of people 18 to 64, or 27 million, are in poverty, compared to 11.7 percent under the traditional measure. Many of the additional poor are low-income, working people with transportation and child-care costs.
_Child poverty is lower, at about 17.9 percent, or roughly 13.3 million, compared to 19 percent under the traditional measure. That's because single mothers and their children disproportionately receive non-cash aid such as food stamps.
_Poverty rates were higher for non-Hispanic whites (11 percent), Asians (17 percent) and Hispanics (29 percent) when compared to the traditional measure. For blacks, poverty remained flat at 24.7 percent, due to the cushioning effect of non-cash aid.
_The Northeast and West saw bigger jumps in poverty, due largely to cities with higher costs of living such as New York, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The Census Bureau said it expedited release of the alternative numbers for this month because of the interest expressed by lawmakers and the Obama administration in seeing a fuller range of numbers. Legislation pending in Congress would mandate a switch to the revised formula, although the White House could choose to act on its own.
-----
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33395012/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/
updated 8 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The level of poverty in America is even worse than first believed.
A revised formula for calculating medical costs and geographic variations show that approximately 47.4 million Americans last year lived in poverty, 7 million more than the government's official figure.
The disparity occurs because of differing formulas the Census Bureau and the National Academy of Sciences use for calculating the poverty rate. The NAS formula shows the poverty rate to be at 15.8 percent, or nearly 1 in 6 Americans, according to calculations released this week. That's higher than the 13.2 percent, or 39.8 million, figure made available recently under the original government formula.
That measure, created in 1955, does not factor in rising medical care, transportation, child care or geographical variations in living costs. Nor does it consider non-cash government aid when calculating income. As a result, official figures released last month by Census may have overlooked millions of poor people, many of them 65 and older.
According to the revised NAS formula:
_About 18.7 percent of Americans 65 and older, or nearly 7.1 million, are in poverty compared to 9.7 percent, or 3.7 million, under the traditional measure. That's due to out-of-pocket expenses from rising Medicare premiums, deductibles and a coverage gap in the prescription drug benefit.
_About 14.3 percent of people 18 to 64, or 27 million, are in poverty, compared to 11.7 percent under the traditional measure. Many of the additional poor are low-income, working people with transportation and child-care costs.
_Child poverty is lower, at about 17.9 percent, or roughly 13.3 million, compared to 19 percent under the traditional measure. That's because single mothers and their children disproportionately receive non-cash aid such as food stamps.
_Poverty rates were higher for non-Hispanic whites (11 percent), Asians (17 percent) and Hispanics (29 percent) when compared to the traditional measure. For blacks, poverty remained flat at 24.7 percent, due to the cushioning effect of non-cash aid.
_The Northeast and West saw bigger jumps in poverty, due largely to cities with higher costs of living such as New York, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The Census Bureau said it expedited release of the alternative numbers for this month because of the interest expressed by lawmakers and the Obama administration in seeing a fuller range of numbers. Legislation pending in Congress would mandate a switch to the revised formula, although the White House could choose to act on its own.
-----
Monday, October 19, 2009
Foreclosures force ex-homeowners into shelters
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33375765/ns/us_news-the_new_york_times/
By Peter S. Goodman
updated 8:27 a.m. ET, Mon., Oct . 19, 2009
CLEVELAND - The first night after she surrendered her house to foreclosure, Sheri West endured the darkness in her Hyundai sedan. She parked in her old driveway, with her flower-print dresses and hats piled in boxes on the back seat, and three cherished houseplants on the floor. She used her backyard as a restroom.
The second night, she stayed with a friend, and so it continued for more than a year: Ms. West — mother of three grown children, grandmother to six and great-grandmother to one — passed months on the couches of friends and relatives, and in the front seat of her car.
But this fall, she exhausted all options. She had once owned and overseen a group home for homeless people. Now, she succumbed to that status herself, checking in to a shelter.
“No one could have told me that in a million years: I’d wake up in a homeless shelter,” she said. “I had a house for homeless people. Now, I’m homeless.”
Growing numbers of Americans who have lost houses to foreclosure are landing in homeless shelters, according to social service groups and a recent report by a coalition of housing advocates.
Only three years ago, foreclosure was rarely a factor in how people became homeless. But among the homeless people that social service agencies have helped over the last year, an average of 10 percent lost homes to foreclosure, according to “Foreclosure to Homelessness 2009,” a survey produced by the National Coalition for the Homeless and six other advocacy groups.
In the Midwest, foreclosure played a role for 15 percent of newly homeless people, according to the survey, reflecting soaring rates of unemployment — Ohio’s reached 10.8 percent in August — and aggressive lending to people with damaged credit.
At a shelter for women and children run by the West Side Catholic Center in Cleveland, where Ms. West now lives, foreclosure accounted for zero arrivals in 2007, the center’s executive director, Gerald Skoch, said. Last year, two cases emerged. This year, the number has already reached four.
Similar increases have been reported at shelters in California, Michigan and Florida, where a combination of joblessness and the real estate bust have generated unusually severe rates of foreclosure.
Most people who become homeless because of foreclosure had been low-income renters whose landlords stopped making their mortgage payments, leaving them scrambling for new housing with little notice and scant savings, according to the survey and interviews with shelters.
But in recent months, there has been a visible increase in the number of former homeowners showing up in shelters. Like Ms. West, most have landed there after months trying to stave off that fate.
“These families never needed help before,” said Larry Haynes, executive director of Mercy House in Santa Ana, Calif. “They haven’t a clue about where to go, and they have all sorts of humiliation issues. They don’t even know what to say, what to ask for.”
Many start off camping out in cars, particularly in warmer places.
“We’ve seen a rise in people sleeping in their cars,” said Rick Cole, city manager in Ventura, Calif., which recently allowed car-camping in designated areas. “Some are foreclosed former homeowners, and some couldn’t afford their rent. People will give up their house before they give up their car.”
Those with means try to rent homes or apartments, though tainted credit often makes that impossible. Growing numbers are landing in motels that rent by the week, cramming whole families into single rooms and using hot plates as kitchens. But as unemployment expands, many are losing the wherewithal to remain.
Many take refuge with families and friends, occupying extra bedrooms, basements and attics. But such hospitality rarely lasts.
So, as lean times endure and paychecks disappear, homeless shelters are absorbing those who have run out of alternatives.
-----
By Peter S. Goodman
updated 8:27 a.m. ET, Mon., Oct . 19, 2009
CLEVELAND - The first night after she surrendered her house to foreclosure, Sheri West endured the darkness in her Hyundai sedan. She parked in her old driveway, with her flower-print dresses and hats piled in boxes on the back seat, and three cherished houseplants on the floor. She used her backyard as a restroom.
The second night, she stayed with a friend, and so it continued for more than a year: Ms. West — mother of three grown children, grandmother to six and great-grandmother to one — passed months on the couches of friends and relatives, and in the front seat of her car.
But this fall, she exhausted all options. She had once owned and overseen a group home for homeless people. Now, she succumbed to that status herself, checking in to a shelter.
“No one could have told me that in a million years: I’d wake up in a homeless shelter,” she said. “I had a house for homeless people. Now, I’m homeless.”
Growing numbers of Americans who have lost houses to foreclosure are landing in homeless shelters, according to social service groups and a recent report by a coalition of housing advocates.
Only three years ago, foreclosure was rarely a factor in how people became homeless. But among the homeless people that social service agencies have helped over the last year, an average of 10 percent lost homes to foreclosure, according to “Foreclosure to Homelessness 2009,” a survey produced by the National Coalition for the Homeless and six other advocacy groups.
In the Midwest, foreclosure played a role for 15 percent of newly homeless people, according to the survey, reflecting soaring rates of unemployment — Ohio’s reached 10.8 percent in August — and aggressive lending to people with damaged credit.
At a shelter for women and children run by the West Side Catholic Center in Cleveland, where Ms. West now lives, foreclosure accounted for zero arrivals in 2007, the center’s executive director, Gerald Skoch, said. Last year, two cases emerged. This year, the number has already reached four.
Similar increases have been reported at shelters in California, Michigan and Florida, where a combination of joblessness and the real estate bust have generated unusually severe rates of foreclosure.
Most people who become homeless because of foreclosure had been low-income renters whose landlords stopped making their mortgage payments, leaving them scrambling for new housing with little notice and scant savings, according to the survey and interviews with shelters.
But in recent months, there has been a visible increase in the number of former homeowners showing up in shelters. Like Ms. West, most have landed there after months trying to stave off that fate.
“These families never needed help before,” said Larry Haynes, executive director of Mercy House in Santa Ana, Calif. “They haven’t a clue about where to go, and they have all sorts of humiliation issues. They don’t even know what to say, what to ask for.”
Many start off camping out in cars, particularly in warmer places.
“We’ve seen a rise in people sleeping in their cars,” said Rick Cole, city manager in Ventura, Calif., which recently allowed car-camping in designated areas. “Some are foreclosed former homeowners, and some couldn’t afford their rent. People will give up their house before they give up their car.”
Those with means try to rent homes or apartments, though tainted credit often makes that impossible. Growing numbers are landing in motels that rent by the week, cramming whole families into single rooms and using hot plates as kitchens. But as unemployment expands, many are losing the wherewithal to remain.
Many take refuge with families and friends, occupying extra bedrooms, basements and attics. But such hospitality rarely lasts.
So, as lean times endure and paychecks disappear, homeless shelters are absorbing those who have run out of alternatives.
-----
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Dying from dementia
How horrible to lying there in pain and not be able to do anything for yourself.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-10/iuso-dfd101309.php
Public release date: 14-Oct-2009
Contact: Cindy Fox Aisen
Indiana University School of Medicine
Dying from dementia
New England Journal of Medicine editorial advocates for palliative care
INDIANAPOLIS – A growing number of older adults are dying from dementia. In an editorial in the October 15, 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Greg Sachs, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine and a Regenstrief Institute investigator, notes that end-of-life care for most older adults with dementia has not changed in decades and urges that these individuals be provided far greater access to palliative care, the management of pain and other symptoms.
Dr. Sachs believes that more research on palliative care for patients with dementia is needed to update public policy and get lawmakers and insurance companies to recognize the need to support and fund care which will improve the overall health of older adults who can no longer speak for themselves.
"Since individuals with advanced dementia cannot report their symptoms, these symptoms often are untreated, leaving them vulnerable to pain, difficulty breathing and various other conditions. We shouldn't allow these people to suffer. We should be providing palliative care to make them more comfortable in the time they have left," said Dr. Sachs, who is a geriatrician and medical ethicist.
While it is not easy, caregivers and medical personnel should attempt to pick up on nonverbal clues of pain, such as the individual holding the body in a certain way to avoid a painful posture, or exhibiting swollen, tender joints, he said. These observations, reported by a caregiver or found on medical examination, may help the physician make the patient more comfortable, and help identify underlying conditions.
Palliative care involves a team-oriented approach to pain management and medical treatment, as well as emotional support tailored to the patient's needs. Palliative care focuses on relieving symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite and difficulty sleeping. Hospice care provides palliative care but palliative care can be administered regardless of prognosis along with medical treatment and does not hasten death.
Dr. Sachs' editorial accompanies a Harvard University observational study of 323 patients with advanced dementia residing in 22 nursing homes which found that while few suffered a sentinel event such as a stroke or a heart attack, the survival of patients with advanced dementia was usually less than a year, especially following the occurrence of pneumonia, episodes of fever, or eating problems.
'Beneficial' Effects of Alcohol: Researchers Urge Caution on Recent Results, Suggest Life-Style Factors Real Source
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/PressRelease/pressReleaseId-60937.html
October 14, 2009
'Beneficial' Effects of Alcohol: Researchers Urge Caution on Recent Results, Suggest Life-Style Factors Real Source
According a new study of over 3,000 adults aged 70-79, the apparent association between light-to-moderate alcohol consumption and reduced risk of functional decline over time did not hold up after adjustments were made for characteristics related to lifestyle, in particular physical activity, body weight, education, and income.
The authors of the study, publishing today in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, say this suggests that life-style related characteristics may be the real determinant of the reported beneficial effects of alcohol and functional decline.
“In recent years the relationship between alcohol intake and health outcomes has gained growing attention, but while there is now considerable consensus that consuming alcohol at moderate levels has a specific beneficial effect on the risk of cardiovascular disease, the benefit of alcohol intake on other health-related outcomes is less convincing,” said study author Cinzia Maraldi, M.D., of the University of Ferrara, Italy. “We wanted to evaluate this question over a long-term follow-up and with a prospective design, which most previous studies have not used.”
During a follow-up time of six and a half years, the researchers found that participants consuming moderate levels of alcohol had the lowest incidence of mobility limitation and disability. After adjusting for demographic characteristics, moderate alcohol intake was still associated with reduced risk compared to never or occasional consumption, but adjusting for life-style related variables substantially reduced the strength of the associations. Adjustment for diseases and health status indicators did not affect the strength of the associations, which led the authors to conclude that life-style is the most important factor in confounding this relationship.
“Globally taken, these results suggest that the reported protective effect of moderate alcohol intake on physical performance may be only apparent, because life-style related characteristics seem to be the real determinant of the reported association, suggesting caution in attributing a direct benefit of moderate alcohol intake on functional ability,” added Maraldi. “This assumes particular relevance given the risk of alcohol-dependence and the health hazards associated with excessive alcohol consumption. From this point of view, in our opinion life-style recommendations for the prevention of disability should be based on interventions proven to be safe and effective, such as weight control and physical exercise.”
October 14, 2009
'Beneficial' Effects of Alcohol: Researchers Urge Caution on Recent Results, Suggest Life-Style Factors Real Source
According a new study of over 3,000 adults aged 70-79, the apparent association between light-to-moderate alcohol consumption and reduced risk of functional decline over time did not hold up after adjustments were made for characteristics related to lifestyle, in particular physical activity, body weight, education, and income.
The authors of the study, publishing today in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, say this suggests that life-style related characteristics may be the real determinant of the reported beneficial effects of alcohol and functional decline.
“In recent years the relationship between alcohol intake and health outcomes has gained growing attention, but while there is now considerable consensus that consuming alcohol at moderate levels has a specific beneficial effect on the risk of cardiovascular disease, the benefit of alcohol intake on other health-related outcomes is less convincing,” said study author Cinzia Maraldi, M.D., of the University of Ferrara, Italy. “We wanted to evaluate this question over a long-term follow-up and with a prospective design, which most previous studies have not used.”
During a follow-up time of six and a half years, the researchers found that participants consuming moderate levels of alcohol had the lowest incidence of mobility limitation and disability. After adjusting for demographic characteristics, moderate alcohol intake was still associated with reduced risk compared to never or occasional consumption, but adjusting for life-style related variables substantially reduced the strength of the associations. Adjustment for diseases and health status indicators did not affect the strength of the associations, which led the authors to conclude that life-style is the most important factor in confounding this relationship.
“Globally taken, these results suggest that the reported protective effect of moderate alcohol intake on physical performance may be only apparent, because life-style related characteristics seem to be the real determinant of the reported association, suggesting caution in attributing a direct benefit of moderate alcohol intake on functional ability,” added Maraldi. “This assumes particular relevance given the risk of alcohol-dependence and the health hazards associated with excessive alcohol consumption. From this point of view, in our opinion life-style recommendations for the prevention of disability should be based on interventions proven to be safe and effective, such as weight control and physical exercise.”
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Interracial couple denied marriage license in Louisiana
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091015/ap_on_re_us/us_interracial_rebuff;_ylt=AsPf1fq8NYgZsuWQU1DGmwKs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTM3M2o2aWZsBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMDE1L3VzX2ludGVycmFjaWFsX3JlYnVmZgRjcG9zAzcEcG9zAzQEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl9oZWFkbGluZV9saXN0BHNsawNpbnRlcnJhY2lhbGM-
By MARY FOSTER, Associated Press Writer Mary Foster, Associated Press Writer – 1 min ago
NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.
"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."
Bardwell said he asks everyone who calls about marriage if they are a mixed race couple. If they are, he does not marry them, he said.
Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society, he said.
"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Bardwell said. "I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it."
If he did an interracial marriage for one couple, he must do the same for all, he said.
"I try to treat everyone equally," he said.
Bardwell estimates that he has refused to marry about four couples during his career, all in the past 2 1/2 years.
-----
By MARY FOSTER, Associated Press Writer Mary Foster, Associated Press Writer – 1 min ago
NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.
"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."
Bardwell said he asks everyone who calls about marriage if they are a mixed race couple. If they are, he does not marry them, he said.
Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society, he said.
"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Bardwell said. "I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it."
If he did an interracial marriage for one couple, he must do the same for all, he said.
"I try to treat everyone equally," he said.
Bardwell estimates that he has refused to marry about four couples during his career, all in the past 2 1/2 years.
-----
Do 3 meals a day keep fungi away?
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-10/aeco-dtm101509.php
Public release date: 15-Oct-2009
Contact: Deirdre Branley
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Do 3 meals a day keep fungi away?
Einstein research offers theory on protective effect of being warm-blooded
October 15, 2009 - (BRONX, NY) - The fact that they eat a lot – and often – may explain why most people and other mammals are protected from the majority of fungal pathogens, according to research from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.
The research, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, showed that the elevated body temperature of mammals – the familiar 98.6o F or 37o C in people – is too high for the vast majority of potential fungal invaders to survive.
"Fungal strains undergo a major loss of ability to grow as we move to mammalian temperatures," said Arturo Casadevall, M.D., Ph.D., chair and professor of microbiology & immunology at Einstein. Dr. Casadevall conducted the study in conjunction with Vincent A. Robert of the Utrecht, Netherlands-based Fungal Biodiversity Center, also known as Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures.
"Our study makes the argument that our warm temperatures may have evolved to protect us against fungal diseases," said Dr. Casadevall. "And being warm-blooded and therefore largely resistant to fungal infections may help explain the dominance of mammals after the age of dinosaurs."
There are roughly 1.5 million fungal species. Of these, only a few hundred are pathogenic to mammals. Fungal infections in people are often the result of an impaired immune function. By contrast, an estimated 270,000 fungal species are pathogenic to plants and 50,000 species infect insects. Frogs and other amphibians are prone to fungal pathogens, one of which, chytridiomycosis, is currently raging through frogs worldwide. Fungi are also important in the decomposition of plants.
-----
Public release date: 15-Oct-2009
Contact: Deirdre Branley
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Do 3 meals a day keep fungi away?
Einstein research offers theory on protective effect of being warm-blooded
October 15, 2009 - (BRONX, NY) - The fact that they eat a lot – and often – may explain why most people and other mammals are protected from the majority of fungal pathogens, according to research from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.
The research, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, showed that the elevated body temperature of mammals – the familiar 98.6o F or 37o C in people – is too high for the vast majority of potential fungal invaders to survive.
"Fungal strains undergo a major loss of ability to grow as we move to mammalian temperatures," said Arturo Casadevall, M.D., Ph.D., chair and professor of microbiology & immunology at Einstein. Dr. Casadevall conducted the study in conjunction with Vincent A. Robert of the Utrecht, Netherlands-based Fungal Biodiversity Center, also known as Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures.
"Our study makes the argument that our warm temperatures may have evolved to protect us against fungal diseases," said Dr. Casadevall. "And being warm-blooded and therefore largely resistant to fungal infections may help explain the dominance of mammals after the age of dinosaurs."
There are roughly 1.5 million fungal species. Of these, only a few hundred are pathogenic to mammals. Fungal infections in people are often the result of an impaired immune function. By contrast, an estimated 270,000 fungal species are pathogenic to plants and 50,000 species infect insects. Frogs and other amphibians are prone to fungal pathogens, one of which, chytridiomycosis, is currently raging through frogs worldwide. Fungi are also important in the decomposition of plants.
-----
Giant Impact Near India -- Not Mexico -- May Have Doomed Dinosaurs
http://www.geosociety.org/news/pr/09-54.htm
15 October 2009
Boulder, CO, USA -- A mysterious basin off the coast of India could be the largest, multi-ringed impact crater the world has ever seen. And if a new study is right, it may have been responsible for killing the dinosaurs off 65 million years ago.
-----
“If we are right, this is the largest crater known on our planet,” Chatterjee said. “A bolide of this size, perhaps 40 kilometers (25 miles) in diameter creates its own tectonics.”
By contrast, the object that struck the Yucatan Peninsula, and is commonly thought to have killed the dinosaurs was between 8 and 10 kilometers (5 and 6.2 miles) wide.
It's hard to imagine such a cataclysm. But if the team is right, the Shiva impact vaporized Earth's crust at the point of collision, leaving nothing but ultra-hot mantle material to well up in its place. It is likely that the impact enhanced the nearby Deccan Traps volcanic eruptions that covered much of western India. What's more, the impact broke the Seychelles islands off of the Indian tectonic plate, and sent them drifting toward Africa.
15 October 2009
Boulder, CO, USA -- A mysterious basin off the coast of India could be the largest, multi-ringed impact crater the world has ever seen. And if a new study is right, it may have been responsible for killing the dinosaurs off 65 million years ago.
-----
“If we are right, this is the largest crater known on our planet,” Chatterjee said. “A bolide of this size, perhaps 40 kilometers (25 miles) in diameter creates its own tectonics.”
By contrast, the object that struck the Yucatan Peninsula, and is commonly thought to have killed the dinosaurs was between 8 and 10 kilometers (5 and 6.2 miles) wide.
It's hard to imagine such a cataclysm. But if the team is right, the Shiva impact vaporized Earth's crust at the point of collision, leaving nothing but ultra-hot mantle material to well up in its place. It is likely that the impact enhanced the nearby Deccan Traps volcanic eruptions that covered much of western India. What's more, the impact broke the Seychelles islands off of the Indian tectonic plate, and sent them drifting toward Africa.
Teacher participation in Columbia program improves student achievement in science
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-10/cumc-sst101609.php
Public release date: 16-Oct-2009
Contact: Alex Lyda
Columbia University Medical Center
Science study: Teacher participation in Columbia program improves student achievement in science
Pioneering teacher-training program at Columbia University Medical Center yields marked improvement by students on critical New York state exam
NEW YORK (Oct. 16, 2009) – The notion that training teachers in the rigors of hands-on science will directly improve their students' academic performance now has real data behind it: Research assembled over the last decade – now published in the Oct. 16 issue of Science – shows that high school students' pass rate on New York State standardized tests, called Regents examinations, can be significantly improved if they are among the lucky few to study under a teacher trained in Columbia University's Summer Research Program for Science Teachers.
It's the first evidence that science teacher participation in a research experience program produces a significant increase in student achievement, the researchers report. The hallmark of the paper is the attendant data that took 12 years to collect. Columbia researchers have demonstrated that participation of academically prepared, experienced teachers in a sustained and focused research experience program significantly improves their students' performance in science. Participating teachers' students passed Regents science exams at a rate that was 10.1 percentage points higher than that of non-participating teachers' students in the same schools.
The authors of the paper, led by Samuel Silverstein, M.D., of Columbia University's departments of physiology and cellular biophysics and of medicine, and founder of the Summer Research Program for Science Teachers, as well as Columbia economist Sherry Glied, have also documented the economic benefits of making hands-on laboratory experience widely available to science teachers, demonstrating the kind of short- and long-term savings that can be realized when teachers are retained and students don't have to repeat coursework.
Since 1990, Columbia's Summer Research Program for Science Teachers, directed by Dr. Silverstein, has provided opportunities for metropolitan area middle and high school science teachers to do hands-on research for two consecutive summers under the mentorship of Columbia faculty. The program also provides participating teachers with funds to buy science supplies for their classrooms. Their Columbia research experiences encourage them to implement more hands-on, problem-solving exercises in their classrooms to stimulate students' interest and understanding.
As Dr. Silverstein sees it, "This is a simple concept. It uses existing human and physical resources. Its economic benefits exceed its costs. In short, it works."
Passing Regents examinations is a rite of passage for all New York State high school students. To receive a regular high school diploma, students in New York State must pass, with a score of 65 or higher, five Regents Exams: Integrated Algebra, Global History and Geography, U.S. History and Government, Comprehensive English, and one science (Biology [Living Environment], Chemistry, Earth Science, or Physics).
So the link was clear for Dr. Silverstein.
"In starting the program we thought that by studying real-world scientific problems using the tools of contemporary science under the guidance of Columbia faculty, teachers would gain a deeper and more complete understanding of the science they teach and this would translate to greater student achievement," he says.
-----
There are probably over 100 programs for science teachers in the United States, Dr. Silverstein says, but the Columbia program is the only one to have collected student outcomes data for a sufficient period of time to demonstrate a positive impact.
"We were fortunate in the sense that the NYC Department of Education is thorough about their data," study co-author Jay Dubner of Columbia says. "Other teacher research programs are not able to collect similar data – their data is not localized, and in many states, a standardized science exam does not yet exist."
And on a qualitative level, teachers who participated in the study indicated that the stresses they experienced in adapting to a research laboratory increased their appreciation of their students' difficulties and prompted them to respond more sympathetically to them. Instead of judging students' answers as "right" or "wrong," they ask, "Why do you think that?" They gain the confidence to acknowledge gaps in their own knowledge, Dr. Silverstein et al report.
-----
Public release date: 16-Oct-2009
Contact: Alex Lyda
Columbia University Medical Center
Science study: Teacher participation in Columbia program improves student achievement in science
Pioneering teacher-training program at Columbia University Medical Center yields marked improvement by students on critical New York state exam
NEW YORK (Oct. 16, 2009) – The notion that training teachers in the rigors of hands-on science will directly improve their students' academic performance now has real data behind it: Research assembled over the last decade – now published in the Oct. 16 issue of Science – shows that high school students' pass rate on New York State standardized tests, called Regents examinations, can be significantly improved if they are among the lucky few to study under a teacher trained in Columbia University's Summer Research Program for Science Teachers.
It's the first evidence that science teacher participation in a research experience program produces a significant increase in student achievement, the researchers report. The hallmark of the paper is the attendant data that took 12 years to collect. Columbia researchers have demonstrated that participation of academically prepared, experienced teachers in a sustained and focused research experience program significantly improves their students' performance in science. Participating teachers' students passed Regents science exams at a rate that was 10.1 percentage points higher than that of non-participating teachers' students in the same schools.
The authors of the paper, led by Samuel Silverstein, M.D., of Columbia University's departments of physiology and cellular biophysics and of medicine, and founder of the Summer Research Program for Science Teachers, as well as Columbia economist Sherry Glied, have also documented the economic benefits of making hands-on laboratory experience widely available to science teachers, demonstrating the kind of short- and long-term savings that can be realized when teachers are retained and students don't have to repeat coursework.
Since 1990, Columbia's Summer Research Program for Science Teachers, directed by Dr. Silverstein, has provided opportunities for metropolitan area middle and high school science teachers to do hands-on research for two consecutive summers under the mentorship of Columbia faculty. The program also provides participating teachers with funds to buy science supplies for their classrooms. Their Columbia research experiences encourage them to implement more hands-on, problem-solving exercises in their classrooms to stimulate students' interest and understanding.
As Dr. Silverstein sees it, "This is a simple concept. It uses existing human and physical resources. Its economic benefits exceed its costs. In short, it works."
Passing Regents examinations is a rite of passage for all New York State high school students. To receive a regular high school diploma, students in New York State must pass, with a score of 65 or higher, five Regents Exams: Integrated Algebra, Global History and Geography, U.S. History and Government, Comprehensive English, and one science (Biology [Living Environment], Chemistry, Earth Science, or Physics).
So the link was clear for Dr. Silverstein.
"In starting the program we thought that by studying real-world scientific problems using the tools of contemporary science under the guidance of Columbia faculty, teachers would gain a deeper and more complete understanding of the science they teach and this would translate to greater student achievement," he says.
-----
There are probably over 100 programs for science teachers in the United States, Dr. Silverstein says, but the Columbia program is the only one to have collected student outcomes data for a sufficient period of time to demonstrate a positive impact.
"We were fortunate in the sense that the NYC Department of Education is thorough about their data," study co-author Jay Dubner of Columbia says. "Other teacher research programs are not able to collect similar data – their data is not localized, and in many states, a standardized science exam does not yet exist."
And on a qualitative level, teachers who participated in the study indicated that the stresses they experienced in adapting to a research laboratory increased their appreciation of their students' difficulties and prompted them to respond more sympathetically to them. Instead of judging students' answers as "right" or "wrong," they ask, "Why do you think that?" They gain the confidence to acknowledge gaps in their own knowledge, Dr. Silverstein et al report.
-----
Second warmest September on record for the globe
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1352
Posted by: JeffMasters, 12:49 PM GMT on October 16, 2009
The globe recorded its second warmest September since record keeping began in 1880, according to NOAA's National Climatic Data Center. The combined global land and ocean temperature anomaly was 0.62°C (1.12°F), falling only 0.04°C (0.07°F) short of tying the record set in 2005. NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies also rated September 2009 as the 2nd warmest September on record, falling 0.02°C short of the record set in 2005. It was the 33rd consecutive September with a global temperature above the 20th century average. NOAA rated the year-to-date period, January - September 2009, as the sixth warmest such period on record. The September satellite-measured temperatures for the lowest 8 km of the atmosphere were the 2nd warmest on record, behind 1998. Global ocean Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomalies, however, cooled a bit, and were the 5th warmest on record. Global SSTs were the warmest on record during the Northern Hemisphere summer, June - August.
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September 2009 Northern Hemisphere sea ice extent was the 3rd lowest since satellite measurements began in 1979, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). Only 2007 and 2008 saw lower Arctic sea ice extent. Both the Northwest Passage and Northeast Passage melted free, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. This marks the second consecutive year--and the second time in recorded history--both of these Arctic shipping routes have melted free. The past five years have had the five lowest Arctic ice extents on record. In their 2009 report on this year's Arctic sea ice minimum, NSIDC Director and Senior Scientist Mark Serreze said, "It's nice to see a little recovery over the past couple years, but there's no reason to think that we're headed back to conditions seen back in the 1970s. We still expect to see ice-free summers sometime in the next few decades". Only 19% of the ice cover this summer in the Arctic was over 2 years old, the least in the satellite record, and far below the 1981 - 2000 average of 52%. NSIDC Scientist Walt Meier said, "We've preserved a fair amount of first-year ice and second-year ice after this summer compared to the past couple of years. If this ice remains in the Arctic through the winter, it will thicken, which gives some hope of stabilizing the ice cover over the next few years. However, the ice is still much younger and thinner than it was in the 1980s, leaving it vulnerable to melt during the summer". Earlier this summer, NASA researcher Ron Kwok and colleagues from the University of Washington in Seattle published satellite data showing that Arctic ice thickness declined by 0.68 meters (2.2 feet) between 2004 and 2008. The overall mean winter thickness was 3.64 meters in 1980, and 1.89 meters during the winter of 2007 - 2008, a massive decrease of 48%.
Posted by: JeffMasters, 12:49 PM GMT on October 16, 2009
The globe recorded its second warmest September since record keeping began in 1880, according to NOAA's National Climatic Data Center. The combined global land and ocean temperature anomaly was 0.62°C (1.12°F), falling only 0.04°C (0.07°F) short of tying the record set in 2005. NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies also rated September 2009 as the 2nd warmest September on record, falling 0.02°C short of the record set in 2005. It was the 33rd consecutive September with a global temperature above the 20th century average. NOAA rated the year-to-date period, January - September 2009, as the sixth warmest such period on record. The September satellite-measured temperatures for the lowest 8 km of the atmosphere were the 2nd warmest on record, behind 1998. Global ocean Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomalies, however, cooled a bit, and were the 5th warmest on record. Global SSTs were the warmest on record during the Northern Hemisphere summer, June - August.
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September 2009 Northern Hemisphere sea ice extent was the 3rd lowest since satellite measurements began in 1979, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). Only 2007 and 2008 saw lower Arctic sea ice extent. Both the Northwest Passage and Northeast Passage melted free, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. This marks the second consecutive year--and the second time in recorded history--both of these Arctic shipping routes have melted free. The past five years have had the five lowest Arctic ice extents on record. In their 2009 report on this year's Arctic sea ice minimum, NSIDC Director and Senior Scientist Mark Serreze said, "It's nice to see a little recovery over the past couple years, but there's no reason to think that we're headed back to conditions seen back in the 1970s. We still expect to see ice-free summers sometime in the next few decades". Only 19% of the ice cover this summer in the Arctic was over 2 years old, the least in the satellite record, and far below the 1981 - 2000 average of 52%. NSIDC Scientist Walt Meier said, "We've preserved a fair amount of first-year ice and second-year ice after this summer compared to the past couple of years. If this ice remains in the Arctic through the winter, it will thicken, which gives some hope of stabilizing the ice cover over the next few years. However, the ice is still much younger and thinner than it was in the 1980s, leaving it vulnerable to melt during the summer". Earlier this summer, NASA researcher Ron Kwok and colleagues from the University of Washington in Seattle published satellite data showing that Arctic ice thickness declined by 0.68 meters (2.2 feet) between 2004 and 2008. The overall mean winter thickness was 3.64 meters in 1980, and 1.89 meters during the winter of 2007 - 2008, a massive decrease of 48%.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Chimpanzees help each other on request
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-10/plos-che101409.php
Public release date: 14-Oct-2009
Contact: Rebecca Walton
Public Library of Science
Chimpanzees help each other on request but not voluntarily
The evolution of altruism has long puzzled researchers and has mainly been explained previously from ultimate perspectives—I will help you now because I expect there to be some long-term benefit to me. However, a new study by researchers at the Primate Research Institute (PRI) and the Wildlife Research Center (WRC) of Kyoto University shows that chimpanzees altruistically help conspecifics, even in the absence of direct personal gain or immediate reciprocation, although the chimpanzees were much more likely to help each other upon request than voluntarily. The findings are published October 14 in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE.
Shinya Yamamoto and colleagues studied six pairs of chimpanzees (three mother-offspring pairs and three non-kin adult pairs) in two different experiments, designed to test whether the chimpanzees would transfer a tool to a conspecific even if doing so would bring no immediate benefit to themselves. In each case, two chimpanzees would be situated in two adjacent, transparent booths, either in a straw-use situation where the chimpanzee would need access to a straw to be able to drink the juice box available to it, or in a stick-use situation where the chimpanzee would need access to a stick to drag a juice reward back into the booth.
In the first experiment, the two chimpanzees would have access to the opposite tool needed to obtain the reward in their booth—the chimpanzee that needed the straw would have access to the stick and vice-versa. In the second experiment, the mother-offspring pairs were tested in a situation where there was no opportunity for reciprocation because each individual was assigned a fixed role—giver or recipient—for 24 trials (one week's worth) before the roles were reversed.
The researchers found that the chimpanzees did spontaneously transfer tools in order to help their partner. This tool transfer occurred predominantly after the partner had actively solicited help (by poking its arm through a hole in the booth, for example, or by clapping), even when there was no hope of reciprocation from the partner (as in experiment 2) and even when the two animals were unrelated.
"Communicative interactions play an important role in altruism in chimpanzees," said Dr Yamamoto. "While humans may help others without being solicited, the chimpanzees rarely voluntarily offered an effective tool to a struggling partner. Indeed, simple observation of another's failed attempts did not elicit voluntary helping in chimpanzees."
Helping upon request may be a more economical and effective strategy. Altruistic behavior by definition produces no direct immediate benefit to the actor; making a request is a clear indicator to the actor that the recipient requires help, minimizing the risk to the actor of unnecessarily behaving altruistically. In this sense, "help upon request" is an ideal strategy since the helping is always helpful and not wasted. This type of altruism may have initially driven the prevalence and development of altruism during human evolution.
One important question for future research is whether high-frequency, voluntary altruism is a behaviour unique to humans. Some new world monkeys have demonstrated unsolicited prosociality suggesting that voluntary altruism evolved in phylogeneticallydiverse taxa but for now, there seems to be no consensus on what is the decisive factorin explaining species differences.
Public release date: 14-Oct-2009
Contact: Rebecca Walton
Public Library of Science
Chimpanzees help each other on request but not voluntarily
The evolution of altruism has long puzzled researchers and has mainly been explained previously from ultimate perspectives—I will help you now because I expect there to be some long-term benefit to me. However, a new study by researchers at the Primate Research Institute (PRI) and the Wildlife Research Center (WRC) of Kyoto University shows that chimpanzees altruistically help conspecifics, even in the absence of direct personal gain or immediate reciprocation, although the chimpanzees were much more likely to help each other upon request than voluntarily. The findings are published October 14 in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE.
Shinya Yamamoto and colleagues studied six pairs of chimpanzees (three mother-offspring pairs and three non-kin adult pairs) in two different experiments, designed to test whether the chimpanzees would transfer a tool to a conspecific even if doing so would bring no immediate benefit to themselves. In each case, two chimpanzees would be situated in two adjacent, transparent booths, either in a straw-use situation where the chimpanzee would need access to a straw to be able to drink the juice box available to it, or in a stick-use situation where the chimpanzee would need access to a stick to drag a juice reward back into the booth.
In the first experiment, the two chimpanzees would have access to the opposite tool needed to obtain the reward in their booth—the chimpanzee that needed the straw would have access to the stick and vice-versa. In the second experiment, the mother-offspring pairs were tested in a situation where there was no opportunity for reciprocation because each individual was assigned a fixed role—giver or recipient—for 24 trials (one week's worth) before the roles were reversed.
The researchers found that the chimpanzees did spontaneously transfer tools in order to help their partner. This tool transfer occurred predominantly after the partner had actively solicited help (by poking its arm through a hole in the booth, for example, or by clapping), even when there was no hope of reciprocation from the partner (as in experiment 2) and even when the two animals were unrelated.
"Communicative interactions play an important role in altruism in chimpanzees," said Dr Yamamoto. "While humans may help others without being solicited, the chimpanzees rarely voluntarily offered an effective tool to a struggling partner. Indeed, simple observation of another's failed attempts did not elicit voluntary helping in chimpanzees."
Helping upon request may be a more economical and effective strategy. Altruistic behavior by definition produces no direct immediate benefit to the actor; making a request is a clear indicator to the actor that the recipient requires help, minimizing the risk to the actor of unnecessarily behaving altruistically. In this sense, "help upon request" is an ideal strategy since the helping is always helpful and not wasted. This type of altruism may have initially driven the prevalence and development of altruism during human evolution.
One important question for future research is whether high-frequency, voluntary altruism is a behaviour unique to humans. Some new world monkeys have demonstrated unsolicited prosociality suggesting that voluntary altruism evolved in phylogeneticallydiverse taxa but for now, there seems to be no consensus on what is the decisive factorin explaining species differences.
Surprise: FOX spins news in favor of Republicans
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/10/14/down-10000-market/
For months and months, conservatives blamed President Obama for the slumping stock market. “Obama, since he’s elected, has tanked the markets,” Fox News’ Sean Hannity said in March. Now that the Dow has rebounded to over 10,000, what are the conservatives saying? On his Fox News today, Neil Cavuto claimed the stock market rebound is evidence of a “Bush recovery”
For months and months, conservatives blamed President Obama for the slumping stock market. “Obama, since he’s elected, has tanked the markets,” Fox News’ Sean Hannity said in March. Now that the Dow has rebounded to over 10,000, what are the conservatives saying? On his Fox News today, Neil Cavuto claimed the stock market rebound is evidence of a “Bush recovery”
The Chamber of Commerce Has it Backward
http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2009/10/the-chamber-of-commerce-has-it-backwards.html#comment-6a00d83451b33869e20120a640b6a7970c
Good discussion of conditions needed for "free" markets to work.
Good discussion of conditions needed for "free" markets to work.
Explorers: North Pole summers ice free in 10 years
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091015/ap_on_sc/eu_britain_arctic_expedition;_ylt=Ah6080_O6_anu3xLLa7TAOqs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFlOG1jZmM1BHBvcwMxMTcEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlvbl9zY2llbmNlBHNsawNleHBsb3JlcnNub3I-
By MARESA PATIENCE, Associated Press Writer Maresa Patience, Associated Press Writer – Wed Oct 14, 8:59 pm ET
LONDON – The North Pole will turn into an open sea during summer within a decade, according to data released Wednesday by a team of explorers who trekked through the Arctic for three months
The Catlin Arctic Survey team, led by explorer Pen Hadow, measured the thickness of the ice as it sledged and hiked through the northern part of the Beaufort Sea in the north Pole earlier this year during a research project. Their findings show that most of the ice in the region is first-year ice that is only around 1.8 meters (six feet) deep and will melt next summer. The region has traditionally contained, thicker multiyear ice which does not melt as rapidly.
"With a larger part of the region now first-year ice, it is clearly more vulnerable," said Professor Peter Wadhams, part of the Polar Ocean Physics Group at the University of Cambridge which analyzed the data. "The area is now more likely to become open water each summer, bringing forward the potential date when the summer sea ice will be completely gone."
Wadhams said the Catlin Arctic Survey data supports the new consensus that the Arctic will be ice-free in summer within 20 years, and that much of the decrease will happen within 10 years.
Martin Sommerkorn of the World Wildlife Fund said the Arctic sea holds a central position in the earth's climate system. "Such a loss of Arctic sea ice cover has recently been assessed to set in motion powerful climate feedbacks which will have an impact far beyond the Arctic itself," he said.
He added: "This could lead to flooding affecting one-quarter of the world's population, substantial increases in greenhouse gas emissions from massive carbon pools and extreme global weather changes."
Global warming has raised the stakes in the scramble for sovereignty in the Arctic because shrinking polar ice could someday open resource development and new shipping lanes. The rapid melting of ice has raised speculation that the Northwest Passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans could one day become a regular shipping lane.
The results come as negotiators prepare to meet in Copenhagen in December to draft a global climate pact.
By MARESA PATIENCE, Associated Press Writer Maresa Patience, Associated Press Writer – Wed Oct 14, 8:59 pm ET
LONDON – The North Pole will turn into an open sea during summer within a decade, according to data released Wednesday by a team of explorers who trekked through the Arctic for three months
The Catlin Arctic Survey team, led by explorer Pen Hadow, measured the thickness of the ice as it sledged and hiked through the northern part of the Beaufort Sea in the north Pole earlier this year during a research project. Their findings show that most of the ice in the region is first-year ice that is only around 1.8 meters (six feet) deep and will melt next summer. The region has traditionally contained, thicker multiyear ice which does not melt as rapidly.
"With a larger part of the region now first-year ice, it is clearly more vulnerable," said Professor Peter Wadhams, part of the Polar Ocean Physics Group at the University of Cambridge which analyzed the data. "The area is now more likely to become open water each summer, bringing forward the potential date when the summer sea ice will be completely gone."
Wadhams said the Catlin Arctic Survey data supports the new consensus that the Arctic will be ice-free in summer within 20 years, and that much of the decrease will happen within 10 years.
Martin Sommerkorn of the World Wildlife Fund said the Arctic sea holds a central position in the earth's climate system. "Such a loss of Arctic sea ice cover has recently been assessed to set in motion powerful climate feedbacks which will have an impact far beyond the Arctic itself," he said.
He added: "This could lead to flooding affecting one-quarter of the world's population, substantial increases in greenhouse gas emissions from massive carbon pools and extreme global weather changes."
Global warming has raised the stakes in the scramble for sovereignty in the Arctic because shrinking polar ice could someday open resource development and new shipping lanes. The rapid melting of ice has raised speculation that the Northwest Passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans could one day become a regular shipping lane.
The results come as negotiators prepare to meet in Copenhagen in December to draft a global climate pact.
Giving babies Tylenol may blunt vaccine effects
Also, aspirin depresses the immune system, so I expect it might have the same effect. Fever is part of the immune response to infection.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33331643/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/
updated 6:30 p.m. ET, Thurs., Oct . 15, 2009
Giving babies Tylenol to prevent fever when they get childhood vaccinations may backfire and make the shots a little less effective, surprising new research suggests.
It is the first major study to tie reduced immunity to the use of fever-lowering medicines. Although the effect was small and the vast majority of kids still got enough protection from vaccines, the results make "a compelling case" against routinely giving Tylenol right after vaccination, say doctors from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33331643/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/
updated 6:30 p.m. ET, Thurs., Oct . 15, 2009
Giving babies Tylenol to prevent fever when they get childhood vaccinations may backfire and make the shots a little less effective, surprising new research suggests.
It is the first major study to tie reduced immunity to the use of fever-lowering medicines. Although the effect was small and the vast majority of kids still got enough protection from vaccines, the results make "a compelling case" against routinely giving Tylenol right after vaccination, say doctors from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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