health
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EPA risks kiling bees to fight invasive stink bugs
The brown marmorated stink bug threatens crops in 33 states. But the EPA will allow farmers to use a pesticide that could wipe out bee populations, too
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BPA makes male mice into mincing little nancymice
In the patriarchy (that's Women's Studies for "dicktopia") we live in, there is pretty much no worse fate than wussification. So in a way, we're glad to hear that Bisphenol A, an organic compound found in a lot of plastics, makes male mice act less masculine. Maybe this will induce Girl Panic in some of the straight dudes who run things, and we can finally get the stuff taken out of our baby bottles, plastic packaging, and cans.
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Climate change side effect: overworked doctors?
Hospital admissions diabetes, kidney stones, and suicide attempts will rise along with the temperature. An increase could overwhelm small hospitals.
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More birth defects in mountaintop removal mining areas
Babies born in West Virginia regions where mountaintop removal mining takes place suffer from higher rates of birth defects than those born in non-mining regions. Mining regions tend to be low-income and deal with the slew of problems correlated with that, but the birth defect rates are higher even when accounting for "socioeconomic disadvantages."
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Will the EPA help farmers fight pesticide poisoning?
USDA may force chem companies to help doctors diagnose pesticides.
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High-fat diet may damage the brain, study finds
There have been many disturbing studies on the effects of a high-fat diet on the brain. I’m thinking in particular of the 2009 study that suggested the American diet can be as addictive to the brain as heroin. But a new study presented at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society is even more concerning […]
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Buy new sunglasses, save someone’s sight in the developing world
Men and women probably do make passes at people who use their sunglasses purchase to provide someone in the developing world with vision surgery, eye care, or glasses. Okay, the scansion needs a little work, but the point is that buy-one-give-one shoe company TOMS is expanding into eyewear, and the concept's pretty sexy, and so […]
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FDA admits supermarket chickens test positive for arsenic
Why is Big Ag playing chicken with our health?Back in March, Tom Philpott wrote about the “insane” practice of feeding factory-farmed chickens arsenic: The idea is that it makes them grow faster — fast growth being the supreme goal of factory animal farming — and helps control a common intestinal disease called coccidiosis. The industry […]
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Cancer is now the leading cause of death in China
As China’s pollution soars, so do rates of cancer. This post was written by Janet Larsen, director of research for the Earth Policy Institute. Additional resources at www.earth-policy.org. Cancer is now the leading cause of death in China. Chinese Ministry of Health data implicate cancer in close to a quarter of all deaths countrywide. As […]