An aspirin a day can prevent bowel cancer but is only worth taking by those at high risk, research shows. People who took at least 300 mgs of aspirin a day for at least five years cut their overall risk of the cancer by more than a third. The effect was even more dramatic in the first 10 to 15 years after treatment started, with a 74 per cent reduction in the risk. The study was conducted by researchers from Oxford University led by Professor Peter Rothwell from the Radcliffe Infirmary, who followed up patients involved in two large aspirin trials in the 1970s and 1980s. Combined with the results from a review of 30 observational studies, the team said the risk was reduced further in people who took aspirin for longer. The findings are published in The Lancet. However, the painkiller can cause gastro-intestinal bleeding. The authors said that, given these risks, its use to prevent bowel cancer could only be recommended for people at high risk. In the past 30 years, aspirin has been proven effective against heart disease, three types of cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, stroke, infertility and deep vein thrombosis. Thousands of […]
Few have been unaffected by the rapidly increasing price of gas, which has inched its way up toward $4 a gallon in some parts of the United States. And consumers aren’t feeling those effects just in their wallets, a Florida State University professor has found. Research conducted by Wayne Hochwarter, a professor of management in FSU’s College of Business, documents that Americans’ work attitudes have been affected as the cost to fill a tank of gas has nearly doubled over the past few years. In his research, approximately 1,000 full-time employees were asked to note how gas prices have affected their disposable spending patterns. They also were asked how these changes affected their stress levels and willingness to participate at work. (Respondents, who worked in both blue- and white-collar occupations, reported paying an average of $2.83 a gallon during their previous visit to the gas station at the time they were surveyed earlier this year.) Sixty percent of employees confirmed that the price of gas has significantly reduced the amount of money they have to spend on other things, while 45 percent reported the need to pay off debts more slowly or not at all. Finally, 26 percent […]
Would you notice one of the world’s greatest violinists playing in the midst of rush hour? What would happen if one of the greatest violinists alive, playing on a Stradivarius worth several million dollars, was plunked into the sterile environment of a Washington D.C. metro station at the height of morning rush hour? Would anyone stop to listen? Would anyone recognize the genius, the soaring beauty of the playing? Gene Weingarten, a Washington Post staff writer, was determined to find out. The idea was born two years ago, when Weingarten left a crowded metro station and noticed a ragged-looking man playing the keyboard. The musician was quite good, but he was receiving virtually no notice. Looking at the amorphous mass of humanity rushing by, Weingarten felt a surge of anger. The thought crossed his mind that even the greatest of musicians wouldn’t be able to touch these rushing creatures. But he decided to test his hypothesis before indicting the public. The result was an intriguing social experiment. Weingarten approached Joshua Bell, one of the finest classical musicians in the world. Bell, 39, is a consummate violinist who plays before awe-struck crowds across the globe. His instrument […]
A U.S. Senate bill that offers up the prospect of enhanced powers for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in its dealings with the pharmaceutical industry is drawing both praise and criticism from health experts. Some believe the bill, approved overwhelmingly in a 93-1 vote Wednesday, would help restore consumer confidence to a regulatory system that has been shaken in recent years by drug recalls and reports of serious health risks to consumers. But others say the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Under terms of the Senate bill, the FDA would be able to mandate changes in drug labels, remove from the market drugs considered dangerous to consumer health, and order more studies of drugs already on the market. The agency would also be required to establish a database of all clinical trials of drugs to make safety issues more transparent. The Senate bill would also enable the FDA to fine companies up to $2 million if they do not comply with the new system. One of the biggest changes outlined in the bill would give the FDA the authority to monitor drugs after they have reached the market. In the past, the agency had […]
John F. Kennedy’s election in 1960 was supposed to have laid the ‘religious question’ to rest, yet it arises again with a fury. What does the Constitution mean when it says there should be no religion test for office? It plainly means that a candidate can’t be barred from running because he or she happens to be a Quaker or a Buddhist or a Pentecostal. But Mitt Romney’s candidacy raises a broader issue: Is the substance of private beliefs off-limits? You can ask if a candidate believes in school vouchers and vote for someone else if you disagree with the answer. But can you ask if he believes that the Garden of Eden was located in Jackson County, Mo., as the Mormon founder taught, and vote against him on the grounds of that answer? Or, for that matter, because of the kind of underwear he wears? Slate editor Jacob Weisberg threw down the challenge after reviewing some of Joseph Smith’s more extravagant assertions. ‘He was an obvious con man,’ Weisberg wrote. ‘Romney has every right to believe in con men, but I want to know if he does, and if so, I don’t want him running the country.’ That […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
