Environmental News Network

Study: High Rate Of Asthma In College Athletes
COLUMBUS, Ohio â€“ More than a third of college athletes assessed for breathing problems had test results suggesting exercise-induced asthma, even in those athletes who had no previous history of asthma, a new study shows. The findings, published in the September issue of the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, paralleled earlier findings of a high prevalence of exercise-induced asthma among Olympic athletes. The work also underscores the need to develop more routine diagnosis and management tools in athletes to detect the potentially serious condition among athletes. >> Read the Full Article
Study: New Way to Rehab Fried-Food-Loving Couch Dwellers
CHICAGO --- For lunch, Joy Hesemann loved to dive into a platter of deep-fried, crunchy chicken tenders with a side of ranch dressing. At night, she'd fry up ground beef for Hamburger Helper or another boxed meal for her family's dinner. Later, she'd plop in front of the TV or computer screen and rip into a bag of Oreos or potato chips. "I knew I was constantly overeating and eating the wrong things, and I wasn't exercising," admitted Hesemann, 27, an administrative assistant from Streamwood, Ill. "I wanted to change, but I needed some motivation." >> Read the Full Article
ConAgra To Act To Limit "Popcorn Lung"
CHICAGO (Reuters) - At least one person has reportedly developed "popcorn workers lung" from an additive in microwave popcorn, U.S. food regulators said on Wednesday, and they are checking to see if popcorn butter flavoring and the lung disease are related. The Food and Drug Administration received a doctor's report saying a person who ate large amounts of butter-flavored popcorn had the life-threatening lung disease, similiar to an illness that affects workers in plants where microwave popcorn is made, FDA spokesman Michael Herndon said in an e-mailed statement. >> Read the Full Article
White House Drug Czar Launches New Anti-Methamphetamine Campaign
WASHINGTON - The White House National Drug Control Policy Director, John Walters, today announced a new campaign targeting young adult methamphetamine (meth) users. The Anti-Meth Campaign will include advertising and public education outreach to raise awareness about the dangers of meth and provide information about the effectiveness and availability of meth treatment. The main target audience for the Campaign is young adults, ages 18 to 34. >> Read the Full Article
Clinical Trials To Test Traditional Herbal Medicine To Treat HIV
South Africa - Clinical trials to test a traditional medicine's effectiveness in delaying the onset of AIDS in HIV-positive patients will begin in South Africa within weeks, according to researchers. Approximately 125 HIV-positive patients at Edendale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal province will take part in trials of the herb Sutherlandia frutescens, a well-known South African traditional medicine. The purpose of the trial will be to test the safety and effectiveness of capsules of Sutherlandia in patients newly diagnosed with HIV. >> Read the Full Article
Virtual Dissection Software Teaches Kids, Spares Animals
AUSTIN, Texas - A textbook and technology publisher has developed a cruelty free, bloodless way for middle and high school grades to dissect animals in school. The company, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, created a virtual dissection labs CD-ROM. The lifelike lab dissections of six specimens give schools an alternative method - animal friendly - for teaching anatomy and physiology. >> Read the Full Article
USGS: Florida Aquifers and Drinking Water Supplies Contaminated With Pesticides, VOC's
TAMPA Fla. - As populations increase around areas with public water-supply wells in the northern Tampa Bay region there are corresponding increases in contamination. According to a study by the U.S. Geological Survey, human activities are polluting ground-water supplies. In the first phase of the study, 30 randomly-selected public-supply wells were sampled prior to treatment and analyzed for the presence of 258 compounds generated by humans such as pesticides and volatile organic compounds. The northern Tampa Bay area was selected for study because a large percentage of the population relies on ground-water resources from the Upper Floridan aquifer for drinking water supply. >> Read the Full Article
Germany: Massive Attacks On U.S. Sites Foiled
BERLIN (Reuters) - German security services foiled a plan by Islamist militants to carry out "massive bomb attacks" against U.S. installations in Germany and arrested three suspects, officials said on Wednesday. Federal prosecutor Monika Harms said the men, two German nationals and one Turk, had been on the verge of launching their attacks after acquiring enough material to make a bomb with explosive power equal to 550 kilograms of TNT. The men were arrested on Tuesday, the same day Danish police seized eight young Muslims they suspect of plotting a bomb attack and a week before the sixth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 hijacked plane attacks on targets in the United States. >> Read the Full Article
Hand-rolled cigarettes more carcinogenic: study
Smokers of hand-rolled cigarettes tend to consume less tobacco, but face a greater risk of developing lung cancer than those who smoke manufactured cigarettes, a study on Norwegian lung cancer patients has found. Norway is one of the last Western countries that still use a significant amount of hand-rolled tobacco, amounting to one-third of tobacco sales, according to the study released on Wednesday. >> Read the Full Article
Doctor Warns Consumers of Popcorn Fumes
Consumers, not just factory workers, may be in danger from fumes from buttery flavoring in microwave popcorn, according to a warning letter to federal regulators from a doctor at a leading lung research hospital. >> Read the Full Article