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Law Against Crossing The Street Using An iPod

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iPod Oblivion.jpg

A proposed law has the bloggers and iPod users agitated. Senator Carl Kruger’s bill proposes that anyone using an iPod or similar music player, Blackberry or mobile phones, portable game players or any electronic gadget of the like at crosswalks should be fined $100. The senator says that this bill was triggered by the death of three pedestrians after they stepped off the curb without checking the street since they were distracted by their portable entertainment gadget.

While everyone agrees that the senator has good intentions, many feel that his bill should not become law. Can you imagine the police trying to stop every person who uses one of the mentioned devices? It is a law that punishes the many because a few do not use common sense.

Rather than make this a law, Michael Rose of New York, who blogs at Tuaw.com, the Unofficial Apple Blog, suggests that they put together a targeted PR campaign to remind users of these gadgets to “‘Turn down & tune in’ while navigating the mean streets”. Other bloggers point out that pedestrians have right of way no matter what, whether they are using any of the types of gadgets listed above or not.

Cigarettes: More Addictive than Ever

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cigarette-nicotine-addiction4.JPGHarvard University conducted a study that has the tobacco companies on the defensive. The results of the study show that the tobacco companies have been manufacturing cigarettes that have higher nicotine content. This means that people become more addicted and it will be harder for them to quit should they want to.

The study was conducted using data that these companies provided themselves, from the period of 1997 to 2005. They provided their filter designs as well as their measurement of nicotine per stick of cigarette and how many puffs it would take to finish a stick. The nicotine levels rose in all brands, in all categories irregardless of whether it was regular, menthol, light or ultra light. The increase was as much as 10% says Greg Connolly, one of the authors of the study and former director of the Tobacco Control Program of the state health agency.

Major tobacco manufacturer, Philip Morris, is challenging the findings of this study. They insist that while the nicotine levels may have fluctuated a little per batch, the 1997 and 2006 batch have identical nicotine levels.

What Did Napoleon Bonaparte Die Of?

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Bonaparte.jpgHe may have been dead for some time but by no means is he forgotten. This man who once ruled France has kept the people actively debating. What about? Why they wonder what really caused his death. Did he die of natural causes in exile or was he indeed poisoned with arsenic?

Dr. Robert Genta and a team of US, Canadian and Swiss researchers have tried to determine the cause of death for themselves. Dr. Genta, senior author of the study is a professor of pathology and internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He is also an expert on stomach cancer.

The team had nothing to use but the previous reports filed. So they worked with the autopsy report and applied modern pathological and clinical methods as best they could on these reports. Their conclusion is that Bonaparte had a tumor measuring the length of his stomach. He appeared to have third stage stomach cancer and probably had mere months to live. There was no hemorrhage of the heart that would have been present if Napoleon had indeed been poisoned.

Dr. Genta hopes that Napoleon may spark renewed study on gastric cancer just as Betty Ford inspired the interest in breast cancer. How many more famous personages in our history died of stomach cancer? The scientists will have to tell us.

Adults With Kids Pack on More Pounds

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Fat_parents.jpgDid you know that adults with children in the house pack on more pounds than adults without kids? A medical study has found that parents who have their children living with them – no matter what the age, generally eat more saturated fat, too much of which can make one a candidate for heart disease.

How much saturated fat? It will seem like a tiny amount – 2 grams of saturated fat but that’s actually the equivalent of a weekly dose of one whole pepperoni pizza. The problem is that even tiny amounts become big over time. They get piled up and the end result, parents are fatter than they planned on.

Dr. Helena Laroche says that it is not the fault of the children. Rather it is a combination of factors such as high stress lifestyles and eating convenience foods. These processed foods may be quick to serve but in the long run, they add unwanted pounds and inches on the body.

These parents also often have less free time than adults without kids. So far the study show that the food choices made are often poor because of lack of time or because they are swayed by the preferences of the children such as the kids love for greasy food like hamburger and pizza.

The results of the study will be published next week.

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