Tiny chemical differences in how our skin reacts to ultraviolet light may explain why redheads have more skin cancer, say scientists.

Read (BBC)

I had red hair before it all turned gray.

The brain areas involved in daydreaming, musing and other stream-of-consciousness thoughts appear to be the same regions targeted by Alzheimer’s disease, researchers are reporting in an unusual study that offers new insights into the roots of the deadly illness.

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Americans are getting fatter at a rate never seen before, with rises in 48 of the nation’s states, a report shows. According to projections, 73% of US adults could be overweight or obese by 2008.

Read (BBC)

Kidney disease in America has a ground zero, and it is located in Washington, D.C. Three District Zip codes — 20002, 20011 and 20019 — have the highest rates of end-stage kidney disease in the nation. Yet many people headed toward kidney failure have no idea there is anything wrong…

Read (Washington Post)

Obesity rates rose last year in every state but Oregon, according to an advocacy group that called on the government and the private sector to get more involved in Americans’ battle with expanding waistlines.

The states with the highest percentage of obese adults are Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Louisiana and Tennessee.

The states with the lowest percentage of obese adults are Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and Montana.

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Like many restaurant chains in the past two years, Ruby Tuesday has discovered that while customers say they want more nutritious choices, they rarely order them. As a result, fast food and casual dining chains — which together account for three out of four U.S. restaurant visits — are slowly going back to what they do best: indulging Americans’ taste for high-calorie, high-fat fare.

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Working single mothers who rely on their family, friends, or other informal child care providers to look after their children during work hours may, in doing so, negatively influence their child’s mental development, new study findings suggest.

Read (Reuters)

Very young children who eat French fries frequently have a much higher risk of breast cancer as adults.

A study of American nurses found that one additional serving of fries per week at ages three to five increased breast cancer risk by 27%.

Read (Reuters)

Soda companies today announced they will restrict the sales of their drinks in schools. Under new voluntary guidelines, the beverage industry will remove all carbonated soft drinks from elementary schools and remove all sugared drinks from middle schools during school hours. The new restrictions will apply to new contracts only and will take several years to take effect nationwide.

Read (NPR)

Why were carbonated drinks available in elementary schools?

A gene that helps fruit flies develop alcohol tolerance has been found – and named “hangover”. The gene also controls the flies’ response to stress, and the researchers say that a similar pathway linking alcohol tolerance and stress probably functions in humans.
Read (New Scientist)

A new nasal vaccine for Alzheimer’s has cleared plaques from the brains of affected mice and will be tested in humans in 2006.

Read (New Scientist)

Inspired by the documentary “Super Size Me,” Merab Morgan decided to give a fast-food-only diet a try. The construction worker and mother of two ate only at McDonald’s for 90 days — and dropped 37 pounds in the process.

Read (AP via MSNBC)

People whose blood pressure is slightly elevated — a condition called prehypertension — have triple the risk of a heart attack compared to those with healthy blood pressure, researchers said. The finding supports a move by federal and academic heart experts last year that defines prehypertension as blood pressure between 120/80 and 139/89. High blood pressure starts at 140/90.

Read (Reuters)