Decoding labels

The complicated job of reading food labels is set to get easier thanks to a groundbreaking EU deal, but what are the key things that campaigners want people to look out for?

After years of argument, fierce lobbying and heated debate, the EU has agreed to bring in uniform food labelling across the 27 member countries. The rules mean labels on supermarket shelves will have to spell out energy content along with fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugar, protein and salt levels.

But it could take up to five years for the harmonised labels to hit the shelves, which in many cases leaves the consumer with the often puzzling "big four" - energy, protein, carbohydrate and fat. What they actually tell us is open to debate. Take a single figure for carbohydrates, what does it tell a person about sugar content? Not very much - and that is how some companies like it, say some.

"Certain sections of the food industry want to muddy the waters," says Alan Maryon-Davis, professor of public health at Kings College London. "It benefits them if they're not too clear and so they label food in a way that can be misleading."

Many food manufacturers already list all the nutritional content the EU is now demanding. The problem in the UK is different systems are used, including the traffic light system and Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA).

"The very thing that is supposed to help you make a choice simply confuses you," says Katharine Jenner, a nutritionist with World Action On Salt and Health (Wash).

So why is it so difficult to work out what is in the food we buy?

Energy

It usually tops any food label - and can also be the start of consumer confusion.

When we eat food we convert it into energy which is used to perform bodily functions such as breathing, circulating blood, moving muscles and maintaining body temperature. This can be written in kilojoules, kilocalories and Calories - or all of them.

'No limits'

Jazz is 3ft 11in (119cm) tall but says she lives life with "no limits"

Dwarfism is the term is commonly used to describe people with a final adult height of 4ft 10in (147cm) or less.

There are estimated to be several hundred conditions that can cause restricted growth - these can cause proportionate or disproportionate restricted growth.

Jazz, who inherited the condition from her mother, was bullied at school for her size and has to adapt how she lives day-to-day to cope with the bigger world around her.

"I was badly bullied about my size at school so I had to leave when I was 13.

"A boy picked me up and then he just dropped me again, but I landed on my knees and that really did damage my knees quite badly."

Jazz's mother decided to home-school her instead, which Jazz says has also given her the opportunity to cook, clean and learn to get by with her condition.

Last year Jazz followed her passion for animals and left home for the first time to go and study animal welfare at Llysfasi College in Ruthin, Denbighshire.

"I was worried being at college would be like being back at school where I was bullied.

Continue reading the main storyProportionate short stature (PSS) Occurs when there is general lack of growth throughout the body. The length of the abdomen and chest remains in normal proportion with the legs The most common cause is being born to small parents but it can also be caused by the body not producing enough growth hormone, or cannot process it properly Adults with PSS rarely reach 5ft (152cm) tall Adults with a growth hormone deficiency are at greater risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease and have reduced muscle strength In some cases, hormone treatment can be used "But here, no-one sees me as any different. I'm just Jazz," she says.

She has a specially-adapted room at the college, with a lowered shower and step ladders so that she can reach shelves.

"Being small hasn't held me back at all and the staff have done loads to make sure I fit in.

"We have to wear a lab coat. Everyone was picking small, medium and large lab coats and I was like - there's no way I'm going to fit in even the small one.

"So the college had the company measure one perfectly, and it looks like any other ones but for me. And I'm not joking, I almost cried."

Her decision to leave home was tough, as she is her mother's registered carer, and their shared understanding of their condition means they are very close.

But she does not regret her decision to leave. "I wanted my own little bit of independence... and I love it."

Jazz's father was addicted to drugs, and her mother cut off contact with him when she was born.

'Miracle boy'

Thirteen-year-old Lee is a school boxing champion "Let him go or let them operate and take a chance."

That was the dilemma facing the parents of 13-year-old Lee McMillan after being told their son's illness had got so bad an operation performed only once before on a child was their only chance he would live.

But that "terrifying decision" to give the operation the go-ahead saved the Merseyside teenager's life.

Lee, from Litherland in Sefton, had come home from school one Friday in May saying he had a headache. Three days later his mother Tracy Jennings found him having a seizure.

He was rushed into hospital where he was diagnosed with encephalitis, an infection which causes brain swelling.

Less than a week later, the schoolboy boxing champion was in a coma.

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteThis was the worst case of encephalitis I've ever seen... we thought he was going to die”

End QuoteDr Rachel KneenConsultant paediatric neurologist "We went home and called called back because he'd been unresponsive," his mother Tracy Jennings said.

"It was awful, I couldn't believe it was happening. A boy came home from school on Friday with a headache and then to be faced with him nearly dying, it just didn't seem real."

Even if Lee survived the groundbreaking operation there was no guarantee of a full recovery.

The doctors could not say if Lee would sustain brain damage or if he would be able to walk or talk again.

"To be put in that position and looking at him lying on that bed and deciding what to do with him was the hardest thing I think any parent could ever do," Ms Jennings said.

"But that's what we were faced with. Let him go or let them operate and take a chance."

Exhaust fumes

Smoking in cars with child passengers is illegal in parts of the US, Australia and Canada A ban on smoking in cars where children are present may be introduced in Wales. Is lighting up inside your vehicle damaging?

If a campaign to change attitudes does not succeed, a tobacco ban inside vehicles in which children are travelling could be imposed, the Welsh government has warned.

Such a move would bring Wales into line with a number of other jurisdictions around the world. But is passive smoking a danger to passengers?

Anti-smoking campaigners point to a University of Aberdeen study which suggested that it exposes children to levels of smoke comparable to those in a smoke-filled pub.

But the smokers' rights lobby questions the research, saying another study indicates the vast majority of people would never light up with a child travelling alongside them anyway.

If Wales were to adopt a ban on smoking inside cars in which children were present, it would join the US states of California, Arkansas and Louisiana as well as parts of Canada and Australia which have already done so.

Since 2009 smoking has been banned in the UK within vehicles used for work or to transport members of the public. Additionally, the Highway Code advises against smoking while driving because it causes a distraction.

Anti-smoking campaigners say they would like to see the law tightened further.

Family curse

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Josie has to decide whether she wants to know if she's likely to get breast cancer

Gene dilemma in cancer battle'It was definitely a good thing to do'Women 'miss father health clues' A teenage girl whose family has "been cursed" by hereditary breast cancer for generations faces a dilemma - should she be tested for a mutated gene which could cause the disease?

"It's not so much that I'm scared to get the test, or I'm scared for the operation," said Josie Bellerby, an 18-year old from York.

"It's a decision. If you go and get the test done you can never take it back, so it's just whether or not you want to risk feeling like part of your body might kill you."

Josie comes from a family where breast cancer has claimed the lives of her grandmother and great-great-grandmother. Her mother, Julia, had a preventative double mastectomy when she was younger after she found out she had an increased risk of cancer.

Josie has two sisters, Lucy and Emma, and the possibility that any of their daughters has a faulty gene has been difficult for parents Julia and Jules.

“Start QuoteI could not bear to lose a daughter to cancer”

End QuoteJulia BellerbyJosie's mother Julia said: "I lost my mum to cancer, I could not bear to lose a daughter to cancer. That just doesn't feel like something I could cope with at all.

"It just makes me sad because it is all becoming kind of real now. This thing that I so dreaded when I went through it myself, that you'd all have to face it and here it is, it is actually happening."

"They shouldn't have to be thinking of things like breast cancer, at their age," said Jules.

Josie wants to go drama college next year, but fears that if she has the test, the results might affect her plans.

"I never thought about the future. The furthest in the future I thought about was when is my next audition or, when are my exams coming up?

Why patients 'must question GPs'

Why we need a 'nudge' 'Lipo with your facial?' Ageing assets In this week's Scrubbing Up Dr John Holden says patients should not be afraid to ask their GP to clarify instructions on medication or treatment.

Doctors often wonder why their patients sometimes struggle to follow basic medical advice or fail to take prescriptions as instructed.

Sometimes they suspect non-compliant patients are acting irrationally or being wilfully disobedient, but often there are other factors at work.

One element that could play a significant part is simple communication failure - where doctors issue unclear or ambiguous instructions that risk being misunderstood or misinterpreted. There's no denying that patients must sometimes feel like their doctor is speaking an entirely different language.

Professor Theo Raynor and his colleagues at Leeds-based Luto Research have recently looked at this issue in relation to the wording of medicine labels. When drug information leaflets are misplaced, Professor Raynor says, the label on a particular medicine "plays a very important part in guiding people's behaviour".

His team's research found that the word "drowsiness", for example, was not always readily understood and should be replaced with the phrase: "This medicine makes you sleepy."

He found similar results for the instruction: "Avoid alcoholic drink" - where some people thought it only meant they should limit their alcohol intake - and suggested it be replaced with: "Do not drink alcohol while taking this medicine."

Continue reading the main story“Start QuotePatients should not be afraid to speak up more often and ask the doctor to explain anything.”

End Quote In light of this research, the British National Formulary announced that it is recommending medicine labels should be improved "to ensure the wording is better understood by patients". Terminology should be simpler and more precise and changes are likely to come into force within six months.

Cause for complaint

These recommendations can be applied to more than just medicine labels. It is crucial that doctors are clear and precise when issuing any written or verbal patient instructions - particularly when giving telephone advice.

We know of a number of cases where unclear or ambiguous patient instructions have led to negative outcomes and given rise to a patient complaint.

One significant risk area relates to advice about medication.

Some patients may be given medication and told to take it "at meal times", but ideally this should be narrowed down to a more specific time frame, such as "take one tablet within two hours of eating a meal".

It can be easy for doctors, with their years of medical training, to lose sight of the fact that patients are not as familiar as they are with medical instructions.

Some patients who fail to take their medicine may simply not understand how or when to take it or, indeed, why they should take it.

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteDoctors have a duty to discuss their patient's condition and treatment options in a way that's easily understandable.”

End Quote There can also be problems if doctors are unclear about when patients should return for further treatment.

In one case a patient with gastrointestinal problems was told by his GP to "come back if the symptoms get worse". His symptoms persisted over several days but, because they had not worsened, he didn't return to his GP. This resulted in a prolonged illness and the patient went on to complain about the GP.

Crystal clear

In this case, it would have been clearer if the doctor had advised the patient to come back within a given time frame if the symptoms continued or worsened. It's a simple misunderstanding but with unpleasant consequences.

The need for clarity is heightened in phone consultations, which are becoming increasingly common. The lack of face-to-face contact can make it difficult for doctors to establish if advice has been listened to and understood. Whatever the circumstances, doctors have to make sure the patient is clear about what they should do if things either do not improve or deteriorate.

Equally, patients should not be afraid to speak up more often and ask the doctor to explain anything they have not fully understood. Some patients may be reluctant to question their doctor for fear of appearing rude or perhaps because they are embarrassed to admit they are unsure of something.

But doctors have a duty to discuss their patient's condition and treatment options in a way that's easily understandable so that both parties can make decisions together. The doctor-patient relationship should be a partnership, not one-sided, and patients are perfectly entitled to ask their doctor questions or raise concerns.

Good communication between doctors and patients is a fundamental step in reducing the problem of patient non-compliance.

Long NHS waits 'on the increase'

There has been an overall drop in the number of people waiting for hospital treatment NHS chiefs' waiting times warningCameron unveils major NHS rethinkHospital wait breaches 'going up' The number of people facing "long waits" for hospital treatment in England is rising, NHS figures show.

Under the NHS Constitution, patients have a right to be seen in 18 weeks.

But there are currently 236,155 on the waiting list who have waited longer than that - a rise of 8.5% in a year, according to official data. Nearly half have waited more than six months.

The government said there could be valid medical or personal reasons for long waits.

However, doctors blamed the rise on the squeeze in budgets that is increasingly being seen in the health service.

The most common treatments people are facing long waits for is in orthopaedics, which includes operations such as knee and hip replacements.

Peter Kay, president of the British Orthopaedic Association and a former adviser to the Department of Health, said the sheer numbers waiting longer than 18 weeks meant it was unlikely to be solely for personal or medical reasons.

He said the focus of hospitals was now slipping and patients were being left waiting for too long.

And he added: "One of the issues with 18 weeks is that once you have missed the boat there is less incentive to get the patient treated. They get left on the list for longer than they otherwise would."

Continue reading the main storyThe waiting game Some 2.47 million people are on hospital waiting lists - down from 2.51 million last April Of those, 236,155 have been waiting for more than 18 weeks - up 8.5% in a year Some 107,551 have been waiting for over six months. Nearly 13,500 have waited over a year. Orthopaedics is the area of care that the most people are waiting for. Nearly 50,000 have been waiting for this treatment for more than 18 weeks, of which 21,713 have been waiting over six months. The rise in those waiting longer than 18 weeks has happened despite a small drop in the overall number of people on the waiting list.

The April data - the latest available - showed that 2.47 million were on waiting lists, down from 2.51 million in April 2010.

Waits of a year are even being seen. Nearly 13,500 patients have waited this long.

A spokesman for the Patients Association said the figures "back up what patients are telling us".

But a Department of Health spokesman said average waiting times were "stable" and the government was committed to keeping them low.

But he added: "There will always be some longer waits reported - including as a result of clinical decisions, patients missing appointments and patients exercising choice."

The spokesman also pointed out that overall hospitals were meeting the waiting time performance expected of them.

While all patients are entitled to treatment within 18 weeks under the NHS Constitution, hospitals are only expected to see 90% of inpatients and 95% of outpatients in that timeframe to reflect the fact that some patients are not seen for valid reasons.

 

Increase in male eating disorders

Ben says he had 'anxieties about body image' The number of men suffering from eating disorders is rising, says the Royal College of General Practitioners.

It says it wants doctors to be more aware of the problem because it is usually seen as a female issue.

"If doctors see a young man who is thin they are more likely to think that he is depressed," a spokesperson said.

The NHS says there's been a 66% increase in hospital admissions in England for male eating disorders over the last 10 years.

Diagnosis The charity beat estimates that 1.6 million people in the UK have an eating disorder and it is thought that one in five sufferers is male.

The Department of Health does not keep records which show exactly how many sufferers there are in England.

Hospitals warned over clot deaths

Giska Dye was among 25,000 annual victims of hospital-acquired DVT Hospitals 'should screen for DVT' English hospitals face being "named and shamed" for not screening patients for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) risk, NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh has said.

NHS trusts are required to screen 90% of hospital patients.

But fewer than half manage this says the NHS, which warns 25,000 people die each year from hospital-acquired DVT.

One assessed just one in four patients and another barely one in 10. Sir Bruce said this was "absolutely disgraceful".

"In the sort of NHS that I want to work in and be treated in, I don't think that level of practice is acceptable."

DVT involves blood clotting in the legs and can be fatal if a clot breaks off and travels in the blood up to the lungs and causes a blockage, known as a pulmonary embolism.

Since April 2010, trusts in England have faced losing up to 0.3% of their income for failing to meet the guidelines. Some have already lost money. And there will continue to be financial consequences for trusts who do not meet the target, Sir Bruce Keogh told BBC Radio 4's Face the Facts.

He also says he will name the worst performers if they continue to do badly.

Extra NHS spend 'not unthinkable'

Ministers have argued spending more on the NHS is unaffordable NHS shake-up Analysis: Why the NHS wants to move on Step-by-step guide to NHS changes Q&A: The NHS shake-up How the NHS works in rest of UK Spending more on the NHS is not necessarily unaffordable - despite the claims of ministers, a leading health expert says.

A major part of the justification for the overhaul of the NHS was that spending would spiral out of control.

But Professor John Appleby, of the King's Fund, said even a doubling of the budget over 20 years was possible.

Writing for the British Medical Journal website, he said it was about whether the NHS was prioritised even more.

Ministers have spent the past few months arguing that the ageing population, rising cost of drugs and factors like obesity mean spending demands would outstrip what was affordable in the coming years.

New method may end plaster casts

The plaster cast has been used to keep injured limbs immobile. The technique uses an internal support which is inserted via keyhole surgery.

Plaster casts or "stookies", as they are known in Scotland, are used to keep injured limbs immobile.

But Professor Gordon Mackay wanted to find a way of avoiding the muscle-wasting and inconvenience of plaster casts, boots and slings.

The professor, from the Ross Hall hospital in Glasgow, said: "I think anyone who's had the experience of trying to put a knitting needle down the cast to get to an itch will realise that a stookie is extremely unpleasant.

"Also, when it comes off, the limb tends to be festering within and your muscles have wasted to nothing."

Ligament damage

Prof Mackay uses keyhole surgery to insert a tiny piece of tape which acts as a brace over injured ligaments.

The brace allows movement but supports the ligaments while they heal.

HIV medicines 'boost prevention'

The HIV drug tenofovir Two studies in Africa add weight to previous data showing drugs used to treat HIV can reduce infection risk when taken daily.

The World Health Organization said the studies could have "enormous impact" in preventing HIV transmission.

The findings were revealed in the run-up to an AIDS conference in Rome.

"This is a major scientific breakthrough which re-confirms the essential role that antiretroviral medicine has to play in the AIDS response," said Michel Sidibé, executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

"These studies could help us to reach the tipping point in the HIV epidemic."

Future hopes

One trial, carried out by the University of Washington, US, followed almost 5,000 couples in Kenya and Uganda, where one person had HIV infection and the other did not.

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteIf you're currently trying to stay HIV negative don't give up on the condoms yet”

End QuoteLisa PowerTerrence Higgins Trust The uninfected person took a daily HIV medicine (tenofovir), a combination of two HIV drugs (tenofovir and emtricitabine), or a placebo pill.

There were 62% fewer HIV infections in the group on the single drug and 73% fewer HIV infections in the group that took the combination, compared with those given a dummy pill.

The other trial, conducted by the United States Centers for Disease Control, followed 1,200 HIV-negative heterosexual men and women in Botswana. They received either a once-daily combination tablet or a placebo. The HIV medication reduced the risk of getting HIV by about 63% overall.

A previous trial found the combination of two HIV drugs reduced the risk of infection in gay and bisexual men by 44%. But a similar study in women at risk of HIV infection in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa produced disappointing results.

New tools

The HIV charity, the Terrence Higgins Trust, described the latest findings as "genuinely exciting".

Head of Policy Lisa Power told the BBC: "Pre-exposure prophylaxis is not going to be available overnight but we are exploring whether it is one of a range of things that can drive down onward transmission of HIV."

But she stressed that the findings needed to be properly tested and trialled.

"If you're currently trying to stay HIV negative don't give up on the condoms yet."

The WHO and UNAIDS recommend that people make evidence-informed decisions on HIV prevention options.

They say no single method is fully protective against HIV and antiretroviral drugs for prevention need to be combined with other HIV prevention methods such as condoms.

"Effective new HIV prevention tools are urgently needed, and these studies could have enormous impact in preventing heterosexual transmission," said Dr Margaret Chan, the WHO's Director-General.

"WHO will be working with countries to use the new findings to protect more men and women from HIV infection."

Spinal repair restores breathing

Damage to the spinal cord in the neck can result in problems breathing Paralysed man can move legs againSpinal cord regeneration successSpinal injury regeneration hope The ability to breathe has been restored to mice with spinal cord injuries, in what US researchers describe as a medical first.

Some patients with damaged spinal cords need ventilators as they are unable to breathe on their own.

A report in the journal Nature showed a nerve graft, coupled with a protein, could restore breathing.

Human trials could begin soon, which the charity Spinal Research said could be "potentially life-changing".

Damage at the top of the spinal cord, around the neck, can interrupt messages to the diaphragm - a layer of muscle involved in breathing.

Challenge

The cord is notoriously resistant to repair. Techniques such as nerve grafts, which worked in the arms and legs, had shown limited success with the spinal cord, doctors at the Case Western Reserve University said.

The spinal cord scars after it is damaged, and molecules - chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans - prevent nerves repairing and forming new connections.

Spinal Cord Injuries There are approximately 800 spinal cord injuries in the UK each year Roughly half are in the neck The majority of these patients will have some degree of impaired breathing

Source: Spinal Research

The researchers used a nerve graft to form a bridge across the scar at the same time as injecting an enzyme - chondoitinase ABC - which attacked the inhibitory molecules.

Three months later, tests showed the mice had recovered 80-100% of breathing function.

Professor of neuroscience and lead researcher Jerry Silver said: "The use of the enzyme, that's helped get the nerve fibres out and we were amazed at, once they get out, how well they can reconnect.

"The spinal cord can just figure things out and restore really beautiful functional breathing patterns."

Researchers hope to begin trials in humans. They are also investigating whether bladder function can be restored, which can be lost when the lower spine is damaged.

Dr Mark Bacon, from the charity Spinal Research, said: "Long distance regeneration has remained quite elusive in the field of spinal cord injury repair, so to achieve this and at the end of it establish functional connections that actually do something useful - restore breathing - is remarkable.

"It is potentially life-changing if this or similar techniques can be translated to the clinic."

Diesel fumes 'raise heart risks'

Minuscule particles produced by burning diesel could can increase the chance of blood clots Chemical particles in diesel exhaust fumes could increase the risk of heart attacks, new research has suggested.

Edinburgh University scientists found minuscule particles produced by burning diesel can increase the chance of blood clots forming in arteries.

The blood clots can then lead to heart attacks or stroke.

The team measured the impact of diesel exhaust fumes on a group of healthy volunteers at levels found in heavily polluted cities.

The volunteers' reaction to gases found in diesel fumes, such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, were compared with their reactions to tiny chemical particles found in the exhausts.

It was found that the particles, and not the gases, impaired the function of blood vessels.

Blood pressure

Dr Mark Miller, of Edinburgh University's centre for cardiovascular science, said: "While many people tend to think of the effects of air pollution in terms of damage to the lungs, there is strong evidence that it has an impact on the heart and blood vessels as well.

"Our research shows that while both gases and particles can affect our blood pressure, it is actually the minuscule chemical particles that are emitted by car exhausts that are really harmful.

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteTheir findings suggest that lives could be saved by cutting these harmful nanoparticles out of exhausts”

End QuoteJeremy PearsonBritish Heart Foundation "These particles produce highly reactive molecules called free radicals that can injure our blood vessels and lead to vascular disease."

He added: "We are now investigating which of the chemicals carried by these particles cause these harmful actions, so that in the future we can try and remove these chemicals, and prevent the health effects of vehicle emissions."

The particles, which are thinner than a millionth of a metre, can be filtered out of exhaust emissions by fitting special traps to vehicles.

The researchers said environmental health measures designed to reduce emissions should now be tested to determine whether they reduce the rate of heart attacks.

Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: "We've known for a long time that air pollution is a major heart health issue, and that's why we're funding this team in Edinburgh to continue their vital research.

"Their findings suggest that lives could be saved by cutting these harmful nanoparticles out of exhausts, perhaps by taking them out of the fuel, or making manufacturers add gadgets to their vehicles that can trap particles before they escape.

"The best approach isn't clear yet.

"For now our advice remains the same, people with heart disease should avoid spending long periods outside in areas where traffic pollution is likely to be high, such as on or near busy roads."

The research, funded by the British Heart Foundation, has been published in the European Heart Journal.

UK 'has too many hospital births'

Dr Anthony Falconer: 'We all have a moral responsibility to create the best services we can'

Maternity services across the UK need a radical rethink, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says.

It wants the number of hospital units cut to ensure 24-hour access to care from senior doctors and says more midwife-led units are needed for women with low-risk pregnancies.

The National Childbirth Trust welcomed the report but says the proposals do not go far enough.

NHS managers said maternity care desperately needed to be reorganised.

'Serious complications'

Too many babies are born in traditional hospital units, says the college, which also warns the current system is neither acceptable nor sustainable in its report on maternity care.

RCOG president Anthony Falconer told the BBC that most out-of-hours care was being provided by junior doctors.

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteYou need the right person, as senior person, there immediately”

End QuoteDr Tony Falconer Royal College Obstetricians and Gynaecologists The college estimates there are about 1,000 too few consultants to provide adequate round-the-clock cover for hospital units.

Dr Falconer said: "There is no doubt if you look at the worst scenario of serious complications, you need the right person, a senior person, there immediately."

Previous attempts to re-organise maternity care around a smaller number of hospital units have proved controversial, but Dr Falconer said if women could be convinced of the greater safety they would be prepared to travel to have their babies.

The need for change would be largely in cities or large towns, because in rural areas it might be more important to support smaller units.

The report estimates that across the UK there are 56 units with fewer than 2,500 deliveries of babies a year.

In order to take the pressure off busy hospitals, the college is also calling for an increase in the number of midwife-led units.

'Joined-up care'

Midwives have welcomed the report, saying it could improve the experience for about a third of women who have straightforward deliveries.

The proposals for maternity are part of a wider vision of delivering all women's gynaecology and obstetrics care in networks, similar to the model which has helped improve cancer treatments in England.

The National Childbirth Trust said the idea of having a network to provide joined-up care for women was one it could support but it would prefer care during pregnancy and maternity to be concentrated in one NHS organisation in each area.

The NHS confederation, which speaks for managers, described maternity care as a classic example of a service which desperately needed to be reorganised.

Chief executive Mike Farrar said politicians needed to be prepared to speak up for change.

"Where the case for change is clear, politicians should stand shoulder-to-shoulder with managers and clinicians to provide confidence to their constituents that quality and care will improve as a consequence of this change."

That has not always been the case, with two ministers in the last Labour government campaigning against the closure of units in Greater Manchester.

Hundreds of people turned out to a rally to oppose the closure of maternity services in Salford last autumn. After a review under the coalition, the NHS is pressing ahead with plans to reduce the number of units across the area from 12 to eight.

Although Scotland has reorganised some of its maternity services, there are likely to be pressures for change elsewhere in the UK.

In North Wales maternity care across three hospitals is expected to change after an initial review recently concluded improvement was needed.

Four in 10 get cancer - charity

Cancer charity says four in ten will get the diseas Fergus Walsh: Thoughts on cancerCancer survival rates 'doubled'Call for early cancer diagnosis Rising cancer rates mean four in 10 people in the UK get the disease at some point in their lives, a health charity says.

Macmillan Cancer Support says the figure has risen significantly in the past decade.

The charity says the rise poses a "massive challenge" for the NHS.

Ministers in England say they are working to improve cancer survival rates and the quality of life after diagnosis and treatment.

Macmillan Cancer Support says a decade ago about a third of people, or 33%, developed cancer at some point in their lives. The charity says that figure has risen to more than 40%.

The estimates are drawn from projections published two years ago in the British Journal of Cancer, which concluded that at the end of 2008 there were two million cancer survivors in the UK and that the figure was rising every year.

Macmillan also looked at recent cancer incidence and mortality statistics for the UK, indicating that 310,000 people were diagnosed with cancer in 2008.

About 157,000 people died from the disease, and 89,000 who had been diagnosed with cancer died from other causes, making a total of 246,000 who died "with" cancer.

The charity says this accounted for 42% of total deaths in the UK - which stood at 580,000.

Macmillan says the increase is partly down to an ageing population - older people are more likely to develop cancer. It says lifestyle factors, such as diet and exercise, and improved diagnosis have also contributed to the rise.

'Massive challenge'

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteWe have a massive challenge ahead if we are to keep up with the relentless toll cancer takes on people's health, and the NHS must rise to it”

End QuoteCiaran DevaneMacmillan Cancer Support The chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, Ciaran Devane, said the calculations had important implications for the health service.

"It is really alarming that the number of people who will get cancer is now well past one in three and that there are so many more people with cancer today than even 10 years ago," he said.

"There are currently two million people living with cancer in the UK and that number is doubling to four million over the next 20 years. Yet no-one thinks the country can afford to double its spending on cancer. We've therefore got to become twice as effective in how we spend that money."

The charity says there is growing evidence of the long-term health problems many cancer patients are experiencing long after initial diagnosis and treatment. It says there is a need for more services to help people stay well at home, rather than waiting until they require emergency hospital treatment.

Major issue

The Care Services Minister for England, Paul Burstow, said it was absolutely right for Macmillan to raise this as a major issue.

"We agree with Macmillan. That's why we are working to deliver more personalised care and more help to keep people well in their own homes.

Subscription Produce Business Booming in Alaska

By Lisa Demer
When Sarah and River Bean cleared old timber to start their farm near Palmer more than two decades ago, one of their first chores was recruiting customers for the coming harvest. It was a way to build a base of buyers and make their love of farming a viable business.

Their customers, in turn, got fresh vegetables all summer long.

Turns out the Beans were on the leading edge of what's now a hot trend in Alaska. In a state once known for dreary produce aisles and few fruit options, customers from Adak to Anchorage are turning to a growing number of farm-to-table delivery services. Some are spending hundreds of dollars a year in exchange for boxes packed with local or organic produce.

In Anchorage, maybe you've seen a Full Circle truck pull into your neighborhood. Or stacks of Glacier Valley boxes at businesses around town waiting for customers to pick them up. Or people lined up in a downtown neighborhood every Wednesday afternoon for just-picked produce from the Bean family's Arctic Organics farm.

Business is growing fast in Alaska, say subscription produce operators, who charge anywhere from $35 to more than double that for a weekly box of fruits and veggies.

Breaking Point: Obama and the Death of the Democratic Party

By Jane Hamsher
According to both the Washington Post and the New York Times, Obama is proposing cuts to Social Security in exchange for GOP support for tax hikes. Lori Montgomery in the Post:

 At a meeting with top House and Senate leaders set for Thursday morning, Obama plans to argue that a rare consensus has emerged about the size and scope of the nation's budget problems and that policymakers should seize the moment to take dramatic action.  As part of his pitch, Obama is proposing significant reductions in Medicare spending and for the first time is offering to tackle the rising cost of Social Security, according to people in both parties with knowledge of the proposal.

And Jay Carney's carefully chosen weasel-words today do not contradict this:

 "There is no news here - the President has always said that while social security is not a major driver of the deficit, we do need to strengthen the program and the President said in the State of the Union Address that he wanted to work with both parties to do so in a balanced way that preserves the promise of the program and doesn't slash benefits."

Nobody ever says they want to "cut" Social Security or Medicare. They want to "save" it.  Just ask Pete Peterson, he wants to "save" it. Likewise AARP.  They don't want reduced benefits for senior citizens, they want to "preserve" it for future generations.  If they have an enormous customer base they can market private "add-on" accounts and other retirement products to when Social Security goes bye-bye, I guess that's just a happy coincidence.

Wait, Did the USDA Just Deregulate All New Genetically Modified Crops?

By Tom Philpott
It's a hoary bureaucratic trick, making a controversial announcement on the Friday afternoon before a long weekend, when most people are daydreaming about what beer to buy on the way home from work, or are checking movie times online. But that's precisely what the US Department of Agriculture pulled last Friday.

In an innocuous-sounding press release titled "USDA Responds to Regulation Requests Regarding Kentucky Bluegrass," agency officials announced their decision not to regulate a "Roundup Ready" strain of Kentucky bluegrass-that is, a strain genetically engineered to withstand glyphosate, Monsanto's widely used herbicide, which we know as Roundup. The maker of the novel grass seed, Scotts Miracle Gro, is now free to sell it far and wide. So you'll no doubt be seeing Roundup Ready bluegrass blanketing lawns and golf courses near you-and watching anal neighbors and groundskeepers literally dousing the grass in weed killer without fear of harming a single precious blade.

Which is worrisome enough. But even more worrisome is the way this particular product was approved. According to Doug Gurian-Sherman, senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists' Food and Environment Program, the documents released by the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) along with the announcement portend a major change in how the feds will deal with genetically modified crops.

Notably, given the already-lax regulatory regime governing GMOs (genetically modified organisms, click here for a primer), APHIS seems to be ramping down oversight to the point where it is essentially meaningless. The new regime corresponding with the bluegrass announcement would "drastically weaken USDA's regulation," Gurian-Sherman told me.

Secondhand Smoke Tied To Mental Health Problems In Kids: Study

By Catherine Pearson
Estimates suggest that anywhere between 4.8 and 5.5 million children in the U.S. live in households where they are exposed to secondhand smoke, putting them at greater risk for multiple health problems. Now, new research suggests that secondhand smoke exposure can increase the odds of developing certain mental and behavioral disorders by 50 percent.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health looked at the data generated by a 2007 national health survey, analyzing the responses of the parents of guardians of more than 55,000 children ages 11 and younger from throughout the U.S. They found that children who were exposed to secondhand smoke were twice as likely to develop so-called neurobehavioral disorders -- including learning disabilities, ADD or ADHD, and conduct or behavior disorders -- than were children who lived in smoke-free homes.

"We estimate that 274,000 cases of the most common neurobehavioral disorders could have been prevented with smoke-free homes," said Hillel Alpert, ScM, a senior research associate at Harvard and one of the study's authors.

Alpert added that the study, which was published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, did not find that secondhand smoke directly caused any of these mental health issues. However, he argued that the "strong evidence of association" between secondhand smoke exposure and the incidence of certain disorders might underline a causal relationship that could be discovered with future longterm investigations.

Indeed, a growing body of research is focused on the link between secondhand smoke and mental health problems.

Australia: Good Start, but Only the Beginning of Decarbonising the Economy

By Jo Chandler
Turning around emissions growth this decade and then cutting greenhouse pollution by 80 per cent by 2050 - the target announced by the Gillard government yesterday - would put Australia on the trajectory the world needs to take to avoid the catastrophic consequences of four degrees warming this century, leading climate scientists said yesterday.

But they warned that the next few years would be critical and that the planet's systems were poised on the brink of a man-made climate shock equivalent to the most devastating shifts nature had ever delivered on human civilization.

''As a scientific community we have said we have to look at the end game, which is to decarbonise economies - especially industrialized ones - by mid-century,'' ANU Climate Change Institute executive director Will Steffen, said. Advertisement: Story continues below

''That allows some space for the developing world to bring its people out of poverty. So the 80 per cent target by 2050 is sending a strong signal in that direction,'' Professor Steffen said.

He was hopeful the momentum of such a target and the new technologies and confidence it would nurture would ultimately enable even bigger cuts. ''The first change is to just slow the growth of emissions,'' he said. ''The long-term aspiration target is great and very consistent with what the science is saying we have to do. But to have a chance of reaching that, we actually have to bend the curve this decade.''

Engineering An Environmental Disaster

America's supermarkets are awash in genetically modified foods. Over the past decade, biotech companies like Monsanto have dominated dinner tables with crops like corn, soybeans and canola modified to survive lethal doses of herbicides, resulting in increased herbicide use, a surge in herbicide-resistant weeds, and the contamination of organic and conventional crops. According to the Center for Food Safety, more than half of all processed food in U.S. grocery stores-items like cereals, corn dogs and cookies-contain genetically engineered (GE) ingredients.

"This technology is a one-trick pony," says George Kimbrell, an attorney at the Center for Food Safety. "They don't help us feed the world, they don't fight climate change, and they don't help us better the environment. They just increase pesticides and herbicides. That's what they do." (Listen to an interview with George Kimbrell.)

Currently, 85 percent of GE crops are designed to resist herbicides. Companies like Syngenta, Bayer and Dow have all created their own herbicide tolerant seeds, modified to withstand the company's corresponding herbicide treatment. But it's Monsanto, the world leader in GE seed production, that has benefited the most from biotechnology by packaging its Roundup Ready line of GE seeds with its Roundup herbicide. Monsanto, whose roots began in creating toxic chemical concoctions like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and DDT, is now the world's leading producer of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide. (See Monsanto's chemical history timeline.)

But what's good for Monsanto's business isn't so great for people or the environment. That's why in 2007, Earthjustice, together with the Center for Food Safety, challenged the U.S. Department of Agriculture's decision to allow Monsanto's Roundup Ready sugar beets on the market, arguing that the agency failed to adequately assess both its environmental and economic impacts.

The Worlds Largest Human Experiment: GMOs, Roundup, and the Monsanto Monstrosity

By Madison Ruppert
Informed consent is one of the most basic aspects of patient-physician relations, as well as subject-researcher relations in the case of research studies. This involves making the patient aware of and verifying that they understand the risks, benefits, facts, and the future implications of the procedure or test they are going to be subjected to.

In the case of genetically modified organisms we have not been made aware of the risks. In fact, the GMO industry has deliberately hidden the real dangers behind the seeds and herbicides they peddle.

The Food and Drug Administration of the United States of America has defined informed consent in the following bureaucratic jargon:

Except as provided in 50.23 and 50.24, no investigator may involve a human being as a subject in research covered by these regulations unless the investigator has obtained the legally effective informed consent of the subject or the subject's legally authorized representative. An investigator shall seek such consent only under circumstances that provide the prospective subject or the representative sufficient opportunity to consider whether or not to participate and that minimize the possibility of coercion or undue influence. The information that is given to the subject or the representative shall be in language understandable to the subject or the representative. No informed consent, whether oral or written, may include any exculpatory language through which the subject or the representative is made to waive or appear to waive any of the subject's legal rights, or releases or appears to release the investigator, the sponsor, the institution, or its agents from liability for negligence.

Under all of these definitions, including the exceptions which you can peruse at the above linked official website, what Monsanto is doing with GM crops and their Roundup products are ethically wrong and illegal.

Some might say, "So what? It doesn't matter since genetically modified products are perfectly safe! Why would I care, if it helps farmers, and it is safe, then what is wrong with doing it without informed consent?"

Woman Faces Jail Time for Planting Organic Vegetable Garden

By Brad Tuttle
A Michigan woman is being charged with a misdemeanor offense and is facing up to 93 days in jail. Her crime? Planting a vegetable garden-in her own yard. Her front yard, that is.

Like many consumers today, Julie Bass, of Oak Park, Mich., appreciates the taste and healthfulness of organic vegetables, but isn't much of a fan of how much going organic costs at the store. So, like many health-minded consumers, she planted a vegetable garden on her property.

But Bass chose to take the unusual step of installing neatly arranged raised beds of vegetables in her front, rather than back, yard. Bass explained her unorthodox garden location (and showed off how neat and organized it is, for those curious) to a local TV station:

 "We thought it'd be really cool to do it so the neighbors could see. The kids love it. The kids from the neighborhood all come and help," she said.

Front yard or back, it's her property, and she's allowed to do with it what she pleases, right? Wrong, say the local authorities, citing local codes that require front yards to have only "suitable" live plant material. City planners say that vegetables, for some reason, don't qualify for the standard, even though they are certainly alive, and certainly are planted. To some, this sort of code enforcement makes the restrictions against drying clothes on a clothesline seem reasonable.

15 Food Companies That Serve You 'Wood'

By Miriam Reimer
NEW YORK -- Are you getting what you pay for on your plate?

The recent class-action lawsuit brought against Taco Bell raised questions about the quality of food many Americans eat each day.

Chief among those concerns is the use of cellulose (read: wood pulp), an extender whose use in a roster of food products, from crackers and ice creams to puddings and baked goods, is now being exposed. What you're actually paying for -- and consuming -- may be surprising.

Cellulose is virgin wood pulp that has been processed and manufactured to different lengths for functionality, though use of it and its variant forms (cellulose gum, powdered cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, etc.) is deemed safe for human consumption, according to the FDA, which regulates most food industry products. The government agency sets no limit on the amount of cellulose that can be used in food products meant for human consumption. The USDA, which regulates meats, has set a limit of 3.5% on the use of cellulose, since fiber in meat products cannot be recognized nutritionally.

"As commodity prices continue to rally and the cost of imported materials impacts earnings, we expect to see increasing use of surrogate products within food items. Cellulose is certainly in higher demand and we expect this to continue," Michael A. Yoshikami, chief investment strategist at YCMNet Advisors, told TheStreet.

Manufacturers use cellulose in food as an extender, providing structure and reducing breakage, said Dan Inman, director of research and development at J. Rettenmaier USA, a company that supplies "organic" cellulose fibers for use in a variety of processed foods and meats meant for human and pet consumption, as well as for plastics, cleaning detergents, welding electrodes, pet litter, automotive brake pads, glue and reinforcing compounds, construction materials, roof coating, asphalt and even emulsion paints, among many other products.

Hacking the Wisconsin Recalls: Why We Must Have Hand-Counted Paper Ballots and Citizen Exit Polls

By Grant W. Petty and Sheila Parks
It goes without saying that the outcomes of the nine Senate recall elections scheduled in Wisconsin will be of intense interest to most of the UW-Madison community.  Forecasting the outcome of elections weeks in advance is always a risky business; nevertheless, we offer the following bold prediction:

 In at least some cases, the candidate receiving the lesser of the actual votes cast -- perhaps, in fact, the candidate you passionately opposed -- will be declared the official victor.

Chances are, you either think we are nuts or you are already upset with the dismal state of elections in Wisconsin, if not the country.  Either way, we hope this article will change your view of  both (a) the security of the elections and (b) the ability of ordinary citizens like you to improve that security.

Here's a second prediction which gets to the heart of the real problem:

 No one -- not the Government Accountability Board, not the media, not any elected official, and most certainly not you -- has the slightest hope of ever  disproving our first prediction in light of current election procedures and practices. 

Monsanto's GMO Crops Killing off Monarch Butterflies

By Andrew Pollack
As recently as a decade ago, farms in the Midwest were commonly marred - at least as a farmer would view it - by unruly patches of milkweed amid the neat rows of emerging corn or soybeans.

Not anymore. Fields are now planted with genetically modified corn and soybeans resistant to the herbicide Roundup, allowing farmers to spray the chemical to eradicate weeds, including milkweed.

And while that sounds like good news for the farmers, a growing number of scientists fear it is imperiling the monarch butterfly, whose spectacular migrations make it one of the most beloved of insects - "the Bambi of the insect world," as an entomologist once put it.

Monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed, and their larvae eat it. While the evidence is still preliminary and disputed, experts like Chip Taylor say the growing use of genetically modified crops is threatening the orange-and-black butterfly by depriving it of habitat.

"This milkweed has disappeared from at least 100 million acres of these row crops," said Dr. Taylor, an insect ecologist at the University of Kansas and director of the research and conservation program Monarch Watch. "Your milkweed is virtually gone." 

The Power - and Limits - of Social Movements

By Robert Jensen
In mainstream politics in the United States, everyone agrees on one thing: We're number one. We're special. We're America. We're on top, where we deserve to be.

In dissident politics in the United States, we have long argued that this quest for economic and military dominance can't be squared with basic moral and political principles. We're on top, but it's unjust and unsustainable.

Whether or not the United States has ever had a legitimate claim to that top spot -- or whether there should be spots on top for any nation(s) -- the days of uncontested dominance are over: Our economy is in permanent decline and our military power continues to fade. We are still the wealthiest society in history, but we are no longer the dynamic heart of the global economy. Our military is still able to destroy at will, but the wars of the past decade have demonstrated the limits of that barbarism.

How should the U.S. public react to this shift? One approach would be to acknowledge that predatory corporate capitalism based on greed and First World imperialism based on violence have produced obscene levels of inequality, both within societies and between societies, that are inconsistent with those basic moral and political principles. Our task is to reshape systems and institutions before it's too late.

That kind of critical self-reflection also leads to the conclusion that our society not only fails on the criterion of social justice but also is ecologically unsustainable. We are a profligate, consumption-mad society, in a world in which unsustainable living arrangements are the norm in the developed world and spreading quickly in the developing world. We can't predict the time frame for collapse if we continue on this trajectory, but we can be reasonably certain that without major changes in our relationship to the larger living world the ecosphere will at some point (likely within decades) be unable to support large-scale human life as we know it.

These crises, if honestly acknowledged and squarely faced, would test our capacity to analyze and adapt -- there's no guarantee that enough time remains to prevent catastrophe. Without such honesty, there is no hope of a decent future.

So, the bad news is that we're in trouble.

The worse news is that the mainstream political culture cannot face this reality. 

Bill McKibben: Bring Your Obama Buttons: Momentum Builds for White House Tar Sands Action

By Bill McKibben
I know that there been some bitterness in the blogosphere in recent weeks between those who are mad at President Obama, and those who are mad at those who are mad at President Obama.

I want to tell you about an upcoming action -- it looks set to turn into the biggest civil disobedience protest in the history of the North American climate movement. It will take place at the White House from August 20-Sept. 3, and we need your help spreading the word. But I want to explain the reasoning behind it in some detail, because for me it helps illustrate how some of the debate about Obama is unproductive.

First, the issue: the Canadians are proposing to build a huge new pipeline from their tar sands in Alberta down to the Gulf of Mexico. It's disastrous for native lands in the far north (check out this video from the wonderful Cree activist Melina Laboucan) and it will doubtless cause horrible spills much like last week's disaster on the Yellowstone River.

But there's a bigger problem here too. Those Alberta tar sands are the biggest carbon bomb on the continent -- indeed, on the whole planet, only Saudi Arabia's oil deposits are bigger. Some of you have followed the work fo 350.org, and know that above 350 parts per million co2 in the atmosphere you can't have, in the words of NASA climatologist James Hansen, "a planet similar to the one on which civilization evolved and to which life on earth is adapted." We're already at 390 ppm, which is why last year, according to Weather Underground's Jeff Masters, we had the most extreme weather the planet has seen at least since the great volcanic eruption of 1816. But the tar sands of Alberta will make it impossibly worse: if you could burn all that oil at once, you'd add 200 parts per million co2 to the atmosphere, and send the planet's temperature skyrocketing upwards. Any serious exploitation of the tar sands, says Hansen, means it's "essentially game over" for the climate. So, high stakes. And don't think that the Canadians will automatically find some other route to send their oil out to, say, China. Native tribes are doing a great job of blocking a proposed pipe to the Pacific; Alberta's energy minister said recently that he stays up nights worrying that without Keystone his province will be 'landlocked in bitumen.' Without the pipeline, said the business pages of Canada's biggest paper, Alberta oil faces a 'choke point.'

Agriculture Leaders Convene to Strenthen the Organic Seed Systems in the Southeast

By Kristina Hubbard
Organic Seed Alliance's advisory services director Dan Hobbs, along with board members Tony Kleese and Ira Wallace, hosted an exploratory meeting in April 2011 with university personnel, extension agents, NGOs, and farmers. Five states were represented in this meeting. Hobbs shared OSA's past success in supporting the development of regional seed systems that provide for the diverse needs of organic farmers. A brainstorming session followed, where the group identified and discussed the following objectives for this project:

- Building infrastructure to facilitate commercial-scale organic seed production - Developing new and improved vegetable varieties - Encouraging better coordination among growers and buyers

Special interest was expressed in breeding for vegetables and cover crops adapted to agricultural conditions of the Southeast, cooperative seed development, and educational opportunities.

Kenya: The Shocking Reality About GMOs

By Dave Opiyo
Nairobi - The specter of people developing new and strange allergies, indigenous seeds losing their genetic codes and disappearing altogether, farmers making bumper harvests -- or no harvests at all -- is in the air.

Two weeks ago on July 1, Kenya became the fourth African nation to permit imports of GMO crops, joining South Africa, Egypt and Burkina Faso.

Supporters of the move say it is essential in helping to stabilize prices and feed millions of hungry Kenyans, but matters are not that straightforward.

The online encyclopedia Wikipedia defines a genetically modified or genetically engineered organism (GEO) as one "whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques."

These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, explains the encyclopaedia, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are then combined into one molecule to create a new set of genes.

This DNA is then transferred into an organism, giving it modified or novel genes. Transgenic organisms, adds Wikipedia, are a subset of GMO organisms which have DNA that originated in a different species.

To put it more clearly, think of an orange with tomato genes. The coming into force of the Bio-Safety Act, 2009 on July 1 that allows the growing and sale of genetically modified crops has elicited mixed reactions.

GMOs are modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content.

But, as expected, anti-GMO lobbyists have kicked up a storm, saying the safety of genetically engineered crops has not been proven beyond reasonable doubt.

Upcoming SoCal Millions Against Monsanto Events

As part of OCA's Millions Against Monsanto Truth-in-LabelingCampaign we are encouraging activists in our network to plan their own campaignevent with others in their area. This email is to inform you that there is anupcoming event near you, organized by grassroots organizers who care about theGE-labeling issue as much as you do.

 

Food Activist Pamm Larry, who is spearheading the effort toget GMO Labeling on the California Ballot in 2012 (labelGMOs.org), is speakingat a series of informational events in your area.

These meetings are for activists to come together to learn about theinitiative, how we suggest being activists in your community and organizinginto a new cohesive group. We will be asking for folks to think aboutcommittees they want to be on and assign a point person.

 

Pasadena

Thursday,July 14 - 7:30pm - 9:00pm

BeantownCoffee Bar, 45 North Baldwin Ave, SierraMadre

 

SantaBarbara

Monday, July 25 - 7:00pm - 8:30pm

Holistic Health Center of SB, 411 E. Canon Perdido, Suite 17, Santa Barbara

 

W. LosAngeles

Saturday, July 30 - 3:00pm - 4:30pm

Planet Raw, 609Broadway St, Santa Monica

 

ThousandOaks

Sunday, July 31 - 4:00pm - 5:00pm

Pizza Salad, 1655 E.Thousand Oaks Blvd #104, Thousand Oaks

 

Otherevents:

 

Pasadena - Free Movie - The Future of Food

Wednesday,July 13 - 7:30pm - 9:30pm

MemorialPark, 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd,Sierra Madre (Pasadena)

 

ThousandOaks - Rally to Label GMOs

Saturday,July 16 - 11:00am - 1:00pm

Corner of TO Blvd and Moorpark, ThousandOaks

Bringa sign, a hat and some water.

One Ton of CO2 Emission Equals $900 Climate Damage

By Douglas Fischer
Uncle Sam's estimate of the damage caused by each ton of carbon dioxide is fundamentally flawed and "grossly understates" the potential impacts of climate change, according to an analysis released Tuesday by a group of economists.

The study found the true cost of those emissions to be far beyond the $21 per ton derived by the federal government.

The figure, commonly known as the "social cost of carbon," is used by federal agencies when weighing the costs and benefits of emissions-cutting regulations, such as air conditioner efficiency standards and greenhouse gas emissions limits for light trucks.

A truer value, according to the Economics for Equity and the Environment Network, an organization of economists who advocate for environmental protection, could be as high as $900 per ton - equivalent to adding $9 to each gallon of gas. Viewed another way, with the United States emitting the equivalent of close to 6 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, the higher figure suggests that avoiding those emissions could save the nation $5.3 trillion annually, one-third of the nation's economic output. 'Dramatic simplifications'

A second, separate report released Tuesday buttressed the argument, finding that the government routinely underestimates the benefits of avoiding climate change when conducting cost-benefit analysis on regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

This second report, published jointly by the World Resources Institute, an environmental think tank, and the Environmental Law Institute, found that government models on climate impacts often contain "dramatic simplifications and assumptions" - such as when calculating the social cost of carbon - that underplay the benefits society gains by curbing emissions.

Together, the two reports suggest policy makers are looking at a distorted picture as they assess the economic impacts of climate regulations. 

The gene genie

Scottish scientists are leading the way in developing new kinds of DNA analysis

Genetic tests are increasingly used to help doctors target medicines more accurately, but analysing them remains a long and expensive process.

However, a new kind of DNA machine that uses a microchip developed in the west of Scotland can analyse DNA in just hours.

Professor David Cumming, from Glasgow University's department of electronics, was involved in early research to develop the microchip.

It is currently being used by the biotechnology company Life Technologies in a new machine which can take as little as two hours to sequence DNA.

Prof Cumming said: "One of the objectives is to make DNA sequencing much cheaper than it is today.

"If it becomes cheaper its use will become more widespread and you should be able to see it more commonly - perhaps even in general practice."

Moving on

The government has indicated it is willing to make changes to its overhaul of the NHS No-one likes being in limbo - and the NHS is no different.

And that is why, within the health service in England, the concessions are being generally accepted as a reasonable way forward.

Not everyone got everything they wanted - that would have been virtually impossible - but most doctors, nurses and managers alike are ready to get going.

They recognise that the NHS is facing a real challenge in just standing still.

The reaction of the British Medical Association illustrates this. The union has been one of the most vocal critics of the plans and Dr Hamish Meldrum, its chairman, is still not convinced the reforms are the right ones.

But he says: "They may prove to be a distraction and we don't think the privatisation genie is back in the bottle, but we have to get on. There are big challenges ahead and that needs everyone to focus."

Factors like the ageing population, rising price of drugs and lifestyle issues such as obesity means costs are outstripping the small rises the health service is getting in its budget.

And so, despite the pause, changes have already been happening behind the scenes.

The establishment of consortia - or clinical commissioning groups as they are now being called - is already happening.

Meanwhile thousands of staff have already left the local management groups - primary care trusts - that they will replace.

Greater competition and choice, albeit more managed now after the listening exercise, is clearly the way forward.

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteThere are big challenges ahead and that needs everyone to focus”

End QuoteDr Hamish MeldrumBritish Medical Association In fact, this has probably been less of an issue in the wards, GP practices and community clinics across England than it has been elsewhere.

Help or hindered?

That is because it is already alive and kicking. Private health firms are already see NHS patients undergoing knee and hip operations and about a fifth of mental health care is delivered by private firms and charities.

Of course, it will not all be smooth sailing.

Many experts believe the government faces a tricky job in making amendments to their legislation so that the promises made this week are kept.

That could well mean there is more toing and froing in the coming months.

There are also bound to be a few controversies along the way. In an organisation the size and complexity of the NHS things will always go wrong.

Waiting lists may go up at times, standards at some providers - NHS, private or voluntary sector - could be found wanting and access to services may suffer.

Such problems will probably be blamed on the reforms. But in reality in many cases it will be hard to tell whether the changes have helped or hindered performance.

It will probably only be in time, perhaps a decade or more, that the success of the changes will be able to be judged accurately.

'Cool stuff'

The conference hopes to raise funds to save the lives of about four million children worldwide by 2015 How UK overseas aid will be spentWhere does the UK's aid money go?Bill Gates: 'We can wipe out malaria' Political leaders are set to meet to discuss how to ensure children in the world's poorest countries receive vaccinations.

On the eve of the London summit, one of the world's most influential men explained what he hoped would emerge from the global conference.

The process of developing vaccinations is "cool stuff". In fact, "it's as good as writing computer code".

These aren't the musings of a bedroom computer programmer with a passing interest in immunology.

The observations were made by Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and they neatly encapsulate his enthusiasm for a campaign to ensure children around the world are protected against potentially fatal diseases.

With his head cocked to one side and a broad smile on his face, his voice fizzed with passion when he described the "magic" of vaccines.

"They're very inexpensive, they can protect you for your entire life, so diseases like smallpox that used to kill millions are completely gone because of the vaccine. It's the greatest thing that ever happened in human health.

"We need to get them out to people and invent some more."

Unlocking potential

Ministers believe their reforms will lead to better care Primary care trusts, clinical senates and commissioning groups. The list goes on.

And yet, for most people, these terms will mean very little.

The government's NHS reform programme in England has been an epic saga. But it has almost entirely focused on structural changes and policy U-turns rather than the patient experience.

In truth, that is because the immediate effect on patients is hardly noticeable.

But in the long term the reforms could - if the government is right - herald a whole new era of health care.

The government has pushed ahead with the changes in the belief that they will help meet the twin challenge of rising demands and tightening budgets.

The simple response to such a scenario - and the one that ministers are keen to avoid - is rising waiting lists and ever-greater rationing of services.

But the alternative vision is one where through better decision-making the potential of the NHS to provide more effective and revolutionary care is unlocked.

So how could the patient experience change in the next five or 10 years if that does happen?

Pasta power

Pasta has topped a global survey of the world's favourite foods. So how did the dish so closely associated with Italy become a staple of so many tables around the globe?

While not everyone knows the difference between farfalle, fettuccine and fusilli, many people have slurped over a bowl of spaghetti bolognese or tucked into a plate of lasagne.

Certainly in British households, spaghetti bolognese has been a regular feature of mealtimes since the 1960s. It's become a staple of children's diets, while a tuna-pasta-sweetcorn concoction can probably be credited with sustaining many students through their years at university.

But now a global survey by the charity Oxfam has named pasta as the world's most popular dish, ahead of meat, rice and pizza. As well as being popular in unsurprising European countries, pasta was one of the favourites in the Philippines, Guatemala, Brazil and South Africa.

And figures from the International Pasta Organisation show Venezuela is the second largest consumer of pasta, after Italy. Tunisia, Chile and Peru also feature in the top 10, while Mexicans, Argentineans and Bolivians all eat more pasta than the British.

Breaking barriers

Hong Kong: one of the most crowded cities in the world Hong Kong is currently carrying out its first mental health survey.

It is expected to take three years but preliminary findings show the region's mental health services to be inadequate.

Only 1% of Hong Kong residents are currently receiving mental health treatment but the need is thought to be far higher.

In 1997 Hong Kong transferred from a British colony to a region with special status under Chinese rule.

Caught between the traditions of Chinese culture and the westernising influence of 137 years of British rule, the city has experienced dramatic political, social and economic change leaving some of its most vulnerable citizens out in the cold.

Linda Lam is Chief Editor of the Hong Kong Journal of Psychiatry. She believes that the provision of mental health services in the city is way below need.

"We don't have figures for the prevalence of most psychological disorders in Hong Kong but like most developed cities there are estimates that anxiety and depressive disorders would be over 10%.

"If we project this to Hong Kong then our mental health needs would be tremendous."

It is widely assumed among mental health professionals in Hong Kong that mental illness is vastly under-diagnosed.

TV couch potatoes 'diabetes risk'

Telly time may distract from more 'healthy' activities, say the researchers Child TV hours obesity risk linkTV daily limit call 'unrealistic' Couch potatoes beware, say researchers who link prolonged TV watching with an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Every additional two hours spent in front of the box each day raises the diabetes risk by a fifth and heart disease risk by 15%, a study found.

Switching it off and doing something more strenuous instead could stop two people in every thousand developing these conditions, the authors say.

The work appears in the journal JAMA.

"The message is simple. Cutting back on TV watching can significantly reduce risk of type-2 diabetes, heart disease and premature mortality," said lead researcher Professor Frank Hu, of the Harvard School of Public Health.

The researchers say it is not TV viewing per se that is the problem, but that people who spend hours watching programmes are less likely to lead an active lifestyle as a result and, in turn, are more likely to be overweight or obese.

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteI'm sure we've all unintentionally lost evenings slumped on the sofa in front of the TV snacking on crisps and biscuits and drinking sugary drinks or alcohol. But it's important that this doesn't become a regular activity”

End QuoteMaureen Talbot of the British Heart FoundationPremature death They say other sedentary activities, like sitting in front of a computer playing games or surfing the internet, might have a similar effect, and this should be studied.

The investigators examined the findings of eight large studies that included over 175,000 people and looked at the health risks associated with TV viewing.

The results showed that more than two hours of TV viewing per day increased risk of type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and more than three hours of daily viewing increased risk of premature death.

The researchers estimate that for every additional two hours of TV watched a day there is an increased risk of an extra 38 people in every 100,000 in the US dying from heart and circulatory disease and 176 people in every 100,000 developing diabetes.

Dr Iain Frame, of Diabetes UK, said the findings should be a wake-up call about the risk of leading a sedentary lifestyle. He said evidence suggests physical activity can reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes by over 60%.

Maureen Talbot, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "I'm sure we've all unintentionally lost evenings slumped on the sofa in front of the TV snacking on crisps and biscuits and drinking sugary drinks or alcohol. But it's important that this doesn't become a regular activity.

"We should try to be selective in how much time we spend watching the TV, and try to be more physically active instead.

"We need 30 minutes of physical activity at least five days a week to keep our hearts healthy, so why not take a walk after work, join a sports team or even just get out for a bit of gardening in the evenings. It's bound to be a lot more rewarding than staring at the box."

According to the researchers, people in European countries spend around three-to-four hours a day on average watching TV, while people in the US do so for five hours a day.

Brain research 'funding crisis'

Scientists fear the cost of getting drugs to the market place is holding back brain research Depression 'may lead to dementia'Depression looms as global crisisDepression link to processed food Scientists say research into mental illnesses such as depression is facing a funding crisis.

They warn that new treatments will be delayed and that the next generation of neuroscience researchers will not be trained.

A report by the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology said private companies were pulling out due to the challenge of bringing drugs to market.

It called for more investment and changes to the way trials take place.

The report was the result of a summit of more than 60 representatives of governments, universities, the pharmaceutical industry and patient groups.

Higher failure rate

It said up to 80% of funding for brain research in Europe had traditionally come from the private sector. However, pharmaceutical companies were retreating from the field because of the cost of bringing drugs as far as the consumer.

The report said it took much longer to develop drugs for mental illness - 13 years on average. Those drugs had a higher failure rate and were harder to get licensed for use, it said.

Only one new anti-depressant has been approved in Europe, agomelatine, in the past 10 years.

Professor Guy Goodwin, from the University of Oxford, said a lack of funding could lead to a "generational crisis" in neuroscience research and training.

He said there should be more public money invested in brain research: "The cost and burden are really quite high, yet research attracts disproportionately low investment.

"Public investment in research should be somehow related to the burden of the disease."

The report suggested ways of encouraging more people to invest, such as increasing the patent length for psychiatric drugs - making them more profitable.

A European "medicines chest" was also suggested. Pharmaceutical companies would donate drugs they were no longer using for research, which could then be used by other organisations.

The report suggested that drugs discarded for treating Alzheimer's disease, for example, could be used in research for psychiatric disorders.

Professor David Nutt, of Imperial College London, described the current situation as "madness".

He said: "With Europe's extraordinary tradition in neuroscience innovation relying so heavily on private-sector investment, the consequences for the region's research base and public-health agenda are of major concern."

Author unswayed by 'suicide film'

Jeremy Paxman challenges Pratchett on the issue of assisted suicide.

Pratchett debates assisted suicideSir Terry Pratchett on living with Alzheimer'sSuicide and Sir Terry Sir Terry Pratchett has said witnessing a man being helped to die for a controversial BBC film has not affected his support for assisted suicide.

In Choosing to Die, the 63-year-old author - who has Alzheimer's disease - went to Switzerland to see a British man with motor neurone disease dying.

Liz Carr, a disability campaigner, said it was pro-suicide propaganda and that she was surprised the BBC had made it.

The BBC said Monday's film would help viewers make up "their own minds".

The programme, showed Peter Smedley, a 71-year-old hotelier, travelling from his home in Guernsey to Switzerland and taking a lethal dose of barbiturates given to him by the Dignitas organisation.

Dignity of life

Sir Terry, who made the film to establish whether he would be able to die at a time and in a way he wanted, said seeing what Dignitas did had not changed his mind.

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteIt is up to you to decide whether his last moments are deeply moving, distressing, or rather ordinary”

End QuoteCharlie RussellDirector of Choosing to Die Read Charlie Russell's blog on making the film "I believe it should be possible for someone stricken with a serious and ultimately fatal illness to choose to die peacefully with medical help, rather than suffer," he told BBC's Newsnight.

Asked about the sanctity of life, Sir Terry responded: "What about the dignity of life?" Lack of dignity would be enough for some people to kill themselves, he said.

He added that he believed the right to an assisted suicide should extend to anyone over the age of consent.

He also accused the government of "turning its back" on the issue of assisted suicide.

"I was ashamed that British people had to drag themselves to Switzerland at some considerable cost," he said.

The BBC denied the screening could lead to copycat suicides and said it would enable viewers to make up their own minds on the subject.

The documentary maker Charlie Russell said the decision to film Mr Smedley dying had been given a lot of thought.

"As a film maker I felt it was the truth and unfortunately we do all die," he said. "It's not very nice but that's what happens to us all."

Ms Carr said: "I and many other disabled older and terminally ill people, are quite fearful of what legalising assisted suicide would do and mean and those arguments aren't being debated, teased out, the safeguards aren't being looked at.

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteI want to see much more emphasis put on supporting people in living, than assisting them in dying”

End QuoteRight Reverend Michael LangrishBishop of Exeter "Until we have a programme that does that, then I won't be happy to move onto this wider debate."

The Bishop of Exeter, the Right Reverend Michael Langrish, said: "I want to see much more emphasis put on supporting people in living, than assisting them in dying."

He said: "The law still enshrines that sense of the intrinsic value of life. But the law ultimately is not there to constrain individual choice. It's there to constrain third party action and complicity in another person's death.

"That remains illegal. There may be ameliorating circumstances that can be taken into account. But the law remains clear and is there to protect the vulnerable."

Debbie Purdy, who has multiple sclerosis, went to court to protect her husband from prosecution if he accompanies her to Dignitas.

'Quality of life'

She said in a debate after the programme: "Politicians haven't kept up.

"Lawyers and judges have been the only people who have been prepared to defend my rights... and my right to life and the quality of my life is the most important thing to me."

In the last 12 years 1,100 people from all over Europe have been "assisted to die" by Dignitas.

A spokeswoman for the pressure group Dignity in Dying said it was "deeply moving and at times difficult to watch".

She said: "It clearly didn't seek to hide the realities of assisted dying. In setting out one person's views on assisted dying, it challenges all of us to think about this important issue head on and ask what choices we might want for ourselves and our loved ones at the end of life."

She said the current legal situation in the UK meant "not only are people travelling abroad to die, but there are also those who are ending their lives at home, behind closed doors, or with the help of doctors and loved ones who are helping illegally."

'Propaganda'

Dignity in Dying is calling for an assisted dying law with "upfront safeguards".

But Alistair Thompson, a spokesman for the Care Not Killing Alliance pressure group, said: "This is pro-assisted suicide propaganda loosely dressed up as a documentary."

Campaigners claim it is the fifth programme on the subject produced by the BBC in three years presented by a pro-euthanasia campaigner or sympathiser.

Mr Thompson said: "The evidence is that the more you portray this, the more suicides you will have.

"The BBC is funded in a different way to other media and has a responsibility to give a balanced programme."

The BBC denied it was biased on the issue and a spokeswoman said the documentary was "about one person's experience, Terry's journey exploring the issues and the experience he is going through".

"It is giving people the chance to make their own minds up on the issue," she added.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "The government believes that any change to the law in this emotive and contentious area is an issue of individual conscience and a matter for Parliament to decide rather than government policy."

The documentary, Choosing to Die, and the debate on BBC's Newsnight are both available to watch on BBC's iPlayer.

Drop in young blood donor numbers

Sophie Ellis-Bextor gave blood in support of the campaign Blood service appeals to young donorsBlood donor honour after 40 yearsPaid leave plea for blood donors Experts are worried about a generation gap in blood donors as figures show a 20% drop in the number of young people giving blood during the past decade.

There were 297,539 donors aged 17 to 34 in 2001, and now there are 237,520.

Research by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) suggests many young people are either too busy or daunted to donate.

Only 4% of eligible donors give blood, and most of these are above the age of 40. Just 14% of those who donate regularly are aged below 30.

The poll, of more 1,700 people across the country and 1,000 current NHSBT donors, suggests fear and ignorance, as well as time pressures, may be to blame.

'Too busy'

One in 10 young people aged 18 to 24 said they were too busy, even though nearly three-quarters said everyone who met blood-donation criteria should give blood.

More than a third of the 184 people falling into the "young" age bracket said they did not donate because they had a fear of needles, while about a fifth said it was because they did not know where to go.

NHSBT is also concerned many blood donors fail to give on a regular basis.

PM agrees major NHS concessions

The Prime Minister set out five main points in which he said patients would benefit from the reforms

David Cameron has agreed to make major concessions on his plans for the NHS in England, but insisted the government had not made "a humiliating U-turn".

Ministers have accepted all the changes suggested by a panel of experts, including more controls on competition and a slower pace of change.

Labour said the original proposals had been "demolished", but Mr Cameron said the "fundamentals" had been retained.

Doctors' groups have broadly welcomed the revisions.

The NHS bill will now go back to the committee stage in the House of Commons to be scrutinised again by MPs before going through its House of Lords stages.

The prime minister's official spokesman said he expected that to happen before the summer recess begins in July, and the bill to be on the statute book by the end of the current Parliamentary session.

That gives ministers until May 2012 to make it law.

Ageing population

On Monday - following a 10-week "listening exercise" - a panel of experts called the NHS Future Forum gave its recommendations on the changes needed to the bill.

They include:

Reinstating the legal responsibility of the health secretary for the overall performance of the NHS Scrapping the primary role of the regulator, Monitor, to promote competition - and focusing on improving patient choice instead Relaxing the 2013 deadline for new GP commissioning arrangements to be introduced - a National Commissioning Board, based in Leeds, will control budgets until GP groups are "able and willing" to take over Strengthening the power of health and well-being boards, which are being set up by councils, to oversee commissioning and giving patients a greater role on them Retaining a lead role for GPs in decision-making, but boosting the role of other professionals such as hospital doctors and nurses alongside them Continue reading the main storyAnalysisBen GeogheganBBC Political correspondent

After criticism from medics and complaints from rebellious MPs, the Coalition will be hoping the dust will now settle over its NHS reforms.

If politics is the art of persuasion, then the test for Messrs Cameron, Clegg and Lansley is whether or not they have convinced people that the listening process has been, as the prime minister claimed, a sign of strength.

Or does it, as Labour have been saying today, demonstrate incompetence, the result of a bureaucratic shake-up which nobody voted for?

The debate may now go quiet.

But remember that these reforms were introduced after record levels of public satisfaction in the NHS.

So, if waiting times go up, if the NHS ends up needing an extra bail-out, if patients notice things are changing for the worse, then the government's powers of persuasion may face an even bigger test.

The government and many health professionals believe changes to the NHS are necessary to deal with the demands of the ageing population, cost of new drugs and lifestyle changes such as obesity.

But the issue has led to rifts within the coalition, which have deepened since the Lib Dems overwhelmingly rejected the original reforms at their spring conference.

Mr Clegg had vowed to block any proposals he was unhappy with - and on Monday night he was reportedly cheered by his MPs when he told them their demands had been "very, very handsomely met".

However, at a joint press conference with the prime minister and Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, Mr Clegg said he believed the government now had a plan "we can all get behind".

"Change will happen, but it will happen at the right pace and that is why the arbitrary deadlines have gone," he said, adding that ministers made "no apology" for pausing to "get things right".

Mr Cameron said those who described the reworking of the plans as "a humiliating U-turn", or the listening exercise as "a big PR stunt", were both wrong.

"The fundamentals of our plans - more control to patients, more power to doctors and nurses, less bureaucracy in the NHS - they are as strong today as they've ever been," the PM said.

"But the shape of our plans, the detail of how we're going to make all this work, that really has changed as a direct result of this consultation. "

'Wasting billions'

Mr Lansley admitted he had got some of the proposals wrong, but said he still believed the reworked plan could deliver his ambition of an NHS with a quality of service and level of results that was "the envy of the world".

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteWe have put competition back in its box with regards to this bill”

End QuotePaul BurstowCare Services Minister The health secretary has faced personal criticism for his inability to garner widespread support for the original bill, but the prime minister said he accepted full responsibility for what had happened.

"I am every bit as responsible as Andrew Lansley for the fact that we actually decided we could improve on what we already put forward," Mr Cameron said.

But Labour leader Ed Miliband singled out the prime minister personally for criticism, saying: "David Cameron should never have rushed into reforms that weren't properly thought through and didn't command the confidence of the medical profession.

"The problem now is that he's still going ahead with a bureaucratic reorganisation that's going to waste billions of pounds."

The British Medical Association said it was pleased the government had accepted the Future Forum's recommendations and addressed many of doctors' concerns.

But it said more detail was needed on how commissioning of care would work in future and there must be "robust safeguards" to prevent competition of any kind destabilising the health service.

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy said it remained "deeply concerned" at the government's determination to increase competition and diversity of providers in the NHS.

But Lib Dem health minister Paul Burstow told the BBC competition would not be "an end in itself" and would only be used to improve patient choice.

"I think what people should be pleased about is that we have put competition back in its box with regards to this bill," he added.

Crisis meeting for Southern Cross

The firm's landlords say they have made "significant financial concessions" to avoid closing any homes Landlords at troubled care home provider Southern Cross have pledged to do all they can to help it avoid bankruptcy, the BBC understands.

Southern Cross is holding a crisis meeting with landlords, lenders and government officials.

Of central importance is how to ensure continuity of care for the 31,000 people at the firm's 751 care homes.

The care home provider says it cannot afford to pay the full rent on its homes.

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteI just don't want to move her anywhere”

End QuoteBeverley TaylorDaughter of Southern Cross resident Families and staff 'in the dark' Q&A: Care home closures Landlords will agree to a compromise in order to allow the care home provider to remain solvent, the BBC's business editor, Robert Peston, has learned.

The restructuring may leave the Darlington-based firm with just 250 to 400 homes, with the others being taken over by different care providers.

But the biggest landlord, NHP, which owns 249 of the homes, is expected to stick with Southern Cross.

The government has been putting intense pressure on landlords not to abandon Southern Cross altogether, according to Robert Peston.

Quid pro quo

Southern Cross said last month it planned to stop paying about a third of its rental bill.

The company's landlords met on Monday, and are expected to table their own proposal for the firm's future at the meeting on Wednesday.

"The landlords have agreed in principle that they will make significant financial concessions in order to achieve a sustainable solution," said Daniel Smith, who chaired their meeting on Monday.

Sleep position 'still-birth link'

Even among the women surveyed who lay on their right, the risk remained extremely small Continue reading the main storyRelated StoriesThe hidden pain of stillbirths UK stillbirths 'highest' in west Experts want urgent research to see if the position a woman chooses to sleep in during late pregnancy affects still-birth risk, as a study suggests a link.

The University of Auckland compared 155 women who had late still-births with 310 who had healthy pregnancies.

Sleeping on the back or right side, rather than the left, doubled the risk - but only to almost four in 1,000.

Left-side lying aids blood flow to the baby, as the mother's major blood vessels are unimpeded by a heavy womb.

The New Zealand study, published in the British Medical Journal, called for larger studies to test the findings.

Ms Daghni Rajasingam of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said: "There are many factors which are linked to still-birth including obesity, increasing maternal age, ethnicity, congenital anomalies and placental conditions. A significant number are unexplained.

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteWe would like to see further research into sleep in pregnancy encouraged and funded as a matter of urgency”

End QuoteJanet Scott of the stillbirth charity Sands "This small-scale study looks at another possible factor. However, more research is needed into sleep patterns before any firm conclusions over sleeping positions can be made.

"In the meantime, women should speak to their midwives if they are concerned."

The UK has one of the highest still-birth rates in the developed world. Every year here 4,000 babies are still-born.

A third of still-births have no clear cause.

Janet Scott, of the still-birth and neonatal-death charity Sands, said: "We would like to see further research into sleep in pregnancy encouraged and funded as a matter of urgency.

"The study will require further validation before any widespread public health campaign could be justified.

"Mums want to know what they can do to reduce the chance of this happening to their baby.

"A simple message which mums could follow, which would reduce their risk of still-birth, would be very welcome."

Apples Top 2011 'Dirty Dozen' List, Says EWG - Buy Organic

By Georgiann Caruso

Apples are the most chemically contaminated produce, says a new report by the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit focused on public health.

The report suggests buying organic apples instead of conventional, and names other fruits and vegetables that rank highest in pesticides. Organic produce is grown using materials of plant or animal origin, instead of chemicals. On the "dirty dozen" list are:

1. Apples

2. Celery

3. Strawberries

4. Peaches

5. Spinach

6. Imported nectarines

7. Imported grapes

8. Sweet bell peppers

9. Potatoes

10. Domestic blueberries

11. Lettuce

12. Kale/collard greens

The group also lists the "Clean 15," or those that rank lowest in pesticide residues. These are:

1. Onions

2. Sweet Corn

3. Pineapples

4. Avocado