Can baking make you happier?

When does mental health become a problem? What is depression? "Getting treatment has not always been easy. Cooking and baking have, on occasion, very literally saved my life, giving me an outlet for emotions I couldn't handle. It has provided me with an alternative to self-harm."

East London NHS Foundation Trust is one mental health provider that has experimented in cooking therapies. Earlier this year they launched Recipes of Life, an integrated talking therapy with healthy cooking and eating sessions.

Dr Mark Salter, a consultant psychiatrist working in east London, says baking and cooking are good occupational therapies that help patients develop planning skills, short term memory and social skills - all of which suffer in mental illness. He says baking is particularly powerful because of its symbolism in our culture - associated with nurture and goodness.

But Dr Cosmo Hallstrom, fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, cautions that it is difficult to measure the precise benefits of baking as a therapy.

"Any structured non-stressful activity will help depression and increase well-being. Traditional occupational therapies generally work on a physical or projection platform.

"For example, exercise sessions increase physical well-being and release endorphins that combat depression. Art therapy helps a patient project their depression through creating artwork; thereby helping a patient to better understand their condition. Baking can be seen as operating on both these platforms," he says.

There is a physical element to baking - kneading the dough or cutting out cookie shapes. But there is also a strong creative or artistic component - the intricate decoration of cakes or biscuits.

Continue reading the main storyCakes for good causes

Seeking inspiration for a charity bake sale? The Great British Bake Off returns to BBC Two on Tuesday at 20:00 BST.

Great British Bake Off Baking can be therapeutic in different ways. Denyer likes to give away her baked treats. She says the act of making other people happy helps lift her spirits.

But Whaite warns that eating too many baked goods can undo some of the benefits. "There are two sides to the coin. You need to be careful you don't consume too much sugar or else you get a sugar high and then a slump."

What to avoid when you're expecting

You don't need to cut out caffeine completely, but don't have more than 200mg a day... if you have, for example, one bar of chocolate and one mug of filter coffee, you have reached almost 200mg of caffeine. Don't worry if you occasionally have more than this amount - the risks are small.

To cut down on caffeine, try decaffeinated tea and coffee, fruit juice or mineral water instead of regular tea, coffee, cola and energy drinks.

Foods to avoid in pregnancy: Caffeine "When you look at more - at six or eight cups of coffee - there is some more evidence that that might be risky."

Oster, now the proud mother of a healthy two-year-old girl, has gathered together her work in a book, Expecting Better. She hopes that where the evidence is mixed, readers can consider the facts and make their own decision, based on what they are personally comfortable with.

It is difficult to draw firm conclusions, she says, because most of the studies are not randomised - it wouldn't be fair to divide pregnant women under study into two random groups and ask one group to drink coffee and the other to drink none.

Consequently, Oster says, the people involved in the studies differ in many ways that could affect the course of their pregnancies, not just in their coffee-drinking habits.

"The big issue is that caffeine consumption correlates very strongly with how nauseous you are. A lot of pregnant women are very sick, especially early on - the women who are sicker tend to drink less coffee.

"But we know that being sick is a sign of a healthy pregnancy. And so when we see that women who drink less coffee also have more successful pregnancies we don't really know if that's just about coffee or whether it's really a confounding factor from this nausea."

But coffee was just one item on a long list of forbidden, or semi-forbidden, items that Oster wanted to investigate.

NHS stop-smoking service 'a success'

84m a year - versus impact, it is well within the threshold used by the NHS to judge treatments, such as new drugs, the report on the British Medical Journal website said.

The service also seemed to be successful in reaching out to disadvantaged groups as more than half of the smokers taking part in the most recent year got free prescriptions, which are offered to those on low incomes among others.

'Cost-effective'

Prof Robert West, who led the team, said stop-smoking services could be considered the "jewel in the NHS crown".

"It has been a real success. These services are important because the people who are using them are the heaviest smokers who are the least likely to give up.

"But there is plenty of room for improvement. There was a two-fold variation between the best performing services and the worst. We need to address that."

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteThese services helping smokers to quit have been one of the most cost-effective services on the NHS”

End QuoteMartin DockrellAction on Smoking and Health He said one of the key factors of the service, which combines counselling with medication like nicotine replacement therapy, was having staff whose job was dedicated to the service rather than asking practice nurses and pharmacists to fit it in around their day jobs.

Prof West also said he was concerned about the future.

Stop-smoking services became the responsibility of local councils under the shake-up of the NHS earlier this year.

"Money is tight and there is a risk that services will be cut," he added.

Dave Jones, tobacco control delivery adviser at Public Health England, said support would be given to councils with the services.

"There is still more to do but it is great to have this reflection on the bedrock established over the last 10 years."

Measles clinic claims 'misleading'

Complaints were made about the Cheshire-based Children's Immunisation Centre during the measles outbreak centred on Swansea.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) decided the clinic's language "could have caused fear and distress".

The centre said it had now complied.

One person died and a total of 1,219 suspected measles cases were diagnosed during the Swansea area measles epidemic, which was officially declared over in July.

As part of the response from public health officials, almost 76,000 unscheduled MMR vaccinations were given to people around Wales who had not been immunised in a bid to bring the epidemic under control.

The Children's Immunisation Centre offered single vaccines to parents, running a clinic in Swansea and others in England.

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteWe told Children's Immunisation Centre not to promote prescription-only medicines and to remove claims not supported by objective scientific evidence”

End QuoteASA report In its response to the ASA, the centre said it offered a safe alternative for parents who needed to have their children protected from childhood diseases but did not wish to undergo government or NHS programmes such as the MMR vaccine.

It also argued its website information did not constitute advertising.

But the ASA said because the centre "promoted non-government recommended vaccination and because the overall context of the website focused on their claim that a single MMR vaccination was linked with autism, we considered the language used could have caused fear and distress without justifiable reason and we concluded the website was irresponsible".

Three complainants, including a GP, challenged whether the centre's 100% safety claim could be substantiated, while two said the advert was irresponsible and could cause fear and distress because it appeared during the measles outbreak in south Wales.

The ASA ruled that the website breached regulations because it advertised prescription-only medicines.

The centre told the ASA each of its 20,000 patients had a record card and not one had been hospitalised or had regression, autism or other health issues after vaccination.

Continue reading the main storySWANSEA MEASLES OUTBREAK Began in November 2012 There have been no laboratory-confirmed cases in the affected area since May and the outbreak was cleared over in July Some 75,868 unscheduled vaccinations were given to people around Wales who had not been immunised to control the epidemic In the outbreak area more than 30,000 doses of the MMR vaccine were given GP surgeries administered 16,500 and drop-in clinics have given more than 8,500 School and occupational health clinics administered more than 5,300 jabs But the ASA noted that a sample complaint log supplied by the centre confirmed some children had developed minor and major complications as a result of receiving a vaccination ranging from a rash and high temperature to emergency hospital admission.

The ASA said: "Because Children's Immunisation Centre did not have a 100% safety record, we concluded the claim was misleading."

It added: "We considered the website had probably been live for some time before the outbreak of measles in Wales, during April and May 2013.

"However, we noted two links referenced the Welsh measles outbreak."

The ASA said it had not seen robust evidence that linked a single MMR vaccine with autism, concluding that that website was misleading.

It ruled: "The ad must not appear again in its current form.

"We told Children's Immunisation Centre not to promote prescription-only medicines and to remove claims not supported by objective scientific evidence."

Dr Andrew Wakefield's research linking the MMR jab to autism was published in 1998 has since been entirely discredited.

In a statement to BBC Wales, Zoe Miller from the Children's Immunisation Centre said: "We're now fully ASA compliant, everything that was requested has been taken off the website."

Ducks were bird flu 'melting pot'

Market danger

There have been very few cases since China introduced controls on live poultry markets.

The authors added: "To control H7N9 and related viruses ultimately it is necessary to reconsider the management of live poultry markets in urban areas."

The study also uncovered a similar bird flu called H7N7, which appears able to infect mammals. The scientists said this group of H7 bird flus may "pose threats beyond the current outbreak".

Commenting on the research, Dr Peter Horby, from the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Vietnam, said: "This kind of microbial forensics is essential in helping us piece together the origin of novel avian influenza viruses such as H7N9.

"When combined with analyses of poultry production and marketing systems, it can help us identify practices that might reduce the risks of H7N9 and other novel viruses re-emerging.

"Whilst this brings us closer to understanding the pathway to emergence, more detective work is needed to fully reveal the ecology and source of H7N9 viruses, which seem to be concentrated in live poultry markets but elusive elsewhere in the production chain.

"The discovery of a novel H7N7 lineage that can infect ferrets reminds us that even if H7N9 does not return, there are risks lurking amongst the great diversity of avian influenza viruses."

Appeal against hospital cuts ruling

1m a week.

The ruling was a setback for Mr Hunt because the case involved the first legal testing of a new government procedure for dealing with failing NHS organisations - referred to as the Unsustainable Providers Regime.

Under the new regime, Mr Hunt had appointed a Trust Special Administrator (TSA) to the "very badly performing" South London Healthcare Trust.

To help deal with the problem, the special administrator recommended measures including cuts at Lewisham Hospital.

Mr Hunt told Parliament in January that A&E and maternity services at the hospital would be downgraded.

He assured MPs the changes would improve patient care in south London, saving up to 100 lives a year, but gave an undertaking not to implement them pending the legal challenge.

The challenge against the government was brought by Save Lewisham Hospital and the London Borough of Lewisham.

Tony O'Sullivan, from the Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign, said: "We are disappointed by the Secretary of State's decision to launch an appeal.

"However, we are confident that the strength of our case will be upheld at appeal."

Deadly virus found in tomb bat

Researchers are now looking to see if camels and other animals are involved in spreading the virus

The finding suggests that bats could be the origin of the disease, but scientists are looking for another animal that is involved in its spread. Samples taken from camels, sheep, goats and cattle are now being analysed.

Commenting on the research, Prof Jonathan Ball, a virologist from the University of Nottingham, said: "We have long suspected that bats are likely to be the original source of Mers. They've been around for millions of years and have picked up a lot of viruses on the way - bats are a source of lots of human virus infections, like Ebola, henipahvirus, rabies and Sars.

"But there are still some crucial unknowns. They sequenced a very small part of the virus genome - and a highly conserved part at that. We would need to see more extensive analysis involving other more variable genes before we can definitively say the viruses are related.

"Even if this proves to be the case, bats are unlikely to be the source of the continuing Mers outbreaks. Humans and bats just don't interact very much. It's much more likely that an intermediate animal is involved - and finding out what this animal is is key if we are to eradicate this virus before it becomes a bigger problem."

Prof Ian Jones from the University of Reading added: "The surprising overall message is that the bats of (Saudi Arabia) are not awash in the virus, quite the opposite as only one example was found and that appeared to be incomplete.

"The main reservoir for this virus and how it gets to infect people remains unclear at this stage."

Half of kids 'need more exercise'

Prof Carol Dezateux, one of the lead authors, said: "There is a big yawning gap between girls and boys. We need to really think about how we are reaching out to girls.

"The school playground is an important starting point. Often you will find it dominated by boys playing football."

But she said there should still be concern about the activity levels across the board.

"The findings are particularly worrying because seven-year-olds are likely to become less active as they get older, not more."

To achieve the one hour recommendation children have to take part in moderate or vigorous activity, which includes everything from brisk walking and cycling to playing football and running.

The UCL research is not the first to suggest children are not active enough, but most previous studies have relied on self-reporting by children or parents estimating levels of exercise, whereas the latest one involved real-time monitoring.

During the study, which took place during 2008 and 2009, youngsters wore an accelerometer to measure exercise levels which was attached to an elastic belt around their waist. It was removed only when bathing or when the children went to bed.

In total, the experts were able to record more than 36,000 days of data based on the children wearing the accelerometer for at least 10 hours a day over the course of a week.

Dr John Middleton, of the Faculty of Public Health, said more research was needed into why certain groups were less active.

"We need our children to grow up to be fit and healthy adults, not just because it's what any civilised society would want for its children, but it's also best for our economy too," he added.

Dr Ann Hoskins, of Public Health England, agreed.

She said: "This study highlights that there is still much to do to keep children and young people active as they grow older, especially girls.

"The new school year is the perfect time to make healthy changes, swapping short car or bus journeys with walking or scooting to school."

'Spider style' blood vessel building

A "living scaffold" made by electrospinning

Another technique has been to take a body part from a dead body, just like an organ transplant, and use a detergent to strip out the native cells leaving a protein scaffold behind. This is then seeded with the target patient's cells. New windpipes have been made through this process.

Spinning

The team at the University College London are using "electrospinning" technology to produce organs. They think it will overcome some of the challenges of seeding a scaffold by building the cells into the transplant in the first place.

It starts with a broth of cells and polymer. A 10,000 volt electric needle is then used to draw out a fibre.

Dr Suwan Jayasinghe told the BBC: "Like a spider weaves its web we are able to draw out this continuous fibre of polymer and cells and weave a web.

"We could make one as thick as a mattress and the cells will be embedded right through it."

The electrospinning technology has been used to create blood vessels by cross-stitching the fibres on to a rotating cylinder which is half submerged in a liquid to nourish the living cells.

The latest studies published in the journal Small showed mouse blood vessels with three distinct layers could be produced.

Dr Jayasinghe said: "At the moment no technology can make an organ, we are coming up with the process to patch up a defective organ not replace an organ."

The idea is that a patch of heart muscle could improve function after a heart attack.

However, it is early days for the field of electrospinning. In comparison, other methods for producing body parts are already being used in patients.

"There have been some successes in the field which is great, but I don't think it is as easy as some people portray and I don't think we'll have it easy either," Dr Jayasinghe said.

Carers should 'get flexible hours'

14-an-hour cost is more than I get paid myself.

"I do work flexi-time and from home for a large borough council but I can no longer cope with the commuting or cost and need to find a job nearer home. "

"By encouraging employers to do more we can build a stronger economy in a fairer society.

"Supporting carers is an economic necessity - leaving them to balance work and care creates a lose-lose situation for everyone."

He said the UK could not afford to lose experienced workers who double as carers from the workforce.

The Work and Families Act 2006 gives carers the right to request changes to their working patterns to better manage their caring.

Employers can only reject such requests based on reasons listed in the act, most of which relate to negative effect on the business.

But Mr Hunt said a cultural change was needed among employers, saying carers should get the same flexible working opportunities as parents with young children.

Meanwhile, research by the London School of Economics (LSE) suggested a gap between the number of frail elderly people in need of care and those able to provide it free would begin to become evident in England by 2017.

By 2032, 160,000 elderly people could be left without the support they need, the researchers predicted.

LSE used population projections and survey data to compile the figures.

An estimated 675,000 older people currently rely on unpaid carers - mainly their children - as they fall outside the state support system, which is available to the poorest.

'Stressed staff'Continue reading the main storyFlexible working options Flexi-time (choosing when to do some or all of your hours) Home working or tele-working (some or all work done away from work) Job sharing Part-time working Term-time working Shift-swapping or self-rostering (Employees agree shifts among themselves) Staggered hours (Employees have various starting and finishing times) Compressed hours (Employees work their total hours over fewer working days) Annualised hours (Working hours are calculated over a whole year and then split into "fixed shifts" and "reserve shifts" which can be agreed on a more flexible basis)

Source: Carers UK

Carers UK chief executive Helena Herklots said the problem could have a profound impact on society.

"In addition to the personal costs to families, the costs will be felt across society and public services - more and more older people admitted to hospitals needing avoidable emergency care, businesses coping with stressed staff trying to care alongside work and the economy suffering as increasing numbers of workers are forced to quit work to care," she said.

Age UK charity director Michelle Mitchell added: "These projections once again underline the huge importance of ending the crisis in social care."

The 2011 census revealed that, at the time of the survey, 5.8m people in England and Wales provided some level of unpaid care for disabled, sick or elderly relatives - and 2.1m of those provided more than 20 hours of care per week.

Welsh patients 'denied cancer drugs'

There is concern that patients do not get access to newer cancer drugs

More than 30,000 patients are thought to have received treatment through the Cancer Drugs Fund in England, although it is due to end in March next year.

The Rarer Cancers Foundation (RCF), a charity which receives some support from the drug industry, says there is a contrast between England and Wales, where patients have to make individual requests for funding through their doctor if a new medicine has not yet been approved by the watchdog NICE.

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteA cancer drugs fund would unfairly disadvantage many patients with serious conditions other than cancer”

End QuoteWelsh Government The RCF has examined a report into the Welsh funding requests, which shows significant variation among the approval rates of health boards.

The charity was only able to compare funding requests and approvals for 2011/2012 - the last full figures available for England - with the 2012/2013 figures for Wales.

It says the approval rates for medicines were 7.05 per 100,000 in Wales, compared to 29.10 per 100,000 in England.

'Broken system'

Its chief executive, Andrew Wilson, said: "The Welsh Assembly Government's own figures reveal the extent of inequality in access to cancer drugs in Wales. Cancer patients are paying the price for a failure to fix this broken system.

"The needs of cancer patients are no less pressing on one side of a border than they are on another, nor are treatments any less effective. Urgent action is needed to end this inequality."

But the Welsh Government said the idea of a cancer drugs fund was not supported by all doctors or the public.

A spokesperson said: "We care greatly about providing the best care for the people of Wales and our commitment is to provide evidence-based, cost-effective treatments fairly to everyone.

"All medicines that are not approved by NICE or the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group can be prescribed in Wales where clinical exceptionality can be demonstrated.

"A cancer drugs fund would unfairly disadvantage many patients with serious conditions other than cancer."

The health minister, Anna Soubry, described the Cancer Drugs Fund as "one of this government's proudest achievements".

International Alarms Go up As Fukushima Alert Level Raised

By Jon Queally
In the most serious action since the nuclear plant was first damaged in 2011, Japan's Nuclear Regulatory Authority is on the verge of raising the international alarm-and the official threat level-over the spiraling crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

By elevating the severity status from level 1 to level 3 on the eight-level International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES), the NRA has made a clear indication that the situation is worsening more than two years after the initial disaster and following recent reports of newly discovered leaks of highly radioactive water from several sources.

As Reuters reports, the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Wednesday it viewed the situation at Fukushima "seriously" and was ready to help if called upon, while nearby China said it was "shocked" to hear contaminated water was still leaking from the plant, and urged Japan to provide information "in a timely, thorough and accurate way".

Shunichi Tanaka, head of the NRA, told reporters that the plant has become an amusement park's house of horror, with newly discovered leaks and and repeated failings by the plant's owner TEPCO to make meaningful progress in the cleanup.

"I don't know if describing it this way is appropriate, but it's like a haunted house and, as I've said, mishaps keep happening one after the other," he told reporters. "We have to look into how we can reduce the risks and how to prevent it from becoming a fatal or serious incident."

As the Japan Times reports:

The NRA said about 300 tons of highly radioactive water has leaked from tank No. 5 in the H4 area of the damaged plant. In total, it said, the nuclear materials released into the environment has been estimated at several thousand terabecquerels, converted into radioactive molybdenum 99.

"This is comparable to level 3, given the standards for the radiation barriers and management of a facility," the NRA said in a document released Wednesday.

Raising the severity rating would be one of the most serious actions taken since the March 11, 2011, mega-quake and tsunami led to three reactor meltdowns.

"I'm concerned most about how such tanks with high levels (of radioactive water) are increasing rapidly," said Tanaka, referencing more than 1,000 water storage tanks now spread out around the crippled facility.      

Stay Out, Monsanto: Costa Rica Is Almost 100% Transgenic-Free

By Jaime Lopez
The number of cantons in Costa Rica that have adopted legislation to prohibit the cultivation of potentially dangerous genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is now at 62. These transgenic-free territories are following a legal strategy often called the "anti-Monsanto doctrine" after the world's most powerful distributor of GMO seeds.

The new transgenic-free territories are Vazquez de Coronado and Zarcero. The latter is located in the province of Alajuela and the former in the province of San Jose. Zarcero was once known as the Alfaro-Ruiz canton, and Vazquez de Coronado is named after an early Spanish settler and first colonial governor of Costa Rica (although most people shorten the canton's name to Coronado). These two jurisdictions have something in common: They are known for their quality dairy production and their agricultural output. Coronado has a long tradition of dairy farming, which is the reason for the eponymous national brand of dairy products that rivals Dos Pinos in Costa Rica. Zarcero is the home of a farm-fresh type of cheese that is a favorite among Ticos.

In Coronado, the Environmental Commission took six months to research the people's proposal to join the 61 other cantons in Costa Rica that have become transgenic-free territories by means of municipal codes. This tactic is often considered the final line of defense against companies such as Monsanto that use their powerful connections and high-level horse trading to get results. The company was recently found playing a corporate shell game to surreptitiously introduce GMO seeds in Costa Rica, but the Constitutional Chamber (Sala Cuarta) is currently reviewing that incident.

Environmental activists in Costa Rica often seat in the cantonal meetings while transgenic-free proposals are being considered; this is to ensure that no foul play takes place. A six-month period of research and evaluation such as the one undertaken in Coronado is the norm. The proposals often call for implementation and outreach programs to teach farmers and people about the potential damage that certain GMOs can cause to the soil and ecosystems.

Unrepentant MN Organic Farmer Convicted for Delivering Raw Milk, Fresh Meat and Eggs to Consumers

By Dan Flynn
The same Minnesota farmer acquitted in Minneapolis this past December for raw milk-related violations was convicted last week in St. Cloud for a related list of offenses. Alvin Schlangen of Freeport and his Freedom Farms Co-op did not fare anywhere near as well in his home county last week as he did in the big city last winter.

After a three-day trial in a Stearns County court and about four hours of deliberations by the six-member jury, the organic egg farmer was convicted, this time on all counts. Included among the misdemeanor convictions were: operating without a food handler's license, storing eggs at unsafe temperatures, violating a food embargo, distributing adulterated and/or misbranded food and selling custom-processed meat.

A raw milk-specific charge was dismissed before trial.

The convictions could have resulted in 15 months in jail and fines totaling $5,000. However, the judge doing the sentencing gave Schlangen a suspended 90-day jail sentence and a $1,000 fine with $700 suspended.

Along with taking his own organic eggs to co-op members in the Twin Cities, Schlangen also delivered raw milk and other food items. His supporters said they are troubled most by the one-year probation that requires Schlangen to abide by Minnesota law or else authorities will immediately enforce the suspended jail time and fine.

In a post-trial comment to the raw milk-friendly Website called "The Complete Patient," Schlangen stated, "This organic farmer did not realize that supporting the operating efficiency of our only local store for organic food would put him in line for jail time."   

Why We Can and Must Focus on Preventing Alzheimer's

By David Perlmutter
New research shows that our diet has a significant impact on our neurological health. But why aren't doctors acting to prevent diseases like Alzheimer's, rather than only treating them? David Perlmutter, author of the new book The Grain Brain, on the need to change our approach to healthcare.     

Last week, a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine showed how levels of blood sugar directly relate to risk for dementia. The investigation followed over 2,000 elderly individuals for an average of 6.8 years and found that even small elevations of blood sugar translated into a significant increased risk for dementia, even among persons without diabetes.

The implications of this report are profound. While the correlation of dementia risk, and specifically Alzheimer's disease, with diabetes has been established, this new finding throws a much wider net in terms of defining an at risk population for an incurable brain disorder. But despite the potential public health impact of these findings, this correlation received almost no media attention.

The Unites States has now been granted the distinction of ranking first in terms of increased number of deaths from neurological diseases including dementia. In a recent report in the journal Public Health, Professor Colin Pritchard and colleagues from Britain's Bournemouth University evaluated causes of death in the ten largest Western countries between 1979 and 2010. During that time period, deaths in America related to brain conditions rose an astounding 66% in men and 92% in women.

These compelling statistics are supported by what we've recently learned about monetary expenditures for caring for dementia-afflicted patients. In a recent RAND study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, costs for dementia care in 2010 were estimated to be as high as $200 billion, roughly twice that expended for heart disease and almost triple what was spent on treating cancer patients.

These figures, as well as the staggering statistics that in America there are currently 5.4 million Alzheimer's disease patients with that number poised to double by the year 2030, provide enticement for pharmaceutical companies to develop drug strategies to cure or at least slow the inexorable mental decline characteristic of this disease. As yet, they have failed, miserably. Indeed, as reported in a recent issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, the latest and perhaps most promising drug treatment for Alzheimer's disease not only failed to halt the disease, but actually worsened functional ability while increasing the risk for infection and skin cancers.   

Early Exposure to BPA Linked to Anxiety and Hyperactivity in Boys

By Miriam Capon
We frequently see warnings about using products that contain Bisephenol A (BPA) and many plastic products are now being made with "BPA-Free" alternatives. BPA can be found in polycarbonate plastics, canned food liners and some thermal receipts. Bisphenol A is a man-made, carbon-based product which has hormone-like properties. In 2008 a study showed that 95 percent of Americans had BPA in their urine, which goes to show just how much people are still being exposed to it. Many studies have shown that Bisphenol A is a hormone-altering chemical.

The University of California, Berkley, has released new findings from a study that shows that boys who were exposed to higher levels of Bisphenol-A as a fetus, were more likely to suffer from hyperactivity, aggression, depression and anxiety at the age of seven. To conduct the study, researchers measured BPA concentrations in 292 pregnant mothers, and then measured the BPA levels in the children at age five. At age seven the teachers and mothers of the children assessed them. Finally, at age nine they were assessed for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), although no link was found between BPA and ADHD in girls or boys exposed in the womb or during early childhood. No association was found in the female children, and the authors admit to being unsure of why there is a difference in the genders.

This study consisted of women and children who had lower concentrations of BPA in their systems than the U.S. average. Seventy percent of the participants lived below the poverty line, and nearly all were Hispanic. In a previous study of low-income African Americans and affects of prenatal BPA, boys had more behavioral problems, but girls had fewer problems.  

Waste: the Dark Side of the New Single Cup Coffee Craze

By Vanessa Rancaño
In June, Peet's Coffee & Tea dispatched a truck emblazoned with the motto, "Proof in Every Single Cup," to drive across the country. Every few days the mobile cafe pulls up to the sidewalk of a different city, and the baristas on board hawk free cups of the company's new single-serve coffees. They set out tables and chairs, place sandwich board advertisements along the sidewalk, give out orange-rimmed sunglasses, and take photos of smiling customers clutching Peet's cups.

The mobile cafe is part of a nationwide campaign Peet's launched this summer in its effort to crack the hottest sector of the coffee business: single-cup brewing. And Peet's is actually late getting into the single-serve market; Starbucks and other coffee giants moved in early and are now reaping huge profits.

"It's growing like crazy," said Joe DeRupo, spokesman for the National Coffee Association. "It seems like virtually everyone is jumping on the single-serve bandwagon."

For the unfamiliar, single-cup coffee comes in individual portions, encased in plastic capsules or packets that you put in a special coffeemaker to brew one cup at a time. It's the polar opposite of the pour-over artisanal coffee that's so popular in much of the East Bay, but tens of millions of consumers have already switched to single-cup brewing nationwide, likely because it's ultra-convenient. 

Emergence of H7N9 Avian Flu Hints at Broader Threat

By Beth Mole
The H7N9 influenza virus did not emerge alone. Researchers have traced the evolution of the deadly avian flu currently spreading in China, and have found evidence that it developed in parallel with a similar bird flu, H7N7, which can infect mammals.

Although there is no evidence that this H7N7 strain will infect humans, the authors of a study published today in Nature say that their finding reinforces the idea that H7 avian viruses are constantly mixing and exchanging genetic material - a process known as reassortment - in Asian poultry markets. This raises the threat that H7N7 will reassort and become able to spread to humans.

"H7 is out there in China and not just in the form of this H7N9," says Richard Webby, a co-author of the study and an influenza specialist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

Ducks, in particular, act as living mixing bowls for avian viruses. Domestic species encounter a large catalog of wild-bird viruses, which swap genes to form versions that can spread to chickens and to humans.

Better surveillance of Chinese bird populations is needed to monitor the emergence of dangerous viruses such as H7N9, says lead author Yi Guan, an influenza specialist at the University of Hong Kong. In China, the virus has infected 135 people and resulted in 44 deaths since February. "This is a very different influenza ecosystem from other countries," says Guan.  

Nestlé's Extraction of Groundwater near Hope Riles First Nations

By Kelly Sinoski
First Nations chiefs are calling on the province to start protecting their interests, claiming Nestlé Waters Canada extracted millions of liters of groundwater, for free, from their traditional territory without consultation or compensation.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, says First Nations groups continue to be ignored by both provincial and federal governments despite a legal right to be consulted on all small- and large-scale resource development projects, whether it's groundwater extraction or fracking in northeastern B.C.

"They don't want indigenous rights and interests to stand in the way," Phillip said. "Before even moving ahead with a plan, the law dictates that we need to be consulted at the outset. It's not optional.

"Unfortunately, we find ourselves spending an inordinate amount of time in the courts because the provincial government refuses to meet that standard."

The Chawathil First Nation is laying claim to 265 million liters of water Nestlé takes every year from a well in their traditional territory in Hope. They're backed by the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, which is broadening the claim to get the province to consult with First Nations about water in B.C.

This is not the first time that First Nations have battled over groundwater. The Halalt First Nation asked the Supreme Court of Canada earlier this year to look at a controversial plan by North Cowichan to pump water for Chemainus from the Chemainus River's aquifers.