Friday, Aug 17, 2012
Childhood obesity in industrialized nations of the world has reached
epidemic portions. Diet and sedentary lifestyle are not enough to explain
the steep increase, according to a Nature Scientific Report: "A
Prospective Study of In-utero Exposure to Magnetic Fields and the Risk of
Childhood Obesity." The study reveals the shocking truth: mom was
overdosing on her cell phone during her pregnancy. Women participating in
the study carried a meter during pregnancy that measured magnetic field
levels; 733 of their children were followed for 13 years. According to the
report, prenatal exposure to high magnetic field level was found to be
associated with increased risk of being obese. The article concluded:
"Maternal exposure to a high magnetic field during pregnancy may be a new
and previously unknown factor contributing to the world-wide epidemic of
childhood obesity." It's clear from the time involved, including the 13
year follow-up, that the study was initiated sometime in the mid-1990s,
before the National Academy of Sciences released of its exhaustive
three-year review of health effects of residential electromagnetic fields
in 1996. The NAS review effectively ended the foolish power-line/cancer
scare, but the fear of electromagnetic radiation has worked its way up the
spectrum to microwaves, including cell phones, smart meters, Wi-Fi etc.
Perhaps epidemiologists thought they could add to their publication count by labeling this long-since
discredited work as "prospective." Who knows how many other faded manuscripts will
reemerge as "prospective" studies. (Thanks to Robert Cahn and Jay Benesch
for calling my attention to this paper.)
According to Kevin Begos in this morning's New York Times, the amount of
carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere in the United States has
fallen to its lowest level in 20 years. Power plant operators are switching
from coal to cheaper natural gas. Worldwide, however, atmospheric carbon
levels will continue to increase due to industrial expansion in China.
This is what I wrote in Whats New, 24 March 1989,
the day after Cold Fusion was announced. "The remarable report from the University of Utah
that researchers had achieved deuterium fusion in an electrolysis cell was
initially provided only to the Financial Times of London and the Wall
Street Journal. From what little is known, the claim seems to be that
deuterium ions from heavy water diffuse into the lattice of a palladium
cathode at sufficient concentration to fuse. Palladium is well known for
its ability to take up large quantities of hydrogen. Indeed, solid-state
storage of deuterium in metals such as titanium and scandium is standard
practice in nuclear weapons, where dihydrides and even trihydrides do not
result in fusion. Whatever the technical merits of the Utah claim, however,
serious questions of scientific accountability will certainly be raised.
The press statement is devoid of any details that might enable other
scientists to judge the strength of the evidence.
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