Science and Evolution....

A Forbes article this year notes that only 40% of Americans believe in evolution. It’s quick to offer hope for improvement, however. Only 18% of Americans still believe the sun revolves around the earth, and a mere 500 years was all that was necessary to reach that figure.

Attention chocolate lovers: food for thought.

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine found a strong correlation between chocolate consumption per capita and the number of Nobel laureates in various countries.

Calories from sugar-sweetened drinks do matter.

Consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks is a big contributor to the obesity epidemic. Such beverages are the largest single calorie food source in the United States. Salty and fast foods are often consumed at the same time with these nutrient-poor drinks. In addition, these drinks are associated with chronic conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Schools are under fire for making them available, but the greatest consumption of these beverages occurs at home. Families should team up to reduce intake. If nothing else, replacement with sugar-free beverages should reduce fat accumulation, weight gain, and some chronic diseases.

Micronutrient supplementation: more is not better.

A recent editorial in the NEJM reminds of a truism that once an adequate concentration of a nutrient has been achieved, additional intake has no effect. So, unless one has a known deficiency of a nutrient, there is no good reason to take in more of it. When attracted by purported benefits of supplements, one should also beware of potential ill effects and unnecessary expense.

Goosey Goosey Gander wanders no more…

The summer edition of Sanctuary, the journal of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, presents a series of articles on bird flocks. There one can read a remarkable “explanation” for the current huge population of yearlong resident Canada geese that haunt our playing fields, open parks, and golf courses. Years ago, the rapid decline and threatened extinction of the species along the Atlantic coast was blamed on extensive market hunting. In response, instead of banning or restricting the shooting, they clipped the wings on midwestern geese and brought them here where they remained and raised their young year round. Now hunting, herding dogs, and coyote decoys can’t get rid of them!

Good News for Coffee Drinkers

This week’s New England Journal of Medicine reported a study of 5, 148,760 person-years that showed “coffee consumption was inversely associated with total and cause-specific mortality.” Drink up!

Noninvasive testing for paternity in pregnancy

A recent letter in the NEJM describes a noninvasive test to determine paternity in pregnancy. (N Engl J Med 366; 18 May 3, 2012 page 1743.) 5% of raped women become pregnant, but whether the rape or consensual intercourse caused the pregnancy is often uncertain. 80% of unintended pregnancies are terminated before 10 weeks, making it likely many rape victims terminate pregnancies before testing for paternity. The invasive tests carry a risk of miscarriage, but here the authors report a maternal blood test that in correctly determined paternity in all 30 cases studied.