Scientific Gossip (39-3a)
Contains 100% gossip from concentrate
Post-Transplant Cuisine
People who have received organ transplants may benefit from eating large amounts of pork, according to controversial research performed by Emily D. Baker and Farley N. Bishkoff of London’s Royal Academy of Dietary Research. Baker and Bishkoff's findings are seen by some as a challenge to Jewish and Moslem dietary laws.
Celebrity: The Inside Story
Mass market publishing companies are engaged in a bidding war over X-Rays of the Rich and Famous. The book is a compendium of images collected by former radiology technicians Betty and Irving Francis. Despite the threat of lawsuits from some of the patients featured in the book and by some of the hospitals at which the images were taken, the book is expected to take up residence on the best seller list. Publication is anticipated for next year's Christmas season.
Cruel Milk
Animal rights activists in England are intensifying their effort to place limits on the sale of milk. Most cats are to some degree lactose intolerant (i.e., unable to digest milk sugar). Activists believe that owners who feed milk to their pets are committing a chronic form of cruelty.
Fat Chance
Men with long, fat torsos tend to have a higher risk of prostate cancer than do slimmer souls. This finding emerged from research performed by Wendy Demark-Wahefried and colleagues at Duke University Medical Center. Critics charge that the study was biased, in that most of the male researchers are themselves slim. (For pertinent information, see Journal of the National Cancer Institute, September 2, 1993)
Hard to Swallow
A plump belly can have its advantages. Christer Brönmark and Jeffrey Miner of the University of Lund found that European carp develop enlarged midsections after several months of living in proximity to predatory pike. The carp grow wide enough that they no longer fit into their predators’ mouths. Several studies are now being mounted to see whether and how this applies to humans. The prospective studies are unusual in that they will be funded by a consortium of German beer companies. (For pertinent information, see Science, November 20, 1993)
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