forward from [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Akira Kawasaki) > [Original Message] > From: What's New <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: 4/21/2006 11:57:24 AM Subject: [BOBPARKS-WHATSNEW] What's New Friday April 21, 2006
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 21 Apr 06 Tucson, AZ 1. "NUKULER" OPTION: BUSH HEARS FROM 13 PROMINENT PHYSICISTS. Five are Nobel laureates, three are former presidents of the American Physical Society and all thirteen believe the use of nuclear weapons against Iran would be "gravely irresponsible." Their letter to President Bush was prompted by media reports that the White House had called on the Pentagon to prepare a plan for a preemptive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, which are, unfortunately, largely underground. No problem! What are nuclear bunker-busters for? Jorge Hirsch at UCSD was behind the letter to the President. Last fall Hirsch organized a petition signed by more than 1,800 physicists that opposed any policy of preemptive nuclear strikes against non- nuclear adversaries. Iran, unfortunately, is dying to be a nuclear adversary. It's hard to tell how far they've gotten, and how much is just the old Muslim custom of shouting and waving their guns in the air. There has been no response to the physicist's letter from the White House, which is not surprising since Bush's long-time policy advisor, Karl Rove, has been sent packing. The President's plunging popularity raises concern that he might try something really dumb, whether he can pronounce it or not. 2. DEPRESSION: CORTISOL LEVELS AND THE NEWS FROM WASHINGTON. When our Pleistocene ancestors saw movement in the tall grass, their brains released stress hormones, increasing heart rate and respiration, dilating eyes to increase awareness and diverting blood from the digestive tract to arms and legs. The body was preparing to fight, or run very fast in the opposite direction. Carnivores in the tall grass are not a problem today, but there is plenty to fear. It's a lousy feeling that hits you right in your blood-deprived stomach. If anxiety persists due to war in Iraq, terrorists, bird flu, arctic melting, gas prices, or Rumsfeld, the brain switches to a long-term strategy. The hypothalamus, which controls emotion, tells the adrenal cortex to release cortisol, another stress hormone that raises blood pressure and increases blood glucose levels. New findings from Harvard Medical School links cortisol levels directly to depression for the first time. You're being manipulated by your hypothalamus. You can try to persuade your brain that there are no tigers, or take antidepressants that boost serotonin, another hormone that constricts blood vessels, countering the cortisol. 3. MEDIA: NEW WEBSITE RATES HEALTH COVERAGE OF NEWS ARTICLES. The new site http://www.HealthNewsReview.org , was created by University of Minnesota journalism professor Gary Schwitzer, who patterned it after similar efforts in Australia and Canada. A team of 20 reviewers from universities across the country will write the critiques. It is apparently limited to print news, and will not expose the outrageous commercials disguised as news that keep showing up on local television. It begins Monday. WN will check the cortisol story. THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND. Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the University of Maryland, but they should be. --- Archives of What's New can be found at http://www.bobpark.org What's New is moving to a different listserver and our subscription process has changed. To change your subscription status please visit this link: http://listserv.umd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=bobparks-whatsnew&A=1
