New Cases of Cancer Decline in the U.S.

The incidence of new cancer cases has been falling in recent years in the United States, the first time such an extended decline has been documented, researchers reported Tuesday.

Cancer diagnosis rates decreased by an average of 0.8 percent each year from 1999 to 2005, the last year for which data are available, according to an annual report by the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and other scientific organizations.

Death rates from cancer continued to decline as well, a trend that began some 15 years ago, the report also noted. It was published online in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

“Each year that you see these steady declines it gives you more confidence that we’re moving in the right direction,” said Dr. John E. Niederhuber, director of the National Cancer Institute, who is not an author of the report. “This is not just a blip on the screen.”

Study Cites Toll of AIDS Policy in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG — A new study by Harvard researchers estimates that the South African government would have prevented the premature deaths of 365,000 people earlier this decade if it had provided antiretroviral drugs to AIDS patients and widely administered drugs to help prevent pregnant women from infecting their babies.

Katrina Kids: Sickest Ever

Even before the storm, they were some of the country’s neediest kids. Now, the children of Katrina who stayed longest in ramshackle government trailer parks in Baton Rouge are “the sickest I have ever seen in the U.S.,” says Irwin Redlener, president of the Children’s Health Fund and a professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

Church vs State

 Church VS State learn more…

History of Separation of Church and State in America

 

                     History of the Separation of Church and State in America

                                           By R.G. Price – March 27, 2004

The topic of Separation of Church and State has obviously become a hot one in America with both the Supreme Court case regarding the inclusion of the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and President George Bush’s promotion of his “faith based initiative” along with his overtly religious tone. It’s not just George Bush though, several other public officials have voiced either support for more inclusion of religion in government affairs, or have spoken in opposition to restoring the tradition of secularism to the State arena.

Fact of Evolution

In the words of Harvard biologist-paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, “Creation science is an oxymoron.” An oxymoron (lit., “a wise fool”) is a contradiction in terms. Just as it is impossible for a fool to be wise, so too is it impossible for creationism to be science. Anyone concerned about the meanings of words must concur with Professor Gould in his judgment.

Liberal vs Conservative

Those who actually know what the Bible says about the life and teaching of Jesus recognize that far from being like Jesus of Nazareth, today’s “Religious Right” are much more like the kind of clerics who battled this revolutionary prophet from the day he opened his mouth until the day they had him nailed to a cross.  Although these people claim to represent Jesus Christ, they rarely quote his teaching or follow his example.  What they do instead is use his name (“in vain”)  to promote their ideas, ideas which Jesus himself did not teach, and might well have opposed.

Reasons to Give Thanks for Your Sex Life

 Will giving thanks this Thursday include your sex life?I’m not talking about letting everyone at the dinner table know that you’re indebted to the universe for your multi-orgasmic abilities, for finding that infamous G-spot, or for seeing more action than any other couple you know. (But if you are lucky enough to experience any of the above, you should truly be giving thanks, and not just on Thanksgiving.)