Common Chemicals Boost Disease Risk

And it's linked to infertility, obesity, cancer—you name it

(NEWSER) - It's in everything from baby bottles to coffee makers to CDs, and research is accumulating, as Salon's Elizabeth Grossman puts it, that it's a major health hazard. Bisphenol A is a key ingredient of the lightweight plastics now ubiquitous in consumer products, and it's been variously linked to reproductive health, obesity, cancer and neurological disorders. More»

Swapping spit boosts immunity, say scientists

(NEWSER) - A kiss apparently is not just a kiss. An unromantic team of scientists has determined that the point of kissing is to spread germs and increase lovers' immunity and health. The bug cytomegalovirus, which is dangerous in pregnancy, is passed from smooching men to give a woman time to build immunity against it, reports the Telegraph . "Female inoculation with a specific male's cytomegalovirus is most efficiently achieved through mouth-to-mouth contact and saliva exchange," said the lead researcher. Way to kill the mood. More»

People who live near vegetation suffer fewer diseases

(NEWSER) - People who live close to parks or other “green spaces” are likely to be healthier, a new study suggests. Dutch researchers scoured the health records of 345,000 people, comparing their health status to the amount of green space in the surrounding area, from a half-mile to 2-mile radius. Of 24 health conditions—including cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurological diseases—people living in purely urban areas suffered higher instances of 15 of them, notes HealthDay. More»

Bush policy protected business interests in the states

(NEWSER) - President Obama is rewriting another set of rules inherited from his predecessor. This time, the Washington Post reports, it’s President Bush’s policy of overriding state laws with federal regulations, known as “preemption.” Says an activist, “It's environmental law, it's drug law, it's mortgage law, it's a whole host of areas where the Bush administration was really aggressive about using regulatory action to clear state and local laws that businesses and corporations didn't like.” More»

(NEWSER) - Nations led by the US have pledged to check the quickly growing Antarctica tourism industry, the BBC reports. Nearly 30 nations signed a treaty to bar ships carrying more than 500 passengers from landing on the continent and to limit the number of people from a ship on shore to 100 at a time. The move is a response to concerns about safety and the environment. More»