IndoPost.com Breaking News and Opinion

Cancer rates in America dropped from 2003 to 2007 while more men and women survived the top-killer disease in the same period

A collaboration report by three top agencies in America, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Cancer Society, released data showing more Americans survived the top-killer disease from 2003 to 2007.  The rate of dying of cancer disease dropped about 1.6% per year for the period.

Citing the study, AFP reported that more American men survived some type of cancers include lung, colon, oral, stomach, and brain tumors.  While for the same period, more American men also experienced other type of cancers, include kidney, pancreas, liver, and skin.

For American women, the study shows a drop in breast, lung, colorectal, uterine, cervical, bladder, and oral cavity cancers.  However, American women also saw cancer rates were up for other type of cancers include kidney, pancreas, and thyroid, leukemia, and melanoma.

Canned and pre-packaged foods raise levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalates (DEHP) on adults and children bodies

There must be a reason when a popular fast-food chain in America picked its name as “Baja Fresh” as a new study has found that fresh food diet cuts exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalates (DEHP).  The research study was conducted by Julia G. Brody and her research team and is being published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

In order to reduce exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals, researchers urged adults and children to consuming more fresh fruits and vegetables, but not eating foods from containers made from plastic or metal.   Researchers also urged parents to cook meals at home with fresh ingredients rather than eating out.  While also ask adults to storing leftover foods in glass jars or metal made from stainless steel. 

Citing the study, usatoday.com reported that a group of 20 adults and children who live in San Francisco had reduced their BPA level by 66% in their urine after consuming fresh, organic, and unpackaged food during a three days trial.  Researchers found that sample of the 20 San Francisco residents also show low level of other hormone-disrupting chemicals such as phthalates or DEHP.

Google Android and Microsoft Windows Phone will control their destiny in worldwide smartphone market share as the two giants will be the number one and number two mobile operating systems by year 2015

Citing the latest data from Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, a division of International Data Corporation (IDC), the market researcher predicts over 450 million units of smartphones will ship in 2011.  This is going to be an increase of 50% from 2010, as phone makers shipped only 303.4 million units of feature phones last year. 

The research firm also predicts that Android will take control of 39.5% of all smartphone operating system in 2011.  It follows by Nokia’s Symbian operating system at 20.9% share.  The popular Apple iOS will has about 15.7% share.  RIM's BlackBerry will take away about 14.9% share.  Microsoft Windows Phone 7 only has about 5.5% share at the moment, but this will not be too long to get the giant software company’s fortune back in order.

With its recent partnership with the world’s largest phone maker Nokia, Microsoft Windows Phone 7 operating system which was launched in late October 2010 will soon take the second spot in the smartphone market.  The research firm predicts by 2015 Windows Phone 7 operating system will reach its highest share of smartphone platform at 20.9%.   Aside of Nokia’s partnership, the best features on Windows Phone 7 operating are its integration with Microsoft Office productivity software (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), Xbox gaming platform (i.e., Xbox 360 Kinect), and Microsoft's decision engine Bing.

Raw walnuts (unroasted) are the healthiest nuts, as regular eating of small amounts can reduce the risk of heart disease

A research study under the guidance of Joe Vinson, PhD, at University of Scranton in Pennsylvania which was presented during the American Chemical Society annual meeting this past weekend found walnuts contained more antioxidants than other nuts.   Dr. Vinson’s study examined the antioxidant levels in several different types of nuts and believes raw walnuts (unroasted) have the highest level of antioxidants, reported bbc.co.uk.  Of all type of nuts include peanuts, almonds, pecans, and pistachios, researchers believe walnuts are the healthiest nuts.

The antioxidants found in raw walnuts (unroasted) could protect human body from bad chemical compounds that may cause heart disease.  Researchers warned that roasted nuts could contain less antioxidant because of heat during preparation.  

With the latest findings, researchers urged to consume small amounts of nuts on regularly basis, as for long run nuts could reduce the risk of heart disease.  Other benefits of nuts include decreasing chance of getting some types of cancer and diabetes diseases.

Eating bad foods and lack of multivitamin and mineral supplements linked to anemia in postmenopausal women and older women, as Whites women at the lowest risks and Hispanics women at the highest risks

Using data from 72,833 older women in America, researchers at the University of Arizona in Tucson found bad eating habits may lead to anemia in postmenopausal women and older women.  Eating bad foods with lack of multivitamin and mineral supplements linked to a greater risk of developing anemia in later life.  Bad foods usually contain less protein, lack of iron, folate, and vitamins. 

Researchers believe consuming foods with fewer nutrients were linked to 21% higher risk of anemia.   If women consumed foods with even more less nutrients, their chances of getting anemia increased by 44%.

Citing the University of Arizona in Tucson study which is being published by the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, HealthDay News noted that Whites women eating habits are better than other races.   Only 7.4% of this group has a chance of developing anemia in later life.   Hispanics has the highest risk at 16.3%, followed by Blacks at 15.3%, then Native Americans at 15.2%, and Asians at 14.6%.

(Image: centrum.com)

Technology clusters in California are hiring a ton of computer engineers, web designers, computer scientists, data mining experts, web traffic analysts, and helping the state's unemployment dilemma

Silicon Valley and other California tech clusters are hiring a ton of people since the start of this year.  Several specialized technical skills are in hot demand include computer engineers, web designers, computer scientists, data mining experts, and web traffic analysts. 

According to latimes.com, California’s unemployment rate decreased slightly to 12.2% in February, compared to 12.4% in January (a drop of 0.2%).  The largest state in America added over 100,000 new jobs in February.

While financial, real-estate, and automobile sectors of America’s economy are in limbo during the past few years, high-tech companies are making a lot of money.  Public tech companies include Google, Oracle, and several newcomers and non-public companies are hiring aggressively in recent months.  In order to keep their tech workers happy, tech companies gave a lot benefits and a lot of extras such as free lunch, free snacks, and drinks.  In Silicon Valley today, some tech companies offer daycare and personal services for their top engineers.

As per Google’s latest quarter announcement in January 2011, the search engine giant is planning to add a ton of people in California this year for its headquarter in Mountain View and in other offices in California include in Santa Monica, Venice Beach (new office), and Orange County.  Google Android mobile operating system recently has became the top choice for smartphone users.

Several non-public and well-funded Internet companies in Silicon Valley are also hiring like crazy, include Facebook (social media networking champ), Zynga (top online gaming), and Twitter (social info website).

More American teenagers and young adults visiting Emergency-Room (ER) due to increasing use of Ecstasy pills, up over 75% since 2004

More American partygoers include teenagers and young adults are taking Ecstasy pills.  Citing data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), webmd.com reported that more American teenagers and young adults in age group between 18 and 29 visiting emergency room since 2004.  Due the use of Ecstasy pills, total visits to Emergency-Room (ER) were 10,222 cases in 2004, compared to 17,865 cases in 2008 (or, an increase of about 75%).

According to webmd.com, ecstasy pills can produce several types of side effects especially combo with consuming alcohol, include high anxiety, hypertension, and changing to faster heartbeat.  Other side effects of ecstasy pills include dehydration, muscle spasms, blurred vision headache, and internal organs failure (i.e. kidney).

In order to reduce cost of visiting ER, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has urged states and communities to start planning prevention efforts. 

50 million and counting: Hispanic population in America grow faster than other races during the past ten year as Census Bureau releasing data from 2010 survey

More Latinos are born in all states in America than other races during the past ten years as per 2010 Census data.  While two states experienced drop in numbers of people include Massachusetts and New Jersey, Hispanic population remain stable in the other 48 states in America, reported reuters.com. 

America’s Census Bureau also revealed that Hispanic population had outgrowth other races during the past ten years.  Since the late 1990s many demographers have predicted that by year 2050 Latinos will be the majority population in America, while Whites population will continue to drop and will soon the minority race. 

There are more Latinos involve in American politics today, for example large cities such as Los Angeles has its first Latino mayor.  Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was elected in 2005 and then re-elected for the second term.   Many Latinos are active in entertainment industry as well, such as Jennifer Lopez as the new American Idol judge.

Running shoes + Condoms: No exercise and no sex, or more exercise and more sex, as infrequent exercise or sex can increase chance of heart attacks

Running shoe companies could one day inventing new types of shoe with a pocket for condoms, as frequency of exercise must match with frequency of sex activity.  A research study conducted by Issa J. Dahabreh, MD and Jessica K. Paulus, ScD, and now being published by Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), shows that infrequent sex and intense exercise can increase chance of heart attacks. 

Both authors Dahabreh and Paulus wrote in the conclusion “Acute cardiac events were significantly associated with episodic physical and sexual activity; this association was attenuated among persons with high levels of habitual physical activity.”  

To reduce heart risk, the study urged people to have regular physical activity and maintain a healthy sex life.   If people only have sporadic exercise and infrequent sex can increase heart attack risk. 

BlackBerry PlayBook is coming to America and Canada on April 19, 2011, starting at $499 with Wi-Fi

The popular smartphone maker Research In Motion (RIM) announced that the next generation tablet dubbed as BlackBerry PlayBook will be in electronic stores and wireless outlets on April 19, 2011. The cheapest price for a basic system with Wi-Fi is $499 per unit. The tablet will be available in three models, include 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB of storage.

About 30% smartphone devices are currently running on BlackBerry operating system. BlackBerry PlayBook is considered as the main rival to Apple iPad. The new PlayBook is also thick at about half an inch. It weighs less than a pound. The PlayBook is also smaller than iPad. It has a touch-screen of 7-inch high-resolution digital display.

According to RIM press release, the new product will be sold in 20,000 retail stores in America and Canada. In America, top wireless providers include AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless, will carry the tablet. While several top electronic stores include Best Buy, Office Depot, RadioShack, and Staples, will have the new product in their stores on April 19, 2011.

(Image: BlackBerry PlayBook)

Beautiful American Men: more men in the boomers generation are going for plastic surgery include facelifts and liposuction

Cosmetic treatments include plastic surgery with facelifts and liposuction is no longer for celebrities, movie stars, and women in America.  Citing data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, latimes.com reported that men from the boomers generation in a group age of over 47 year to 65 years (born between 1946 and 1964) contributed to over 50% of all cosmetic treatments performed in America. 

While American women usually had breast augmentation, the financial stable men are more interesting in repairing nose and eyelid surgery. 

The latest data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons noted that men had a total of 1.1 million cosmetic treatments in 2010.  American men who had facelifts increased by 14% in 2010, while for liposuction jumped about 7% from 2009.

Made in America: giant jumbo jet Boeing’s double-decker 747-8 Intercontinental took off for the first time from its hometown in Seattle

Giant and super jumbo jet Boeing’s double-decker 747-8 which can carry 467 passengers took off for the first time on March 20, 2011. The largest passenger plane made in America had its maiden flight in the state of Washington, Northwest of America, in a hoopla ceremony attended by thousands of engineers, prospect buyers, and local officials. This super-jumbo jet will compete head-to-head with another super-plane A380 made by European consortium Airbus. Airbus's A380 can carry over 500 passengers and delivered to commercial airlines providers in 2007, include Singapore Airline, Qantas, and Emirates.

 
(Photo: boeing.com)

Overweight Americans to embrace the Dukan Diet as the popular French-style weight-loss method is coming to America in April 2011

The Dukan Diet is a method to control weight-loss developed by Dr. Pierre Dukan, a neurologist from French. His popular method was written in several best sellers books, with sales reached over millions of copies. These books have been translated into 14 languages.

According nytimes.com, starting in April 2011 Americans readers will be able to purchase the newest Dukan’s book designed for American audiences. This special edition is being published by Crown Publishing with a sub-title read “The Real Reason the French Stay Thin.” nytimes.com also noted that American’s publisher has paid $1.3 million to Dr. Dukan for copyrights of his new book.

The French-style weight-loss method is very popular among Europeans. Some gossip news noted that celebrities, movie stars, top supermodels, and high-ranking government officials have used the method. In recent weeks, many have speculated that the future princess of England and her family have followed the Dukan Diet method.

Life expectancy in America continues to climb to 78.2 years in 2009 and hit an all-time high record, as whites population living longer than blacks population while also fewer people died in 2009

America’s death rate hit an all-time low record, reported Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Life expectancy for Americans increased 78.2 years in 2009, compared to 78 years in 2008. American men's life expectancy reached 75.7 years while women's life at 80.6 years.

According to CDC data, life expectancy for white Americans was 4.3 years longer than black population in 2009, compared to 4.1 extra years in 2008. The average life span for black men was 70.9 years while for black women was 77.4 years.

The latest data also show fewer people died in 2009 with a total of 2,436,682 deaths, a drop of 36,336 deaths from 2008 (or, a drop of 1.47% from 2008).

Omega-3s in fatty fish and fish oils may reduce risk of vision loss in people aged 60 and older

There are so many reasons to visit a sushi restaurant or fish taco eatery as researchers found significant benefits of eating fish. Using sample of 38,022 women with average age of 54 years, a team of researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, has found fish and fish oils may reduce risk of vision loss in older people. In order to see the benefit of fish to prevent eye disease, researchers urged to consume fatty fish at least one or more times per week (see a photo of eel sushi in left).

The study is being published online in the Archives of Opthalmology. Citing the study’s lead author, William G. Christen, ScD, WebMD Health News wrote “Omega-3 fish oils are believed to have anti-inflammatory properties, so it’s plausible that these anti-inflammatory properties could be of benefit.”

According to WebMD Health News, there are about 9 million people in America within age bracket of 40 or older could carry some kind of vision disease which is also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Uninsured Americans reached over 52 million as economy remained bad, people loss jobs, and cost of health insurance premium skyrocketing

State of California is well-known for its high number of uninsured motorists, but in today's economy turmoil, there are not only drivers without automobile insurance but also there are over 52 million people live in America have no health insurance. The latest uninsured Americans data was cited from a study released by the Commonwealth Fund which has a foundation office in New York and later reported by bloomberg.com. The data from Commonwealth Fund also revealed that there are 73 million Americans cannot afford to pay cost of health care. At the same time, there are also 75 million delayed doctor treatments due to high cost.

In recent months, some policyholders in America (i.e., California) have been facing tough choices due to health insurance rate changes which will be hiked between 15-25%. While there are also continue debates regarding health care programs by President Obama’s administration and US Senate. Under Obama’s administration, lawmakers have revamped health care programs for uninsured Americans, but the law will not take effect until 2014.

Installing Internet Explorer 9 as the fastest and cleanest browser from Microsoft is now available for download in 39 languages

Global Internet users can now download the final release (non-beta) of Internet Explorer 9. According to the team blog, the fastest browser is now available in 39 languages. Please click here to download via BeautyOfTheWeb.com.

After we have installed Internet Explorer 9, we noticed that accessing the Web is faster than previous IE version. The new IE is also cleaner than older version. As per the team blog, there were over 40 million copies of the beta version had already been downloaded and users are very happy with it. We believe this new IE9 will be a hit. A modified mobile version of the IE9 will be available this summer for Windows Phone 7 users.

(Screenshot: Microsoft Internet Explorer 9)

Gadget of the year: the giant mobile device company may have sold about 1 million units of Apple iPad2 during its first three days sales since Friday March 11, 2011

Tech analysts and Wall Street watchers disagreed with how many units of Apple iPad2 were sold during its first three days debut.  While there were no official sales data from Apple, citing Piper Jaffray Cos. and Deutsche Bank AG analysts, bloomberg.com reported that Apple may have sold 500,000 iPad2 since Friday March 11 to Sunday March 13. 

In a more upbeat prediction, citing analysts at Ticonderoga Securities LLC and Wedbush Morgan Securities, bloomberg.com noted that the giant mobile device company may have sold about 1 million units of the gadget of the year on its debut weekend.

The gadget of the year is not so cheap, as the basic model of iPad2 will cost about $499, while top model will cost about $829.   Citing data from Global Equities Research, bloomberg.com also reported that stores had run out of stocks very quick during the first three days sales.  Market researchers believe most tech stores (i.e., BestBuy) do not have anymore iPads, while majority of tech stores sold out of their iPads within hours after stores opened for business.

(Image: Apple iPad2)

The side effects of secondhand smoke at workplace or at home and pregnant women

A medical study which used 19 cases of pregnant women from North America, South America, Asia and Europe, has found high risk of secondhand smoke at workplace or at home toward pregnant women. The study was conducted by Dr. Jo Leonardi-Bee at the Center for Tobacco Control Studies at the University of Nottingham and will be published in the journal Pediatrics next month. 

Citing Dr. Leonardi-Bee upi.com wrote "What we still don't know is whether it is the effect of sidestream smoke that the woman inhales that increases these particular risks or whether it is the direct effect of mainstream smoke that the father inhales during smoking that affects sperm development, or possibly both."

Dance simulation and workout-related video games (i.e., Xbox 360 Kinect Dance Central and Nintendo Wii Fit) help kids and young adults to burn more calories than walking on a treadmill or sitting on a couch

Citing data from a research study conducted by Bruce Bailey of Brigham Young University and later was published in the journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, latimes.com reported that kids burned a large amount of calories with active video games (i.e., Nintendo Wii Fit, Xbox 360 Kinect Dance Central) than kids working out on a treadmill.

While citing another research study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, latimes.com also reported that adults in age group of 18 to 35 years who played active video games could burn more calories than adults who just sitting on the couch and watch TV.

Given the latest findings, researchers have urged schools to let kids playing active video games as an alternative part of the Physical Education (P.E.) classes.

(Images: Xbox 360 Kinect Dance Central/left and Nintendo Wii Fit/right)