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Update: Cyclone to Cause World Rice Shortage – Until Cyclone Nargis struck, Burma was the world’s 7thlargest rice producer. Now analysts are concerned thatproduction may plummet, causing rice shortageseven in first world countries. On May 8, Burma’s dictatorordered that all aid to the country be embargoed, eventhough the UN continues to try to deliver it. This meansthat the chances of recovery are now minimal. It may be thatCyclone Nargis and dictator General Than Shwe have joinedhands to destroy thecountry and cause an unprecedented international shortage ofa key commodity. The question is this: did the Burma juntabuy rice futures when they saw the storm coming? Is this whythey didn’t warn their people and why they are refusing toallow aid in?read more

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Researchers have found that most lesbian and gay youths want the same things their straight friends want: to spend their adult life in a long-term relationship raising children. And when it comes to straight couples, a man picks a wife just like Mom.
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We recently wrote about how your hair can act as a lie detector (and in a political season like this one, we hear a lot of lies). But other scientists say the old-fashioned method of lie detection is best: a liar’s facial expressions will givehim away every time.

Three years ago, a man made a tearful public appeal for the return of his missing wife, but police soon learned that he had murdered her, when they found her body in a ditch on the outskirts of the city. When researcher Stephen Porter looked at the video of the husband?s appeal, he spotted the lie immediately?his face gave him away.
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Smoking makes you fat and it can also contribute to your getting breast cancer, IF you have the gene for the disease. Most smokers want to quit, and we have new information about what HELPS.

Researchers Christine Ambrosone and Jenny Chang-Claude studied data from 10 of the 13 studies published in the last 10 years in which they evaluated genetic information, smoking habits and breast cancer risk in almost 5,000 premenopausal and over 7,000 postmenopausal women. They found a significant interaction between breast cancer risk, smoking, and a specific gene called the NAT2. Women who smoked the most years, consumed the highest number of cigarettes per day and had a specific form of NAT2 were at significantly increased risk of breast cancer.
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