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Scientists have been worried that cell phonetowers?especially the new high-powered towers that supporthigh tech phones?emit radio waves that can lead to cancer.Now Korean scientists have found that people living inregions near AM radio broadcasting towers are 70% morelikely to get leukemia. And children who live near gasstations are more likely to get leukemia than other kidsliving in the same area.

Stephen Leahy writes in wired.com that deaths from cancerare 29% higher near the transmitters. This backs up anItalian study of two years ago that found that death ratesfrom leukemia increased dramatically for people livingwithin two miles of Vatican Radio’s transmitters in Rome.
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Avoiding exercise because of lower back pain? Scientists nowsay that lack of activity, such as sitting in front of yourcomputer or TV, deactivates the muscles that support yourspine, causing the pain in the first place.

Emma Young reports in New Scientist that when young menspent eight weeks in bed in a German study, most of themdeveloped lower back pain. This shows that the absence ofweight on spinal support muscles can sometimes be just ashard on your back as a physical injury.

Normally our spinal muscles work continuously to support andprotect our lower backs. Heavy lifting, whiplash or otherinjuries can damage these muscles, but only 10 to 15% oflower back cases begin that way. Usually the cause of thepain is mysterious.
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Astronomers have long thought that life moves through thesolar system on the backs of meteorites, meaning that lifeon Earth was “seeded” from another planet. New researchshows that it’s not necessary for the actual microbes totravel through space. The fact that a meteorite impactbrings phosphorous to a planet may be enough.
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There may be “tipping points” on Earth. When these change,the entire climate begins to alter and this change may beirreversible.

Researchers think there are 12 “hotspots” which regulate theEarth’s environment. If one of these is subjected to stress,it could trigger large-scale, rapid changes in the entireplanet. But we don’t know how to tell when these limits arereached. In bbcnews.com, Alex Kirby quotes environmentalistJohn Schellnhuber as saying, “We have so far completelyunderestimated the importance of these locations. What we doknow is that going beyond critical thresholds in theseregions could have dramatic consequences for humans andother life forms.”
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