Pet owners are being told to make sure their dogs don?t get bitten by mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus. An 8-year-old Irish setter-golden retriever mix died of a West Nile viral infection, becoming the first canine victim in the country. A young wolf in a zoo died of the same infection, and the virus has also affected hundreds of horses. Squirrels are coming down with the disease as well. The question is?can animals spread West Nile to people?
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We?re cleaning off our shelves and have added lots of new titles to the sale section of our store. Many of these books have only a couple of copies left, so don?t delay. If you?ve had your eye on a book for a long time, now?s your chance to get it at a discount! If you?ve wanted to take a chance on a certain title, this is the time to do it. To see our sales,click here.

NOTE: This news story, previously published on our old site, will have any links removed.read more

Marriage between first cousins has long been a taboo in the U.S., because of the assumption that marriage between such close relatives will produce children with birth defects. But new research shows the genetic risks of marriage between first cousins have been greatly overestimated.

Robin Bennett, a genetic counselor at the University of Washington, looked at data from six previous studies on cousin marriages that included millions of people. She found that children from first-cousin marriages are 1.7 to 2.8% more likely to have a serious birth defect than the children of unrelated couples. Although the risk is significant, Bennett says, “It is much lower than people have assumed.”
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People who eat a diet high in white bread, white rice and potatoes increase their risk of pancreatic cancer, because this type of diet increases insulin levels, which have been linked to the cancer. Another reason to choose whole wheat: people who eat whole grains decrease their risk of Type II diabetes.

Dr. Charles Fuchs of Harvard looked at the results of a 1989 study of 89,000 nurses who carefully recorded their diets. He found that women who ate lots of refined starches increased their risk of pancreatic cancer by 57%. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal cancers. Fuchs says, “If you took women who were both overweight and sedentary, their risk was 2.5 times higher.”
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