WHAT'S NEW Friday, September 03, 2004

WHAT'S NEW   Robert L. Park  Friday, 3 Sep 04   Washington, DC

1. PLANETS: "... A NEW PLANET SWIMS INTO HIS KEN," JOHN KEATS.
Three planets swam into our ken this week, orbiting other
stars.  The news is that they are much smaller than previously
discovered Jupiter-sized giants which are unlikely to harbor
life.  The most compelling quest in science is to find life to
which we are not related.  Our best hope had always been our
neighbor Mars, but we were disappointed in 1976 when Viking 2
gave us a close-up look at the barren surface of Mars. 
Ironically, Viking had landed in the region called "the
Utopian Plain."  The search for life continues on Mars, then
on to Jupiter's ocean-moons.  Soon perhaps, the search can
expand beyond the solar system.  

2. NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION: TREATIES ARE VIOLATED WITH IMPUNITY.
Iran acknowledges that tons of raw uranium are being processed
into uranium hexafluoride gas, which will then be centrifuged
to produce enriched uranium.  Only low-enriched uranium for
use in electric power generation is sought, Iran claims.  Uh
huh, like this country that floats on an ocean of oil needs
nuclear power.   North Korea has been openly flaunting its
nuclear weapons program
http://www.aps.org/WN/WN04/wn011604.cfm and now South Korea,
has admitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency that
highly enriched uranium has been produced, but said it was
done by rogue scientists without the government's knowledge. 
Sure.  Meanwhile, the United States used the preemptive-strike
justification to invade the only rogue country that wasn't
close to making a bomb. The U.S. may now be spread too thin to
be taken seriously. 

3. DIETARY GUIDELINES: FOOD PYRAMID IS REFINED - REFINED
SUGAR.   At a time when diabetes and obesity are growing
health problems, new guidelines
http://www.aps.org/WN/WN04/wn081304.cfm replace, "Avoid too
much sugar," with "Choose carbohydrates wisely." Although
public health advocates expressed satisfaction with the
report, the New York Times thinks the report was deliberately
obscure when it came to sugar.  According to the Times, the
food, drug and supplement industries have strong ties to a
number of the panelists and probably influenced the outcome. 
Comments on the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines
Advisory Committee will be accepted until September 27, 2004. 
Even as the revised guidelines were made public, separate
studies showed appalling increases in obesity and diabetes
linked to consumption of sugar-sweetened sodas.  Soft drinks
contain high-fructose corn syrup, which raises blood sugar,
drastically increasing insulin and putting stress on insulin-
producing cells of the pancreas.

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.  
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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