Teenage behaviour normal: Scientists

IF YOUR 14-year-old seems to have a death wish, it might just be because teenagers are programmed to get a thrill from taking risks, according to a study by Sarah-Jayne Blakemore at University College, London's institute for cognitive neuroscience. In the study, 86 boys and men between the ages of nine to 35 had their levels of satisfaction monitored while playing computer games. The teens got more satisfaction from lucky escapes, with the 14-year-olds getting the most satisfaction from risky behaviour. It, apparently, contributes to the "health paradox", in which a lifetime peak in health coincides with a high rate of risky behaviour and death rates. - Reuters

US childhood obesity and biblical proportions

EXTREME obesity among American children is worse than previously believed, putting them at risk of serious health issues as they age, say researchers.

A study of more than 700000 children and teenagers in southern California found that more than 6% were extremely obese, with 7% of the boys and 5% of the girls being too heavy.

This comes as the International Journal of Obesity's study into depictions of the last supper showed portions have grown. Servings have grown 69%, plates 66% and bread is 23% bigger, according to a computer analysis of 50 paintings. - Reuters, Sapa-dpa

Curry really is good for you

A STUDY published in Gut, a British Medical Journal title, contains findings by Austrian scientists that feeding the compound curcumin to mice reduced the types of inflammation that could cause liver-cell damage, blockage and scarring. Previous research has suggested that curcumin, which gives turmeric its bright yellow colour, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties which may be helpful in fighting disease. Some studies have indicated it can suppress cancer tumours and that people who eat lots of curry may be less prone to the disease. - Reuters

Health book review: Nathan Geffen: Debunking delusions

THE book tells the story of the victory won by The Treatment Action Campaign against "big pharma" to drop the price of antiretrovirals, as well as the fight with the administration of Thabo Mbeki and his anti-scientific health minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.

The battles include those against the "alternative" medicine industry that thrived on a perverse national chauvinism shown by our government at the time, in which an "African solutions for African problems" notion ruled science as Western, and thus politically inconvenient.

It is an epic tale of despair and of heroes, who bucked the South African trend of moaning while doing nothing. People went to the townships and educated residents about just what Aids was, while, at the same time, fighting tooth and nail for treatment.

It is a tale told from the TAC's point of view, unashamedly and with ferocity, a story that reminds us that the end of apartheid was not the end of injustice, that even duly elected governments must be protested if they do wrong. - Bruce Gorton