Two studies published yesterday point to new health risks faced by diabetics. A Japanese study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that diabetics have an increased risk of all types of cancer, but especially liver, pancreatic, and kidney cancer. And a study in the journal Critical Care found that diabetics are at greater risk of organ failure and of death from any cause. [Read more…]

DDT is back. Actually, it never went away, but the valve on its use has been slowly closing—until last week when the World Health Organization opened the DDT valve for a campaign in Africa against malaria. The mainstream media were pleased to report that some environmental groups supported the decision (for example, Environmental Defense) while noting that others predictably opposed the WHO decision (for example, Pesticide Action Network North America). [Read more…]

Frailty from aging is about to be christened as an official diagnosis. An article in the Boston Globe describes how researchers are giving hope to a condition that seemed hopeless—at least according to this article’s version of reality. [Read more…]

It turns out that we’re getting one heck of a deal for what we spend on medical treatment. An article in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine tells us why. Titled “The Value of Medical Spending in the United States, 1960-2000,” the article describes how life expectancy has increased by almost seven years at a cost of a little less than $20,000 for each additional year. [Read more…]