Pacific Standard Debut Cover

Calm Down, Step Away From the Burger

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If it’s true that we are what we eat, then people who eat a lot of trans fatty acids — common in fast foods ­— might be a bit touchier than the rest of us. In a new study of eating habits and behavior, Dr. Beatrice Golomb, a researcher and professor at the University of California, San Diego medical school, lays out evidence that a diet high in trans fats is linked to traits of irritability and aggression. In her study, Golomb gave 945 Californians who had already enrolled in a drug clinical trial a standard dietary questionnaire that asked what they ate and how often they ate ... Read More

Cancer Wars: An Outcast Researcher’s New Theory

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Compact and white-haired at 75, Peter Duesberg has wide-set blue eyes magnified by corrective lenses as thick as his German accent. He is the picture of a courtly Old World scientist. But Duesberg is given to through-the-looking-glass scientific theories, the most recent of which, about the origins of cancer, could turn an accepted truth of molecular biology on its head. Viruses like hepatitis C don’t cause cancer, he says, and neither do collections of mutated genes — as nearly every other scientist believes. Instead, he argues, cancer arises when the number and appearance of a cell’s ... Read More

Can the Walnut Help Cure Prostate Cancer?

A cup of walnuts holds 117 percent of the fat you need in a day. This fact prompted Paul Davis, a professor at UC Davis (no relation), to approach the California Walnut Board for funding. Davis (the man, not the university) wanted to feed the nuts to lab mice. The research nutritionist had seen studies that connected fatty diets and prostate cancer. And he knew federal guidelines recommend we limit our fat intake to less than 30 percent of our calorie intake. But, he says, he’s also “convinced, given the epidemiological evidence, that the Mediterranean diet, which is high in nuts and ... Read More

Fending Off Skin Cancer With SPF Starbucks

Not quite a prescription for a Red Bull and a bike ride, but a new study finds that highly caffeinated mice who get plenty of exercise seem to be at less risk of developing skin cancer from too much sun exposure. Add to that, mice who drink caffeine-laced water and spend time on their running wheel see less tissue inflammation (always a handy measure of general unhealthiness), according to Yao-Ping Lu, a Rutgers University researcher who presented his study at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in Chicago. Following up on other studies that suggest caffeine ... Read More

Turning Diabetes Treatment Upside Down

Turning Diabetes Treatment Upside Down

There is something eerily familiar about Athens, Ohio, even if you grew up in New York City. It’s the accessible beauty of Appalachia, which surrounds the town — the gentle hills, the long, flat fields, the meandering brooks and neat, smallish farms. It’s something more nefarious as well: the profound rural poverty vivid in the mini-malls and convenience stores on the outskirts of town. It’s the curse of plenty — the deal with the devil that this area made long ago with large mining corporations and fast-food chains. And it’s the number of overweight and obese people of all ages ... Read More