Cell phones and breast cancer

People should read this. I see Muslim women tuck their cellphones into their head scarves against their faces all the time and wonder how that will turn out:

Breast cancer occurring in women under the age of 40 is uncommon in the absence of family history or genetic predisposition, and prompts the exploration of other possible exposures or environmental risks. We report a case series of four young women—ages from 21 to 39—with multifocal invasive breast cancer that raises the concern of a possible association with nonionizing radiation of electromagnetic field exposures from cellular phones. All patients regularly carried their smartphones directly against their breasts in their brassieres for up to 10 hours a day, for several years, and developed tumors in areas of their breasts immediately underlying the phones. All patients had no family history of breast cancer, tested negative for BRCA1 and BRCA2, and had no other known breast cancer risks. Their breast imaging is reviewed, showing clustering of multiple tumor foci in the breast directly under the area of phone contact. Pathology of all four cases shows striking similarity; all tumors are hormone-positive, low-intermediate grade, having an extensive intraductal component, and all tumors have near identical morphology. These cases raise awareness to the lack of safety data of prolonged direct contact with cellular phones.

Ground beef recall

News you should use:

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2013 – National Beef Packing Company, a Liberal, Kan., firm, is recalling approximately 50,100 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The following products are subject to recall:
 10 lb. chub of “National Beef” 93/ 7 Fine Ground Beef, Product Code 0707
 10 lb. chub of “NatureSource” 80/20 Fine Ground Chuck, Product Code 7031
 10 lb. chub of “NatureSource” 85/15 Fine Ground Beef, Product Code 7054
 10 lb. chub of “NatureSource” 90/10 Fine Ground Beef, Product Code 7344
 10 lb. chub of “NatureSource” 93/ 7 Fine Ground Beef, Product Code 7004
 10 lb. chub of “NatureWell 80/20 Fine Ground Chuck, Product Code 7484
 10 lb. chub of “NatureWell” 85/15 Fine Ground Beef, Product Code 7454
 10 lb. chub of “NatureWell” 90/10 Fine Ground Sirloin, Product Code 7577
 10 lb. chub of “NatureWell” 93/7 Fine Ground Beef, Product Code 7404

All these products bear the establishment number “EST. 208A” inside the USDA mark of inspection. The products were produced on
July 18, 2013 and were shipped in 40 to 60 pound cases to retailers, wholesalers, and food service distributors nationwide.

Life

If you’re looking for a Christmas gift for a music fan (or you want something for yourself), you probably can’t go wrong with Keith Richards’ memoir “Life.” (It’s a couple of years old now, so make sure your giftee doesn’t already have it.)

The book is co-written with rock journalist James Fox, but it reads exactly as what you’d imagine spending months with Keef might be like.

There’s some minor dish (sounds like Keef was much more of a mensch than Mick ever was), but the surprise of this book is how specifically and deeply Richards digs into the music itself. (His descriptions of the early blues aficionados in England are hysterical.) This is a guy who just loves music, and speaks intelligently about it. Not only that, he includes useful tips for guitar players!

It’s a sprawling, exhilarating book and I can’t imagine the rock fan who wouldn’t love it.