In a rush to make headlines, another "scientific study" has been relased to the press. It seems that working at night gives you cancer. Well, isn't that special? I didn't catch any reference to other lifestyle choices in the report...or were there any? Could it be possible that a large number of people who work at night are in the service industry (repairs, housekeeping, maintenance)? If that is so, perhaps they are highly likely to smoke, eat fatty foods, and use alcohol. Were these factored into the announcement? I don't seem to remember.
It is getting increasingly common to hear these "news flashes." There is lead paint on toys from China? Probably always was, but we didn't look for it. (What did we expect from an economy just out of the 19th century?) We found E coli in meat? What a shock! Again, probably always was there, but never looked for. Since the advent of 24/7 news programming, they need to fill the time with something, I suppose. However, let's be a little more scientific with our "flashes" and "important discoveries." The rooster no doubt thinks he makes the sun rise by crowing; I would love it if, just for once, we get a complete picture with any news story. (I also want to be 6'2" with curly blond hair, but...)
All these "side effects" from drug products, for instance. Wouldn't an intelligent person assume that putting a chemical into our bloodstream to affect a disease might just affect all our bodily functions? In short, ALL drugs have "side effects." But dammit, I wouldn't mind having my (little remaining) hair fall out in order to get rid of cancer! We have to start looking at the whole picture...remember: everyone who died last year drank water. Maybe we should put a warning label on Evian or Poland Springs containers?
