| OCR Text |
Show TheSalt Lake Tribune HEALTH &SCIENCE SCIENCE MATTERS — Thursday, February10, 2000 Scare Lore Spreads Online Like Wildfire @ Continued from C-1 “Manypeople will believe the email rumor rather than look it ees? Some of these hoaxes started they will pass it on,” said David Emery, who runs the urban leg- cooked “They ‘Uncle Bob wouldn't lie to me,’ and I'm just a stranger onthe other end ofthe phone,” she said. “They have a hard timeletting go of something from what they perceive as a credible “Mywife would alwayssay, look, at whose ox is being gored,” said Mikkelson, who runs the San Fernando Valley Folklore Sociey Web site with his wife, Barbara. “Is it such an amount, no autopsy was done on Wayne.) About.com (urbanlegends.about.com). Grover said somepeople insist the story that children can die from eating poinsettias is true. pot-scrubber sponges contain a dangerous derivative of Agent Orange. (Besides the near impossibility of up and verify it themselves, and ends and folklore section for It may have been disgruntled consumers who started the vi cious scuttlebutt that Procter & Gamble's Febreze fabric freshener kills pets, or that the company’s out as jokes, and some were mealit to damage corporations by making up bogus product problems. neikkeleon believes it was vegetarian groups who started the rumor that John Wayne's autopsy (sometimes it's Elvis Presley's) revealed 40 pounds of impacted fecal matter lodged in his colon. something serious, or something intended to get you to buy an alternative product? Is it just a piece of scare lore?” Before the computer age, gossip like this may have flourished by word-of-mouth. But in today’s high-tech world and the global Internet, the lies can become leg: endsin just a day. Kentucky Fried Chicken got by an Internet scare shortly after it changed its name to KFC. A rumorerupted on the Web earlier this year saying the name was changed because the chain no longeruses real chicken. KFChad to post a notice on its Web site in an effort to derail the story. “As ludicrousas the rumorwas, “The Internet hascertainlyaccelerated the rate rumors are there are still people out there that think it's true,” said KFC spokeswoman Beth Redford. “People don’t realize the power of the spread,” said About.com’s Emery. “It’s so easy. All you haveto dois click your ‘Forward’ button on your e-mail program.” Internet.” Lasers: WhatUtah Laser Study Found FutureIs Plastic, Utahns Say Vardenysaid. An electron moving into plastic “is like a bowling ball on a mattress,” said Ron Osterbacka, a co-author of the BYLEE SIEGEL THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Plastics have been made to @ Continued from C-1 emit laser light when a con- SET Taking it into space Peasy Vardenysaid. ventional laser beam is shined Vardeny’s study represents “good progress, nice results,” said Alan Heeger, a professor of physics and materials at the University on them. But if plastic lasers are to be used in practical devices such as computer chips, the plastic must emit laser Laser is an acronym for “light amplification by stimulated emis- electricity. University of Utah physicist Valy Vardeny’s new study representsa step towardthat goal. of California, Santa Barbara. light sion of radiation.” Lasers are in- tense because they emit a single color oflight that is “coherent,” meaningall the light waves have the same width and height. To produce a laser beam, atoms of emer UTED tc TNT a Payal) aT) = Tae CUA UC Ly a) fetaA)) aan (1972) ey Ts CL) Knight Ridder Tribune Wisdom From the New Dietary Guidelines BYSALLY SQUIRES THE WASHINGTON POST New dietary guidelines: sub- nitted last week to the federal overnment by an advisory comittee grabbed headlines for urg- \mericans to begin discrimiig between kindsoffat — and eat less saturated fat and more ¥ healthier fats. Yet the recommendations about fat are just one mall part of the wide-ranging Dietary Guidelines for Ameri- cans, 2000," which touch upon ev- erything fromalcohol to sugar. To recapthefat news; Experts low-fat milk or other good sources ofcalcium,”the guidelines advise. @ Reheatleftovers only once. This may comeas a shock in a microwave-centric kitchen, but reheating more than once appears to increase risk of food-borneillness. Reheat sauces, soups and gravies to a rolling boil and other leftoversto at least 165 degrees. And be sure to use leftovers within three to four days of preparation, and refrigerate them properly in between. Don’t taste food that’s been sitting in the re- frigerator to test whether it’s still OK to eat, since if it’s not, you autioned that the guidelines couldfind autbygetting sick. Get hould not be construedasa li- rid of food that maylook or smell fine but has not been kept properly. ense to eat a high-fat diet. On the ,200-calorie diet recommended for the typical American, the ad ice for total fat remains the same: 0 percent of calories daily oughly 73 grams of fat per day. What changes arethe types of at to be consumed and the prortions Avoid saturated fat a of meat, commercial baked goods, poultry with the skin and whole- ilk dairy products. All of these ise low-density lipoprotein, the nost damagingtypeof blood cho. lesterol. Fill the void by eating more mono-unsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats such as olive oil and corn oil and by choosing fish (not fried), lean cuts of meat, “If in doubt,” the Snell recommend,“throwit o1 The rise of food- fate infections, such as salmonella and E. coli, prompted committee members to add these recommendations. Included are specific tips to shield those at high risk of food- borneillness, especially pregnant women, young children, the elderly andthose with weak immune systems, such as cancer patients and organ-transplant recipients. These high-risk individuals should avoid consuming sprouts and unpasteurized juices or eating ground meat, fish and shellfish that have notbeenfullycooked. poultry without theskin (also not Some of the advice is wellknown:Keeppreparationsurfaces fried) and low-fat dairy products. clean and cook food thoroughly. But that’s just part of the new ecommendations. Below are ex. erpts of some other guidelines, which are not expected to change greatly before they are officially adopted later this year, @ Drink water rather than soOffer kids water to quench nirst Sugar intake has increased teadily since the early 1980s. Beverages, particularly soft drinks, account for the biggest jump in sugar consumption and are a leading source of added sug- ars in U.S, diets. Worry abouttooth decayis the cientific rationale for the recom: mendation, but the increasing ate of obesity and the inadequate calcium consumption that often results whensoft drinks are the beverage of choice rather than milk also prompted the suideline. Drink water often and take care not tolet soft drinks or other sweets crowd out the foods you heed to maintain health, such as f Y | But there are new details in the report, such as counting to 30 while washing hands to be sure thatcleaningis really thorough. Children need at least 60 minutes and most adults should get 45 minutesof exercise daily. It's not just sedentary living that's the problem, but the rise in obesity. among all age groups. Regular physical activity is key to 45 minutes a dayofexercise. Other adults mayget by on 30 minutes a day but “can gain even more health benefits by increasing the amount of time” that they are physically active. T The best newsis that activity can be spread throughout the day in 10-minuteintervals to makeit easier to achieve goals. No slacking, however. Moderate physical activity should be equivalent to walking twomiles in 30 minutes. Think you'retoo old ortoo in- firm to work out? Think again. The scientific evidence for the health benefitsof physical activity is so strong that the guidelines urge everyone to be active every when the problems to make the cuit, Vardenysaid. Almostall existing solid-state lasers can emit only red and infrared light, Vardenysaid.Plastic Baughman, a materials scientist? at Honeywell International Morristown, N.J. inj G said. Because they should be able to Baughman said Vardeny’s re: search “provides fundamental in} sightinto processesthat can result} eitherin the emissionoflight or ins the conversion of light into elec emitall colors,plastic lasers likely will be used in display devices and pioneer.” plastic laser are solved,” Heeger A Voyage Beyond T trical current. He's a noiceee tehRO) ESCO 4 3 3 a to drinking alcohol — and plenty to lose. As the guidelines note, “Risk of alcohol abuse increases when drinking starts at an early age.” All drinkingofalcoholic beverages should be done with food to help blunt alcohol absorption. But some people should not drink at all, the guidelines note. These include children and adolescents; individuals of any age who cannot restrict drinking to moderate levels; women who are or may be come pregnant; individuals who plan to drive, operate machinery or take part in activities that require attention andskill, Also ad- vised notto drink are those taking ANU over-the-counter medications or prescription drugs that can inter- bt aXe" clearly laid out. Men should limit intaketo no more than two drinks 4 ce daily; women to one per day. ganized team sports, Not only does tilled spirits. need to lose weight or maintain stimulatethelaser coating to emit light, perhaps in a computercir- would be. The sameis likely true forplastic lasers. “There are lots of Dossthiltties wewill all be inventing if and doesn’t begin until men are 45 and women 55 or older. Before then, there's little if any health benefit physical-education classes or or- weight loss now more than half the population ought to aim for one had any idea how useful they chips andother devices that would? work at higher speeds because they “operate based on light rather than electrons,” said Ray) heart disease. But that protection guidelines define one drink as equal to 5 ounces of wine or one 12-ounce beer or 1.5 ounces of dis- Manyadults require almost as When Theodore Maimanbuilt the first working laser in 1960, no “all the things we use colored light for,” he said. Just as optical fibers can carry much more information than electrical wires, Vardeny’s work is aimed at developing computer’ alcohol can help protect against erything from bicycle riding to much exercise as kids, Those who green and blue, which have shorter wavelengths,A laser with ngth: diseaserisk until midlife. Sure, research is showing that For people who may drink, limits on consumption are also maintain strong bones. lasers could emit colors such as a shorter wavelength is like havinga finer paintbrush, so blue and green plastic lasers could write more suipeeeen onstorage discs than Vardeny said. trons moved in the layered plastic laser material. oneelsedoit. Don't drink to reduce heart- act with alcohol. but it also is needed to build and slowly and absorblaser light, plied as a coating. A plastic laser film wrapped around anoptical fiber could amplify light moving through the fiber. Or, if wrapped around a wire, the wire could anylaserlight. In their study, Vardeny and colleagues used a conventional laser to illuminate how elec- ed: The committee suggests that those in wheelchairs push themselves rather than having some- maintaining a healthy weight exercise help with weight control, Plastic laser material also can be dissolved in solvents and ap- which electrons from electric current could move in three dimensions and not absorb day. The disabled are not exclud- amongall age groups the reason that the committee upgraded ex: ercise to a full recommendation from the1995 guidelines. Kids need 60 minutes a day of exercise, which can include ev- or lined up in a computer chip to switch andtransmitsignals at the speed oflight. step toward findinga plastic in move only in one direction: microdiscs, which are so small that 6,350 of them in a line would electricity to emit laser aright they could be used for display devices stead of one andare lesslikely to absorblaserlight. Thatis a molecules — the electrons can discs.” Vardeny has made such such discs can be powered by So whenelectric current is applied, the electrons can move in two dimensions in- three dimensions. And they do not absorb the laser light they help to stimulate. But when current is applied to most plastics — which are made of polymers, or long chains of identical organic along that chain. In addition, the electrons move more named ing long chains, the polymerin this plastic formslayers. conductor — in other words,in can be madeinto films or “micro- — suchastelevisions, automobile dash! is and wrist watches — “polythiophene” P3AT— actsa little less like a mattress and more like a bowlingalley. Instead of form- in the current can movein any direction through the semi- One advantage ofplastic lasers is that the plastics act as their own cavities, not only emitting laser light but containing and focusing it. Vardeny said: lasers made of plastic also are flexible, so they be aninch long. Hesaid that when their colleagues showed that a certain kind of plastic — a solid-state laser, the electrons beam. eee by en electrical current is lated or excited from a low-energy to a high-energy state. They also mustbe contained in a “cavity” — usually a chamber with mirrors that focus the laser light into a enon stimulated around the bowling ball” and prevents it from moving quickly and smoothly as it would on a bowlingalley. Thegist of the new study is that Vardeny, Osterbacka and applied to a semiconductor that powers a conventional gas,liquid or solid must be stimu- Flights to the great _— when study. “The mattress deforms And no fair saving up drinks during the week to blow the rec. ommendations on a weekend. The guidelines are designed for daily use at most, experts say, and are not‘ana to be accumulated. keOG, , i} BEYOND THE VEIL OF MIST RUCRe | PENTAFOUR 4 d a : STARTS THERTZ15 FRIDA' | CARMIKE12 PLAZA5400 COTTONWOOD4 aa 100 W.Fox Pork Dr. 562-5760 SA00S-Redwood Rd. $001 §. Highland Dr. R426 272.0089 — . © ie |
