YAYYYYY!!!!

Australians Barry J. Marshall and Robin Warren won the 2005 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine today for showing that bacteria are the cause of painful stomach ulcers in most people.

Before their discovery in 1982 that Helicobacter pylori played a role in gastritis and peptic ulcers, stress and lifestyle were considered the major causes of peptic ulcer disease, but thanks to their work, it has now been established that the bacterium is the most common cause of ulcers.

More info here.

YAYYYYY!!!!

Australians Barry J. Marshall and Robin Warren won the 2005 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine today for showing that bacteria are the cause of painful stomach ulcers in most people.

Before their discovery in 1982 that Helicobacter pylori played a role in gastritis and peptic ulcers, stress and lifestyle were considered the major causes of peptic ulcer disease, but thanks to their work, it has now been established that the bacterium is the most common cause of ulcers.

More info here.

Thought provoking

This is an intriguing article.

...belief that religious faith is an indicator of morality, and it is accepted wisdom that high rates of religious practice correlate with lower rates of crime, promiscuity and abortion.

However, a study published in the Journal of Religion and Society, an American academic journal, set out to test this hypothesis and found there is an inverse relationship between religiosity and public health and social stability. The study, "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies", compared social indicators such as murder rates, abortion, suicide and teenage pregnancy using data from the International Social Survey Program, Gallup and other research bodies.

"In general," writes the author, Gregory Paul, "higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy and abortion in the prosperous democracies."

A striking example of this is the US, which has the highest degrees of religious faith and the highest rates of homicide, abortion, STD infection and teenage pregnancy. The least religious countries - Japan, France and Scandinavia - have the lowest rates of violent crime, juvenile mortality and abortion.

Thought provoking

This is an intriguing article.

...belief that religious faith is an indicator of morality, and it is accepted wisdom that high rates of religious practice correlate with lower rates of crime, promiscuity and abortion.

However, a study published in the Journal of Religion and Society, an American academic journal, set out to test this hypothesis and found there is an inverse relationship between religiosity and public health and social stability. The study, "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies", compared social indicators such as murder rates, abortion, suicide and teenage pregnancy using data from the International Social Survey Program, Gallup and other research bodies.

"In general," writes the author, Gregory Paul, "higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy and abortion in the prosperous democracies."

A striking example of this is the US, which has the highest degrees of religious faith and the highest rates of homicide, abortion, STD infection and teenage pregnancy. The least religious countries - Japan, France and Scandinavia - have the lowest rates of violent crime, juvenile mortality and abortion.