Overweight at 18 and at Greater Risk for Sudden Death

If teenage girls didn’t already have enough problems, being overweight puts them at risk of sudden cardiac death. Sudden cardiac death is an unexpected death that occurs within an hour of the first symptom. About 75 percent of victims have no known risk factors for heart disease, and it is often the first indication of cardiac illness in women. According to a new study, girls at age 18 with a body mass index (B.M.I) between 23 and 29.9 had a 33 percent higher risk for sudden cardiac death; those with a B.M.I. of 30 to 35.9 had twice the risk; and those with a B.M.I. higher than 35 nearly four times the risk.

Super-Muscly Pigs Created by Genetic Tweak

This new genetic modification in pigs makes their backside extra large, creating more meat to eat. Unfortunately, this is not considered a genetically modified organism, but they call it gene-editing. The ‘gene-editing’ tool was, in fact, created because biotechnologists were getting wary of public disgust with regular GM technology. By using genome editing, companies are either outside the regulatory reach of government institutions like the FDA, or the laws simply haven’t caught up to the technology from the time that they were originally written to regulate – in whatever grossly negligent way they have – our food supply.

Putin Says Russia Will Be World’s #1 Exporter of Non-GMO Foods

Whether Vladimir Putin is opting out of GMO seed for Russia because he knows the real dangers of genetic engineering in our food, or because he hates America, I gotta say, he’s on the right track. In a new address to the Russian Parliament Thursday, Putin proudly outlined his plan to make Russia the world’s ‘leading exporter’ of non-GMO foods that are based on ‘ecologically clean’ production. Regardless of what you think about Putin’s politics, the fact that non-GMO farming and organic food production is now such a key part of the international discussion is beyond exciting (and long overdue).