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Marriage between first cousins has long been a taboo in the U.S., because of the assumption that marriage between such close relatives will produce children with birth defects. But new research shows the genetic risks of marriage between first cousins have been greatly overestimated.

Robin Bennett, a genetic counselor at the University of Washington, looked at data from six previous studies on cousin marriages that included millions of people. She found that children from first-cousin marriages are 1.7 to 2.8% more likely to have a serious birth defect than the children of unrelated couples. Although the risk is significant, Bennett says, “It is much lower than people have assumed.”
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People who eat a diet high in white bread, white rice and potatoes increase their risk of pancreatic cancer, because this type of diet increases insulin levels, which have been linked to the cancer. Another reason to choose whole wheat: people who eat whole grains decrease their risk of Type II diabetes.

Dr. Charles Fuchs of Harvard looked at the results of a 1989 study of 89,000 nurses who carefully recorded their diets. He found that women who ate lots of refined starches increased their risk of pancreatic cancer by 57%. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal cancers. Fuchs says, “If you took women who were both overweight and sedentary, their risk was 2.5 times higher.”
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Earth is being orbited by a mysterious object that’s approximately 60 feet long and rotates once every minute. Amateur astronomer Bill Yeung, first spotted it on September 3rd and named it J002E3. There was no sign of it earlier this year. “It must have entered Earth orbit recently,” says NASA’s Paul Chodas. “But it doesn’t match any recently-launched spacecraft.”

Could it be an alien spaceship? “If it is,” says Chodas, “the aliens aren’t good pilots. J002E3 is in a chaotic orbit. It loops around Earth once every 48 days or so, coming as close to our planet as the Moon and ranging as far away as two lunar distances.? Its orbit is constantly changing because of gravity from the Sun and Moon. There?s no evidence it?s moving under its own power.
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The top-secret Air Force facility at Groom Lake, Nevada, known as Area 51, has been a mystery for over 40 years?and will stay that way for now, since President Bush has reissued an executive order barring the disclosure of any information about the site. Every September 18 since 1995, the current president has signed the order making sure that lawyers pursuing hazardous-waste claims against the Environmental Protection Agency can’t find out any classified information about the site. The government didn’t even acknowledge the existence of the site until the mid-1990s, when it had to begin responding to workers? claims of injuries resulting from hazardous waste.
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