After watching Food Inc. this passed Thanksgiving weekend and becoming horrified at not only the treatment of the animals but the effects it has on humans as well, I realized many of us do not realize where our food is coming from. I'm not going to recap the documentary, though it's well worth your time, I just wanted to give a little extra insight.

Immigrant girls and women will no longer be required to get the HPV vaccine before filing for their green cards, read an article from the Associated Press today. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requires a host of vaccines be given to immigrants applying for green card status, however, starting December 14, HPV will no longer be on that list.

A University of Rochester pilot-study reveals exposure of two common phthalates (chemicals found in plastics) while in the womb can be linked to boys playing with more girly toys in preschool, read a press release today. The study only looked at 145 preschool children, but the press release reads that "when the concentrations of two common phthalates in mothers’ prenatal urine are elevated their sons are less likely to play with male-typical toys and games, such as trucks and play fighting."

Giant Jewel (Chlorocypha centripunctata. Photo by Kai Schuette

The latest update of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species™ shows that 17,291 species out of the 47,677 assessed species are threatened with extinction. Those threatened are 21 percent of ALL known mammal, 30 percent of ALL known amphibians, 12 percent of ALL known birds, 28 percent of reptiles, 37 percent of freshwater fishes, 70 percent of plants, 35 percent of invertebrates.

Scientists in Ireland have found eating Indian food can help prevent esophageal cancer, pretty much anyway. Cancer cells studied in a laboratory started to die within 24 hours of exposure to curcumin, a chemical in the tumeric spice--widely used in curry dishes to give it that bright yellow color, revealed the Cork Cancer Research Center in Ireland.

Back in 2006, the The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices -- who advises the federal government on immunization policies, advised that the HPV vaccine Gardasil be given to all 11, 12-year-old girls. But now, the same committee is not pushing for the same vaccine to be given to boys. The reason is cost effectiveness, claims the commitee.

A survey of 2,130 physicians across the nation found 63 percent favor a public-private option for patients over a strictly private health care system or public. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine yesterday and was conducted by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

Take that skinny b*tches! :) A new, preliminary, study released today showed that men and women with thin thighs have an increased likelihood of coronary and cardiovascular disease over those with thicker thighs. Thicker thighs = at least 23 inches, or 60 cm.

The 12-year Danish study published in the British Medical Journal today also took into account body fat and other high-risk factors likesmoking and high cholesterol before coming to this big-thigh conclusion.

Marine authorities caught Marine Pvt. Joshua Fry trying to run away and then authorities found child porn on his cell phone and his computer last summer (July 2008). Fry has been confined since then. News reports read that the 2008 incident was not the first time Fry was warned child porn was unacceptable.

His family said he should never have been allowed to join the Marines to begin with because of his autism. They stated his recruiter found Fry at a group home for the mentally disabled and signed him up despite opposition from Fry's grandmother (also his guardian).

Peter Tork, one of The Monkees, is using social networking sites to spread the word about his illness and raise awareness about his rare form of cancer, adenoid cystic cancer.

Many presidents and statesmen before him have tried and failed to overhaul the shame that is America's health-care system, but Obama is on the right track and continues to plug away at reform. Earlier today, he spoke in front of nearly 2,000 members of the American Medical Association in Chicago and received a number of applause for his remarks.

One of the biggest (if not THE biggest) contact lens solution maker, Bausch & Lomb Inc., has settled nearly 600 lawsuits, worth around $250 million, with customers who contracted fungal infections after using the flagship product, ReNu MoistureLoc., the Associated Press reported. The company still has many more claims to settle.

You may have heard of news reports circulating on people contracting the Swine Flu. People are naturally freaking out about the virus because not only has it already reached our borders, but it's a disease that could spread like wildfire if we're not careful -- and with little remedy.

But how worried should you be? Decide for yourself with some basic facts here.