People who never drink spend more time in hospitals thandrinkers, according to a study at the Harvard School of PublicHealth. Researchers studied health data on 17,600 people.Respondents were asked about drinking habits and hospitalizationstays the previous year. Men and women who abstained from alcoholall their lives were hospitalized more often and for longer periodsthan people who drink. But this doesn't necessarily mean thatalcohol protects health. The hospitalizations could affect drinkingbehavior, or cause people to recall their drinking historydifferently, the researchers said.
A big piece of pi. A Japanese researcher has calculated pi, theratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, to a record 201million digits. To write out pi to this value would fill more than15,000 magazine pages. The calculation by Yasumasa Kanada of theUniversity of Tokyo took six hours on a supercomputer. He wants toreach 400 million digits next year. "It's like Mt. Everest," he toldScience News. "I do it because it's there." Pi has an infinitenumber of digits. There's little practical use to calculating itbeyond 10 digits. However, Kanada says computing pi is one way totest the speed and accuracy of new computers and to compare differentcomputers.
Declining tooth decay. Americans' teeth are in their best shapeever. A recent study of 21,000 adults found that Americans have moreteeth with fewer cavities than any time in history. Few people inmiddle age lose their teeth any more. A follow-up study by theNational Institude of Dental Health on 39,156 children is expected tobring even better news next month. Previous studies suggest thatnearly 40 percent of children don't get cavities. Fluoridation ofthe water supplies of 130 million people has reduced cavities 50 to70 percent. With less work to do, dental schools are producing fewergraduates.
Cockroach allergy. As many as 75 million Americans may beallergic to cockroaches, according to a University of Floridaresearcher. That includes more than half of the 17 million Americanswho have asthma. Bacteria that roaches crawl over, pick up andspread make people "wheeze and sneeze, cough and sniffle, andbasically feel miserable," said insect scientist Philip Koehler.Some species also emit a noxious secretion that can cause severe skinirritations and vertigo. And in rare cases, a roach can bring onanaphylactic shock, which can cause breathing difficulties, rapidhearbeat, falling blood pressure and sometimes heart failure,Discover magazine reports.
50 years of Teflon. Du Pont Co. is celebrating the 50thanniversary of the discovery of Teflon, the world's slipperiestsubstance. Du Pont chemist Roy Plunkett discovered the material bymistake while doing an unsuccessful experiment on refigeration gases.Teflon was used in making the first atom bomb, and remained amilitary secret until after World War II. Teflon has coated anestimated 500 million pots and pans. But cookware makes up less than5 percent of Teflon's use. Teflon has been used in everything fromclothes and electronics to the Apollo moon shots and the Statue ofLiberty repairs. It even has become a derogatory nickname forPresident Reagan, because criticism doesn't stick to him. But DuPont says Teflon is a registered trademark, and shouldn't be used asan adjective, as in "Teflon president." Commentators instead shouldsay "president made of Teflon."
Cornbread without crumbs. Government researchers have figuredout how to make cornbread that isn't crumbly. Instead ofcoarse-ground corn meal, the new bread from U. S. AgricultureDepartment ovens in Peoria contains a 50-50 blend of fine-ground cornflour and wheat bread flour. It has a delicate flavor and richgolden color, with a texture like that of some coarse-texturedbreads. "It really enhances the taste of a sandwich with turkey,swiss cheese and alfalfa sprouts," said USDA researcher KathleenWarner. "It also makes good toast." The cornbread likely will besold in speciality bakeries, delis and restaurants. Pre-mixes maybecome available some day for home baking, Warner said. -
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