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LY DD © oF VEN? HARD-ROCK MUSIC CREATES KILLER MICE! D*s Merrell, a high school student from Suffolk, Virginia, has won top honours in regional and state science fairs for his experiment involving mice, a maze, and hard-rock music. After establishing a baseline of about 10 minutes for the mice to navigate the maze, David started playing music 10 hours a day, then put the mice through the maze three times a week for three weeks. His findings: the control-group mice, which did not listen to any music, were able to cut five min- utes off their time; the mice that listened to classical music cut 84 minutes off their time; and the mice that listened to hard-rock music took 20 minutes longer to navigate the maze. David said, "I had to cut my project short because all the hard-rock mice killed each other... None of the classical mice did that at all." (Sources: Washington Times, 2 July 1997; reported in Blazing Tattles, Aug-Oct 1997) stantial evidence of adverse health »” effects and, contrary to public per- ception, virtually no evidence of significant benefits... "Our members' review of the body of evidence over the last eleven years, including animal and human epidemiology studies, indi- cate a causal link between fluoride/ fluoridation and cancer, genetic damage, neurological impairment and bone pathology. Of particular concern are recent epidemiological studies linking fluoride exposures to lower IQ in children. "As professionals who are charged with assessing the safety of drinking water, we conclude that the health and welfare of the public is not served by the addition of this substance to the public water supply..." (Source: Letter from J. William Hirzy, PhD, Senior Vice-President, National Federation of Federal Employees, to Jeff Green, Citizens for Safe Drinking Water, dated July 2, 1997) Local 2050, National Federation of Federal Employees has voted to co-sponsor the California citizens' petition to prohibit flu- oridation of which your organisation is the sponsor. Our union represents, and is compromised of, the scientists, lawyers, engineers and other professionals at the headquarters of the US Environmental Protection Agency here in Washington, DC... "It is our hope that our co-sponsorship will have a beneficial effect on the health and welfare of all Californians by helping to keep their drinking water free of a chemical substance for which there is sub- SCIENTISTS AGREE: MARGARINE IS BAD FOR YOU! aturated fats aren't the only no-nos in a heart-healthy diet. A new study from Brandeis University, the University of Malaya and the Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia has found that substi- tute trans-fatty acids—made from partially hydrogenated unsaturated vegetable oils— are even worse. Not only do trans-fatty acids, which are often found in margarine, raise levels of ‘bad' LDL cholesterol in the blood, as do animal fats, they also lower levels of 'good' HDL cholesterol. (Source: Scientific American, August 1997. See also our article, "Margarine, Fatty Acids and Your Health", in NEXUS 4/02.) EPA SCIENTISTS VOTE AGAINST FLUORIDATION copy of this letter, sent to the Citizens for Safe Drinking Water, San Diego, California, was recently faxed to us: "I am pleased to report that our union, OLE B ttt PAE ie THE MOST CARCINOGENIC CHEMICAL EVER FOUND jens: scientists suspect that a chemi- cal in the exhaust fumes of Diesel engines may be the most carcinogenic ever found, and the cause of a rise in urban lung cancers, according to a report in the October 1997 issue of Environmental Science and Technology (vol. 31, p. 2772). The compound, 3-nitrobenzanthrone, had the highest-ever score on a standard test for cancer-causing potential of toxic chemicals. 6 = NEXUS DECEMBER 1997 - JANUARY 1998