ANTARCTICA: WELLNESS FOR PEACE: Mineral site key to Antarctica's history gets protected status

Mineral site key to Antarctica's history gets protected status | Health & Environment | Worldbulletin News: "Antarctica pact partners have set up a new protected geological site on the frozen continent in a bid to preserve rare minerals that could shed light on the region's history and evolution over millions of years.
At a meeting in Brazil last month, the signatories to the Antarctic Treaty designated the Larsemann Hills region of the continent as an Antarctic Specially Protected Area.
Geological analysis shows that one billion years ago, the nearby Stornes Peninsula was a shallow inland basin, rich in boron and phosphorus, the key chemical constituents of the rare minerals.
At the time of their discovery, four of the minerals - boralsilite, stornesite, chopinite and tassieite - were new to science, while the rest were extremely rare elsewhere.
"It's fantastic to see these extremely unusual, unique minerals being protected, and being recognized for their geological significance," Chris Carson, the head of Australia's Antarctic Geoscience program, told Reuters."



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SOUTH AMERICA: WELLNESS FOR PEACE: UCSF $6M Grant to Manage Population Health of Mexico, Guatemala, Panama

UCSF granted $6M to manage population health in South America | HealthITAnalytics.com: "Central and South American populations affected by endemic diseases like Chagas’ disease and dengue fever will be the target of new research projects from the University of California San Francisco, UC Berkeley, and other partner institutions thanks to a $6 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Instituto Carlos Slim de la Salud.  The Fighting Infections through Research, Science, and Technology (FIRST) collaboration will bring population health management techniques and clinical analytics to some of the most seriously poverty-stricken communities in Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, and other Central and South American regions."



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ASIA: WELLNESS FOR PEACE: Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore Take Action Against Obesity

Southeast Asia Takes Action Against Obesity as Rates Rise : Health & Medicine : Nature World News: "Malaysia recently hosted the 12th International Congress on Obesity (ICO), a discussion about what Asian countries can do to halt rising obesity rates before they become a public health problem that will cost billions to reverse. Obesity, Kehong says, is a high priority NCD now, as every one of two adults in Malaysia is overweight or obese, according to a Reuters report.
Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand have all faced recent rises in the obesity rate.
Beyond hosting last Month's ICO, the Malaysian government has also aimed this year's "Nutrition Month Malaysia" at fighting obesity in particular, handing out "fight Obesity" guidebooks, launching carnivals around that theme, and even funding anti-obesity and nutrition education roach shows in primary schools.



The Thai Promotion Health Foundation (TPHF) has also recently set its sights on fighting obesity, going as far as to ban the sale of soft drinks at state schools. A tax on sweet food might even be in order, if a proposal by the TPHF finds support, according to Reuters.



Singapore too has jumped on the "fight obesity" bandwagon, launching a "healthy living master plan and food strategy" that is helping nearly 700 food outlets serve meals under 500 calories. Simultaneously, the Singapour Health Promotion Board has begun educating people on the importance of maintaining a healthy body-mass-index (BMI) - although the BMI system has recently come under fire in countries like the United States and United Kingdom, where BMIs may not necessarily reflect the true health of young people."



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NORTH AMERICA: WELLNESS FOR PEACE: Study suggests to invest in Active Labor Programs to Reduce the Risk of Suicide

click link: Recession 'Linked With' Over 10,000 Suicides Across Europe And North America - Health News - redOrbit: "The study suggests that nations that invest in active labor market programs reduce the risk of suicide. The authors estimate that for each US $100 spent per capita on programs offering such assistance for the unemployed, the risk of suicide reduced by 0.4%. The authors highlight Austria, Sweden, and Finland as examples of countries where the suicide rate did not increase markedly despite rising unemployment during the recession. Sweden, between 1991 and 1992, and Finland, between 1990 and 1993, both experienced rises in unemployment at the same time as the rate of suicide decreased. In the most recent recession, suicide rates remained stable in Sweden and Finland while the rate declined in Austria, despite rising unemployment"



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