Bloggers for Peer-Reviewed Research Reporting Launches Official Icons

Bloggers for Peer-Reviewed Research Reporting (BPR3) announced today the launch of its’ official icons. BPR3 was created because several academic bloggers in different fields recognized the need to distinguish serious writing on peer-reviewed research from blog posts discussing more informal topics. According the the BRP3 website:

Bloggers for Peer-Reviewed Research Reporting strives to identify serious academic blog posts about peer-reviewed research by developing an icon and an aggregation site where others can look to find the best academic blogging on the Net.

Smoking Duration vs. Intensity and the Impact on Lung Cancer Risk

We’ve discussed smoking and health a number of times recently:

One of our readers asked a question I’m sure many have us have wondered about at one time or another:
Smoking tightrope
Which is worse for the development of lung cancer — smoking heavily over a short period of time or smoking fewer cigarettes over many years?

Here’s what the research has to say:

Health Highlights – October 23rd, 2007

Health Highlights is a biweekly summary of particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.

Health Highlights

Individual Genetics, Coffee Consumption, BRCA1 and Breast Cancer

We’ve talked previously about the health benefits of coffee and the antioxidant compounds responsible for it’s bitterness. To add to the “perks” of coffee consumption, a recent report in the Journal of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention suggests that caffeine protects against breast cancer in women that have a BRCA1 gene mutation [1].

Biodegradable Polymers for Drug and Gene Delivery

In participation with Blog Action Day, an event where bloggers from around the world unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind – the environment – today’s article discusses recent advances in the use of biodegradable materials for drug and gene delivery.