Can a virus make you fat?

Today's roundup includes fat-causing viruses, dementia-related weight loss and more.

Published August 21, 2007 8:00PM (EDT)

We told you it was going to happen, and now it's official: GreenStone, the women-run radio network founded by Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem, has officially folded, resulting in this nasty article in the New York Post.

We also warned that Amnesty International's decision to support certain abortion rights for women might result in withdrawal of support from the Roman Catholic Church. Looks like that happened, too.

But here's something new: A virus has been identified that may make people fat. Reported on here by Forbes, the study found that exposure to a common virus that causes eye and respiratory infections may also make stem cells turn into fat cells.

Another health news flash: According to a new French study reported on in Forbes, antioxidant supplements not only don't prevent skin cancer in women but may actually increase the risk of getting it.

Last, Reuters reports that dementia in women is often preceded by weight loss, with the loss starting between 11 and 20 years before dementia is diagnosed. On average, women diagnosed with Alzheimer's weighed 12 pounds less than same-age women without the disease; no such difference was seen for men.


By Catherine Price

Catherine Price is an award-winning journalist and author of Vitamania: How Vitamins Revolutionized the Way We Think About Food. Her written and multimedia work has appeared in publications including The Best American Science Writing, The New York Times, Popular Science, O: The Oprah Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post Magazine, Salon, Slate, Men’s Journal, Mother Jones, PARADE, Health Magazine, and Outside. Price lives in Philadelphia.

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