HEALTH AND WELLNESS

                  BINGE DRINKING “Even though we had been drinking for several hours, my friend and left the party at 1:00 a.m. with our own bottle of whiskey. We started walking home –drinking as we walked. The next thing I remember was the sun coming up, and I realized that we had been walking the wrong way. In fact, we had been walking along a major highway. It’s a miracle that we didn’t get hit.”-Emmy.                                                               BINGE DRINKING Some define it as simply drinking to get drunk. A report by the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism tried to be more specific. It said that binge drinking is “typically defined as consuming five or more drinks in a row for men, and four or more drinks in a row for women” Health officials in the United States call binge drinking “a major public health problem.” According to a study of secondary-school children in England, Scotland, and Wales, “up to a quarter of 13 an

                            STEM CELLS: HAS SCIENCE GONE TOO FAR? Advances in stem cell research have led some to predict cures for a host of illnesses. But not everyone shares the excitement. Why is there so much controversy surrounding stem cells? “The stem cell debate has led scientists and nonscientists alike to contemplate profound issues, such as who we are and makes us human beings”                                  MEDICAL MARVEL, ETHICAL MINEFIELD   Kris has Type 1 diabetes. Her diseased pancreas no longer produces insulin. Now imagine if Kris could go to a doctor and have new cells, specially cultured in a laboratory, transplanted into her body to replace damaged pancreatic cells. As these new cells became functional, Kris could gradually discontinue insulin therapy and return to normal health. Until recent times potential cures would have sounded like science fiction, but now some researchers believe that they are a possibility. Why so? Because in

                            A VIRUS THAT SHOULD CONCERN WOMEN                              After a year and a half of marriage, Lucy had her first gynecologic exam, including a Pap smear. The gynecologist found something that worries her and recommended that Lucy undergo a procedure called a COLPOSCOPY. The doctor found a lesion on the cervix and performed a biopsy, which is the removal of a sample of the damaged tissue for diagnosis. “Two weeks later, “comments Lucy, “the doctor had my husband and me come in for the results. She told us that the lesion was due to an infection with human papillomavirus and that it was in an advanced stage. She explained that the risk of the infection becoming cervical cancer and the need to begin treatment immediately. “Upon hearing the diagnosis, I began to cry. It was a shock to both my husband and me. A small surgery was scheduled for the following day. That afternoon I felt very sad and worried. I asked myself, ‘Why me?’”