AMY REICHMAN/ENVISION FRIES: Not very good for you but probably not cancerous

FETAL HEARTS
In a surgical first, doctors fixed a deadly heart-valve defect in a 5-month-old fetus. Guided by ultrasound, they angled a needle-thin catheter into the aortic valve, a spot one-eighth of an inch in diameter in a beating heart the size of a grape. A minuscule balloon was then inflated to enlarge the constricted valve, which had been obstructing the flow of blood to the body. Eleven weeks later, doctors induced early labor, anticipating the need for another operation, but the repair job had worked so well that the 5-lb. 8-oz. healthy baby boy didn't require a second procedure.

Related Sources:
Brigham & Women's Hospital, Children's Hospital (surgery on Sept. 13, 2001)

FRENCH FRIES
Cooking potatoes and other starchy foods at high temperatures can trigger the formation of acrylamide, a compound that has been shown to cause cancer in lab rats. Scientists also know there are toxic consequences to breathing the acrylamide in cigarette smoke. So are chips and fries even worse for us than we thought or just the latest food fright? A report by the American Council on Science and Health concludes that we can relax. There is no compelling evidence that acrylamide, when consumed in food, poses a cancer risk. But all the other reasons for going easy on deep-fried food still apply.

Related Sources:
University of Stockholm and National Food Association of Sweden announcement (Apr. 24, 2002)
American Council on Science and Health paper (Dec. 4, 2002)

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