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DIET DRINKS "LINK TO DEPRESSION" QUESTIONED

Experts are questioning whether diet drinks could raise depression risk, after a large study has found a link.

The US research in more than 250,000 people found depression was more common among frequent consumers of artificially sweetened beverages. The work, which will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting, did not look at the cause for this link.

Drinking coffee was linked with a lower risk of depression.

People who drank four cups a day were 10% less likely to be diagnosed with depression during the 10-year study period than those who drank no coffee. But those who drank four cans or glasses of diet fizzy drinks or artificially sweetened juice a day increased their risk of depression by about a third. Lead researcher Dr Honglei Chen, of the National Institutes of Health in North Carolina, said: “Our research suggests that cutting out or down on sweetened diet drinks or replacing them with unsweetened coffee may naturally help lower your depression risk.”

But he said more studies were needed to explore this. There are many other factors that may be involved. And the findings – in people in their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s and living in the US – might not apply to other populations. The safety of sweeteners, like aspartame, has been extensively tested by scientists and is assured by regulators.

Gaynor Bussell, of the British Dietetic Association, said: “Sweeteners used to be called ‘artificial’ sweeteners and unfortunately the term ‘artificial’ has evoked suspicion. As a result, sweeteners have been very widely tested and reviewed for safety and the ones on the market have an excellent safety track record. However, the studies on them continue and this one has thrown up a possibly link – not a cause and effect – with depression.”

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20943509.09.01.2013. Adaptado)

Leia o texto para responder a questão.

DIET DRINKS "LINK TO DEPRESSION" QUESTIONED

Experts are questioning whether diet drinks could raise depression risk, after a large study has found a link.

The US research in more than 250,000 people found depression was more common among frequent consumers of artificially sweetened beverages. The work, which will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting, did not look at the cause for this link.

Drinking coffee was linked with a lower risk of depression.

People who drank four cups a day were 10% less likely to be diagnosed with depression during the 10-year study period than those who drank no coffee. But those who drank four cans or glasses of diet fizzy drinks or artificially sweetened juice a day increased their risk of depression by about a third. Lead researcher Dr Honglei Chen, of the National Institutes of Health in North Carolina, said: “Our research suggests that cutting out or down on sweetened diet drinks or replacing them with unsweetened coffee may naturally help lower your depression risk.”

But he said more studies were needed to explore this. There are many other factors that may be involved. And the findings – in people in their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s and living in the US – might not apply to other populations. The safety of sweeteners, like aspartame, has been extensively tested by scientists and is assured by regulators.

Gaynor Bussell, of the British Dietetic Association, said: “Sweeteners used to be called ‘artificial’ sweeteners and unfortunately the term ‘artificial’ has evoked suspicion. As a result, sweeteners have been very widely tested and reviewed for safety and the ones on the market have an excellent safety track record. However, the studies on them continue and this one has thrown up a possibly link – not a cause and effect – with depression.”

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20943509.09.01.2013. Adaptado)

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US TO BUILD $120M RARE EARTH RESEARCH INSTITUTE

The US Department of Energy is giving $120m (£75m) to set up a new research centre charged with developing new methods of rare earth production.

Rare earths are 17 chemically similar elements crucial to making many hi-tech products, such as phones and PCs. The Critical Materials Institute will be located in Ames, Iowa.

The US wants to reduce its dependency on China, which produces more than 95% of the world’s rare earth elements, and address local shortages. According to the US Geological Survey, there may be deposits of rare earths in 14 US states. Besides being used for hi-tech gadgets, the elements are also crucial for manufacturing low-carbon resources such as wind turbines, solar panels and electric cars, said David Danielson, the US assistant secretary for renewable energy.

Rare earth elements are also used for military applications, such as advanced optics technologies, radar and radiation detection equipment, and advanced communications systems, according to a 2011 research report by the US Government Accountability Office. From the 1960s until the 1980s, the Mountain Pass mine in California made the US the world leader in rare earth production, but it was later closed, largely due to competition with the elements imported from China.

At the moment, the regulations surrounding rare earths mining in the US are very strict, an expert on the materials from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden told the BBC. “The Mountain Pass mine was [also] closed down for environmental reasons,” said Prof Ekberg.