VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm SarahLong.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Bob Doughty. On our program this week, we tell about atreatment for lack of iron in the diet; the dangers of cigarettesmoke for children; and reforms at the National Institutes ofHealth.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The World Health Organization says iron deficiency is the mostcommon nutritional disorder in the world. The W.H.O. estimates thatas many as eighty percent of people may not be getting the iron theyneed.

The body needs iron to manufacture hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is theprotein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to body tissues. Thebody also needs iron to produce several enzymes necessary formuscle, the brain and the body's natural defenses to work correctly.

Iron is stored in bone marrow and two organs -- the spleen andliver. Iron deficiency is the main cause of anemia. A person becomesanemic when iron levels are severely reduced.

VOICE TWO:

Children in developing countries are especially at risk of irondeficiency and iron deficiency anemia. Officials estimate that asmany as seven hundred fifty million children have one or more of theconditions.

Common signs of iron deficiency include a loss, or lightening, ofskin color. Adults who do not get enough iron get tired morequickly. And, there are special risks for pregnant women. But risksfor children can be much more serious, especially in the first twoyears of life. That is because iron deficiency can cause problemswith physical and mental development. It also can result in reducedperformance in school.

In fact, some economists believe that iron deficiency can have amajor effect on a nation's economy. Iron deficiency and anemia oftenresult in lower productivity. This, in turn, can affect economicdevelopment.

VOICE ONE:

Health experts say iron deficiency is the most common preventablenutritional problems. Meat, fish, chicken and other birds haveplenty of iron. But some developing countries lack enough of thefoods that provide iron.

There have been efforts to deal with the problem. Some wealthycountries have led successful health campaigns. But traditional waysof getting more iron into children in developing countries have beenlargely unsuccessful. Foods supplied with iron are often too costly.And many children object to taking any iron supplements by mouthbecause of the taste.

VOICE TWO:

An expert in treating children, Stanley Zlotkin, says he has asolution. Doctor Zlotkin teaches at the University of Toronto inCanada. His solution is called sprinkles. Iron and other mineralsnecessary for good health are processed into very small particles.These particles are covered with a neutral food product to hide thetaste. He says the mixture can be easily added to food and mixed in.

The mixture comes in a small container called a sachet (sash-AY).Doctor Zlotkin says it provides the exact amount needed to meet achild's daily need for iron at a cost of three cents or less a day.The sachets also include vitamin C, which helps the body processiron, and vitamin A, zinc, and folic acid.

VOICE ONE:

Recently, Doctor Zlotkin and other research scientists reportedon successful tests of sprinkles in West Africa. The findings werereported in the publication of the Public Library of Science.

Up until now, only the United Nation's Children's Fund andprivate groups have offered sprinkles to those in need. A fewgovernment programs in Pakistan and Bangladesh also have begun usingthis new intervention. Doctor Zlotkin says his goal is to expand theuse of sprinkles in the nutrition policy of all developingcountries.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

A new study serves as another warning of the dangers fromcigarette smoke around children. This was one of the largest studiesever done on the risks to people who breathe tobacco smoke in theair. Experts call this "passive smoking." Many studies have shownincreased risks for lung cancer and other diseases. But few studieshave involved people who seemed healthy when the research began.

Paolo Vineis of Imperial College, London, led the new study. TheBritish Medical Journal published the report.

VOICE ONE:

More than one hundred twenty thousand people provided informationabout their history of exposure to tobacco smoke. They might haveworked with smokers, or had parents who smoked. The people were fromten countries in Europe. All said they had never smoked or hadstopped for at least ten years.

The study followed their health for an average of seven years.During that time, ninety-seven people developed lung cancer. Twentydeveloped upper-respiratory cancers. And fourteen died from the lungdisease emphysema.

VOICE TWO:

The report compares lung cancer rates among people who had beenaround tobacco smoke when they were children. Those who had breathedit many hours a day were three-and-one-half times more likely to getlung cancer than those who reported no exposure. Yet the risk wasstill one-and-one-half times higher in adults who had breathedtobacco smoke as children even a few times a week.

The study also found that former smokers had a greater risk oflung cancer than people who never smoked. This link was limited toexposure at work. The report says former smokers may be more at riskfrom low levels of tobacco smoke in the environment. One possibleexplanation is that they already have damaged cells.

Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer. And lung cancer is theleading cause of cancer deaths in the world.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

One of the world's leading medical research centers has announcednew ethics rules for its workers. The National Institutes of Healthsays the rules are meant to guide the moral, or ethical, actions ofthe workers. The N.I.H. is an agency of the United States Departmentof Health and Human Services. The agency employs more than eighteenthousand people.

Under the new rules, N.I.H. employees may no longer offer expertadvice to, or accept money from, companies in the medical industry.This includes drug or biotechnology companies, makers of medicaldevices, healthcare providers and trade groups. It also includesuniversities, hospitals and research centers that receive money fromthe National Institutes of Health.

VOICE TWO:

The new rules require most N.I.H. scientists and all topofficials to sell their investments in drug and biotech companies.The rules also affect other employees with the agency. They arelimited to no more than fifteen thousand dollars in stock in any onedrug or biotech company.

Elias Zerhouni is the director of the National Institutes ofHealth. Doctor Zerhouni says his goal is to protect the public trustin N.I.H. and its research programs. He says there should be noconflict of interest or the appearance of conflict of interest.

VOICE ONE:

The reforms are meant to deal with concerns raised last year by aCongressional investigation and media reports. They showed that someN.I.H. scientists received money and stock offers from drug andbiotech companies. Many of the companies had dealings with theagency.

N.I.H. workers have reacted strongly to the new rules. Criticssay the restrictions are not justified. They say that all N.I.H.employees will be punished for the actions of a few dishonestpeople. Doctor Zerhouni admits that most of the employees haveserved honorably. He says the reforms are meant to protect theirimage and the public's trust.

VOICE TWO:

The National Institutes of Health also announced a policy onpublication of research paid for by the federal government. Thepolicy establishes what is called open access publishing. It willcome into effect on May second.

Under the new policy, scientists using federal money are to givetheir research papers to the National Library of Medicine after theyare accepted for publication. The National Library of Medicine willthen release the information on the Internet.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Cynthia Kirk andJill Moss. It was produced by Cynthia Kirk. I'm Sarah Long.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Bob Doughty. If you have a general question about sciencethat we can answer on this program, you can e-mail it tospecial@voanews.com. Join us again next week for more news aboutscience in VOA Special English.