Law school exams are here. Best of luck to our ASU students.
Remember, some creativity in your answers is good – but don’t overdo it:
3 questions. 3 hints. 3 answers. Every Tuesday.
1. What tasty unregulated product, available to minors, produces “water vapor” which may contain benzene, toluene, nickel, arsenic, formaldehyde and acrolein?
Hint: like so many words today (e.g. e-commerce, e-mail, e-discovery), it begins with the letter “e”.
Answer: Chicago is leading the way with two ordinances aimed at regulating e-cigarettes as “tobacco products” and to expand the prohibition of flavored tobacco products from 100 feet to 500 feet from a school. E-cigarettes which come in various kid-friendly flavors may contain a plethora of tasty and addictive substances, along with the most basic: nicotine. Due to lack of federal regulations, e-cigarette manufacturers are under no restrictions when it comes to cigarette ingredients or what gets released into the environment. Read the details here.
2. Can science distinguish the unusual suspects among the usual?
Hint:
Answer: after nine members of a family were diagnosed with heart disease, a federal research project is using genetic sequencing to attempt to discover factors that may increase the risk of heart disease beyond the usual factors — high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, obesity and/or high blood pressure. While regular exercise and a normal EKG might be an indicator that everything is OK, for one young female family member this was not the case. Luckily, with the help of a doctor who took extra precautions, her heart disease was revealed and treated. By comparing the genes of people afflicted with mild, moderate or severe forms of the disease, the goal of the project is to discover genetic mutations common to the condition. Whether the family in question is an anomaly, similar to a Dutch family that was studied years ago leading to the discovery of a genetic defect on the X chromosome related to increased aggression affecting some of the family’s men, will likely be determined in due course.
3. What is one kid, in particular, counting on this Christmas?
Hint:
Answer: that Santa has either a smartphone, laptop or desktop to download and deliver (via Amazon’s drones – of course) this boy’s wish:
