Those venturing into space face a very serious occupational hazard -- cancer. The disease can be caused by radiation from the cosmic rays and solar flares astronauts encounter when they travel beyond the Earth's protective magnetic layer or magnetosphere.

British scientists are working on rectifying this problem by creating a Star Trek-style deflector shield to protect astronauts from radiation.

Think about this:

Scientists wish to mimic the magnetic field that protects the Earth with shields deployed around spacecraft and on the surfaces of planets to deflect harmful energetic particles.

Details, presented at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Preston, UK, include the following:

• The idea has been linked to the deflector shields that protect the USS Enterprise and other spacecraft on Star Trek. The shields, like on the TV show, could be switched on and off.

• In order to make the shield, scientists must generate a magnetic field and then fill it with ionized gas, or plasma. As energetic particles interact with the plasma, energy is sapped away from them, causing them to slow down.

• Protective shelters would not work on long-duration space journeys due to the drip of energized particles, thought to be as harmful as large solar storms.

"The nice thing is that magnet technology is really quite evolved here on Earth," says Dr. Mike Hapgood, from the Didcot-based research centre. The question is can you take it into space?"

A team from Rutherford-Appleton plans to build an artificial magnetosphere in the laboratory. They would eventually like to fly a test satellite which would test the technology in space.

I've been wondering lately about how I might alter my diet in a post-cancer world. I am a moderate eater -- I eat moderate amounts of meat and fruits and vegetables and grains and dairy. And moderate amounts of fats and sweets too. Sometimes I wonder if I am doing myself a disservice by eating meat and processed foods and refined sugar. I've gathered many opinions that indicate that the further our food comes from the dirt of this Earth, the worse it is for us. That perhaps the increase in cancer cases in the United States is linked to the increase in diets rich in artificial stuff. Part of me resists this speculation -- maybe because I enjoy a variety of foods from the entire food pyramid and I just don't want to give them up.  And part of me believes that if this argument is true, then I am a fool to not jump on board and take control of my future health. So I've taken the first step -- I've done some research and have located a destination where I could explore this route with detail and precision by practicing a whole new way of eating and being.

Hippocrates Health Institute, a leader in the field of natural and complementary health care and education since 1956, teaches a vegan diet with a focus on implementing this lifestyle at home. Food is served in its purest form and is fresh, organic, and enzyme-rich. Food is not the only focus at this institute, however. Whole body healing includes various therapies, exercise, and workshops. While living on the premises of this West Palm Beach, Florida oasis for a minimum of one week and a maximum of three weeks, I could cleanse myself of the toxins and stress and anxiety that have invaded my body as a result of cancer. It's tempting. And maybe when my treatment is complete in August, I will become a student of this philosophy. Just maybe.

Wake me when the sun comes back. If you live in the northern states, October through March can be a day-after-day dismal parade of gray sky. By about February, there are some of us who have pulled the covers over our collective heads and seem to have trouble mustering any energy to get up and get going. It's depressing. Whereas, when the sun shines, the mood lifts and the energy level increases. One remedy for combating the natural gloom of the winter months is to visit a tanning salon. Tanning salons are big business and perhaps being bronzy-brown isn't the only reason people are really using them. Obviously, natural or artificial, the sun has a real effect on our sense of well-being. But why is that?

Researchers, in attempting to discover the lure of tanning beds -- and why -- despite repeated warnings of the skin cancer dangers associated with tanning bed use, there are people who still visit tanning salons on a frequent basis, believe they have found the answer in addiction. Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center researcher explained that the results of a study on tanning bed use showed that some tanners actually experience withdrawal symptoms when the feel-good chemicals stimulated by exposure to UV rays are blocked. Researchers administered a drug that blocks the effects of pleasure-inducing endorphins and other opioids that are naturally released by the brain and which have been associated with the UV light of a tanning bed. The results? At higher doses of the blocking medication, frequent tanners were less inclined to tan, and half of them reported nausea or jitteriness. In a previous study, these same researchers found that people using UV tanning beds were more relaxed afterward than people who used beds that did not have UV light.

If you understand addiction as merely a way to self-medicate in a misguided attempt to feel better when you aren't feeling good, then the tanning bed addiction theory makes sense. Until they can address and solve the problem behind the problem of tanning bed use, then all the skin cancer awareness campaigns will be in vain.

The European Food Safety Agency, EFSA, has evaluated and rejected the Ramazzini Institute research study that showed aspartame increases the risk for some cancers. The official stand from the EFSA is there is no cancer risk from aspartame, or the drinks and foods containing the artificial sweetener.

During the news conference, EFSA's Iona Pratt stated, "Our conclusion on the basis of all the evidence currently available to us is that there's no reason to revise the previously established acceptable daily intake, nor at this stage, to undertake any further extensive review of the safety of aspartame."

According to EFSA, the increased incidence of leukemias and lymphomas in the rats in the Ramazzini study could be explained as chronic health problems that made the animals predisposed to such conditions, and not consumption of aspartame. Huh? Did she just say the researchers started the study using sickly rats and that's why they developed tumors? The Ramazzini Institute, which tested aspartame on 1,800 rats over their entire lives, stands by its findings, and plans additional studies. This controversy is never -- ever -- really -- going to be settled.