Out of options (Boston Globe) Blanca Oquendo recently sat on a sofa in her senior housing apartment in Lowell using hand gestures and limited English in an attempt to explain how she believes drinking a concoction made of veal heart is known to cure cardiovascular diseases. [News Source]

Task force wants land review, ‘beef day,’ to boost struggling BC cattle industry (Kitchener - Waterloo Record) VICTORIA, B.C. - A report on the B.C. cattle industry recommends everything from a review of lands in the Agricultural Land Reserve to holding a B.C. Beef Day to promote the industry. [News Source]

Customer Service (Brandon Sun) VICTORIA, B.C. - A report on the B.C. cattle industry recommends everything from a review of lands in the Agricultural Land Reserve to holding a B.C. Beef Day to promote the industry. [News Source]

A Sober Warning From an Upbeat Source (DTN / The Progressive Farmer) When the marketing and research arm of the NCBA advises producers to proceed with caution, you know that the commodity of blue sky is really in short supply. [News Source]

People affected by autism believe increase is ‘real,’ not diagnostic (PhysOrg) There has been a major increase in the number of children diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorders over the last two decades - the question is why? Researchers have found a sharp difference between the beliefs of ordinary people and medical experts about the reasons for the increased incidence of autism. [News Source]

High-fat low-carb diets could mean significant heart risk (PhysOrg) New scientific research has shown that low-carbohydrate high-fat diets, made popular by the likes of the Atkins diet, do not achieve more weight loss than low-fat high-carbohydrate diets. Worryingly, the research, lead by Dr Steven Hunter from the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, also shows significantly increased risks of cardiovascular disease for people following low-carbohydrate high-fat ... [News Source]

KMT seeks to break beef impasse (Taipei Times) Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus whip Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said yesterday that the caucus would like to work with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to find “a third way” to break the month-long legislative deadlock over US beef. [News Source]

Election slump fails to dampen China talks (UPI) TAIPEI, Taiwan, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The Taiwanese government will push ahead with its proposed economic cooperation framework agreement with mainland China despite opposition gains in local elections. [News Source]

NYSE Amex to delist Cortex Pharmaceuticals (News-Medical-Net) Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it has received notification from the NYSE Amex LLC indicating that, due to the Company’s non-compliance with certain continued listing standards as previously reported, the Exchange intends to delist the Company’s common stock from the NYSE Amex effective as of the close of business on Friday, December 11, 2009. [News Source]

Family’s inherited condition links prion diseases, Alzheimer’s (PhysOrg) (PhysOrg.com) -- A laboratory connection between Alzheimer's disease and brain-wasting diseases such as the human form of mad cow disease has moved into the clinic for what is believed to be the first time, manifesting itself in the brains of patients with a rare inherited disorder. [News Source]