Effort to weaken school soda law. Some students at Shasta High School want to return soda pop to their campus vending machines -- and they're preparing a statewide ballot measure to do it. [News Source]

Your trans fat level. Knowing and limiting the amount of trans fat in your food is a good thing. But how about knowing about the level of those fats in your blood? [News Source]

Drink up and be savvy. About half the excess calories consumed by Americans come from beverages. Liquid calories account for 20 percent of the caloric intake of those aged 2 and older. [News Source]

Genetic differences divide humans into 3 categories. They're right there on the tip of your tongue --- taste buds. Scientists are learning that how many of those little fungiform papillae you have --- and how they work --- may play a role in whether you develop cancer, heart disease or diabetes. [News Source]

Preschool diet linked to later breast cancer risk. The diet of preschoolers may influence the risk of breast cancer during adulthood, according to a Boston-based group of investigators. [News Source]

Prenatal nutrient in soy reduces obesity in offspring. A single nutrient found in soy products elicits changes in gene behavior that permanently reduce an embryo's risk of becoming obese later in life. [News Source]

Benzene fears prompt call for banning some soft drinks at schools. Some leading public-health experts want education officials to ban certain soft drinks from public schools until they're proved safe and free of the cancer-causing chemical benzene. [News Source]

Making bacon that’s healthier for you. If you think scientists never do anything useful, consider this: A team of researchers may have found a way to make bacon that's good for your heart. [News Source]

Congress moves to bar states from making food safer. When people in Oregon and Washington got sick recently from drinking unpasteurized milk, lawmakers in Florida took notice. They banned sale of the product. [News Source]

Doe Run testing Viburnum yards, playgrounds for lead. The Doe Run Co. is testing yards and playgrounds throughout rural Viburnum, Missouri to see if years of lead mining, milling and hauling have contaminated the soil. [News Source]

Pigs bred to produce healthy oils. Using gene technology, scientists have created pigs that produce compounds which have been widely touted as good for the heart. Those benefits were recently challenged. [News Source]

Something fishy about these little pigs. Researchers from three U.S. universities have collaborated to create cloned pigs that produce higher than normal levels of omega-3 fatty acids. [News Source]