From BMJ USA 2002;September:530

The letters page of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Mayo Clinic Proceedings;2002:77–600) carries a discussion about religion and health. One writer says that appropriate spiritual support should be available to all patients who desire it, in the same way as meals and warm bedding. Raising a null hypothesis to question which, if any, spiritual intervention is best, he says, serves no purpose. The answer to this research question lies within the heart and soul of the individual, and evidence based medicine plays no role.

Minerva's mental health is sometimes affected by her noisy neighbors. A study of neighborhood noise and children found that exposure to ambient noise (from road and rail) is associated with small reductions in children's mental health and poorer behavior in the classroom. The correlation is stronger in children with an additional early biological risk, such as low birth weight and preterm birth (Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2002;59:380–386).

By totaling the area globally available for crop growth, animal grazing, timber harvesting, carbon dioxide absorption produced by fossil fuel burning, and marine fishing, and by calculating the area required to sustain human demand, researchers have estimated that in the mid-1970s demand reached total global supply. …