12th précis

Title: No proof of mobile cancer risk, major study concludes

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8685839.stm

Vocabulary:

concern – (n) a feeling of worry about something, especially one that a lot of people have about an important issue;
Don’t worry. There is no cause for concern.
There’s a lot of public concern about modern farming methods.

allay – (v) to make sth less strong;
I allayed my doubts.
A doctor gave me an injetion and allayed my paint.

rate – (n) speed;
They should work at a steady rate.
He drove a car at a rate of 60 an hour.

prevalent – (adj.) very common in a particular place or among a particular group;
The prevalent atmosphere was one of fear.
This negative attitude is surprisingly prevalent among young boys.

quirk – (n) a strange habit or type of behaviour;
That crooked tree is a quirk of nature.
We met by an odd quirk of fate.

overestimate – (v) to consider something to be better than it really is;
She overestimated her abilities.
I overestimated my friend.

usage – (n) way sth is used;
With normal usage , the machine should last for years.
It’s had rough usage.


Precis:

                   Recent scientific studies have not shown that mobile phones can affect brain cancer. These studies were sponsored by the mobile phone industry. Tests were conducted in countries where mobile phones are used widely and for a long time for e.g. Sweden. The studies involved more than 500 patients who were sick of brain cancer (glioma or meningioma). According to previous research these types of brain cancer could be caused by using mobile phones. Patients answered the questions how long they used mobile phones. Studies have shown that people who talk on mobile phone for a long time have as much as 40% higher chance of developing glioma and 15% for meningioma. Scientists have rejected these results because they believe that patients gave false information, as brain cancer patients have a disturbance of memory and cognitive abilities. Other studies will be carried out on the impact the use of mobile phones for incidents of the salivary gland tumours and acoustic neuromas.