Based on a draft report released by a top scientific organization there is a huge possibility that renewable energy will be the world’s biggest source of energy. It will be widespread and may even power-up factories and light homes, the Associated Press said on Thursday.

The report, however, warned that although we will benefit greatly from the said expansion, it will be extremely costly. Moreover, policies regarding the matter also have to be changed in order to make sure that renewable energy reaches its full potential in reducing the greenhouse effect.

The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change started its 4-day meeting on Thursday. Reports say that the meeting is basically optimistic on replacing fossil fuels. In the scenarios discussed in the meeting, there is a great chance that even if efforts to deal with climate change will not be taken in to account, we can still expect renewable energy.

The report said that the entire sources of renewable energy only represent 13 per cent of the primary energy source during 2008. However, it has been growing since then. IPCC did not comment about the report and said that it is still subject to negotiations.

On the other hand, the report made it perfectly clear that before the said plan can even start implementation, it will face a lot of hurdles. Furthermore, it pointed out that it still has to be coupled with our existing energy supplies in order for renewable energies to work efficiently.

A new report indicated that cancer rates in the US are continually dropping by at almost one percent per year. Moreover, the same study found out that cancer-related deaths are also going down by 1.6 per cent annually. This trend was observed between 2003 and 2007.

The researchers also noted that this is the first time they observed a decrease in the death rate of women with lung cancer. Lynn Ries, co-author of the report, said that the decline we are seeing right now is caused by women quitting smoking.

The report was conducted by several researchers from different groups; one of which is the American Cancer Society. The report was published online on the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Thursday.

Unfortunately, even though there is a notable decrease in cancer rates among adults, the same is not true among children. In fact, there are increasing numbers of diagnosed cancer patients in children. Ries, however, pointed out that death rates among children decreased. She also said that the reason for the rise in the occurrence of cancer among children is still unclear.

If there are changes in variables among women and children with cancer, the numbers remained the same among men. The report said that there could have been a decrease in cancer diagnosis among men, only that the statistics of prostate cancer has raised.

Ries said that this report was particularly difficult to organize because cancer is not just one disease. There are different kinds of cancer and some of them increase in number, while others decrease. She also said that men and women follow different kinds of trends in terms of cancer diagnosis.

South Asia is experiencing a health crisis because of increasing incidents of diabetes, heart disease and obesity. The region is also facing rising poverty as patients use their own money to pay for hospital expenses and other medical treatment, according to the World Bank’s statement on Wednesday.

The Bank reported that while the region’s economy is getting better and most people are living a longer life, poor people have had virtually no benefit from the rising incomes, healthier nutrition, improved conditions and access to efficient healthcare.

The report covered 8 countries mainly, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. According to the report, South Asians are likely to experience their first heart attack by the age of 53. That is, six years ahead than people elsewhere in the world.

Today, heart disease is the leading cause of death among South Asians 15 to 69 years old. The non-communicable disease accounts for about 55 percent of the total disease burden in the entire region. Infectious diseases like tuberculosis make up the remaining percentage, including issues of child and mother health and nutrition.

Michael Engelgau, senior public health specialist of World Bank and one of the authors of the report said that the unjust burden is particularly rough on poor people.

After thier first heart attack, the poor will face life-long illnesses and pay for their treatment with their own money or by putting their properties up for sale. Soon after, they find themselves trapped in poverty where they can’t work and get better.

The report mentioned a study made in India that was published last year. It found that some non-communicable diseases leave patients not capable of working for about 50 to 70 days.