This week I did something that I will probably never get to do again in my life. In fact, the government of Buka, Papua New Guinea, could not think of anyone who had ever done it before. I went scuba diving on the coral reefs beneath the Carteret Islands. The reason that no one had likely ever done it before is because the islands are extremely remote, even by Papua New Guinea standards. The reason I will never get to do it again is because the islands are sinking and will soon disappear altogether.

To make it happen, we had to get our dive gear from the town of Port Moresby, which is nearly 700 miles away. There were no dive shops that we could find any closer. Still, we did it because it is important to telling the story of the disappearing Carteret Islands. We really wanted to be able to describe what was happening from three points of view. First, from the air where, with the help of a helicopter, we captured some of the very first aerial shots of Carteret. It wasn't an easy trip, given that for most of the journey there was simply no land around and no possibility of an emergency landing. Needless to say, we were a little nervous until the chopper touched down safely. The second dimension was being able to speak firsthand to the people of the Carteret Islands and understand what they had seen and why they believed their land was being swallowed by the sea. Finally, as the destruction and bleaching of coral is such a large component of the story, we needed to dive deep to the ocean floor to see for ourselves.

Of course, as is often the case, especially in remote locations, things didn't go exactly as planned. First off, I am an advanced diver and have been diving for almost 20 years. Neil Hallsworth, our photographer, has been certified since 1993, and Heather O'Neill, the producer for this shoot, has been diving for more than a year now. When we surveyed the equipment, we realized that while there were three sets of fins, there were only two tanks and only one BCD (buoyancy control device). Given that we were in the middle of nowhere and had no other options, we decided to improvise. Heather decided to snorkel near the surface and, most importantly, keep shark watch. Given that these particular reefs had never had divers, we weren't quite sure what to expect as far as wildlife goes. Neil and I traded off the BCD and at times literally carried an air tank under our arm while diving at 60 feet below the surface - Jacques Cousteau style! It allowed Neil to film never before obtained pictures of the Carteret reefs, which we will show you in CNN's upcoming documentary Planet in Peril. It allowed me to see firsthand what happened to the island of Carteret from the bottom up.

For me, this was one of the most adventurous shoots I have done in the last six years. So, what about some of your best adventure stories?

When I started working at CNN in the summer of 2001, I really had no idea that the job would regularly take me to some of the most remote places on earth. Yet, here I am again, writing a blog from one of those places. Along with producer Heather O'Neill and photographer Neil Hallsworth, I am in the South Pacific for a story on the Carteret Islands - a chain of islands about 1 square kilometer in size with a population of about 1,600. We are here because these islands are slowly sinking back into the sea, and no one is exactly sure why. One thing is clear though, people are being evacuated as their homes disappear.

To get to the Carteret Islands requires five separate airplane flights and a helicopter ride that ended on a very small strip of beach. Our origin was Guangzhou, China in the southern part of the country located in the Guangdong province. From there we had a layover in Hong Kong. We then stopped for a few hours in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. After that, we flew to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. Then we flew to Rabaul and finally Buka, Papua New Guinea. For most of the helicopter ride, we were flying over nothing but water - no land for at least an hour in any direction. It was treacherous.

Here we are surrounded by the Solomon Sea, and it is arguably one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Still, we are here as part of CNN's Planet in Peril coverage because the people of the Carteret are being called the world's first environmental refugees. While it will most likely be a few years before the islands are actually completely submerged, the effects of all that water are already being felt. At high tide, the sea washes right over the islands, its salt water ruining the few crops they are trying to grow. The people here are starving and the government of Papua New Guinea thinks it's time for them to leave.

Now if you ask just about anyone living on the islands why this is happening, they will immediately shout "global warming." I was surprised they even knew this term, but they will point north and describe the melting of the ice in Greenland to make their case for climate change. Other people we interviewed described the tumultuous history of the islands, where at one time they used dynamite to fish with resulting damage to the protective coral. They also remind us that the islands are actually part of an old volcano that has a natural history of sinking back into the sea.

To be sure, this remote population of people has hardly any impact on anyone else in the world. Yet, they believe the "rest of the world" is having a huge impact on them. What do you think? Are the Carteret Islands disappearing because of global influences and climate change or is it more of a local phenomenon?

After three weeks, 2,206 miles and boundless doping controversies, the 2007 Tour de France ended yesterday. More than 140 men raced to the finish line, as 24-year-old Spaniard Alberto Contador won cycling's biggest event.

I wonder if it was bittersweet for him and for everyone else who finished in Paris? This year's Tour was mired in controversy with teams and top riders dropping out and plagued by positive drug tests and swirling controversy about missing pre-race testing. Even last year's winner, American Floyd Landis, is in racing limbo because he tested positive on his way to the 2006 title.
You can't mention the Tour de France without a nod to seven-time winner Lance Armstrong. He, too, was plagued by doping allegations and rumor, but never tested positive. How did Lance not only battle cancer but also win what is arguably the toughest sporting event of all time?

"In the untrained state he would be about as fit as an average person that trained as hard as he could ever in his lifetime," says Dr. Edward Coyle, director of the Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Texas Austin. Coyle measured and studied Armstrong's physiology for more than seven years -- before and after his famous bout with cancer.

Armstrong's heart can pump nine gallons of blood per minute working at its hardest compared with only five gallons per minute for the average person. The champion's lungs can get almost double the amount of oxygen out of every breath that a healthy 20-year-old would. This cyclist has more red blood cells to deliver oxygen to his body, which is key, when racing through the high altitudes of the Pyrenees Mountains. Finally, Armstrong's body can recover at an incredible pace. "An average person when going to exhaustion would have to stay stopped or wouldn't be able to move for 10-15 minutes and Armstrong is able to go right back to maximum in 1 to 2 minutes," says Coyle. All of this begs the question - is Lance superhuman? Obviously not, but the way his body works is extraordinary.

To be sure, the Tour de France is an amazing athletic feat even for Armstrong. "Each day, they put out more energy than it takes to run a marathon. So the 20-stage tour is like 20 marathons in a row," says Dr. Conrad Earnest of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

Do you follow the Tour de France? Why do you think cycling is so marred by doping - truth or rumor?

I recently spent some time at the beach, trading a suit and high heels for shorts and flip flops. When I returned home my feet and lower legs were killing me. It didn't take an expert to figure out that the cute sandals were to blame.

Apparently, I'm not the only one complaining about the trendy footwear. Podiatrists are seeing more and more patients with pain in the Achilles tendon, heel and balls of their feet. One doctor attributes most of the problems to the increased use of sandals and flip flops. The thin-soled shoes don't have the proper arch support and cushioning to protect the feet.

For those of you who aren't willing to compromise on comfort and style, there are some ways to relieve the pain. Stretching your calves can help sore feet and leg muscles. Ice and over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications might provide temporary relief as well.

The best treatment might be to choose a better type of sandal. Find one with good arch support and cushioning and a little bit of a heel. A 1/2 - to 3/8-inch lift will help keep the calf muscle flexible and reduce that aches and pains.

My feet and legs are feeling much better these days, but I can't help thinking I'd rather be walking on the beach in my flip flops than sitting at my cubicle in high heels.

Do you have a flip flop story to share or some advice?

Deep in the Guangdong province of China, I met a woman I won't soon forget.

Wearing a straw hat and carrying a sickle, Zhu Chuuyun is a farmer, growing rice like many in her village. She has an easy smile, with astonishingly perfect teeth and the beautiful face of a model. Both she and her 9-year-old daughter belong on the cover of magazines. Of course, she is far away from the world of glamour and fashion. Here in Liangqiao, Zhu Chuuyun is simply trying to survive. It isn't easy, and every day she worries about the health of her and her daughter.

She told me it all started when the water in her village turned red. First the red water claimed her crops, and then it stole away her husband. He died an awful death, suffering for more than a year before finally succumbing to cancer. The problem, as she described it to me, is that the Hengshui River, which provides the only water to her village, has become so polluted that it is slowly robbing the entire area of life. The most tragic thing is that she has no choice but to use this water, even though she believes it is killing people. She told me this over quiet tears, sobbing and talking about how much she misses her husband.

For a couple of days, we have been looking around the area where Zhu Chuuyun lives. Many refer to this particular place as a cancer village. In fact, nearly 30 out of the 400 people who call this village home have died of cancer over the last several years. While it is hard to say if this red water is the cause, we have learned a few things. The river is in fact red, allegedly because of the oxidation, or rusting, of heavy metals that are released during the mining process at Dabaoshan, a mine through which the river runs 60 kilometers away. That same mining process also results in the deposition of heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, zinc and cadmium into the water at staggeringly high levels, and we do know those chemicals can cause cancer. In fact, according to scientists, Hengshui River is now a grade five out of five, meaning it is too toxic to touch, let alone irrigate crops or drink.

Xing Jing, an environmental lawyer, is determined to sue the mining company. This young Chinese woman, who reminds me of Erin Brockovich, has been steadily collecting evidence to TRY to make the case on behalf of this cancer village. But given that the country of China runs the mining company, her challenge is a formidable one. Still, Xing Jing wants to do it for people like Zhu Chuuyun and her daughter and the husband and father they'll never see again.

Possesion of Civet cats in China is illegal

The first time I heard of a civet cat was when I was in Iraq as an embedded reporter in the spring of 2003. Every now and then we would be able to dial in some radio news coverage from the desert and I still remember hearing one report about a new respiratory disease called SARS. The reporter went on to say that it had possibly been traced back to the consumption of civet cats in the Guangdong province of China. In fact, at the time it was considered a delicacy on the menu at several local restaurants in the city of Guangzhou.

Given its association with the fatal disease, it is no surprise that possession of the cats is now considered illegal in China. So, imagine my surprise when I visited a marketplace this morning around 5:30 a.m., and immediately walked into a flurry of vendors with these strange-looking cats in their cages. As I started to get a closer look, the vendors immediately became apprehensive and started to cover the cages and scurry away. Frankly, our lights and cameras with videographers Neil Hallsworth and Phil Littleton probably didn't help. Still, there was no doubt these were the elusive civet cats and Craig Kirkpatrick from the wilderness conservation group Traffic confirmed it for me. They certainly do look like cats, as the picture shows, but they have a snout that is considerably longer and more pointed. Most remarkably, according to Kirkpatrick, despite their tumultuous history, their consumption continues to grow.

As Craig and I walked around the market, we saw all sorts of exotic wildlife. One back room was completely filled with turtles. There must've been thousands of them. While most of them come from farms in China, Craig deftly pointed out turtles from Burma and Madagascar, both of which are endangered. When I asked the shop owners about a permit for endangered animals, they quickly gave me the brush-off. Craig explained that while it was illegal, his experience had taught him that the police placed a low priority on fighting the crime. There was even a pair of Tibetan vendors who claimed to be selling the paw and bones of a tiger, an extremely coveted and endangered animal. Its bones are believed to cure arthritis and its blood is said to have an almost mystical quality.

There is no question that deeply ingrained in the Chinese culture is consumption of animals, many of which may seem exotic and in some cases are endangered. These marketplaces I visited were huge with thousands of vendors and unimaginable numbers of animals and animal parts from shark fin to bear bile. From poisonous live scorpions to fungus-infected caterpillars. So high is the demand these animals are being brought in from all over the world, sometimes legally and sometimes poached. We were told in no uncertain terms that for the right amount of money, we could get just about anything we wanted.

The demand is fueled by custom, such as the need to serve shark fin at a proper Chinese wedding or turtle at parties for the affluent. Part of the consumption is driven by traditional Chinese medicine, which is dependent on approximately 11,000 different plants and 1,500 different animals. Some of the consumption is driven by plain old curiosity. One thing for certain though is that as our population - mankind -- continues to grow, certain animal species are declining and even disappearing. We are breathlessly consuming many of our planets natural resources.

So, how do we control this consumption in China and other places in the world?
For more on the upcoming CNN documentary Planet in Peril visit CNN.com/planetinperil.

I am floating in darkness, looking down at the earth. All I can hear is the sound of my own breathing - calm, peace and tranquility. I don't wonder where I am or where everyone else is. I just take in the beauty of the view from outer space.

I wake up in a fit and realize I'm dreaming. It happened again last night. I sat in my bedroom looking at the dark stillness and wondering why I've been having that same dream about space travel since childhood.

NASA has been on my mind lately. Last Friday was the 38th anniversary of Apollo 11, the first manned moon landing. Yesterday, two astronauts left the International Space Station for a 6.5 hour spacewalk. Their tasks included removing and jettisoning a refrigerator-sized ammonia reservoir. On our planet, that reservoir would weigh 1,400 pounds.

People have been traveling to space for more than 45 years. Only about 400 humans, five of those space tourists, can consider themselves astronauts. It's a small club and I do realize the infinitesimal odds that my astronaut dreams will ever become reality. As I learn more about how the human body is affected by space travel, maybe I'm better off being a nocturnal Buzz Aldrin.

First, the good news, astronauts gain some 2 to 3 inches in height during a mission according to NASA and the Archives of Neurology. That's presumably because astronauts no longer have the pesky Earthly gravity pulling at their skeletons. Space travelers may gain a few inches, but they do lose a lot more. A phenomenon nicknamed "Moon face" occurs when a shift of fluids to the upper body creates a rounder, fuller face. The immune system changes; blood volume is reduced by about one-fifth; muscle mass decreases and bone loss occurs at about 1 percent per month according to physician astronaut Bernard Harris Jr. Compare that bone loss with the 3 percent to 4 percent a year lost by women who have hormone-related osteoporosis. NASA is vigorously researching ways to combat these effects on long-term space flight. As these scientists look to a mission to Mars that will most likely take one to two years of travel, they need better ways to help the human body cope under such extreme conditions.

Space shuttle missions yield scientific findings on topics affecting everyone -- tumor growth, climate change and telemedicine. Telemedicine, the examination or treatment of patients in remote areas using information communicated over long distances, has NASA to thank for its greatest advances. In 2004, I watched in an operating room as a surgeon in Ontario, Canada, communicated with an astronaut over a thousand miles away in an underwater habitat off the coast of Florida. With the surgeon's telementoring, NASA's Cady Coleman successfully completed a practice run at an emergency gallbladder surgery without any formal medical training. That's just one example of how telemedicine may shape the world of human health.

Do you think NASA or space travel affects you on a daily basis? Will space travel become reality for the average person in our lifetime? What do you think of NASA's contribution to field of research on human health? What do you think the future holds for space travel or telemedicine?

I am on the road working on an upcoming documentary called Planet in Peril. A few weeks ago I was in Central Africa looking at the causes for the disappearance of Lake Chad. Now I am in Beijing, China.

My first stop was something that I had been looking forward to for some time: a Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic. Immediately upon entering, I saw two young gentlemen in short white coats carrying around what appeared to be dried snakes on small white pieces of paper. They quickly showed the "prescription" to the doctor and after getting her approval, they wrapped it up and handed it to the patient. "Was that dried snake?" I asked the doctor. She nodded, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Her attitude was not surprising given that 95 percent of people in China use what is called TCM, or Traditional Chinese Medicine. There are huge textbooks with descriptions of medications that vary from rhinoceros horn to turtle shells and yes, snakes. In the book are not only doses, usually around 15 - 30 grams, but also specific uses such as "thins the blood, acts as a tonic" or my favorite, "restores the yang."

Now, if you are imagining a rustic, rural place in a small Chinese village, think again. The TCM clinic we visited was right in the middle of Beijing, one of the largest cities in the world. Right outside the office doors were fancy electronics and boutique stores selling high-end goods, and there was a long waiting line of well-dressed people with ailments ranging from arthritis to nausea to the common cold. One woman who came in for persistent vomiting was given a seven-day prescription of herbs and dried animal parts, including four different kinds of roots, orange peel, a huge spool of bamboo, shaved bull horn and a touch of turtle shell. The final prescription took up nearly the entire counter with each daily dose the size of a small salad. She was told to pour the entire quantity into a pot of hot water and drink the liquid as a tea. Judging by her happy reaction, she was quite confident this would fix what ailed her.

I even decided to put it to the test myself. I described a raging headache that I was having, probably due to my long travel and numerous days with hardly any sleep. The doctor asked me a series of questions about the headache and my general medical condition and checked my pulse. She had a look at my tongue as well. While I was fully expecting some deer antler shaving or a dollop of dried plants and herbs, she simply smiled and said "go get some sleep."

It was a good diagnosis, but there was still something nagging at me. Many of the animals that provide the ingredients for traditional Chinese medicine are threatened, and some of the techniques used to get some of the animal substances are alarmingly brutal. For example, bear bile is often used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. To obtain this rare substance involves sedating a bear and then sticking a long needle straight into the bear's gallbladder and slowly filling up a glass jar with the green substance. It is not only dangerous and barbaric, but also life threatening for the bear. When I asked the doctor about this, she told me that TCM has recently evolved and no endangered species are used in making the medicine and brutal techniques have been stopped as well. She said the punishments are very severe if someone is caught doing it. When I pushed her on this particular issue, she conceded that there are probably places still offering some of these substances, but they were not available in her clinic.

One of the reasons I wanted to pursue this story is in part my own curiosity as a doctor, but also because medicine seems to transcend borders unlike anything else. In fact, many of the same "prescriptions" previously relegated only to China and the Far East, are now available at stores focusing on health and wellness in the United States. Ironically, one young woman told me the newest generation of Chinese citizens has started to shy away from TCM, opting instead for Western medicine such as aspirin for headaches and prepackaged cold medicine. There in fact may come a day when Traditional Chinese Medicine may be more popular outside China than inside the country where it has been popular for thousands of years.

So, would you try TCM to treat yourself or a loved one? Do you think in the United States that we have been too close minded to what Far Eastern medicine has to offer? Do you have any particular stories of your own experience with TCM?

For more behind-the scenes reports from our work on Planet in Peril, visit the "Anderson Cooper 360" blog

Imagine being stung by 20 mosquitoes and having that burning need to scratch, but your hands are tied behind your back.

That's how some people describe the irresistible urge to move, or kick associated with restless leg syndrome, or RLS, a condition so odd that some within the medical community think the pharmaceutical industry made it up just to sell us drugs.

But for the estimated 20 million Americans suffering with it, compelling new research suggests it's not in your head, but rather in your genes.

Two studies published this week, one in the New England Journal of Medicine, identify specific genes responsible for RLS. And it may affect many more of us than we think: As many as 65 percent of adults carry the gene variation that can lead to symptoms, says Dr. David Rye, co-author of the NEJM study, and an Emory University neurologist who himself suffers from this "riot of the foot," as some of his patients describe it.

So who has this gene?

Study participants were monitored in their sleep; they wore ankle bracelets to record the number of kicks. Interestingly, those who kicked 21 or more times per hour were twice as likely to have the variant gene, Rye's research found. Those with two copies --- one inherited from each parent --- kicked most.

Another revelation: The link between RLS and iron. In fact pregnant women, whose iron levels can drop during pregnancy, are at greater risk of developing the disorder. The good news is, experts say that for women who develop RLS during pregnancy, it often disappears weeks after you give birth.

This research could signal hope for treatment for people living with this annoying, sometimes debilitating disorder. Not only does RLS often hit at night, preventing patients from sleeping. Researchers say it can also contribute to depression, and put sufferers at greater risk of high blood pressure.

The next step, using the gene knowledge to help diagnose and treat RLS.

Do you have RLS, or know somebody who does? Or remain unconvinced it's real?

By Amy Burkholder, CNN Medical Producer

As a vegetarian and the parent of a 10-year-old, I have tried to be very conscious of what my daughter eats. She started out as a vegetarian too, but by the time she was 7, the lure of burgers via fast food joints proved too much for her--especially when friends and classmates were reveling in their trips to McDonalds and Burger King. Needless to say it broke my heart.

As a journalist who covers medical issues I'm very aware of the fact that childhood obesity has reached near epidemic proportions in this country. Today, at least one in five children are overweight. And overweight kids tend to become overweight adults putting them at higher risk for high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Not to mention type 2 diabetes, a disease that used to only occur in adults! According to the National Institutes of Health, if today's overweight kids become tomorrow's overweight adults, a staggering 50 million Americans could have diabetes by the year 2050.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites a study that found about 80 percent of kids who were overweight at ages 10-15 were obese by the time they were 25. Who can ignore a statistic like that? Apparently not the Department of Health and Human Services or the Federal Trade Commission. Two years ago they challenged companies to change the way they advertise food and beverages to children. Eleven companies including Kellogg's, Kraft, General Mills, McDonalds, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have now responded, most of them pledging to advertise only foods that meet specific nutrition criteria to children under 12. And many won't advertise at all to kids under 6. (Full Story)

Disney and Sesame Street have also jumped on board promising to incorporate healthy messages into their programming--and in Disney's case, into the food offerings at their parks. This "self-regulation" is all voluntary of course.

I've witnessed firsthand the advertising onslaught in children's programming. I've been through the "Mommy can you buy that for me?" stage -- and it was usually some sugary sweet treat, cereal or drink! There had been many requests for character driven products including SpongeBob, Clifford and Blues Clues snacks. So I welcome these measures with open arms. But in the end, I know that childhood obesity usually happens because kids eat too much and don't exercise enough. So as a parent, I can't afford to abdicate my role in all this and rely solely on these companies for my daughter's health and well-being. I have to make the proper choices. These companies have made a start, but will it make a difference? Are parents doing enough?

Fresh out of college, I was absolutely enamored with the man I was dating. He could do no wrong. We communicated well, had many of the same values and made each other laugh. Walking by the jewelry store in a local mall, I remember stopping in and looking at rings -- you know, just in case. Then, on a cold winter day, I was DUMPED. Kicked to the curb. Poked in the eye with Cupid's arrow. For days, I lay in bed, watching "Little House on the Prairie" and crying. I was angry. I wondered what I had done wrong and what I could do to win him back.

Rejection. From playground pettiness to pink slips, it happens in a variety of ways. "There is virtually no one who doesn't experience rejection," says Mark Leary, a psychology professor at Duke University. And it hits us harder than it did our great-grandparents, he says. A hundred years ago, says Leary, "Life was not as fraught with rejection." Communities served as safety nets. Extended families lived nearby and the people you grew up with were often the people you grew old with. "Today people move from one town to another," says Leary. "We are constantly in a position where we have to constantly prove ourselves."

Rejection is not just emotional -- it is physical as well. One study found that rejection activates the same area of the brain that causes the same reaction to physical pain. "The thought is being separated from caregivers can be just as dangerous as the things that cause physical pain," says Naomi Eisenberger, a professor in the biology department at UCLA. She set up an experiment in which she asked participants to play a game of catch with virtual players on the Internet. The computer players stopped tossing the ball, replicating the feeling of rejection. Eisenberger believes the system that experiences rejection may have "piggybacked" on to the physical pain system at some point as humans evolved.

Feelings of rejection actually protect us, says Leary, much like when you learn the hard way what happens when you stub your toe. If we didn't have an emotional reaction to all rejection, says Leary, we may miss some big signs that could put us in danger.

Now today, in most cases, rejection won't kill us, but it still hurts. Here are a few things to keep in mind when dealing with rejection.

EVERYONE FEELS REJECTED AT SOME POINT

As Leary points out, rejection is just part of life. Sometimes people just won't like us and other times rejection is the result of an innocent oversight.

PUT IT IN PERPECTIVE

Leary says you should step back and ask in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter that the cashier didn't smile at you? Does it hurt more because your ego was bruised or does it really have concrete consequences for your life? (We will get to that in a second.)

DON'T OVERREACT

When we dwell on minor rejection, we often just make it worse. Leary says, "We can become so concerned about rejection that we become so sensitive that others are turned away." It is often best to just let it go and not try to "repair" the situation.

YEAH, BUT...

What if it is a serious case of rejection, like a divorce or you get fired? Leary says the worst thing you can do is run away. "It is a lot like grief," he says. "It's important to acknowledge that." Learn from rejection, he says, but don't let it consume the rest of your life. Keep it in perspective. "Ask yourself," says Leary, "in this VERY moment, is there anything really wrong? Yes some things may have changed, but overall your day will be relatively the same." Focus on the good things going on and whatever you do, don't isolate yourself from others. Now it's your turn. What works for you when dealing with rejection?

Andrew Speaker is hoping today will mark the beginning of the end of a bizarre odyssey that began with his complaint of a sore rib last January and ballooned into a global health scare, with Speaker squarely in the middle.

Speaker is having surgery today at the University of Colorado Hospital, a surgery he hopes will cure his multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. (Full Story)

He has an area of infection about the size of a tennis ball in his lung.

The surgical team, lead by Dr. John Mitchell, will be using a technique called video assisted thoracic surgery, or VATS, to remove the upper lobe, of Speaker's right lung. They'll actually "suck out" the infected tissue. It will be fascinating to see the diseased tissue that turned Speaker's life upside down contained in a plastic bag.

As the only journalist invited to witness this surgery on perhaps the world's most famous TB patient, I'm struck by what a teaching moment this is.

Here are a few things of which I was reminded:

Many people don't realize that tuberculosis even exists in the United States. In fact, according to the CDC, there were 49 cases of extensively drug resistant TB in the U.S. between 1993 and 2006. And, there were 124 cases of MDR between 2004 and 2005. This isn't a condition relegated only to the Third World. What I'll witness today has value not just for Speaker, but for doctors all over the world as they struggle to treat a disease for which many drugs simply don't work.

I've performed countless operations but have never been in on one like this, where there are risks not only for the patient, but for the doctors and nurses as well. Every precaution, including specially outfitted masks, will be taken to keep everyone safe. There is little doubt from Andrew Speaker's doctors that his infection will be gone after today, but not his other troubles. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against him seeking more than $1 million dollars in damages.

So, now that we are starting to wind down this tale with a dramatic operation, do you think Andrew was at fault or do you believe health authorities mishandled the situation?

Thank you for all of your comments.

Please take a minute to read CNN's response to Michael Moore.

As someone who grew up in Germany and probably was vaccinated against TB as a child, I've been following the Andrew Speaker case on a personal level - not just as a journalist.

Thursday's revelation that one of the passengers on Speaker's flight back to North America tested positive brought back memories for me. That's because it reminds me that people can test positive for TB without having it. I'm one of those people.

I remember quite vividly being in 3rd or 4th grade and having one of my classmates shout "ew, she has the disease, she has the disease" because I had what looked like a round rash 2 days after getting 5 pricks from a TB tine test (nowadays a single injection is used). I didn't think I was sick and a follow-up x-ray showed my lungs were fine. But the impact was lasting.

I had a couple more TB tests administered while I was in school. But at least I was prepared now. I knew to expect the round redness on my forearm and another set of chest x-rays. Each time I was negative. Why was I testing positive? I may have been given a TB vaccine (I haven't checked my vaccine records in decades). TB vaccine was not commonly used in the U.S., but Europeans did use TB vaccine and it can cause a positive TB test. Or I may have come in contact with someone who had TB. In the end I was always told that I didn't have TB. But to this day, it's with me. When I go to the doctor and go over my medical history, I'll tell the doc I always test positive for TB.

So now, Andrew Speaker is being sued by 8 fellow passengers. Speaker, a 31-year-old Atlanta, Georgia, lawyer, caused an international uproar when he disregarded doctors' advice and traveled abroad to get married, potentially exposing his fellow passengers to the disease.

According to the attorney filing the lawsuit, one of these passengers, who was on the same flight from Prague to Montreal - a 72-year-old man- had tested positive for TB on a skin test. Follow-up x-rays have come back normal, but he's still waiting for further test results.

Could Speaker have infected him on the plane? His own physician, TB expert Dr. Charles Daley tells CNN this positive skin test result is "absolutely not related to Andrew Speaker." And Canadian health officials say so far "no active TB cases have been identified among the 29 passengers."

Why not? This passenger tested positive just 6 days after being on the same plane as Speaker. Not enough time has passed. Several TB experts tell us that a minimum of 2 weeks have to pass before a test would come back positive, if this man had been infected by the attorney from Atlanta.

If any of the other passengers stay TB negative for 2 months (which is just 11 days away), they can be sure they were not infected by Speaker, experts tell us.

The 8 passengers are suing Speaker because they feel he intentionally disregarded their safety. Do you think he did?

Last night on Larry King, I had a chance to sit and discuss health care with a man I admire. It is true. Michael Moore has been able to get people talking about health care policy in a way that I haven't seen in a long time. It is important, because we both agree on the need to fix the health care system. It is shameful and heartbreaking that so many people don't have access to what most consider a basic human right. An uninsured person in this country is forced to make impossible decisions every day, such as choosing between food and medications. They live with the constant fear of getting sick or injured and then suddenly finding themselves in financial ruin. Even for the insured, the system seems broken and antiquated. Most everyone who reads this, whether you are a doctor or a patient, agrees that the time has come for a change.

Michael Moore and I agree on these points. In fact, after the segment ended on Larry King last night, we chatted for a couple of moments off the air. It was friendly and he seemed appreciative that we had a chance to discuss some of these issues. He reminded me that we are both from Michigan, although he favors the Spartans and I am a die hard Wolverine fan. He also reminded me that he has been working on Sicko for a long time and wanted to be recognized for his efforts. And, I do recognize that. Sincerely.

I also think, though, that it is important to get the facts absolutely right and to be transparent about the sources of those facts. Michael knows that I took issue with the "cherry picking" of some numbers to try and bolster his argument. He cited an unsourced BBC report when talking about per capita Cuban spending. That same report also talked about US per capita health spending, but he apparently didn't like that number, so instead he used a projected number from a different study. I worry that comparing apples and oranges purposely, and perhaps needlessly, muddy the argument. To be clear, I got a number wrong in my original report, substituting the number 25, instead of 251. It was not deliberate, but an error of transcription. I felt awful it happened. I did correct it and apologize.

I also worry that Michael, who is an accomplished film maker, tried to leave people with the impression that health care is free in many other nations and there is a state of utopia. True, Michael did talk about increased taxes in his film, but he also kept calling it "free," which made it nebulous. No question, there are many valuable things to learn from other health care systems, but we should know all things before wholeheartedly endorsing one system over another. We should know that taxes will be much higher, as is the case in France where they are crippled by their health care system. We should also know that a significant number of people in these countries still buy supplemental insurance, apparently unhappy with what the government alone can provide. We should also remember that Medicare, an example of a limited national health care plan in the United States, is expected to go bankrupt by the year 2020. If there is a new national health care plan, we want it to be around for a very long time and to provide the sort of health care that we deserve. Personally, I believe that adopting a much more prevalent prevention model is an important first step. Keeping people from getting sick in the first place may cost more in the short run, but it is medically and morally the right thing to do.

Judging by the response over the past few days, people are very passionate about these health care issues. I think I can safely speak for Michael, when I say, that is the best news of all. I was a bit baffled, though, that Michael took such issue with my reporting in Iraq. I reported on a group of Navy doctors who worked hard to address the consequences of those booms and explosions we watched on television. They risked their lives everyday to save and improve the lives of others. I think about them everyday. I wish Michael would've watched some of that reporting before being so critical.

Although Michael accused me of it, I have never shilled for a corporate sponsor and I never will. What I will do is try and present solid reporting on the complexities of a health care system in disrepair, no matter who it makes uncomfortable - be they powerful vested interests or filmmakers.

On a final note, Michael has told people at CNN that he regularly receives nasty email and even death threats. As I have been thrust into this world over the past couple of days, I understand what he is talking about. If you want to contribute to the discussion, please try and keep your comments constructive.

Dr. James Levine works at his treadmill desk

Like any good journalist, I try to go into a story with an unbiased view. "Just the facts, ma'am" is my motto. But before I even arrived at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester Minnesota, to produce a story on a treadmill built into a desk, I was rather skeptical. The story was simple. A doctor named James Levine, had designed a piece of office equipment for the Mayo Clinic that not only housed a computer and a phone, but a full-sized treadmill. The idea was to keep moving while doing your desk job.

Now I don't know about you, but the idea of walking at the same time you're writing a report or taking an important phone call was a little iffy for me. How was that possible? How could you concentrate? Yet when I arrived at Dr. Levine's office (equipped with two desks and two treadmills), he was already typing a manuscript while putting in his daily walk on the machine. He was doing it -- why couldn't the rest of us?

"Why not do the interview from the other treadmill?" he said. Ok! I was up for it! I had worn flats. I was ready.

First off, I found that the machine's tread moves slowly, about one mile an hour. And it's more of a natural movement; your feet just kind of get into it. After about 10 minutes you don't even feel like you're walking at all. It's very peaceful...very "Zen" like. I loved it. Not only was I doing the interview on the treadmill, (the photographer was on the treadmill with me!!!) but my heart rate seemed to go down. My mind was clearer. I was relaxed!!!!

The treadmill desk is a just part of a master plan of Levine's called the "Office of the Future.” He envisions a workplace equipped with exercise machines, including walking paths employees could use while working in an office setting. He's even patterned the "Suit of the Future," made out of lightweight material that you can wear to exercise in and then walk right into a boardroom meeting and not even kick up a sweat. It's all designed to help sedentary workers get active without losing precious time.

Levine says that on the average, an employee can burn about 150 calories an hour using the treadmill desk. Some doctors will tell you, you can get just as much exercise and burn just as many calories by taking a 20-minute walk for lunch. But Levine says in today's workplace, many employees never get to leave their cubicles. His thought: If they can't get to exercise, bring the exercise to them. Levine has already found a major corporation that will be providing the machines to its workers on a trial basis.

As for my treadmill experience? After about 20 minutes on the machine, I had gotten my interview and a pretty nice workout. I felt refreshed and ready to take on more work. It was invigorating and fun, and all it took was a little bit of energy to get on the machine and keep going. No longer a skeptic, I'll be calling my boss to see if we can have a few treadmill desks in our office!

Would you want a treadmill at your desk? Do you know of other ways for office workers to keep fit at work?

For almost three months now, we've been asking you to go to CNN.com/Fitnation to take the Fit Nation Challenge.

You see, Dr. Sanjay Gupta is trying to reverse what seems to be an unstoppable trend - our growing waistlines. Even if you exercise regularly, it can be hard to feel that you're making a difference in the obesity epidemic. To that end, we felt it was so important to quantify your impact. And today, just when I was starting to lose the sight of the Fit Nation Tour in my rearview mirror, I got a happy surprise.

Yesterday afternoon, I checked on the Fit Nation site to see how we are doing. As of 3 p.m. Thursday, the hours people had pledged in weekly exercise had added 1,784,320 hours to their lives.

Fast-forward to this morning. A link to our Fit Nation page was featured on the front page of CNN.com! I wondered whether more people reading about Fit Nation would help us get even more hours.

My jaw hit the floor!!

Our new total was 2,227,840 hours!! Not only did we surpass the 2 million hour mark - that's twice what we initially set out to do - but we FLEW past it, adding more than 500,000 hours last night alone!

I believe this shows the appetite (pardon the pun) people have for solving the obesity problem. I hope, if you haven't already, you will make a pledge today. Thanks to you, we've added more than 254 years of life. I'd call that a tangible impact.

Most experts agree that the best time - biologically speaking - for a woman to get pregnant is when she's in her mid-20's, but today more women than ever are choosing to have children after age 35 and even 40. Given the news reports of some celebrities having babies later in life (actress Holly Hunter had twins at 47 and Jane Kaczmarek had her third child at 46), as well as the occasional report of grandmothers having babies, some women may think that having a baby later in life isn't a big deal.

The numbers bear it out: More women than ever over the age of 40 are having babies - more than 103,000 in 2004 - twice as many as in 1990, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But the reality is that having babies later in life can be more difficult and brings along increased risks for the mom-to-be and the baby.

However, modern medicine can help. In addition to in-vitro fertilization, or IVF, doctors have the technology to test embryos for genetic defects before they are implanted.

It's called "PGD" - preimplantation genetic diagnosis. When an embryo is divided into just eight cells, one cell is removed and tested for genetic defects.

This is used when parents may carry a gene for a genetic disorder such as Huntington's disease or sickle-cell disease. PGD could be recommended to parents of any age because they could pass the gene for these disorders to their child.

Older moms have older eggs. Dr. Dorothy Mitchell-Leef, a reproductive specialist in Atlanta told me, "Women in their 40's have a double set of problems: Their eggs are aging and they don't have as many as they used to have." As the eggs age, the chromosomes don't divide as well - which increases the risk of having three chromosomes or just one when there are supposed to be a pair.

So the same basic technique used in PGD can also be used for screening genetic defects that can lead to miscarriages or Down syndrome, which is the result of chromosome abnormalities. This is called PGD for aneuploidy screening.

A new study presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology and published in the New England Journal of Medicine this week says using PGD for screening in older moms decreases their chance of carrying the baby to term. (Full Story).

Why the lower birth rate? The invasiveness of extracting a cell may be damaging the embryo, or reducing the overall genetic information in the embryo could be contributing to birth failures.

I spoke with several fertility experts who were not surprised at these results. But as Dr. Marcelle Cedars from the University of California, San Francisco put it, "Women above a certain age ask for it (the screening) and we spend a lot of time talking them out of it." Now doctors have a study to point to that confirms what they believed already: Screening embryos just because the mom is older doesn't increase her chance of having a healthy baby - as a matter of fact, it can decrease the chance.

While the experts I spoke with agreed with the study results, other reports say not all fertility experts agree with the findings. If you're in your late 30s or 40s and are trying to get pregnant (and don't have a family history of debilitating disorders), would you insist on screening your embryo before implantation?

I love going to the beach. Not only is it a time to relax and enjoy the sun and surf, but the boardwalk offers a lot of goodies that you don't find in many other places: taffy, cotton candy, greasy pizza by the slice, buckets of french fries. Ah the joy. Or is it?

As I was wandering through the crowd, munching on a funnel cake, the reasons for the obesity epidemic became pretty obvious. Look at what we are eating! And the place was loaded with skimpy suits on zaftig bodies, squeezing a lot of girth into little pieces of material. Wow. Half-naked bodies don't lie. We are a fat nation, not a fit nation. For years, we Americans have let fatty, high-calorie foods add pounds to our bodies. We've fed our children junk instead of home-cooked meals. Then we've sat around and ignored the consequences. Now, millions of Americans have type 2 diabetes and face major heart problems. We are no longer just the land of the free and the home of the brave, we are the country of the chubby. It's not a title we should be proud of. Because as the U.S. gets heavier, we are faced with serious issues that begin to affect our health-care system and our economy. Something needs to be done and soon. Many experts believe it's up to the states to begin the fight.

Every year, the University of Baltimore puts out a report card, giving grades to states, based on how well they attack the obesity issue. This year, the state of California received top honors. It's true, former Mr. Universe (and California Gov.) Arnold Schwarzenegger is no slouch when it comes to physical fitness. But it takes more then a buff state official to get an "A" from the University of Baltimore

California received the high grades in part because of programs including "First 5 California." The group's main goal is to make sure that all children in the Golden State get proper care in their first five years of life. Officials believe that a child's positive health habits are formed early and that healthy children will grow into healthy adults. But "First 5" officials don't think that their job is done after the age of 5. Childhood obesity is still a problem in tots to teens, from San Diego to San Francisco. So in an effort to get the word out to parents, "First 5" has been actively working on an awareness campaign that lets parents know it's up to them to keep their kids fit.

Today you can drive along Sunset Boulevard and see billboards reminding parents that obesity can hurt their children. Flick on the TV in Santa Monica or Fresno and a commercial appears with an adorable child asking her parent to stop and get (instead of fast food) some grease or a heart attack - stark reminders that every bite of food makes a difference in a child's health. "First 5" director Kris Perry says it's about good decision-making. "We're trying to convey to (parents) that these little choices all day long -- a cookie here, a doughnut there, a glass of juice, some chips -- by the end of the day your child has consumed far more calories then they really needed." The campaign has become so popular that comedian Adam Sandler, appearing on "Late Night with David Letterman," joked that the ads prompted him and his daughter to put down their cheeseburgers.

It's campaigns such as these that obesity experts say work. California is lucky because the state has the money to run the ads. But Ken Stanton, co-author of the University of Baltimore reports, says other governments can do their part. For example, look at New York City's ban on trans fats, or Arkansas' fight against vending machines in schools.

So are the boardwalks at places like Ocean City, Maryland, or Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the next targets? Will they banish soft-serve ice cream and chicken wings forever? Probably not. But as states begin to look at how they can impact their residents and their diets, you may see fewer people standing in lines waiting for those buckets of fries and more buff bathing beauties on the beach.

Do you think states should do more? If so, what can they do to curb obesity in this country?

When Americans gathered to celebrate the Fourth of July in the early days of the Republic, they may have dined on onion pie, pea soup and Johnny cakes (cornbread). Now, we're more likely to grill hamburgers and hot dogs.

You don't have to go back centuries to find significant changes in the American diet. You just have to go back three decades - to around the time of the Bicentennial.

The per capita daily supply of added fats and oils has increased 38 percent since the 1970s, according to the U.S. Economic Research Service.

Typically, you'll find these added fats in processed foods such as cookies and fast food favorites such as french fries and donuts. A lot of artery-clogging trans fats comes from these added fats and oils, primarily soybean oil.

As the added fats in our diets shot up since the 1970s, so too did the U.S. obesity rate. The percent of children considered overweight or obese has doubled since the 1970s, from 15 percent to 30 percent.

What may surprise you is that the U.S. government has paid billions in subsidies to soybean growers, prompting overproduction of the primary source of these added fats and trans fats in our diets.

The result has been lower prices for less healthy foods.

By contrast, fruits and vegetables are considered "specialty crops" by Congress and ineligible for subsidies. The price of produce has continued to rise.

"We need to create an environment where it's easy to eat healthy. Right now, if price is your chief concern, the rational choice is to eat crappy food," says Dr. David Wallinga, director of the food and health program for the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in Minneapolis.

This summer, Congress is working on the Farm Bill, a massive piece of legislation that will have a profound influence not only on what farmers plant but also what we eat for years to come. And that will play a role in the nation's health.

Groups that follow the Farm Bill don't expect any big policy changes. What do you think Congress should do in the Farm Bill to promote healthy diets?

And as you enjoy your Independence Day, you can take comfort in your dietary connection to our ancestors. Apple pie was popular back in 1776, and Thomas Jefferson dazzled visitors to Monticello by making ice cream using ice harvested from the Rivanna River.

"The last time I felt free was before I was married," said a friend who has been with her husband for 40 years.

"Great..." I said as I smiled and nodded politely.

I'm getting married on Saturday - and everyone has advice. My mother tells me not to get too stressed out before the wedding. Other people give me directives: to breathe, to enjoy the day and to be sure to have someone save us some cake. Trusted friends share their wisdom on how to keep a marriage happy. My doctor-friend lists off the health benefits of being blissfully wed.

It's true. Married people were healthier for nearly every measure of health, says a 2004 CDC study. Married couples live longer lives, suffer less from heart disease, back pain, headaches and serious psychological distress. They are also less likely to smoke and drink heavily.

More recently, an Ohio State University study out this year found that depressed people gain more from being married than single people. They fared better on depression tests than when they were single, but they do report less-happy marriages overall.

The one area where married people did worse? Weight gain. No surprise there. I must admit that this trend started long before the nuptials for me. I like to call it happy fat. It makes me feel better. In the long run, middle-aged married men tipped the scales the most. From ages 45 to 64, three out of four married men were overweight or obese. Single men and women who had never been married were the leanest groups.

Interestingly enough, cohabitation didn't earn the same health benefits. People with live in partners tended to score similar to divorced or separated people in terms of health.

But a bad marriage can have serious negative effects on your health. Just one example, marital stress is as strong a marker as work stress when it comes to your risk of heart disease according to Dr. Richard Stein of the American Heart Association.

What is it about marriage that leads to better health? Do you think single or married people have higher levels of stress? Why do you think live-in partners don't share the same health benefits? Do you have any advice on maintaining a happy marriage?