Wired News - Late Shift Work Linked to Cancer

Wired News - AP News

Linked because I like the improbable, but simple, hypothesis:

"Back then, [Richard Stevens] was trying to figure out why breast cancer incidence suddenly shot up starting in the 1930s in industrialized societies, where nighttime work was considered a hallmark of progress. Most scientists were bewildered by his proposal."

Richard Stevens is a cancer epidemiologist, which is interesting in its own right. He is a professor at the University of Connecticut Health Center.

Apparently, this is old news. From his bio:

"He proposed in 1987 a radical new theory that use of electric lighting, resulting in lighted nights, might produce "circadian disruption" causing changes in the hormones relevant to breast cancer risk. Accumulating evidence has generally supported the idea, and it has received wide scientific and public attention. For example, his work has been featured on the covers of the popular weekly Science News (October 17, 1998) and the scientific journal Cancer Research (July 15, 1996)."