"Walnuts"

This NYT article differs from the others as the writer focused more on
cultural and historical uses of walnuts, and prefaced with a brief (3
paragraph) summary of current research on possible medical uses.  What
interests me most is the finding that contrary to popular belief, nuts
may help reduce levels of fatty-acid levels.  In the journal, the
researchers state that "the ratio of poly-unsaturated fat to saturated
fat is 7.1, one of the highest among naturally occuring foods."  As
consumers, we should be aware that the unsaturated variety is not
nearly as detrimental to health as is the saturated kind.  If the
walnut study holds true across more conditions, then perhaps a more
foods with similar ratios would help decrease blood cholesterol
levels.

The researchers took 18 healthy men and controlled their diets for a
total of 61 days.  As they concluded, it would be interesting to see
if blood serum levels of cholesterol would change or remain constant
after the trial period.  More study into relationships of specific
diets/foods and cholesterol would help us all.

1.  What possible bias could the researchers' source of funding cause?
How might you try to assess whether this possible bias is enough to
make you not trust the results?

2.  What do the researchers say about correlating their results with
women, or subjects with hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol
levels)?