Miscellaneous News

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Computer game addicted mom punished for child neglect

In a bizarre incident, a British mother’s addiction to a computer game made her negligent towards her children and pets. The 33 year old mother of three (aged 9, 10 and 13), has not been named for legal reasons. She got addicted to an online game so much, that she didn’t feed her children and dogs properly.

15 Sep 2010

Population-specific identification criteria helps determine human remains in Chile earthquake

New research from North Carolina State University will help medical examiners and others identify human remains of those killed during the recent earthquake in Chile, as well as the bodies of the "disappeared" who were killed during the Pinochet administration.

15 Sep 2010

Kings Cross drug injection center to become permanent fixture

After running for quite some time amidst intense debates, the New South Wales Government has announced plans to make the medically-supervised drug injecting centre at Kings Cross a permanent fixture. This unit has been functioning since 2001 and was still looking for permanency. A latest review of this trial center showed that it has successfully managed more than 3,000 overdoses and helped 12,000 drug users.

15 Sep 2010

Jim Stynes battle with cancer documentary to inspire people

Jim Stynes, the former AFL football star said he was motivated to participate in a documentary about his life and his battle with cancer to inspire people. The 1991 AFL Brownlow Medallist and current chairman of Melbourne Football Club is more than a year into his battle with cancer.

14 Sep 2010

Researchers review clerkship performance records of medical students at four colleges

Susan M. Kies, Ed.D., of the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Urbana, and colleagues conducted a study to assess whether the order in which third-year core clerkships are completed affects student performance.

14 Sep 2010

Study to identify demographic variables prior to medical school acceptance

Dorothy A. Andriole, M.D., and Donna B. Jeffe, Ph.D., of Washington University, St. Louis, conducted a study to identify demographic variables prior to medical school acceptance associated with outcomes for medical school students.

14 Sep 2010

Researchers develop healthier, low saturated vegetable oil from soybeans

Years of research has proven that saturated and trans fats clog arteries, make it tough for the heart to pump and are not valuable components of any diet. Unfortunately, they are contained in many foods. Now, a University of Missouri research team has developed a soybean which produces oil that is naturally low in saturated and trans fats.

14 Sep 2010

African Green Revolution Forum concludes with 'Green Revolution' action plan

Participants at the first meeting of the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) - which wrapped up recently in Accra, Ghana - drew up a "Green Revolution" action plan aimed at ensuring food security in Africa, SciDev.Net reports. The forum is the result of a challenge, issued by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, which calls on the private and public sectors to work together to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

14 Sep 2010

Complementary medicine to save millions: Report

According to a new report substituting pharmaceutical antidepressants with St John’s Wort could save the health system $50 million a year. This research was conducted by Access Economics for the National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) at the University of Western Sydney. It showed that cost effectiveness of complementary and alternative therapies have the potential to cut costs without compromising patient outcomes.

13 Sep 2010

Roadside memorials to be regulated

The ACT Government has released a policy on roadside memorials. This policy will put in place restrictions on height and width of the homemade tributes to road accident victims that dot the region’s roadsides. The authorities also stress on safety issues of these memorials. Under the policy, permanent roadside memorials can be erected in a public area only if permission is obtained from nearby residents and the site is maintained.

12 Sep 2010

Victoria tightens smoking bans

The Monash City Council will decide this week whether to start community consultation on a ban on smoking in alfresco dining areas, shopping strips, and sports clubs. Cr Micaela Drieberg said more public areas would be covered. She added that Eaton Mall in Oakleigh would be one of the areas. She said, “I think people want to be able to enjoy a meal or a coffee or just sitting outside with friends and family, especially as the weather is getting warmer, and not have to be exposed to second-hand smoke… They have just as much right to fresh air as a smoker has the right to smoke in certain places.”

12 Sep 2010

Global food crisis is not imminent, but food commodities markets need regulation, FAO official says

A global food crisis does not appear to be on the horizon despite recent food price rises, but steps must be taken to regulate volatile food commodities markets, Hafez Ghanem, a top official at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, said on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports.

10 Sep 2010

Canberra restaurants put on notice over hygiene

According to health authorities some of the ‘shabbier’ Canberra restaurants have been put on notice after a court quadrupled the fines imposed on an inner north eatery caught preparing food in “Third World” conditions.

9 Sep 2010

Safe sex campaign for over 50’s

New figures have shown an alarming rise in sexually transmitted infections among the over-50s in Britain. Health charity FPA (Flamily Planning Association) has come up with a nation wide campaign using fashion adverts from the 60s and 70s to encourage members of the baby boomer generation to use condoms and practice safe sex.

9 Sep 2010

World Bank report highlights concerns, potential benefits of large-scale farm deals in developing countries

Foreign purchases of agricultural land in developing countries "pose 'significant risks' to the livelihoods of farmers in countries with 'weak land governance,' the World Bank said in a report" (.pdf) on Tuesday, which also noted the potential benefits of these investments, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

9 Sep 2010

Severe eye problems at cattle show

After nearly fifty people complained of serious eye irritations, the dairy cow pavilion at the Royal Adelaide Show has been closed down. Organizers are blaming stagnant urine for the irritations. St John Ambulance volunteers were called to the Dairy Cattle pavilion after some people reported irritation to their eyes. 30 people required treatment at the site. 20 more people reported to the emergency department of the Royal Adelaide Hospital where their eyes were washed.

8 Sep 2010

Flood victims in Pakistan helped by Australian health team

Hundreds of Pakistani flood victims have been treated at an Australian health centre set up in the country last week. This center at the Punjab city of Kot Addu is manned by a team of doctors, nurses and paramedics from the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Victoria and Queensland.

8 Sep 2010

Cocaine use on the rise in Australia

The number of cocaine abuse related arrests has risen in Sydney's CBD and an increasing number of users of the drug are being treated in hospitals. According to the latest NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research figures arrests for possession and use of the drug have risen by 76.6 per cent in the past two years.

8 Sep 2010

FAO names 15 experts to new food security advisory body

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has named 15 experts to a committee "to help formulate policies to ensure food security and avoid a repeat of the food crisis of a few years ago," VOA News reports (DeCapua, 9/6).

8 Sep 2010

Bligh explains plans for asset sales

According to Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, new developments are on the horizon only if her Government continues with the sell off of $15 billion of public assets. She revealed this in her annual State of the State address at the mid point of her term in Government yesterday while reviewing the past 18 months and forecasting the next stage of the state's development.

7 Sep 2010