Miscellaneous News

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Libyan leader should pardon medical workers

Geoffrey van Orden, member of the European Parliament and E.P. rapporteur on Bulgaria, on Tuesday at a joint news conference called on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to pardon the five Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor sentenced to death for allegedly intentionally infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV, the Bulgarian News Agency reports.

7 Jan 2007

Margaret Chan takes office as WHO Director General

Margaret Chan, a former health director from Hong Kong, on Thursday took office as the World Health Organization's director general, saying she would focus primarily on improving the health of Africans and women worldwide, the New York Times reports.

7 Jan 2007

U.S. surplus mercury strategy welcomed prior to UN negotiations

Department of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman cited recognition of health and environmental concerns as prime reasons why DOE "has no current plans to sell" their stockpile of over 1,200 metric tons of mercury.

3 Jan 2007

Media multitasking among American youth

The Kaiser Family Foundation released a new report and hosted a forum on media multitasking among young people.

12 Dec 2006

The Big Apple bans bad fat!

The municipal board of health for New York city has banned the use of artificial trans fats at all restaurants and food outlets in the city.

5 Dec 2006

Susan Winckler appointed as acting FDA Chief of Staff

Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, Acting Commissioner of Food and Drugs (FDA), today announced the appointment of Susan C. Winckler, RPh, Esq., as the agency's Acting Chief of Staff. Ms. Winckler is replacing Patrick Ronan who announced his resignation last week after several years of service at the FDA.

5 Dec 2006

Dancing on the streets - just what the doctor ordered!

It seems plans are afoot to provide dance classes on the National Health Service in Britain in an attempt to improve the country's fitness levels and halt a looming national obesity crisis.

4 Dec 2006

Democratic congressional leaders plan to approve Federal embryonic stem cell funding measure in January

Democratic congressional leaders in January 2007 plan to approve a bill similar to a measure (HR 810) President Bush vetoed earlier this year that would have expanded federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (Kellman, AP/Houston Chronicle, 11/29).

2 Dec 2006

Kansas Judge asks State Supreme Court to let him keep confidential some information from abortion records case

Shawnee County, Kan., District Court Judge Richard Anderson -- who permitted Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline (R) to view edited medical records of 90 women and girls who underwent late-term abortions -- on Monday filed a response with the state Supreme Court asking that some information about the case be kept confidential, the AP/Kansas City Star reports.

2 Dec 2006

House Republicans tentatively schedule consideration of fetal pain bill

House Republicans have tentatively scheduled consideration next week on a bill (HR 6099) that would require women seeking abortions to be offered an anesthetic for the fetus and told that there is evidence the procedure can cause fetal pain, the AP/Forbes reports.

2 Dec 2006

Chinese court upholds prison term for human rights advocate Chen Guangcheng

A court in China's Shandong province on Friday upheld a four-year, three-month prison sentence for human rights advocate Chen Guangcheng -- who was arrested in China after attempting to bring a class-action lawsuit against the government for alleged human rights abuses associated with the enforcement of the country's one-child-per-family policy -- the Washington Post reports.

2 Dec 2006

American Red Cross facing hefty fines for violating blood-safety laws

Despite a promise three years ago to fix on-going problems, the American Red Cross is in trouble again for violating blood-safety laws.

29 Nov 2006

Face transplant woman has something to smile about

Thirty eight year old French woman Isabelle Dinoire who received the world's first face transplant has made a remarkable recovery and is now able to go out without anyone noticing her scars.

28 Nov 2006

Finance Committee approves $181M loan to California's Stem Cell Research Institute

The California Stem Cell Research and Cures Finance Committee on Monday unanimously approved a $181 million loan to the state's stem cell research institute, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, in an effort to start the program, which has been stalled by lawsuits, the Los Angeles Times reports (La Ganga, Los Angeles Times, 11/21).

23 Nov 2006

Australia, cloning and abortion drug mifepristone examined

The New York Times on Tuesday examined the political debates in Australia over the legalization earlier this year of the medical abortion drug mifepristone and whether to pass legislation that would legalize some forms of cloning of human embryos for therapeutic purposes.

23 Nov 2006