Miscellaneous News

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Prevalence of overweight and obesity increasing in Indo-Asian population

Worldwide, Indo-Asian people are among the populations at greatest risk for heart disease. Also, associations between body mass index (BMI) and chronic disease may differ between Indo-Asian and Western populations.

24 Oct 2006

Mobile phone use should be banned in cars altogether

Hands-free mobile phones have failed to make the roads safer according to a University of Sussex psychologist.

23 Oct 2006

Democrats should 'stand up strongly' for principles, columnist writes

If the Democrats gain control of at least one chamber of Congress, "the best thing that [they] can do, not just for their party and their country, but for the cause of bipartisanship, is ... stand up strongly for their principles," columnist Paul Krugman writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

23 Oct 2006

16 year old cancer victim dies after overdoses of radiation

A 16 year old cancer victim who was inadvertently given more than 17 overdoses of radiation during treatment for a brain tumour, has died at home nine months later.

23 Oct 2006

Psychiatrist in the UK up on 10 charges regarding sex change patients

A psychiatrist in Britain well known for dealing with issues of gender has been brought before the General Medical Council (GMC) on 10 charges of serious professional misconduct with regard to his treatment of patients.

19 Oct 2006

HRSA to allocate $14M to public umbilical cord blood banks

HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration plans to allocate $14 million to public umbilical cord blood banks nationwide in an effort to increase the supply of cord blood from 50,000 to 150,000 units, the AP/Washington Post reports.

17 Oct 2006

Washington Post examines Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race between Santorum, Casey

The Washington Post on Sunday examined the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Pennsylvania Treasurer Bob Casey (D) (Finkel, Washington Post, 10/15).

17 Oct 2006

Death sentence given to medical workers accused of infecting Libyan shildren with HIV a 'miscarriage of justice'

The decision to sentence to death five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian physician accused of infecting Libyan children with HIV is a "miscarriage of justice" based on "preposterous charges," a New York Times editorial says (New York Times, 10/14).

17 Oct 2006

Hazards of tire aging

Human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) researchers at North Carolina State University have found that vehicle owners may not be aware that older but relatively unused tires can fail and cause crashes.

16 Oct 2006

New York Times examines voter guides emphasizing Christian teachings on abortion, xloning, embryonic stem cell research

The New York Times on Saturday examined five Christian voting guides that emphasize church teachings on issues such as abortion, human cloning and human embryonic stem cell research.

16 Oct 2006

Groups supporting, opposing South Dakota abortion ban conducting different campaign strategies

Supporters of a law (HB 1215) banning abortion in South Dakota except to save a woman's life recently have been staging "high-profile" activities throughout the state in their campaign to urge voters to uphold the ban in the November election, Reuters reports.

16 Oct 2006

Missouri tobacco tax proposal to appear on November ballot

The Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled unanimously that a proposed constitutional amendment to raise tobacco taxes should be placed on the Nov. 7 ballot, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

16 Oct 2006

Warnings to be placed on all booze in the UK

In an attempt to deal with the problem of binge drinking, the British government wants health warnings to be printed on all wine bottles, cans and bottles containing alcohol.

16 Oct 2006

Simple sight test and glasses could make a dramatic difference to the lives of more than 150 million people

Children fail at school, adults are unable to work and families are pushed into poverty as a result of uncorrected visual impairment.

11 Oct 2006

British the fattest people in Europe

If new figures released by the British Government are to be believed, the British are now the fattest men and women in Europe.

11 Oct 2006

Latest recall - lettuce with E. coli

In the latest scare over foods contaminated by the bacteria E. coli, another Californian grower has recalled a product, but this time it is not spinach or ground beef, but lettuce.

9 Oct 2006

Canadians paralysed after drinking carrot juice

Carrot juice which was withdrawn from the market late last month is thought to be responsible for the illness of two Canadians who are paralyzed and are severely ill in hospital.

9 Oct 2006

Federal Agencies collected $1.47B in fraud from government health insurance programs in FY 2005

The Department of Justice and the HHS Office of Inspector General in a report issued this week announced that their joint Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program -- which attempts to reduce waste, fraud and abuse in federal health care programs -- will collect $1.47 billion from criminal or civil cases brought during fiscal year 2005, The Hill reports.

8 Oct 2006

Debate between antiabortion, abortion-rights supporters now focusing on contraception

"If you're among the millions of Americans who don't like the idea of abortion but also don't like the idea of banning it, good news is on the way" in the form of two bills recently introduced in the House, William Saletan, science and technology reporter for Slate magazine, writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.

5 Oct 2006

Illinois Bill introduced to repeal, replace parental notification law

Illinois state Rep. John Fritchey (D) on Tuesday introduced a bill (HB 5840) that would repeal and replace a parental notification law revived recently by the state Supreme Court, the AP/Belleville News Democrat reports.

5 Oct 2006