| News Briefs - January-February - Page 2 |
More Kids Abused
There has been a rise in the
number of American children
who are dying from abuse and
neglect. Child-welfare
advocates gathering for a rally
in Washington said the latest
federal figures show an
estimated 1,760 U.S. children
died from abuse and neglect in
2007, up 35% from 2001. In
2003 it was estimated the U.S.
abuse rate was 3 times
Canada’s and 11 times Italy’s.
The recession isn’t helping
because many states have had
to cut their budgets for child
welfare programs.——The
(Racine) Journal Times
(10/21/09)
Binge Drinkers Alerted
One in ten binge drinkers got
behind the wheel the last time
they drank heavily. Half of those
drivers left from a bar, restaurant
or nightclub after downing five or
more drinks. A new study was
the first to try to determine the
chances binge drinkers would
drive. The findings suggest a
need for greater efforts to
prevent bars and restaurants
from serving intoxicated patrons.
—(Racine) Journal Times
(9/1/09)
Don’t Sit for
Long Periods
Even if they exercise regularly,
people who sit for a long time are
at increased risk for premature
death from cardiovascular
disease and other causes.
Recommendation: people with a
desk job should get up as often
as possible—Bottom Line
Personal (October 15, 2009)
There has been a rise in the
number of American children
who are dying from abuse and
neglect. Child-welfare
advocates gathering for a rally
in Washington said the latest
federal figures show an
estimated 1,760 U.S. children
died from abuse and neglect in
2007, up 35% from 2001. In
2003 it was estimated the U.S.
abuse rate was 3 times
Canada’s and 11 times Italy’s.
The recession isn’t helping
because many states have had
to cut their budgets for child
welfare programs.——The
(Racine) Journal Times
(10/21/09)
Binge Drinkers Alerted
One in ten binge drinkers got
behind the wheel the last time
they drank heavily. Half of those
drivers left from a bar, restaurant
or nightclub after downing five or
more drinks. A new study was
the first to try to determine the
chances binge drinkers would
drive. The findings suggest a
need for greater efforts to
prevent bars and restaurants
from serving intoxicated patrons.
—(Racine) Journal Times
(9/1/09)
Don’t Sit for
Long Periods
Even if they exercise regularly,
people who sit for a long time are
at increased risk for premature
death from cardiovascular
disease and other causes.
Recommendation: people with a
desk job should get up as often
as possible—Bottom Line
Personal (October 15, 2009)
Baby Weighed 19.2 Lbs.
The heaviest baby ever to be
born in Indonesia came into the
world at 19.2 pounds, easily
surpassing the previous
Indonesian record of 14.7
pounds. Akbar Risuddin was
born to a diabetic mother in a
40-minute Caesarean delivery.
His two brothers weighed only
11.6 and 9.9 pounds when born.
A doctor said Akbar’s excessive
weight was a result of his mother
taking excessive glucose during
pregnancy.—Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel (9/26/09)
Kenya’s Oldest Pupil
Kenya’s oldest pupil has died.
His name was Kimani Nganga
Maruge and he was 90 years
old. At age 84 he held the
Guinness World Record for
being the oldest person to start
primary school. Political violence
caused him to move to an old
people’s home, but he continued
his studies and had two years
left to finish his primary
education. Maruge, who had
cancer, said he wanted to learn
to read the Bible. — BBC News
(8/14/09)
More Good News for
Adult Stem Cells
Ordinary human fat contains
stem cells that can be quickly
turned into pluripotent stem cells
(iPS). The iPS cells are similar
to embryonic stem cells but are
taken from adults and do not
require the destruction of human
embryos, a fact that makes them
more acceptable from an ethical
standpoint. Stanford U.
researchers discovered the cells
during liposuction and said they
can develop into other cells more
quickly than cells found in the
skin.— Clearly Caring (4th
Quarter, 2009)
The heaviest baby ever to be
born in Indonesia came into the
world at 19.2 pounds, easily
surpassing the previous
Indonesian record of 14.7
pounds. Akbar Risuddin was
born to a diabetic mother in a
40-minute Caesarean delivery.
His two brothers weighed only
11.6 and 9.9 pounds when born.
A doctor said Akbar’s excessive
weight was a result of his mother
taking excessive glucose during
pregnancy.—Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel (9/26/09)
Kenya’s Oldest Pupil
Kenya’s oldest pupil has died.
His name was Kimani Nganga
Maruge and he was 90 years
old. At age 84 he held the
Guinness World Record for
being the oldest person to start
primary school. Political violence
caused him to move to an old
people’s home, but he continued
his studies and had two years
left to finish his primary
education. Maruge, who had
cancer, said he wanted to learn
to read the Bible. — BBC News
(8/14/09)
More Good News for
Adult Stem Cells
Ordinary human fat contains
stem cells that can be quickly
turned into pluripotent stem cells
(iPS). The iPS cells are similar
to embryonic stem cells but are
taken from adults and do not
require the destruction of human
embryos, a fact that makes them
more acceptable from an ethical
standpoint. Stanford U.
researchers discovered the cells
during liposuction and said they
can develop into other cells more
quickly than cells found in the
skin.— Clearly Caring (4th
Quarter, 2009)
An Internet Birthday
Did the Internet celebrate its
40th birthday on October 29?
Forty years ago on Oct. 29,
1969 a computer at UCLA sent
a message to one at Stanford,
the first time a complete
message was sent computer to
computer. Some people though
trace the Internet’s birthday back
to Sept 2, 1969 when two
characters (“lo”) were
successfully transmitted before
the computer crashed. Leonard
Kleinrock, who led the research,
prefers the Oct. 29 date.—ABC
News (10/29/09)
A Space Elevator?
When science fiction writer
Arthur C. Clarke wrote about a
space elevator in his novel The
Fountains of Paradise it was
fantasy. Now serious research
is taking place around the world
to see if a space elevator can
become fact. A space elevator
would help carry people and
supplies into space cheaper and
more easily than rocket launches.
NASA has offered $2 million to
anyone who can build a
prototype of an elevator able to
crawl up a kilometer-high tether
carrying a heavy payload.
Inventing a strong enough cable
though is still a big problem.—
CNN (11/5/09)
Did the Internet celebrate its
40th birthday on October 29?
Forty years ago on Oct. 29,
1969 a computer at UCLA sent
a message to one at Stanford,
the first time a complete
message was sent computer to
computer. Some people though
trace the Internet’s birthday back
to Sept 2, 1969 when two
characters (“lo”) were
successfully transmitted before
the computer crashed. Leonard
Kleinrock, who led the research,
prefers the Oct. 29 date.—ABC
News (10/29/09)
A Space Elevator?
When science fiction writer
Arthur C. Clarke wrote about a
space elevator in his novel The
Fountains of Paradise it was
fantasy. Now serious research
is taking place around the world
to see if a space elevator can
become fact. A space elevator
would help carry people and
supplies into space cheaper and
more easily than rocket launches.
NASA has offered $2 million to
anyone who can build a
prototype of an elevator able to
crawl up a kilometer-high tether
carrying a heavy payload.
Inventing a strong enough cable
though is still a big problem.—
CNN (11/5/09)
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