Highly publicized events such as school shootings arouse public interest in the effects of media violence exposure on children, yet there is still considerable public debate about whether to take this issue seriously. A recent article in Social Issues and Policy Review summarizes the research on the effects of media violence and convincingly demonstrates the profound influence that media violence is having in our society.
The many studies that have been compiled on the effects of viewing media violence show that there are at least 14 scientifically documented effects on children's physiological and psychological well-being, both in the short and long term. Although many different types of studies have been conducted, they converge on the same conclusion: Violent media exposure increases the likelihood of aggressive behavior. Video games are of special concern because their effects may be particularly pronounced.
A feisty breed of terrier could stop scientists from barking up the wrong tree as they research a deadly lung disease in humans.
The illness, called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), affects 128,000 Americans, is typically fatal within three years of diagnosis, and kills more than 40,000 people in the United States annually -- a death toll equivalent to that of breast cancer.
A fatal condition that looks remarkably like IPF also strikes the diminutive West Highland White terrier ("Westie"), however. And recently, medical scientists from the human and veterinarian worlds met for the first time to share information and pool resources against a mysterious killer.
"People may be a little startled at first to learn about this idea -- 'You're kidding me, you actually think there's promise in studying this dog to help my Dad with this disease?' And the answer is -- 'Yes'," said Mark Shreve, chief operating officer of the patient advocacy group Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis, based in San Jose, Calif.
Hanoi, Vietnam - Baffled scientists first watched a mysterious virus called H5N1 jump from birds to humans a decade ago in Hong Kong, killing six people and forcing the territory to slaughter its entire poultry population. It quieted for a while, but resurfaced in 2003 with even more questions.
|
| ©AP
|
Trenton - An H.I.V. test is about to become as routine as an ultrasound for pregnant women in New Jersey.
Under a bill signed into law on Wednesday, all pregnant women in the state will be tested for the virus as part of their prenatal care unless they object. The law also requires testing for newborns if the H.I.V. status of the mother is unknown.
The father of Javona Peters, a 16-year old girl who went into coma after an operation to relieve pressure on her brain, has gone to Bronx Supreme Court for a decision on whether to take her off life support - the case is set for January 7th.
Childhood milk and egg allergies may be more persistent and harder to outgrow than they were a generation ago, U.S. researchers report.
Gene Emery
ReutersThu, 27 Dec 2007 00:02 UTC
Treating heart attack victims with radio waves helps reduce the likelihood that implantable defibrillators will need to jolt ailing hearts into beating properly, researchers reported on Wednesday.
The radiowave technique involves sending a probe into the heart, finding scar tissue from an earlier heart attack, and using radio waves to destroy the portion of that scar that can catastrophically disrupt the heartbeat.
A unit of Bayer AG recalled diabetes test strips used with its Contour TS Blood Glucose Meter because they may result in 5 to 17 percent higher blood glucose readings, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday.
The test strips are used by diabetic patients to monitor their daily blood sugar levels.
Bayer Diabetes Care said the recalled test strips were produced on new manufacturing equipment and that it has fixed the problem.
Some 53 production lots were affected by the recall, totaling 230,000 bottles of strips, a Bayer spokeswoman said. Each bottle typically contains 25 to 50 strips.
The first over-the-counter slimming pill to go on sale in Britain could be available in pharmacies as early as next year. The drug, which has been marketed in the US under the name Alli since June, is a half-strength version of a pill called Xenical that is currently only available in Britain under prescription for treating obesity.
Mutations in a protein called dynein, required for the proper functioning of sensory nerve cells, can cause defects in mice that may provide crucial clues leading to better treatments for a human nerve disorder known as peripheral neuropathy, which affects about three percent of all those over age 60.
Comment: Given the rapid rise in the past 20 years of the number of vaccines given the over-vaccinated US public and the link between the pertussis vaccine and asthma, the Hib vaccine and diabetes, thimerosal, a vaccine preservative, and autism, it wouldn't be surprising that there's a vaccine related link to milk and egg allergies.