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Scientists Grow Stem Cell Lines in New Medium
(Reuters, Jan. 3, 2006)
"Scientists at a laboratory affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a stem-cell culture medium free of animal cells and used it to derive two new human embryonic stem-cell lines. The new work, reported in the journal Nature Biotechnology, is a crucial step in stem-cell research because it will allow growth of these cells without using animal products that can harbor viruses and other potential sources of problems."
Rotavirus Drugs Deemed Safe and Effective
Donald G. McNeil Jr. (The New York Times, Jan. 5, 2006)
"Two new vaccines against rotavirus, the leading known cause of deaths from diarrhea among infants around the world, have proved safe and effective in two of the largest clinical trials in the history of medicine. Studies of the two vaccines, one made by Merck and one by GlaxoSmithKline, are to be published today in The New England Journal of Medicine."
Free registration required.
Parenting and Depression: 'Bundles of...Misery'
Elizabeth Agnvall (The Washington Post, January 3, 2006)
"Just as we're taking down the tree, organizing the new toys and stepping onto the scale comes a study finding that may make us wonder why we do it all: Parents are more likely to be depressed than people who do not have children."
Free registration required.
Tennessee Tries Shame To Stem Drunken Driving
(Associated Press, Dec. 31, 2006)
"A new Tennessee law is enlisting the power of shame to discourage drunken driving -- even though law enforcement, the governor and various experts are calling it an expensive and bad idea. Starting Jan. 1, convicted drunken drivers are required to do 24 hours of roadside cleanup while wearing orange vests emblazoned with the phrase 'I am a Drunk Driver.'"
South Africa: Women's Rights Laws and African Custom Clash
Sharon LaFraniere (The New York Times, Dec. 30, 2006)
"[T]o many advocates of women's and children's rights, [virginity testing] is unscientific, discriminatory and -- to girls who are publicly and perhaps falsely accused of having lost their virginity -- emotionally searing. This month, their arguments persuaded South Africa's Parliament to ban some virginity testing, with violations punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The ban is an example of how sub-Saharan Africa is slowly, but inexorably, enshrining into law basic protections that have long been denied women. But it also hints at the frailty of the movement toward women's rights in the region."
Free registration required.
(BBC World Service had a great story on virginity testing yesterday, btw.)
(Reuters, Jan. 3, 2006)
"Scientists at a laboratory affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a stem-cell culture medium free of animal cells and used it to derive two new human embryonic stem-cell lines. The new work, reported in the journal Nature Biotechnology, is a crucial step in stem-cell research because it will allow growth of these cells without using animal products that can harbor viruses and other potential sources of problems."
Rotavirus Drugs Deemed Safe and Effective
Donald G. McNeil Jr. (The New York Times, Jan. 5, 2006)
"Two new vaccines against rotavirus, the leading known cause of deaths from diarrhea among infants around the world, have proved safe and effective in two of the largest clinical trials in the history of medicine. Studies of the two vaccines, one made by Merck and one by GlaxoSmithKline, are to be published today in The New England Journal of Medicine."
Free registration required.
Parenting and Depression: 'Bundles of...Misery'
Elizabeth Agnvall (The Washington Post, January 3, 2006)
"Just as we're taking down the tree, organizing the new toys and stepping onto the scale comes a study finding that may make us wonder why we do it all: Parents are more likely to be depressed than people who do not have children."
Free registration required.
Tennessee Tries Shame To Stem Drunken Driving
(Associated Press, Dec. 31, 2006)
"A new Tennessee law is enlisting the power of shame to discourage drunken driving -- even though law enforcement, the governor and various experts are calling it an expensive and bad idea. Starting Jan. 1, convicted drunken drivers are required to do 24 hours of roadside cleanup while wearing orange vests emblazoned with the phrase 'I am a Drunk Driver.'"
South Africa: Women's Rights Laws and African Custom Clash
Sharon LaFraniere (The New York Times, Dec. 30, 2006)
"[T]o many advocates of women's and children's rights, [virginity testing] is unscientific, discriminatory and -- to girls who are publicly and perhaps falsely accused of having lost their virginity -- emotionally searing. This month, their arguments persuaded South Africa's Parliament to ban some virginity testing, with violations punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The ban is an example of how sub-Saharan Africa is slowly, but inexorably, enshrining into law basic protections that have long been denied women. But it also hints at the frailty of the movement toward women's rights in the region."
Free registration required.
(BBC World Service had a great story on virginity testing yesterday, btw.)
