HealthLine

Study finds patterns of infant abuse

According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 43 infants in the United States is abused or neglected each year. The study reported that 91,278 infants were physically abused or neglected in 2006, 29,881 of them before they were a week old.

For the purposes of the study, abuse was defined as beating, kicking, biting, burning, or shaking a child, while neglect included abandonment, drug use, or failure to provide basic housing, food, and clothing for a child.

The study is the first of its kind, and thus researchers were unable to tell whether this rate is increasing or decreasing. They did say, however, that patterns of abuse and neglect are preventable.

Source: The New York Times

University censors abortion searches

Computers at Johns Hopkins University were programmed to ignore the word “abortion” in database searches.

The database, known as Popline, is funded by the Agency for International Development; the agency also removed two articles about abortion advocacy because they clashed with the criteria of the database. The dean of Hopkins’ Public Health School, Michael J. Klag, immediately lifted the restrictions once he became aware of them. Klag also mandated that the database’s original settings be restored.

Those who complied with the agency’s restriction stated that the database was federally funded and should be subject to any restrictions in accordance with the federal government’s ideological agenda.

Source: The New York Times

Genes are linked to lung cancer

Predisposition to lung cancer is genetic, scientists reported after finding a chromosome containing genes associated with the disease.

Of three separate studies published on Wednesday, two stated that the genes increase a person’s risk of contracting lung cancer, regardless of whether or not the person smokes.

The third study concluded that the genes make a person more likely to smoke, therefore inducing behavior that leads to lung cancer.

Source: Newsweek

Experts encourage hands-only CPR

Hands-only CPR is as effective as standard CPR for adults who go into cardiac arrest, the American Heart Association reported. This new form of CPR involves repeated quick presses on the victim’s chest, as opposed to the traditional mouth-to-mouth technique.

Doctors hope that people will be more likely to help a victim needing CPR if they know they can perform a technique less intimate than mouth-to-mouth.

Experts recommend 100 uninterrupted chest presses a minute until medical help arrives. They also stress that the new technique is for adults only, and that children in need of CPR should only receive mouth-to-mouth.

Source: The Washington Post