Florida Couple Awarded $60M After Hospital Negligence
A federal judge has awarded a record $60.9 million to a Florida couple whose son suffered serious brain damage during his birth at a U.S. Navy hospital two years ago, the Associated Press reported Friday.
Raiza Bravo and Oscar Rodriguez, a Navy serviceman, sued the federal government, claiming doctors at Mayport Naval Station obstetric clinic, in Mayport, Fla., waited too long to perform a Cesarean section to deliver their son, Kevin.
The 12-day trial ended with U.S. District Judge Jose A. Gonzalez ruling that the doctors and nurses who attended the child's birth were negligent.
The award is thought to be the largest ever made under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which covers suits filed by private citizens against negligent conduct by government employees.
"It's like a mix of feelings, it's been sweet and bitter," Bravo told the AP. "Nobody's going to bring back my son's life."
Indonesia to Make Tamiflu for Bird Flu Fight
Indonesia's health minister said Friday her country will begin producing and stockpiling the anti-flu drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir) due to fears of a potential bird flu epidemic in humans.
Siti Fadilah Supari told the Associated Press that Tamiflu patent holder Roche Holding AG will let the country produce the drug, which experts believe might help lessen the severity of avian flu in humans. Production will begin as soon as the country receives the necessary raw materials from China or Korea, Supari said.
The news came the same day the country announced outbreaks of bird flu in poultry through the capital, Jakarta. "It is very serious," Indonesian Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono told the AP. "Based on our research, the virus has spread throughout the city."
Also on Friday, authorities destroyed 400 fowl in an area of Jakarta near the home of a young girl who died from the disease. So far, avian flu has been spotted in 23 of Indonesia's 30 provinces and has killed seven people.
In Japan, officials announced Friday that they are preparing a bird flu vaccine prototype. The prototype could help speed the development of a human vaccine should the H5N1 avian flu virus mutate into a form that could pass between humans, Tomohiko Arai, head of a government panel on science, told the AP.
Study: CO2 Levels Highest in 650,000 Years
Tiny air bubbles preserved in Antarctic ice going back millennia suggest levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide are higher now than at any time over the past 650,000 years, researchers say.
Increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse gases" that trap the sun's heat are thought to be caused by human activity and are the main cause of global warming.
"There's no natural condition that we know about in a really long time where the greenhouse gas levels were anywhere near what they are now," geosciences expert Edward Brook, of Oregon State University, told the Associated Press.
The new data was conducted by the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica and published Friday in the journal Science.
While skeptics have dismissed recent warming as part of the "natural cycle," the ice samples suggest today's warming trend is "over a factor of a hundred faster than anything we are seeing in the natural cycles," researcher Thomas Stocker of the University of Bern, Switzerland, told the AP.
South Korea Stands By Disgraced Cloning Scientist
The South Korean government said on Friday it will continue to support cloning and stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk, who resigned his posts Thursday after admitting that eggs used in his research came from his own team of researchers.
Health Ministry official Kim Sung-soo said Hwang's group will receive another $3 million to continue its research until 2009. "We still believe it is crucial to build a srong infrastructure for stem cell research if South Korea is to produce a strong advance in the area," Kim told the Associated Press.
Hwang became a national hero in South Korea after helping to produce the world's first cloned human embryos.
"I am very sorry that I have to tell the public words that are too shameful and horrible," he said at a press conference in Seoul on Thursday.
International ethical standards forbid the use of ova from women working in a researcher's lab, due to concerns that these eggs might be given under duress.
The South Korean health ministry insists that female researchers donated their eggs without Hwang's knowledge and before the country passed new bioethics laws in January.
Suspicions as to the eggs' origins first arose late in 2004 when the journal Nature questioned Hwang, who denied at the time that the ova had come from his own researchers. Hwang now admits to lying to the journal.
The researcher -- who earlier this year created Snuppy, the world's first cloned dog -- said he will resign as chairman of the newly created World Stem Cell Hub, which was created to produce stem cell lines for research. "It is my way of seeking repentance," Hwang told reporters.
China to Test Bird Flu Vaccine in Humans
China is readying a trial of bird flu vaccine to be tested on adults over the next year, according to a report published Thursday in the official China Daily newspaper.
As reported by the Associated Press, Lu Zhenyou, a spokesman for vaccine developer Sinovac Biotech, told the paper that 100 people aged 18 to 60 will be tested with the vaccine in the two-phase trial.
Should it prove successful in protecting against the H5N1 strain, the vaccine would first be given to high-risk groups, such as poultry farmers and veterinary and lab workers.
The announcement came alongside news that the country has detected a new bird flu outbreak in its far western province of Xinjiang, where officials in the city of Turpan have already killed 5,180 birds in an effort to curb the spead of the infection, the AP reported.
On Wednesday, Chinese health officials reported the country's second confirmed human death from bird flu.
The victim was a 35-year-old female farmer in Xiuning county in the eastern Anhui province. A Health Ministry officials said she died Tuesday after developing a fever and pneumonia-like symptoms following contact with sick and dead poultry.
Another woman from the same province was the first confirmed human to die of bird flu in China. A 12-year-old girl in the province of Hunan who died was listed as suspected bird flu case. But her body was cremated before the cause could be confirmed.
The only other confirmed case of bird flu in a human was the nine-year-old brother of the 12-year-old girl who died. The boy recovered from his illness.
Food Fact:
Super nova
Eating one meal of salmon a week can spawn a much healthier you. Salmon and other fatty fish like mackerel or bluefish contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are linked to a lower risk of heart attacks. As little as one weekly serving of fish can cut a middle-aged adult's chances of a fatal heart attack by as much as 50%. More good news: Eating fish rich in omega-3s helps reduce diabetes risk, in part by lowering blood triglycerides. Conversely, diets low in omega-3 fatty acids may contribute to insulin resistance, a risk for developing diabetes. Salmon also bolsters your body's ability to process serotonin, which can help relieve a tendency toward depression. Poach it. Grill it. Pan-sear it. Bake it. Just eat it.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Mirror, mirror...
Ever wonder why health clubs have all those mirrors? No, it's not for vanity's sake! The mirrors are there to assure you're maintaining proper form when exercising. You're not being a narcissist when you position yourself in front of the mirror; pay careful attention to see you're doing the exercise right. If you are uncertain as to how to perform an exercise, don't hesitate to ask for help.
FAQ of the day:
Why is fat so fattening?
Fat has more calories than carbohydrate, in part because it has a different balance of oxygen and carbon atoms; a gram of fat has 9 calories, while a gram of carbohydrates has 4. Also, carbohydrate-rich foods absorb water while fat does not, which makes a big difference in calories. Apple slices, which are mostly carbohydrates and water, have 65 calories per cup. Lard, which is nearly pure fat, contains 1,850 calories in a cup.
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