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BREAST IS BEST Lactadherin, a constituent of breast milk,
protects babies from rotavirus infection, the commonest cause of
diarrhea. Doctors now hope to be able to produce the chemical in
tablet form.
THE END IS NIGH Researchers have discovered how rhinoviruses,
responsible for 70% of common colds, attach themselves to
humans; now they believe a cure can be found.
THE GIFT OF SIGHT When it is wound up in 2002, the World Health
Organization's control program in Africa for onchocerciasis, or
river blindness, will have protected over 40 million people from
the disease and saved 600,000 from loss of sight.
The Lancet; Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences; World Health Organization
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THE UNKINDEST CUT More women in developing countries are having
their babies in hospitals, but too many are undergoing
unnecessary surgery, in most cases caesareans or episiotomies.
BAD ATMOSPHERE The air in indoor swimming pools has been found
to irritate the eyes, noses and throats of lifeguards because of
a reaction between disinfectant chlorine and human sweat and
urine, according to French researchers.
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Factory accidents have risen by 80% in a
year as Vietnam tries to modernize. People in noisy, dirty
workplaces are suffering deafness, lead poisoning and disease.
British Medical Journal; Occupational and Environmental
Medicine; British Medical Journal
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