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Sotomayor Nomination Raises Questions About How Female Judges View Cases Differently
Following President Obama"s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter, the differences between how male and female judges see and rule on cases has come into question, the New York Times reports. Although retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O"Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, often said that a female judge would come to the same decision as a male judge, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has said that her perspective on certain cases is different because of her gender.The Times cites two examples, one involving the strip search of a 13-year-old girl -- to which Ginsburg said that her male colleagues could not understand how the girl felt. The second example involves the issue of certain abortion procedures. When deciding about the constitutionality of a federal ban on so-called "partial-birth" abortions, Ginsburg took issue with Justice Anthony Kennedy"s majority opinion that women who undergo the procedure likely would experience attacks of conscience. She responded that Kennedy"s views reflected "ancient notions of women"s place in the family and under the Constitution -- ideas that have long since been discredited."The issue has come up again with Sotomayor"s nomination, specifically regarding her 2001 statement that she "would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn"t lived that life." The perception that female judges inherently might view cases differently than male judges has raised some concerns even among some female judges who believe it might be true, according to the Times. Judge Judith Kaye, former chief judge of New York state, said that she avoided discussing the issue with others but then accepted the idea that female judges see things differently at times. "To defend the idea that women come out different on some cases, I just feel it," Kaye said, adding, "I feel it to the depths of my soul" because women"s experiences are "just different." Attorney Lawrence Robbins, however, said, "Any person in the real world should be highly reluctant to make these broad generalizations."The most recent study comparing male and female judges found that female judges were more likely to rule in favor of plaintiffs who claim sex discrimination at workplaces. The study also found no differences in cases involving disability law, environmental issues and capital punishment (Lewis, New York Times, 6/3).
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Baylor Health Care System Receives $8M From French Government To Develop HIV Treatment
The French government has awarded Baylor Health Care System with an $8 million grant to develop a therapeutic method of controlling HIV without medication, the Dallas Morning News reports. The funds will go toward establishing an HIV research unit at Baylor"s Institute of Immunology Research, which will focus on researching the immune system cells of people living with HIV (Roberson, Dallas Morning News, 6/17).
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BioElectronics Is Filing For 510(k) Clearance With FDA For Its AllayTM Product
BioElectronics Corp. (PINKSHEETS: BIEL), the maker of inexpensive, disposable drug-free anti-inflammatory devices, announced it is filing an application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for 510(k) clearance to market its Allay™ Menstrual Pain Relief Patch product. The filing follows a very successful double blinded, placebo controlled clinical trial in which 71% of women in the active group reported either complete elimination or a reduction in their typical menstrual pain symptoms, with 49% showing at least a 50% reduction in pain associated with dysmenorrhea.
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Diabetes Gene Raises Odds Of Lower Birth Weight

Pediatric researchers have found that a gene previously shown to be involved in the development of type 2 diabetes also predisposes children to having a lower birth weight. The finding sheds light on a possible genetic influence on how prenatal events may set the stage for developing diabetes in later childhood or adulthood. Researchers from The Children"s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine published the study July 10 in the online version of the journal Diabetes. "It"s a bit unusual to find a gene linked to both prenatal events and to a disease that occurs later in life," said study leader Struan F.A. Grant, Ph.D., a researcher at the Center for Applied Genomics of The Children"s Hospital of Philadelphia. "This gene variant carries a double whammy, in raising the risk of both lower birth weight and the development of type 2 diabetes in later life." Type 2 diabetes occurs either when the pancreas produces too little insulin or when the body cannot efficiently use the insulin that is produced. Formerly called adult-onset diabetes and still most common in adults, type 2 diabetes has been increasing sharply among children. Grant and study co-leader Hakon Hakonarson, Ph.D., director of the Center for Applied Genomics at Children"s Hospital, investigated 20 gene locations previously reported to be associated with type 2 diabetes. Drawing on a cohort of some 5,700 Caucasian children in an ongoing genome-wide association study of childhood obesity at Children"s Hospital, the researchers compared birth weights with the occurrence of the 20 gene variants. They found that one of the gene variants, called CDKAL1, had a strong association with lower birth weight -- a finding that supports the so-called fetal insulin hypothesis. Previous studies by European diabetes researchers, said Grant, had suggested that CDKAL1 was implicated in both lower birth weight and type 2 diabetes, and the current study, using a large sample size, reinforced that association. Under the fetal insulin hypothesis, a slight underproduction of insulin, an important fetal growth factor, during the prenatal period may cause a baby to be born smaller. Low birth weight is already known to increase the risk of disease later in life, and the fetal insulin hypothesis proposes that the same gene that causes lower birth weight also increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. "The mechanisms by which CDKAL1 may act are not well understood, but it is believed to reduce insulin secretion, and that underproduction contributes to type 2 diabetes," said Grant. He added that further research may investigate biological pathways on which the gene functions, and may also study whether it may influence the risk of developing other diseases in later life. The National Institutes of Health, the Cotswold Foundation and The Children"s Hospital of Philadelphia supported this study. Grant and Hakonarson, and their co-authors, are from both The Children"s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. About The Children"s Hospital of Philadelphia: The Children"s Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation"s first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children"s Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country, ranking third in National Institutes of Health funding. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 430-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. The Children"s Hospital of Philadelphia


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