Friday Roundup

Here is a listing of articles of interest published within the last 7-10 days:

Health

1. Diet: Eating fish found to ward off eye disease, New York Times, March 17, 2011
Brief Intro:"A new study reports yet another good reason to eat fish: women whose diet was rich in omega-3 fatty acids found in fish were at significantly lower risk of developing age-related macular degeneration.

2. American life span edges longer, New York Times, March 16, 2011
Brief Intro:"Life expectancy in the United States has hit another high, rising above 78 years. The estimate of 78 years 2 months is for a baby born in 2009, and comes from a preliminary report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

3. Mexico puts its children on a diet, New York Times, March 13, 2011
Brief Intro:"One in three children is overweight or obese, according to the government. So the nation’s health and education officials stepped in last year to limit what schools could sell at recess. (Schools in Mexico do not provide lunch.)

The officials quickly became snared in a web of special interests led by Mexico’s powerful snack food companies, which found support from regulators in the Ministry of the Economy. The result was a knot of rules that went into effect on Jan. 1."

Education

1. For Detroit schools, mixed picture for reforms, New York Times, March 13, 2011
Brief Intro:"Since Mr. Bobb arrived, the $200 million deficit has risen to $327 million. While he has made substantial cuts to save money — including $16 million by firing hundreds of administrators — any gains have been overshadowed by the exodus of the 8,000 students a year. For each student who departs, $7,300 in state money gets subtracted from the Detroit budget — an annual loss of $58.4 million."