Friday Roundup

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

Health
1. B vitamins shown to slow progression of dementia, MSNBC.com, September 9, 2010

Brief Intro: "Daily tablets of large doses of B vitamins can halve the rate of brain shrinkage in elderly people with memory problems and may slow their progression toward dementia, data from a British trial showed on Wednesday,

Scientists from Oxford University said their two-year clinical trial was the largest to date into the effect of B vitamins on so-called "mild cognitive impairment" -- a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia."

2. Pre-teen brothers battle obesity: One family's story, MSNBC.com, September 9, 2010

Brief Intro: "Last spring, Doubrava decided to take action, thanks in part to the help of a Cleveland Clinic program that targets the heaviest kids and their families.

She banned soda from her family’s refrigerator and cut out fast food and high-fat snacks. She filled bowls with fruit and platters with vegetables and she sent everyone outside for long walks and bicycle rides."

3. Too little sleep raises obesity risks in children, MSNBC.com, September 8, 2010

Brief Intro: "Children aged four and under who get less than 10 hours of sleep a night are nearly twice as likely to be overweight or obese five years later, according to a U.S. study. Researchers from the University of California and University of Washington in Seattle looked at the relationship between sleep and weight in 1,930 children aged 0 to 13 years old who took part in a survey in 1997 and again five years later in 2002.

For children who were four years old or younger at the time of the first survey, sleeping for less than 10 hours a night was associated with nearly a twofold increased risk of being overweight or obese at the second survey."

4. Kids eligible for, absent from, U.S. health programs, MSNBC.com, September 8, 2010

Brief Intro: "An estimated five million uninsured children in the United States were eligible for Medicaid or the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) but were not enrolled in either plan, according to a new report.

The study published Friday in the journal Health Affairs recommended policy reforms and broader efforts to get uninsured children into government medical programs, including the use of income tax data for automatic enrollment."

Education

1. Teachers get chance to fix poorer schools, NYT.com, September 6, 2010

Brief Intro: "Shortly after landing at Malcolm X Shabazz High School as a Teach for America recruit, Dominique D. Lee grew disgusted with a system that produced ninth graders who could not name the seven continents or the governor of their state. He started wondering: What if I were in charge?"

2. Feds are investigating Arizona's stance on teacher fluency, Educationweek.com, September 8, 2010

Brief Intro: "Arizona's superintendent of public instruction says the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice are investigating whether the state discriminates against teachers whose first language isn't English, according to the Associated Press.

The AP news comes from a story published by The Arizona Republic. It says that in April, state education officials began telling school districts to fire teachers who weren't fluent in English. However, state officials have contested that version of events to me, as I've reported on this blog. State officials sent me a copy of a protocol that shows they monitor the fluency of teachers of English-language learners."

Race and Culture

1. Anger flares in L.A. after fatal police shooting, NYT.com, September 8, 2010

Brief Intro: "City officials and Guatemalan leaders have moved to calm feelings and quell anger after the fatal shooting of a Guatemalan construction worker by a Los Angeles police officer set off two nights of violent protests in a neighborhood populated largely by Central American immigrants.

On Monday and Tuesday nights, people perched on rooftops in the Westlake district were seen hurling objects at officers in riot gear as they sought to control crowds of as many of 300 people who were yelling and waving fists. The Rampart police station was pelted with rocks, bottles and eggs, officials said,"