Watching the World
Catholics Ignore Vatican
A new document published this year by the Vatican has stirred up heated controversy in Catholic and medical circles. It is entitled “Respect for Human Life in Its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation.” The document condemns all forms of fertilization in vitro, that is, outside the living body, including artificial insemination when ovum and sperm are taken from couples who are legally married. The church’s position on this issue has been upsetting to many Catholics who, until now, have favored such procedures in behalf of childless couples. Yet, despite the embarrassment wrought by the new Vatican document, Michel Falise, a spokesman for one Catholic hospital in Lille, France, indicated that in vitro fertilizations that are presently under way would not be interrupted in favor of the church’s new stance. Similar opinions have been voiced in Belgium, Spain, Holland, and Italy, where, according to La Repubblica, a Rome newspaper, “over 75 percent of artificial inseminations now being practiced are of the type the church condemns,” and “70 percent of the women who receive this form of insemination are Catholics.”
More Than They’re Worth
You can now buy U.S. currency at the following rates: $1 bills at 4 for $7.50, 16 for $21.50, and 32 for $40.50; $2 bills at 4 for $12 and 16 for $38.50. Why are people willing to pay such prices? Because of the novelty of having bills off the press in an uncut form. Last year the Bureau of Engraving and Printing took in $1,852,509 from the sale of uncut bills.
Pigeon Rescue
For someone lost at sea, a rescue aided by a pigeon may soon be a reality. Training is now being given to pigeons for a search-and-rescue operation called Project Sea Hunt, reports The Sydney Morning Herald of Australia. Because of their superior eyesight and concentration, compared to that of humans, pigeons have proved very effective as spotters. Three pigeons will be placed in a dome underneath a helicopter, each facing in a different direction. Already trained to distinguish the colors of life jackets and rescue craft, the pigeons peck at an indicator when such colored objects are spotted, and the indicator directs the pilot to fly in that direction. To humans an object nearly two miles (3 km) away may appear as a speck in the ocean, but it can be spotted quite readily by the sharp-eyed pigeon. Preliminary tests have already proved successful. Compared to a human success rate of 40 percent in spotting objects in the ocean, pigeons scored a high 90 percent in their rescue work!
Smoking Banned
As of September 1, 1987, “smoking will be banned in most enclosed public places in Belgium.” According to the International Herald Tribune, King Baudouin signed a law requiring that smoking “be banned in schools, hospitals and rest homes, railroad stations, waiting rooms, and publicly owned cultural and sports centers.” Among the European Community countries, Belgium comes just after first-ranked Denmark in the proportion of smokers to nonsmokers, with about a 1 to 3 ratio. Offenders could be fined up to $480 (U.S.) by the Belgian authorities.
Lifesaving Vaccines
Addressing a WHO (World Health Organization) conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Dr. Ralph Henderson revealed that the expanded program of immunization he directs already prevents nearly a million deaths every year from measles, whooping cough, and tetanus. However, he added that “millions of children continue to die needlessly each year” from diseases that immunization would otherwise prevent. With the goal of protecting all the world’s children from these illnesses by the end of the decade, medical workers press ahead with research into vaccines against malaria, leprosy, and even tooth decay. Though it is claimed that vaccines could make antibiotics “virtually obsolete by the year 2000,” WHO coordinator on AIDS, Dr. Jonathan Mann, reported that an effective vaccine for AIDS could take years to produce.
World Speed Record
The world speed record for the fastest manned train is now 249 miles per hour (400 km/hr), set by an experimental “linear car” of Japanese National Railways. The old record was held by the Federal Republic of Germany. The “linear car” floats a few inches above the track on a magnetic cushion and moves by magnetic power. Without need for rails and overhead power lines, construction costs may well be cheaper than that of the famous bullet trains. Noise pollution and vibration pollution are said to be eliminated too. According to Yomiuri Shimbun, the “linear car” outsped the press helicopters flying over it to take pictures. Japanese National Railways already holds the world record for the fastest unmanned train at 321 miles per hour (517 km/hr).
Prenatal Care
Caring for a pregnant woman’s emotional needs is just as important to the healthy development of her unborn baby as looking after her physical welfare, claims obstetric neurophysiologist Dr. Michele Clement of Middlesex Hospital, England. Using monitoring devices to detect the baby’s responses in its mother’s womb, reports The Times of London, the researcher finds that drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol all interfere with fetal activity, whereas soft music played early in its development can help produce a contented baby. Professor Michel Odent, a French obstetrician, concurs and recommends a reawakening to the importance of a mother’s lullabies sung even to the unborn.
Monster Toys
According to current buying trends, the world of toys has been invaded by monsters. Toy manufacturers are competing to produce the most terrifying plastic characters, notes Le Figaro, a French daily. “The more horrible they look,” claim sales personnel, “the better the children like them.” Last winter, the leading toys were in the “bad, wicked family [category], made up of demon vampires, human leeches that cling to walls, or hairy warriors that are some sort of cross between a gorilla and a boar.” Exceptions? None, according to the sales. Last year, one French firm alone sold over a million of these horrible toys. Le Figaro commented: “This Christmas, monsters top the bill. More and more deformed and increasingly hideous, [these toys] delight the children, intrigue psychologists, and grieve the parents.”
Blood Ban
Last April 21 the Mexican government banned all commercial sale of blood and blood by-products due to fear of spreading the deadly disease AIDS among its population, reports The New York Times. The AIDS virus spreads through sexual intercourse or blood. Although the number of reported cases of AIDS in Mexico is small compared to that in other countries, Health Minister Guillermo Soberón said that “the character of the disease obliges us to take measures of a preventive nature” before conditions worsen. Government studies had found that blood donated for money runs a much higher risk of carrying the AIDS virus. Blood banks may still operate but only if the blood is voluntarily donated instead of sold.
Getting Tough on Smokers
With funds and accommodations in short supply at most Australian hospitals, persons suffering from a smoke-related disease who continue to smoke may one day be denied hospital access. In an article that appeared in The Medical Journal of Australia, Dr. Peter Gianoutsos, a senior thoracic physician with the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, explained that “it is possible to envisage in the not-too-distant future, circumstances in which hospital beds may no longer be available for those who continue to smoke.” He claims that to allow persistent smokers into hospitals would be a serious misuse of resources and quite often means that intensive-care facilities are not available for newborn children. A study of patients with smoking-related diseases found that 22 percent persisted in smoking even after diagnosis showed that it was the cause of their illness.