A round-up of today's other health news in brief ...
US government releases rules over embryonics
The US government released final rules governing federally funded research on human embryonic stem cells yesterday, loosening some requirements that scientists said could have cost them a decade of work.
But the new rules, which take effect today, keep many of the restrictions on the research.
US federal funds may not be used to actually make the cells using human embryos – only to work with them after someone else has made them.
But the National Institutes of Health agreed with arguments that proposed regulations published in April could have forced researchers to throw away work done with stem cell batches, or lines, created over the past few years.
“We allow a case-by-case review,” acting NIH director Dr Raynard Kington said.
Visual problems can be sign of other disabilities
Children with visual problems are likely to have other complex disabilities too, according to an eye specialist who will speak at an international conference on visual impairment in Dublin tomorrow.
“We identified 79 per cent of visually impaired children who have multiple disabilities in a recent community-based study in Belfast,” said Prof Jonathan Jackson, consultant optometrist at the department of ophthalmology at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.
“Children with complex disabilities are often overlooked but if we really make an effort, we can make a phenomenal difference to their lives,” said Prof Jackson who will speak at the 7th European Conference of the International Council for the Education of the Visually Impaired in Trinity College Dublin.
More than 500 delegates from 38 countries are attending the conference which continues until Friday.
For more information on the event, visit www.icevidublin2009.org.