The United Nations needs to reconsider its current strategy on dealingwith HIV and with illicit drug, according to the coauthors of a Commentreleased on May 30, 2008 in The Lancet. Member states of the UN have been asked to spend time this yearreflecting and gauging the progress made since the 1998 UN GeneralAssembly Special Session on the worldwide drug problem, named ‘Adrug-free world — we can do it’.

Exposure to lead as a child has been linked with criminal behavior asan adult, according to a study released on May 29, 2008 in the openaccess journal PLoSMedicine. Lead poisoning is toxic to the nervous system, and exposure inchildhood has been proposed as a potential risk factor for antisocialbehavior in adulthood.

A study published on bmj.comreports that the traditional Mediterranean diet - one rich in oliveoil, grains, fruits, nuts, vegetables, and fish, but low in alcohol,dairy, and meat products - protects individuals from type 2 diabetes(also known as adult-onset diabetes).

Post-mortems in otherwise unexplained cases of sudden unexpected deathin infancy (SUDI) sometimes show high levels of Staphylococcusaureus and Escherichia coli bacteria,indicating that they could be associate with the condition, accordingto an Article released on May 30, 2008 in The Lancet.

Researchers in the UK have developed a new method to detect cancer early by using highly sensitive MRI scans to follow the chemical breakdown of the body’s naturally occurring bicarbonate of soda (also known as baking soda).The study is the work of scientists at the leading charity Cancer Research UK and other colleagues and is published in the current issue of Nature.

Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc., (NYSE:PDX) announced that it is revising its earnings guidance for the three months ended June 30, 2008, and for the full year based on lower neonatal intensive care unit patient volume. During the Company’s 2008 first quarter earnings call, Pediatrix mentioned that same-unit NICU volume for April 2008 was below 2007 levels.

Children in states with higher rates of insured children are more likely to receive higher-quality health care, according to a Commonwealth Fund study released Wednesday, McClatchy/Kansas City Star reports. Researchers used data on 13 health care indicators to rank all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

The Toronto Star on Monday examined the efforts of the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign in Africa, particularly Swaziland.

Wealthy nations should meet their commitments to help developing countries despite the slowing global economy, Michel Kazatchkine — executive director of the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria — said on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

Chinese officials from Sichuan province on Monday announced that parents whose children were killed, severely injured or disabled during the May 12 earthquake in the region would be exempt from the country’s one-child-per-family policy, the New York Times reports (Jacobs, New York Times, 5/27).