Learning the Hard Way to Buckle Kids Up

Cape Town – For a Cape Town mother who did not buckle up her child, and watched him die as a result, his death seems like yesterday. But Nicholas Durães Steyning died in 1986. Since that terrible day, his mother, Rosa Durães, has not stopped urging parents to buckle their own children up.

“You think it won’t happen to you. I was young and did not think of the consequences of my actions,” she said.

“It was Saturday August 23, I was a new mom, and my son was three-and-a-half months old.”

She, her now-ex husband who was driving, brother-in-law and son went to Makro in Milnerton.

“We were driving in a Golf from the Gardens area. I was sitting in the passenger seat breastfeeding him.

“We were in the middle lane driving towards the intersection of Oswald Pirow and the N1. The traffic light was green, there was a car in the right lane just ahead of us.

“As we approached the intersection a car turning right from the opposite direction sped up trying to beat the car in our right lane.

“He didn’t see our car and cut in front of our car and we T-boned him.

“On impact my son hit his head on the cubby-hole, my ex-brother-in-law was not strapped in (behind her) which caused more force on my seat.

“I hit the windshield with my head,” Durães said.

“I have been told that you multiply the weight and it could be a few tons that crushes your child.

“My son had a head injury but was still conscious and crying.

“A good Samaritan stopped and took us to hospital. My son stared at me the whole way while screaming in pain, it felt like he was pleading for my help.

“The hospital didn’t do anything for three hours while I was lying on a stretcher not being able to go to him. I heard his screams, I hear them still.

“When he was finally attended to he was taken in for surgery and went into a coma.

“I prayed so hard but on Monday August 25 they told me that they were going to do some tests and see if he would breathe on his own, if not they would put back the life support.

“I was asked to go to another floor and express milk for the other children while my child was unable to benefit from my milk.

“When I returned to the ward they told me he had died.”

The driver of the other car had allegedly been with his lover and did not want his wife to know.

“He was taken to court by the State and was charged with culpable homicide.

“He got a R500 fine and a suspended driving licence for a short period,” she said.

How did she survive her pain?

“I have not survived the pain. I will always hear his cry and remember his pleading eyes. Time does not heal.

“Every year it is a little harder to come to terms with what happened. I have failed as a mother, I have not done my duty of protecting my child.”

Since 1986, she has taken every available opportunity to encourage people to “buckle up their precious cargo”.

“Most people react aggressively by swearing or telling me to mind my own business and that it is their children.

“One occasion I mentioned to a lady that I was speaking from personal experience, she sarcastically said ‘sorry for you’.

“The sad part is that I have friends who are aware of what I went through and they still don’t buckle their children up …” Durães said.

“It takes just a minute to buckle them up and just a minute to lose them forever.”

l The Western Cape’s Safely Home Campaign is this month urging motorists to buckle up, especially their children.

Cape Argus

Source:http://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/family/kids/learning-the-hard-way-to-buckle-kids-up-1.1750164#.VBWc0Es71Gg

British & Japanese Scientists “Reset” Stem Cells

London – British and Japanese scientists have managed to “reset” human stem cells to their earliest state, opening up a new realm of research into the start of human development and potentially life-saving regenerative medicines.

In work described by one independent expert as “a major step forward”, the scientists said they had successfully rebooted pluripotent stem cells so they were equivalent to those of a 7 to 10-day old embryo, before it implants in the womb.

By studying the reset cells, they said they hoped they would now be able to learn more about embryo development, and how it can go wrong and cause miscarriage and developmental disorders.

“These cells may represent the real starting point for formation of tissues in the human embryo,” said Austin Smith, director of the Britain’s Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, who co-led the research published in the journal Cell on Thursday.

“We hope that in time they will allow us to unlock the fundamental biology of early development, which is impossible to study directly in people,” he added.

Human pluripotent stem cells, which have the potential to become any of the cells and tissues in the body, can already be made in a lab either from cells extracted from early-stage embryos or from adult cells that have been induced, or reprogrammed, into an earlier state.

But, the researchers said in a statement, until now it has proved difficult to generate human pluripotent stem cells that are at an early enough, pristine stage, before they have started changing.

Instead, scientists have only derived cells that are slightly further down the developmental pathway, not a totally “blank slate”, said Smith.

Experts say that by helping to regenerate tissue, stem cell science could offer new ways of treating conditions for which there are currently no cures – including heart and eye diseases, Parkinson’s and stroke.

“GOOD NEWS FOR PATIENTS”

The process of generating stem cells in the lab is much easier to control in mouse cells, which can be frozen in a state of very early pluripotency using a protein called LIF. Human cells are not as responsive to LIF, so they must be controlled in a different way that involves switching key genes on and off.

Smith said this was the main reason why scientists have been unable to generate human pluripotent cells that are as primitive and pristine as their mouse equivalents.

To avoid this problem, the scientists introduced two genes – NANOG and KLF2 – which caused a network of genes controlling the cell to reboot and induce the early pluripotent state.

Yasuhiro Takashima of the Japan Science and Technology Agency, who worked with Smith, said the reset cells opened the door to a new phase of research.

“We now need to carry out further studies to establish how our cells compare with others,” he said. “We don’t yet know whether these will be a better starting point than existing stem cells for therapies, but being able to start entirely from scratch could prove beneficial.”

Chris Mason, a stem cell expert and professor of regenerative medicine at University College London who was not involved in this work, praised its results and implications.

“Having a source of pristine stem cells which can be precisely changed into clinical-relevant cell types is a major step forward,” he said in an emailed comment.

“The benefits could be safer and more clinically effective cell therapies produced at lower cost – good news for patients and healthcare providers.” – Reuters

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/news/scientists-reset-stemcells-1.1749812#.VBWbx0s71Gh

Lack of Sleep Leads to Obesity

London – Teenagers who do not sleep for long enough are at risk of putting on weight, scientists believe.

Their research shows that 16-year-olds not getting the recommended eight hours plus are 20 percent more likely to be obese by the age of 21.

They analysed health information from more than 10 000 young Americans and made home visits to collect data on height, weight and sleep.

“Lack of sleep in your teenage years can stack the deck against you for obesity later in life,” said Shakira Suglia, an assistant professor at Columbia University, New York.

“Once you’re an obese adult, it is much harder to lose weight and keep it off. And the longer you are obese, the greater your risk for health problems like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

“The message for parents is to make sure their teenagers get more than eight hours a night.”

The research also showed lack of physical activity contributed to obesity. It was carried out by academics at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health and by the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina. – Daily Mail

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/family/kids/sleep-link-to-teen-obesity-1.1749994#.VBWU6ks71Gg