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Daily Rounds: Satellites Crashing; Kids On Antipsychotics; Split On Aids Bill; Another Suicide At MIT

A Falling Satellite Catches the Popular Imagination - NYTimes.com "... the event has turned into a bit of a media and pop culture phenomenon. Just about every major news outlet started weighing in on the impending arrival. On Facebook, people were linking to news stories and adding their own ruminations, like “Wear a hardhat” and “Should we be concerned?” On Fox News, the anchor Shepard Smith dubbed Friday “Bus Day U.S.A.” and called the network’s coverage “the stupidest thing we’ve ever done.” And on MSNBC.com, about 5,000 readers answered a poll about the satellite’s predicted course. Ten percent were “relieved that it’s likely to miss North America” while 34 percent were “bummed out at missing the fireworks” and 42 percent were “worried ... what about the rest of the world?” (nytimes.com)

U.S. advisers urge FDA to address antipsychotics in kids | Reuters "U.S. pediatric health advisers on Thursday urged drug regulators to continue studying weight gain and other side-effects of antipsychotic drugs as they are increasingly taken by children. Significant numbers of U.S. children are receiving drugs to tame aggression, attention deficit disorder and other mental problems, even though there is little conclusive data to show exactly how the medications work or whether they damage kids' health." (Reuters) Massachusetts: Advocates, Doctors Split on HIV Test Bill - The Body "Health providers and advocates are divided over a bill intended to bring Massachusetts into compliance with CDC recommendations on making HIV testing a routine part of medical care. The bill would enable the informed consent process for HIV testing to be conducted orally and documented by the provider in medical records. Currently, the state requires written patient consent specifically for the HIV test." (thebody.com)

MIT sophomore committed suicide, medical examiner declares - The Boston Globe Nicolas Del Castillo, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology sophomore who was found dead in his dorm room Sept. 4, committed suicide by hanging himself, according to the medical examiner’s office...
The university published an obituary Saturday on the MIT website filling out details of Castillo’s short life. He had just turned 17 when he arrived at MIT from Bogota, and had been planning to study math at least since he was 8 years old, said his father, Henry Del Castillo. “He asked me, ‘Papi, is there a mathematical way to determine all the prime numbers?’ ’’ Castillo told the university’s news service. “I told him that’s a problem that mathematicians have been working on for years and years. And he said, ‘I’m going to solve it.’ ’’ (boston.com)

Silence From Rep. Bachmann As Vaccine Challenge Expires : Shots - Health Blog : NPR "...bioethicist Steven Miles first ponied up $1,000 to call Bachmann's bluff. Caplan, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, then raised the ante with $10,000 out of his own pocket. He asked Bachmann to produce a real person who has suffered mental retardation by the HPV vaccine.If she could do it, Caplan offered to donate the ten grand to Bachmann's charity of choice. If she failed, he suggested that Bachmann donate the same amount to a charity of his choice. No one from the Bachmann camp ever contacted Caplan accepting the challenge, according to the bioethicist. "Time is up," he said in a press conference." (npr.org)

This program aired on September 23, 2011. The audio for this program is not available.

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