Sex education call for primary pupils

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/education/10333241.stm

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) thinks it's necessary for primary and secondary schools to give appropriate sex education to children's ages. The three main things they should be taught are sex, relationships and alcohol. The coalition government is trying to make its own plans to get compulsory sex and relationship education within the curriculum. According to the health watchdog sex education should start early, because it is more effective if it gets introduced before they have sex for the first time. The thing they want to teach about alcohol is that the students should avoid carousals and binge drinking.

My opinion:
I agree with the NICE. I think it would be better if they start giving information about sex on a earlier age. Something they need to keep in mind is that this could be very hard to realize. Twelve-year-old children can be on a such a different level when talking about sex. I don't see it as necessary that they know a lot of things about sex around this age already. On the other hand, they start activities related to sex on a younger age than ten years ago, so there are students of this age that are already active in this area. I think the education should only be given to children who sign up for it.

Forth Valley Royal Hospital to use robot 'workers'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/10344849.stm

The robots are undergoing their final tests, but they will start 'working' in the new Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert in August. This hospital is the first hospital to use an amount of robots who can do day-to-day tasks. Activities they will be doing are carrying clinical waste, dispense drugs, deliver food, and clean the operating theatre. One major advantage is that the robots will have their own tasks, which will prevent carrying out infections. Robots who do 'dirty' tasks and robots who do 'clean' tasks, will use different elevators, so they won't cross each other. This will also prevent carrying out infections.

My opinion:
This is a great invention in my opinion. I can't believe they have made robots that can do all those tasks. If I read this article, it seems like they have thought about all the disadvantages and advantages, and they have a clear idea of how they want to use the robots. The robot has a system in itself which tells him what to do, where to go, and where he is. One main advantage in my opinion is that the nurses will have more time to spent with their patients, because they will have to do less cleaning work. As long as the humans don't get replaced by the robots, this can be a great invention.

'Bullying' link to child suicide rate, charity suggests

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk/10302550.stm

Beatbullying, a bullying prevention charity, says that up to 44% of suicides by children might be bullying-related. They would like to see a more official data on child suicide, because the connection between bullying and child suicide is obvious. The problem is that there is a lack of clarity and research about it. They know that there are 176 cases of suicides of 10- to 14-year-olds reported between 2000 and 2008, but they don’t know the exact number of the suicides that were bullying related. A good start would be to try to reduce bullying in schools, because the school is seen as the main source of the bullying.

My opinion:
It is so sad that children this age think about committing suicide because they are getting bullied by other children. It is even more shocking that actually 176 children committed suicide in eight years time. I think ‘Beatbullying’ makes a good point in this article. Everyone is just guessing right now, because they don’t have exact numbers and exact information about all the cases. It would be good if people would do more research about certain cases. Also starting at the main source of the problem, the schools, is a good idea in my opinion. Hopefully this will take care of less suicides in the future.

Wigan transplant patient given lungs of 30-year smoker

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/manchester/10307324.stm


Twenty-eight year old Lynsey Scott died months after she had a double lung transplant surgery. She was born with cystic fibrosis, but she underwent this surgery to prolong her life. It turned out that she got the lungs of a thirty year old smoker. Ms Scott died of pneumonia. The University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Trust followed the guidelines for organ retrieval. Allan Scott, Lynsey Scott’s father, said that her daughter would be “horrified” is she would have known that she got the lungs from a smoker. He is calling for patients to be given more information once they get a transplant.

My opinion:
In this article I agree with Lynsey Scott’s father. I think patients need to know some certain information before they accept an organ from another person. In this case it is really sad that the patient died after a couple months. They can’t say if she would have lived longer if she would have gotten someone else’s lungs, but it is a fact that she died of pneumonia. I don’t blame the hospital for this, because I know that they followed the national guidelines, but I think it might be time to chance those guidelines.

Woman jailed for giving baby methadone-soaked dummy (Speaker's Corner)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/scotland/edinburgh_east_and_fife/10264909.stm

Susan Taylor’s case about giving her baby a methadone-soaked dummy got finally reported this last Tuesday. She has to go to jail for three years. The incident happened in November 2008. Ms. Taylor admitted the charge last September, but it couldn’t get reported earlier because her partner was facing trial. She told the judge that she rolled the baby’s dummy around the measuring cup she uses to take her daily methadone. Her ten-year-old child nearly died. According to the doctors, they found a large amount of the methadone in the child’s urine. It is uncertain whether there are lasting effects.

My opinion:
This is one of the most shocking articles I have read for this course. First of all, because of this little baby. It is so cruel that a ten-week-old baby gets involved and nearly dies because of her drug addict parents. Secondly, I think they have waited way too long until they sent her to jail. The incident happened a year and a half ago, and up till last Tuesday she didn’t get punished for it. Thirdly, I find it hard to imagine how two drug addict people can raise a child decently. Every child deserves at least one parent who can take care of him/her without worrying about getting drugs into your system.

UK plans Kabul 'reintegration centre' for boys

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk/10261456.stm

The UK Border Agency is planning on building a “reintegration centre” in Kabul, Afghanistan. They would like to help boys and adults with their resettlement. Up till now, the UK has had a policy for not returning boys to Afghanistan without any family members, but building a “reintegration centre” could be a way to change this policy.The UK would assist them with education, training and starting a business, as well as helping them finding a place to live. The costs for this “reintegration centre” will be £4 million. The Refugee Council is uncertain if the UK should send children back without family members to a country that is not safe.

My opinion:
I have to say that I like the UK Border Agency's plan of building a “reintegration cenre”. It is good that they are not just sending them back without giving them any support with rebuilding their lives. I don’t know how big the number of people is living in the UK that are originally from Afghanistan, but in my opinion it is good to give them an opportunity to return home. I also understand the concern from the Refugee Council. The safety of the people has the priority in my opinion. They need to find out how safe it is for those boys to return to their country without any family members.

Drinking coffee doesn't make you more alert, caffeine study reveals

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/jun/02/drinking-coffee-alert-caffeine

Peter Rogers of the University of Bristol led the research on the influences of caffeine on people. It is not true that coffee drinkers are more alert than people who regularly do without. A new study suggests that a cup of coffee is merely defending against the loss of caffeine that a person loses at night. This study is much more significant and more beneficial than other studies, because previous studies had fewer people participating. During this research they took blood samples for genetic testing of 379 volunteers. These people gave up caffeine for 16 hours.

My opinion:
The title of this article grabbed my attention right away. I am not a real coffee addict, but I like to drink a cup of coffee a couple times a week. It’s surprising how many people participated in this research, and the results are quite outstanding. I didn’t expect that it is better to stick with coffee or caffeine for a whole week, then just drinking it during the week but not during the weekend. I think it makes sense, and it is a good thing to keep in mind if you drink a lot of caffeine.