African brain drain to be reverseed

Britain will seek ways to compensate African countries for the thousands of medical professionals who leave the continent to work in the UK health service, the British government announced last week. According to Reuters, compensation could take the form of in-country training, provision of medicines and help with tackling infrastructure problems. But there are no plans to provide financial compensation for the so-called medical ‘brain drain’. About 70,000 qualified Africans leave their home countries every year to work abroad, the UK’s Department for International Development said, with many going to Britain, other parts of Europe and the US. The mass exodus is leaving the poor nations battling epidemics of AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis without sufficient qualified staff.

Games spark aggression

Children who play violent video games are more likely to act aggressively, argue, and get into physical fights with other students, suggesting that violent games may influence kids’ behaviour, according to a review of previous research released recently. Study author Dr Kevin M. Kieffer of Saint Leo University in Florida explained that children may imitate aggressive models, such as violent characters in games, and repeated exposure to violent games may permanently change kids’ behaviour. Children who constantly witness aggressive behaviour may also become desensitised to violence, he added, thereby increasing their tendency towards violence.

Foetal skin can heal burns

A small number of foetal cells can lead to a speedier and more complete recovery than traditional skin grafts, researchers in Switzerland report in Lancet. However, the source of the healing cells may prove controversial in many countries, as the foetal cells have to be harvested from aborted foetus. Doctors typically treat severe burns with skin grafting. The procedure often leaves the patient with a scar and may take months to heal. When Dr Patrick Hohlfeld of the University Hospital in Lausanne placed cells from an aborted foetus on burn victims, the wounds healed in two weeks. The surgery also spared the patients the trauma of having a graft from elsewhere in the body.

Of drivers and cellphones

Talking on a cellphone is more distracting for a driver than talking to a fellow passenger, because strength of the phone’s signal keeps on changing when the car moves. Which is why the brain works harder and this ruins the ability to concentrate. According to Japanese experts led by Takashi Hamada, talking on the phone while moving keeps brain’s parietal cortex heavily engaged.