People who suffered severe brain injuries in auto accidents, falls, sports injuries and other trauma were disappointed by the news a few days back that a possible treatment doesn't do what experts had hoped. The military had high hopes for citicoline, a naturally-occurring chemical that helps build brain cells. Tests in laboratory animals suggested it would speed recovery, and a few human trials with stroke patients showed mixed results. More thorough tests on 1,213 patients showed no improvement in reducing forgetfulness, improving concentration, or lengthening attention span.
Shooting to defend, or shooting to prevent?
There are many people who are afraid of pit bulls. The dogs have a reputation for biting, and biting hard, sometimes fatally. So it comes as no surprise that a bystander who saw three pit bulls run up to a jogger in Tampa, Florida recently felt the need to protect the runner. The animals were not attacking or biting, just investigating. It will now be up to the county prosecutor there to decide if shooting two of those dogs, one fatally, was the right response or an over-reaction.
A decade in prison for texting while driving
A Wisconsin man convicted of causing a fatal accident is looking at 10 years in prison, possibly the toughest sentence ever handed out for texting while driving. The 23 year-old was convicted 2nd degree reckless homicide for causing a December, 2012 crash that killed one man in Wood County. The young man admitted to police that he was texting his girlfriend and trying to respond to numerous other text messages when he blew through a "Stop" sign and struck another vehicle. The impact bounced his car into a third car with such force that the seat-belted driver was ejected and died on the scene.
A mother's neglect ruins four lives
One of the things that children learn in middle school science is the physics of moving objects. They learn that objects at rest tend to stay at rest, and objects in motion tend to stay in motion. Those same laws pertain to cars. If the vehicle you're riding in stops suddenly, unless you are belted you keep moving at the same speed you were moving before. Car stops, you keep going; out the window, through the windshield or through the roof. Elementary physics. It's too bad a young Bayfield woman didn't pay attention in class.
