Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Alfalfa Sprouts Recalled After 22 Sickened in 10 States
Raw alfalfa sprouts contaminated with salmonella seem to have sickened at least 22 people in 10 states, including a baby in Oregon, leading to a nationwide recall of the product.
Caldwell Fresh Foods of Maywood, Calif., announced the recall Friday. And the Oregon Department of Human Services said the sprouts were sold in 18 states in the West, Midwest and South, the Associated Press reported.
Eleven people were sickened in California, two were sickened in Nevada and two were sickened in Wisconsin. Arizona, Oregon, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico and Colorado each had one person become ill, according to officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The illnesses began between March 1 and May 2 and six people have been hospitalized, the AP said.
A press release issued by Caldwell did not list the states to which the sprouts had been sold, the news service said.
The press release did say the sprouts were sold to restaurants, delicatessens and retailers across the country, including many in California. The stores in California include Wal-Mart, Trader Joe's, Kings Supermarket, Numero Uno, Cardenas Markets, Gonzales Northgate Markets, Jons Marketplace and Canton Foods, the AP reported.
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Ugly Mug May Land You in Jail
It's already known that ugly people earn less than real lookers, and now research from Cornell University finds they are more likely to be convicted of crimes and get harsher sentences than average-looking defendants.
Allegedly "impartial" jurors fall into two camps, according to the study involving 169 Cornell psychology undergraduate students, MSNBC reported. One group processes information in a rational manner, looking at fact and logical argument without factoring in appearance.
But another type of juror relies on emotions and personal experience to process information and is more likely to recommend harsher sentences based on gut reaction.
The study found the ugly Bettys were 22 percent more likely to be convicted, and the prison sentences recommended by the emotional processors were 22 months longer on average, MSNBC said.
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UC Berkeley Criticized for Plan to Test Freshmen DNA
A plan to make DNA tests available to incoming freshmen at the University of California, Berkeley, has critics complaining that the school is endorsing an unproven technology.
University officials said Thursday that the point wasn't to predict the likelihood of disease but to promote discussion on the emerging field of genetic testing, the Associated Press reported. The school's plan was to send test kits to 5,500 new students to analyze genes involved in the body's reaction to dairy products, folic acid and alcohol.
"We thought that this would be a more engaging vehicle for discussion than having them read a book or an article," said Mark Schlissel, dean of biology at UC Berkeley.
But critics say the voluntarily testing could be seen as support for direct-to-consumer gene-testing kits that claim to predict the risk of future health problems.
Students could assume, "Berkeley gave it to us. It must be good. UC Berkeley would never be giving its incoming students anything bad or controversial," said Jesse Reynolds, a policy analyst at the Center for Genetics and Society, a bioethics think tank.
Dr. Muin J. Khoury, director of the National Office of Public Health Genomics at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the AP he is concerned that the results could be misunderstood. Using the test for a gene related to how quickly a person absorbs alcohol as an example, he said, "I just worry about 18-year-old kids saying, 'Oh, I'm a fast metabolizer, I can drink a lot of alcohol, it won't affect me.'"
Used under the right circumstances, however, the testing could be a great experience, Khoury said.
Meanwhile, last week's announcement by Pathway Genomics Corp. that it would sell its genetic test kits through drug stores has prompted a congressional investigation. There is "concern from the scientific community regarding the accuracy of test results," the House Energy and Commerce Committee said in a letter to Pathway and two other companies, the Washington Post reported.
The largest U.S. drug store chain, Walgreens, canceled plans to sell the test kits after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the agency had not reviewed the kits.
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350,000 Target Trunks Recalled
About 350,000 rattan, abaca or banana leaf trunks sold at Target have been recalled because of brain damage suffered by an 18-month-old girl after a trunk lid came down on her.
The hinges securing the lids have no safety mechanisms to prevent them from dropping quickly, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
The trunks, made in China and the Philippines, were sold at Target stores nationwide between February 2009 and April 2010 and on Target's Web site.
Consumers can request a refund or replacement product at any Target store, the CPSC said.
