playdate

The Three-Parent Embryo

Researchers at Newcastle University in northern England have created human embryos with three parents.  The research, which has already produced healthy micelets in the laboratory, involves taking the nucleus of a ferilized egg (two parents) and inserting it into a donor egg cell (third parent) that has had its nucleus removed.  The resulting child would have chromosomal DNA from the primary parents and mitochondrial DNA from the donor egg.  The research was done in the hopes of being able to treat hereditary illnesses such as muscular dystrophy or certain forms of epilepsy within the next five years by eliminating the carrier (mitochondria) from the equation.

Africentric School Approved

Last night, after an intense discussion that included 20 speakers, the Toronto District School Board voted 11-9 in favour of an alternative Africentric school.  In addition to the Africentric school, the board passed other measures (all by wide margins) to combat the 40% dropout rate of Toronto's black students.  These included an action plan to help all black students improve, pilot programs covering subjects from an Africentric perspective in regular schools, and establishing a research program (with York University and community groups) to determine how to reduce the disparity between black children and their peers of other races when it comes to academic success.

Daycare Ratings Go Public

The City of Toronto has become the first municipality in Ontario to make daycare ratings public. The decision to make the ratings public follows a daycare probe released by the Toronto Star in June of 2007, where conditions were found to be horrible in some cases. A standardized scoring system has been implemented, and the results are available online at http://www.toronto.ca/children/quality.htm, where they can search by name or location.

Family Day Revisited

In September, prior to the provincial election, Ontario Premier Dalton McGunity announced a new holiday in February called Family Day.  Since that time, the election has been won, and the holiday has been scheduled (February 18 this year).  While some experts claim that the holiday will have a long-term payoff, others have been quick to point out the problems it created, including hundreds of traffic charges tossed out in Toronto due to them being scheduled on that date (one wonders how Ottawa could have the foresight to avoid scheduling cases on that date but Toronto could not).  One opponent argued against the holiday for two distinct reasons: the cost to the small businesses who have to pay their employees for the statutory holiday, and giving people a day off won't make them better parents.

Severe Tantrums May Indicate Depression

According to Andrew Belden of Washington University's school of medicine, out-of-the-ordinary temper tantrums may indicate a risk of depression in toddlers.  While some tantrums are a normal part of development, and are to be expected, more severe or prolonged episodes can suggest other, more significant mental or mood disorders.

A Culture Of Fear

An article from the Toronto Star discusses school safety in light of the School Community Safety Advisory Panel's report (summary available here) released this past week.  The report indicates that the TDSB is underfunded and not equipped to manage the situation it finds itself in.  The Star explores the findings with supplemental stories, including a girl discussing the first time she saw someone stabbed (among other things), an excerpt from the report about a group sexual assault of a Muslim girl in a boys washroom, and a survey piece that shows that violence and fear are common in schools.

"Wrongful Life"?

The Ontario Court of Appeal has denied a wrongful life claim of twin sisters.  The twins were born prematurely and and severely disabled because their mother's doctor prescribed a fertility drug (Clomid).  A jury had previously found the obstetrician negligent because he had misled the mother about potential side effects of the drug, and the family was awarded just over $12 million in damages.  On the eve of the trial, the family and doctor agreed on a settlement for $8.6 million. (The appeal continued because the amount of the settlement depended on its outcome.)

Two Drink Limit For Parents?

A chain of pubs in the U.K. has started enforcing a two-drink limit for all patrons who are dining with children. According to the report, the management of the chain has implemented this policy to discourage parents from keeping their children in a pub all day (although the reasons given for the discouragement differ - the company says it is "unfair" to the children, while others argue that it is more about not having children in pubs for long periods of time because they get too rambunctious.)

Children Killing Children

This week, two Toronto area teens have died as a result of street violence between themselves and other teens. To be clear: the end of last year, and the beginning of this one saw children killing other children. In one of the cases, details are still being determined by police, so little is known. In the other, the altercation stemmed from a boy defending the name of his mother who had died over five years ago.

2007 In Review

It's the end of my first (partial) year here at Mommy Blogs Toronto, and like many places, I'm going to take a look back at the year that was, at least through the eyes of Daditorial.